Quantum Destinies
by Jurai Knight
Summary: On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. This is the story of the Ranma 1/2 cast set on that Earth.
1. Genesis

Prologue

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

It was nighttime in Moscow. Outside the window of the hotel room, a cold rain pattered heavily against the glass. Next to an unopened letter that rested on the nightstand, a fresh cup of tea, recently poured from the pot, gave off light swirls of steam. On the bed sat a young man, a little over sixteen years of age, a thick book opened before him. It was a text on cosmology, lit by the lamp just to his right.

His name? Ranma Saotome.

Closing the book, the young scholar sighed because he just couldn't maintain his focus. His thoughts kept jumping to the letter lying next to his tea. It represented the end of his present chapter of life, and the beginning of a new one, far from here. The long white envelope bore the distinctive seal of Japan's Ministry of Education.

He knew what was in it without even opening it. It was his official welcome to join the first-year class at the Imperial Academy of Japan, the most prestigious institution of learning in the Empire and quite possibly the world. It also represented the return to his life in Japan, a life that he had left behind over ten years earlier when his father, Genma, had begun his educational travels.

Again sighing, Ranma picked up the television remote, intent on distracting himself from his thoughts. He aimed it at the screen and pressed the power switch. The television came on with a flurry of colored snow that quickly resolved into the evening news.

"...the Kaiser's regime in Germany has continued its aggressive posture towards the Polish government," said the pretty, blonde newscaster in Russian. "Tsar Alexander has continued to express his support for the Polish people and has threatened military action if the Kaiser continues this course of action. In other news..."

Not really interested in the political games of the balkanized European aristocracies, he flipped to the next channel.

"...are seeing pictures showing the results from the latest Irish attack against Her Majesty's forces in Dublin," said a buxom redhead in English, speaking with a faint Scottish accent. "Fighting continues in the streets as evening approaches. The Prime Minister has been seen in the recent polls as a failure for this debacle. The cease-fire ended in bloodshed yesterday when..."

"Oh, great," he complained to no one in particular. "Just what I want to see, more news." Switching the station again, he settled on the next channel in rotation.

"...make a point to visit the scenic nation of Virginia, a country set in one of the most beautiful regions of the American continent," drawled an attractive brunette in English. "We offer some of the finest resorts available in the world, and our people will welcome you with open arms. No matter what your desires are, we will do our best to fulfill them. Our new addition to the Richmond Sports Complex is our own Arena, one of the few located outside the Empire of Japan..."

"I hate commercials," he mumbled as he turned the station again.

"...but I love you, Alexia," said a male actor on screen. "I don't care what my family thinks or what agreements that they have made. I refuse to be engaged against my will, especially to a woman that I don't love."

He snorted. Soap operas. Like real life could ever get that complicated.

The screen suddenly changed to a station identification and a deep male voice announced, "You are watching 'Young Nobles' here on Channel Eight. We will be back after a word from our sponsors."

"Pass," he said, flipping channels once again.

"...but it is our duty to fight against the Shadow Demons, Ki," said a desperate female voice in Japanese. On the screen an animated drawing of a girl in a skintight outfit was pleading with an animated drawing of a young man dressed similarly. "If we don't somehow manage to defeat them and their minions, then the Empire will be destroyed by their evil. Don't you remember what it means to be a Hunter? We swore a sacred oath to the Emperor when we gained our powers that we..."

"Anything but anime," he said with a sigh, clicking to the next channel.

"...and when we return, we will be having an interview with the baddest of the bad girls fighting in the Imperial Arena, that sexy package of deadly beauty, the incomparable Mina Li," said a cheerful announcer. "So stay tuned to 'Arena Today' for more." He paused on the channel for a moment, but grew bored quickly when the commercials began.

Ranma shut the television off and flopped back on the bed, arms spread wide on the thick quilt atop it. He turned his head to eye the underside of the table where the letter from Japan was sitting. One hand reached over and fumbled blindly across the table top, nearly spilling his tea on himself. He finally found the envelope and picked it up.

Sitting up, he ripped open the envelope along one end. He held it by the edges and blew down the center, splaying it open. Reaching in, he pulled out the letter within, flipping it open one-handed.

The letter read just as he expected. It started with a rather long-winded greeting, complimenting him on his decision to attend the Imperial Academy and congratulating him on his exam scores. He grinned broadly when he saw the comment in the letter that he had achieved a perfect score on the entrance exam, the single highest score ever recorded since the Academy was first founded.

The course of study would take three years, and the letter expressed hopes that he would consider enlisting for a term of service with the Empire's armed forces once his training was up. Not likely, he thought with a wry smile, continuing to read. Joining the military held absolutely no interest for him. However, he needed to get through the Academy in order to win a place in the Ministry of Science.

Studying at the Academy would also give him access to materials that would enable him to prove his father's theories on parallel worlds, and that was paramount to him. He was so close to solving the design problems that he could taste it. The equipment that he had been working with so far had proven to be insufficient for his needs. He needed to requisition some of the prototype equipment available from the Ministry of Science that would help him complete his invention.

The quantum resonator, he thought with a smile. He was rather proud of the name for his device. He looked over at his thick, black notebook, bulging with design specifications and needed parts lists. Once I get it built, my life is never going to be the same. He could hardly wait.

From a two-year-old dream, the idea came almost fully developed, like a flash of revelation from the heavens. In his vision, an enormous, clean blackboard sat in front of him, when suddenly symbols of blue fire etched themselves onto its surface. He found himself looking at a multitude of circuit diagrams and mathematical formulae crammed together haphazardly. Luckily, his eidetic memory had allowed him to bring all of it back to the waking world.

Some of it was blurred and incomplete, like junk data in a computer system, but the rest had been some of the most beautiful equations and diagrams that the pigtailed boy had ever seen. He spent many hours writing them down, even the incomplete material, fearing that they would fade from his mind like the dream that they had come from. He was able to recognize most of the basic theorems from his father's own work on quantum mechanics. The rest required almost two years of painstaking effort on his part to solve. The partial circuit diagrams had been filled in as well over time.

If he could just get the proper components together, it should work.

Assuming that his mind had been processing his father's work on its own, Ranma took the vision as his subconscious' way of proving the senior Saotome right. His father, the acknowledged pioneer in the field of quantum mechanics and parallel universe theory, never found a method of proving their existence outside of mathematical theorems.

His dream had given him the method. He only had to build it, and build it he would. It represented quite possibly the single most exciting piece of research that he had ever attempted in his young life. If, no, when he succeeded, then the potential for learning from other timelines would be enormous.

Attending the Academy was a small price to pay for achieving his dream. However, the closer the reality came, the more leery of it that he became. What if it didn't work? What if they wouldn't let him build it? What if it turned out to be dangerous? These were the questions that had plagued him late at night.

Worst of all, how would he handle being around people his own age? Ranma would never admit to being frightened, as his personal sense of self-confidence was very strong from many years of being praised for his intellectual abilities. He was the best of his generation, and he knew it. However, he could admit to feeling somewhat concerned at dealing with his peers. Having spent his entire life thus far around older men and women, studying the combined knowledge of the world, his social skills could, at best, be described as anemic.

His father had lavished enormous amounts of time and effort on training Ranma's intellectual abilities, restricting him from forming any form of social bonds outside of his teachers. They had moved around too much for that, so he had never had any friends his own age. He had never even gone out on a date, so he wasn't even sure how to relate to girls. All of the women that he had ever come in contact with during the course of his studies had all been old enough to be his mother, or even older.

All of which made him feel somewhat anxious about his future at the Academy. He suddenly shrugged and finished reading the letter. I'm sure that everything will turn out all right. It's not like a girl's going to hit me for looking at her wrong, right? He chuckled a little at that, his calm restored.

Due to his previous study commitments in Russia, he had already missed the Academy welcoming ceremonies and several weeks of the new term. A special exemption for late arrival was mentioned in the letter, and it was hoped that he would be able to make up the backlog of work with a minimum of difficulty.

The letter was signed by the Headmaster of the Academy, Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki, who included a brief personal note that he would be expecting Ranma for a one-on-one interview at his arrival. He frowned slightly. Dealing with people on a social level was not one of his strong suits.

There was a knock on the door to his room. He folded the letter up and put it back into the envelope before replacing it on the table.

"Come in!" he shouted. The door opened, and his father, Genma Saotome, came walking in. He waved a pair of plane tickets in one hand. He was wearing a dark blue suit, the latest style from Berlin, and his usual wire-rimmed glasses.

"You can congratulate your father on his ingenuity once again, my boy," said Genma with a grin. "It took a little bit of doing, but I managed to get us a couple of first-class tickets for the next supersonic transport flight back to Japan. By this time tomorrow, you'll be able to sleep in your old room." He put the tickets away in the front coat pocket of his suit.

"It will be nice to see Mother again," said Ranma in a calm tone. "It's been such a long time. I barely even remember her." That had always troubled him a little, like his life had only truly begun when he was about five years old. The events before that age were fuzzy and dreamlike in comparison, vague images and flashes of memory. His memories of his mother were comforting, but the upcoming reality of seeing her left him feeling a little bit nervous.

"She's excited that we are finally returning home." The older man's voice took on a wistful tone. "It's hard to believe that it's been over ten years already. It seems like only yesterday that I started your education and took you out to see the world." A brief silence fell across the room during his reverie.

"Do we really have to go back to Japan right now?" asked Ranma, his nervousness finally urging him to speak. "There's still so much that I wanted to study here in Moscow. The Physics Department has just started planning the new fusion reactor for the University, and they invited me to participate. I had a few ideas on improving heat exchange efficiency that they found intriguing."

Genma looked at his only son for a moment.

"Ranma. Son. It's time to go home," said Genma in a serious tone of voice. "Everything that you could study here in Russia you can learn about in Japan. The Imperial Academy has the finest facilities that a boy of your capabilities could need in the world for learning. It will also be good for you to be among people your own age. You've spent far too much time around crusty old men like your father."

"I guess that might be kind of fun," admitted the boy. "I read the letter. They are holding my spot open, pending my arrival."

"Fuyutsuki-sensei's an old friend of mine. I knew that we wouldn't be able to get back in time for welcoming ceremonies, so I asked him to help us out like that. He was glad to do it, and he's expecting you to pay him a call after your arrival."

"I will, Father. I promise."

"Good," said Genma with a nod. "You'd better get to sleep now. We have an early plane to catch in the morning."

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

A brief explanation of some of the terminology and pseudo-science used in this story will appear in the Appendix, as well as the meaning behind the Earth designations. This section is inspired by the information presented in TSR's role-playing publication "Tangents."

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Chapter 1 - Genesis

And so it begins.

- Ambassador Kosh: Babylon 5

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Nodoka hummed a soft tune as she went through her morning mail. She pulled out a small postcard with a polar bear on the front and turned it over. Seeing a message from Genma, she started smiling.

Honestly, she thought with amusement, that husband of mine can write page after page of research papers, but he can't bring himself to do more than send a postcard once a month to let me know that he and Ranma are still alive.

She read the brief message.

"Nodoka. Bringing Ranma from Russia. Genma."

Well, he still certainly knows how to make a woman happy, she thought with a larger smile. It will be so good to see them again, especially Ranma. How he must have grown. I wonder if I'll be able to recognize him?

She went back into the house and began to prepare for the arrival of the two men in her life.

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Right near the heart of Tokyo laid one of the most austerely impressive buildings in modern Japan, the Ministry of Security, more commonly known as the Security Directorate. It was responsible for dealing with all threats to the well-being of the Empire, both internal and external. Established almost three centuries ago, it provided a means for the Empire to maintain control of every inch of territory that had come into its possession.

Its ranks were composed of the cream of the Empire's citizenry, men and women who had dedicated their lives, and sometimes their deaths, to insuring its continued safety. Each had taken an oath of obedience to the Emperor. It was almost a tradition in some families to choose to serve here.

One such family was the Tendo household.

Assistant Director Soun Tendo sat behind his desk and looked through the thick stack of paperwork that had managed to accumulate there since he had gone home the night before. As was his usual policy, he arrived early, and he was planning to work late. As the man in charge of the Commercial Security Bureau, the segment of the Directorate under his direct control, he was responsible for monitoring the huge amounts of money and resources that traveled about the Empire and powered the Imperial economy, monitoring that always seemed to generate enormous amounts of paperwork.

Those under him handled the routine matters, investigating frauds, illicit trade, counterfeiting, and piracy. They also monitored data traffic and telephone communications, keeping under surveillance those who might impede the flow of trade carried on under the control of the various zaibatsus (the great industrial or financial combinations of the Empire). At his level, and that of his immediate subordinates, Soun dealt with the higher profile people, those that the Empire had tagged during their lives for much more intensive monitoring. One of the files that he had been watching for many years had finally crossed his desk once again; a dossier that was not normally one he would have concerned himself with.

He smiled slightly when he spotted the file, and the brief note that sat atop it. How I've waited for this day, he thought with a brief but unexpected moment of happiness. Ranma Saotome was finally coming home. Soon his plans for his family would finally be coming true.

Reaching out, Soun pulled the file in front of him, flipping it open as he pulled out and lit up a cigarette. He perused the information on the boy's recent activities, but they were rather sketchy. It had grown more difficult to operate in Russia for the past few years, ever since Tsar Alexander had initiated a purging and intensive cleanup of Russia's Komiter Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti (Committee of State Security, or KGB as it was more commonly known) shortly after his ascension to the throne.

Before, KGB agents had been little more than a joke, and Directorate agents had been able to cross into and out of Russia with almost complete impunity. Now, that was no longer true. The sole operative that Soun had been able to keep near Ranma had to be careful to avoid being discovered, so the information on the boy's activities was less detailed than he cared for.

He leaned back in his chair and blew a puff of smoke from his lips, watching the stream dissipate in the air above his head when he heard the door to his office open.

"Those things are going to kill you someday, you know," said a pleasant female voice from the doorway. Soun glanced down, surprised that it was not his secretary. He briefly cursed in his mind before allowing a smile to rest on his face.

A rather stunning beauty of a woman stood in his doorway, smiling mildly at him. She was Assistant Director Hinako Ninomiya, who oversaw the Special Investigations Bureau. Even when wearing the standard gray, female Security uniform, she always seemed to radiate sexuality. She was rather tall, and a trifle top-heavy for Soun's personal tastes, but otherwise an impressive figure of a woman.

She was also the bane of his existence.

He had been forced to deal with her for the last two years, ever since her assignment to her present level of authority. He suspected that her meteoric rise in the Directorate had been due to her sleeping her way upwards in rank. However, he knew that she also had a sharp mind and an uncanny way of ferreting out secrets. It was also possible that she had been judiciously using that ability for blackmail purposes to obtain her present rank.

Either way, her mere presence set all of his internal alarms off, making him feel extremely cautious and nervous around her. They maintained an uneasy truce with each other, occasionally exchanging barbed comments. It was an interesting sort of intellectual exercise to keep a woman that capable off balance, and he always found himself actually relishing the challenge. He suspected that she felt the same, so they had continued the game with each other over the past couple of years.

"What can I do for you, Ninomiya-san?" he asked brusquely. The sooner he dealt with her and got her out of his office, the better. He stubbed out the final embers on his cigarette and pulled out a new one, lighting it up with a practiced move. She walked towards his desk, every move seemingly designed to entice a man to desire her.

"You can start by putting that nasty thing out while I'm trying to talk to you." She reached across his desk to pluck the cigarette out from between his lips. She ground it out next to the remains of the other one, before taking a seat in the chair in front of his desk.

"Please, have a seat," he murmured under his breath, watching her as she sat down gracefully and crossed her legs demurely. "What brings you to my office this day?" he said more loudly, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"Do I really need a reason to visit with a colleague that I have known and respected for a couple of years now?" she asked, her usual seductive smile back on her face. Soun stared at her coolly, waiting for her to get on with it.

"Fine," she snapped, before regaining her composure. "We'll be totally business-like about it." She uncrossed her legs and quickly re-crossed them the opposite way. "I understand that you've been utilizing a fair amount of Directorate resources over the last several years towards monitoring a particular citizen, due to arrive back in Japan within the day. Is this some sort of pet project for you?"

"Who is it that you are referring to, Ninomiya-san? I have many files that cross my desk during the course of a day. I'm afraid that you'll have to be more specific." He smiled pleasantly and rested his hands on his desk, interlacing his fingers together.

"I don't know what sort of game that you think that you're playing with me, Soun Tendo," said Hinako coolly. "Don't play coy with me. I know for a fact that a young man by the name of Ranma Saotome has been receiving a fair amount of attention from your section over the last several years. I want to know why."

"It is none of your concern, Ninomiya-san," said Soun brusquely. "My concerns about individual citizens and monitoring of their activities for possible impact upon the Empire's economy are part of my bureau's responsibilities. It is not your place to question or investigate the comings and goings of other departments." He didn't like where this conversation was going, noticing her eyes lock onto Ranma's file.

"Ranma Saotome," she stated more warmly. "He has grown into such a promising young man, and one worthy of great interest, judging by the size of the dossier right in front of you. So, what is your interest in him?"

Sound sighed slightly. "What do you know of young Saotome?" he asked, retaining his calm.

"Not much," said Hinako pleasantly. "I know that Fuyutsuki-sensei, over at the Ministry of Science, was a colleague of the boy's father on some top-secret project several years ago. In addition, it was the eminent professor's respect for Genma Saotome that paved the way to allow him to take Ranma on an around the world tour of high-level academic learning, all at the Ministry of Science's expense. Well, I personally find that curious."

"It sounds like you've done your homework," acknowledged Soun. "I still don't see what interest that you could have in my supposed interest in the lad. He's part of my assigned workload, and that's all."

Hinako thought, he isn't seriously expecting me to buy that, is he? Her face retained its smile, but she sighed mentally. It was time to play her remaining card and see what sort of reaction it prompted from him. She wished that he didn't have to always be so difficult to deal with, but it always made the game much more satisfying whenever she outsmarted him.

"How do you explain the reports that I discovered on matchmakers being investigated by the Directorate then?" she asked absently. Her keen ability at reading people noticed a slight spike in Soun's anxiety level from the subtle movements that his body made. He had very good control of himself. It was one of the things that she truly did admire about him, and it always made their games more challenging. "I noticed that two of your daughters have been placed with some of the companies being investigated. Your eldest daughter was placed with a different service entirely."

Soun twitched an eye slightly. He desperately wanted a cigarette to calm his nerves. If she wasn't so highly placed, I could simply have the witch eliminated, he thought. I'll have to try finesse instead.

"Indeed?" He raised one eyebrow. "Did any of these supposed investigation requests come from my office, or those of any of my subordinates?"

"No," acknowledged Hinako with a slight frown. "They came from an unassigned workstation in another part of the building. Ranma's file has received an inordinate amount of attention over the years from your section though, so I assumed that the two were related. You wouldn't happen to be trying to play matchmaker, would you?"

"Of course not," he lied in a totally believable tone of voice. He leaned back comfortably in his chair, confident that he had regained control of the conversation. "My only concern is the future safety and well-being of the Empire. It would be a violation of my duty to allow any personal concerns to come into play."

"I see." Hinako stood back up, the cloth of her skirt falling back to its usual length on her legs. "I thank you for clearing that up for me." She walked towards the door to his office. When she reached it, she paused and said in a mildly sultry tone of voice, "Perhaps I might be allowed to make up for my suspicions about you with an offer of dinner in the near future? As a peace offering?"

He almost snapped the fountain pen that he had just picked up in half. Spending any more time than necessary with the woman was not a wise course of action in his eyes. He looked up into her eyes and his own expression of reluctance caused a hardening of the lines of her jaw. Before he could say anything, even one of his usual parting remarks to her, she swept out the door and slammed it shut behind her.

Shrugging, he went back to his paperwork, thoughts about his fellow Assistant Director already fading from his mind.

Damn that man! Who does that bastard think he is? Hinako's thoughts were boiling as she stormed by the desks leading into her own section of the building. A few of the agents under her command briefly looked up from their work but immediately dropped their eyes again at the sight of her glowering face. She was not a woman used to having men showing any sort of reluctance to be in her presence; it did not make her happy at all.

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The morning sun was bright as Akane Tendo and her older sister Nabiki walked to classes at the Academy. Both of them wore the standard gray uniforms with black piping that designated them as female security cadets. They were of the new designs, a bit more feminine with the substitution of a skirt, replacing the previous design with pants. The only real difference that they showed was a double hash mark near the cuff on Nabiki's right sleeve, compared to Akane's single one, denoting her as a second-year cadet. The younger Tendo thought the skirt flattered her figure rather nicely. Her sister preferred the practical feel of pants to her current draftiness of wearing a skirt to classes.

As the pair walked along, Akane wore her usual unhappy frown, and Nabiki had her standard thoughtful look on her face as she walked with the unconscious stride of a professional. The sisters were an interesting contrast. The older one was a master at covering her emotions behind a wall of cool detachment, while the younger one wore every emotion on her surface and was as changeable as quicksilver.

Sighing softly, Nabiki remembered her father's denial of the modest increase in her allowance she needed. The refusal forced her, once again, to find other, more creative means to afford the new outfits and presents that she deserved. It just isn't fair, she thought a bit grumpily. Look what Daddy has forced me to do since he won't give me more allowance.

Lately, she had hit upon the idea of starting up betting pools on her little sister's daily fights, and they were already proving to be more profitable than she had expected. Having a little more money available, she had also soon discovered the value of loaning it out to her fellow cadets at rather exorbitant interest rates. It was even sort of fun, in a way, to hold power like that over her peers.

However, blackmail money proved to be her most valuable source of income. The middle Tendo daughter considered it to be good training for her future career in the Security Directorate to be able to discover secrets that her fellow cadets wished to remain hidden. If the targeted cadet proved difficult to deal with, or actually threatened her back, then she would turn the matter over to Akane.

Akane took a disquieting pleasure, to Nabiki's eyes, in inflicting pain upon others. She had proven very useful though, since she had started attending the Academy with Nabiki. For the last several weeks she had been her older sister's personal enforcer and received a cut of the profits for her efforts. It gave an outlet for the youngest Tendo's aggressive tendencies and benefited Nabiki's financial needs at the same time. Still, it bothered her a little bit that her sister was the way she was. It wasn't the way for a future security officer to behave.

As she walked next to her sister, Akane wrestled with her own thoughts. Another day of the same thing, she mused. I'm almost completely through with my challenges against the toughest boys going to the Academy. She recalled the last fight that she had yesterday. She was either getting better or her opponents were getting worse. She had managed to get a solid knee strike up into the boy's groin fairly early in the conflict. It had been over all too quickly after that; she had not had much of a challenge to her skills.

She was coming to the sad conclusion that all boys were weak. She now suspected that there was never going to be anyone to really challenge her. However, it was her goal to fight with each and every male student at the Academy until she found someone who did. Maybe if she bullied enough people, she would discover the fighter that she felt that she was born to meet.

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The plane touched down at Tokyo Airport with a hard bump, lurching Ranma awake from his pleasant dream. He had been having a picnic lunch with a pretty girl whose face had remained hidden somewhat in shadow, so he had been unable to see her face clearly. He stretched his arms up over his head.

"Welcome back to Japan, my boy," said Genma as his son turned to look out the window at the bustling airport. He looked over at the boy and set down the pad of paper that he had been writing upon, containing many notes on one of the many research papers that he was currently working on.

"The air looks cleaner than I remember it being," commented Ranma. His father chuckled behind him.

"Most of the heavy industry has been moved off of the home islands over the last few years," said Genma as he looked out the window, trying to see around his son's head. "The majority of it is located in the Korean prefectures now. However, about half of the original factory buildings and facilities still remain here, maintained against possible need, but they are inactive. I'm sure that the air will smell as sweet as it did when I was your age."

They debarked from the plane and retrieved their luggage. They passed through Customs quickly, Genma flashing his identification from the Science Ministry to speed things up. Ranma struggled with the two large suitcases that contained everything that he owned as he managed to keep up. He had never really been in the habit of collecting much in the way of things, other than a few texts on various subjects and his clothes. He lugged his two bags out to the curb as he followed his father.

When they reached the front curb, he set his suitcases down with a sense of relief. He sat down on one and ran a hand down the back of his head. He touched his short pigtail and then paused. He had worn it for so long he had forgotten about it. He shrugged his shoulders. If it was a problem, he was sure that Fuyutsuki-sensei would mention it to him at the interview. Until then, he was going to leave his hair as he was accustomed to.

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Nodoka put the finishing touches on dinner. Genma had called from the airport in Moscow to let her know when they would be arriving. She had busied herself for the day getting an already spotless house somehow even cleaner, determined to present herself as the perfect mother when Ranma walked in the door. After she had greeted her only son, then her husband would receive his own greeting.

She sniffed the aroma coming off of the pot of miso soup that she was making. Satisfied with it, she moved on through the other courses that she had prepared. She was determined to have everything be perfect for the arrival of her husband and her only child. If she had anything to say about it, this meal was going to be the best that they had ever tasted.

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After walking through the gate in the wall surrounding the Saotome family property, Ranma set down his bags while he heard his father settling up with the cab driver behind him. This place was the one memory that was clear to him from his earliest days. He smiled at the large cherry tree in the yard and the small koi pond that rested below it. A sense of peace filled him.

The front door of the house opened, and a woman appeared in the doorway. Mother, he thought with a smile. He watched Nodoka walk quickly towards him, maintaining her propriety, but with a large smile on her face that matched his own. She caught him up in an embrace and all of his worries disappeared.

He was home. The word had never meant so much to him as it did in that moment.

"Welcome home, Ranma," she said, tears in her eyes. She looked at him for a long moment and then hugged him to her again, even more tightly than before. The boy quickly found that he wasn't able to do something he considered quite essential.

"C-can't... breathe," he managed to mutter out before the world went dark around him.

Nodoka let go of him, so proud that her little boy had returned to her looking so handsome and manly. The boy's face was slack and his eyes were closed. She was surprised, to say the least. He couldn't be sick, could he?

She spotted Genma carrying in his bags.

"Genma! Ranma's fainted!"

He looked up from picking up Ranma's discarded suitcases and dropped them, then trotted over to his wife and son. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know," she said through fresh tears. "I was so happy to see him that I just kept hugging him. When I let him go, he was like this. Did he catch something in one of those strange foreign places that you took him to?"

Genma chuckled softly. He had forgotten how air-headed Nodoka could be at times. However, she was his wife, and he loved her dearly. He took Ranma from her arms and carried the boy inside. Nodoka trailed along behind him, still crying slightly.

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Setting down her chopsticks, Akane gave out a satisfied sigh. Dinner had been good tonight. It looked like the new housekeeper that her father had hired was going to work out just fine. She was an attractive young widow named Kyoko Otonashi, and she had been hired to cook and take care of the house a few weeks ago. Akane found her to be nice enough, but there was an air of melancholy about her.

Nabiki finished her own meal and set her bowl and chopsticks down. Not being much of a hand at cooking herself, let alone housework, she had encouraged her father to hire on a new housekeeper to replace the old one, who had moved north to be with her family. Kyoko had been a prime find, as far as she was concerned, and she hoped that the woman would remain with them for a long time.

Glancing at the clock, she noted the time as Akane went into the main room to watch television. Their father hadn't come home yet, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence, but it made the house seem that much emptier now that Kasumi was gone. Nabiki smiled at the thought of her quiet older sister finally settling down to be a housewife. She had thought that Kasumi had found her true calling studying medicine, so it was a bit of a surprise when her sister decided to marry.

It was perhaps inevitable that Kasumi would marry a doctor, and Nabiki was a little envious of the man that the matchmaker had found for her sister. Doctor Tofu Ono was a brilliant young physician, with numerous degrees and awards to show for it. Their father had agreed to the marriage quickly, and Kasumi seemed content with it. A rare smile came to Nabiki's face at her sister's good fortune.

She stretched her arms out in front of her and wandered upstairs to work on her homework. She passed Akane on her way to the stairs and saw that her sister was watching the fights at the Arena again. Shaking her head, she walked upstairs.

Behind her, the youngest Tendo cheered for one of her favorite Arena fighters as the girl unleashed a devastating combination of strikes on her hapless male opponent. Man, that Shampoo is the best, thought Akane with a smile, mimicking some of the hand strikes that her idol had just done. She chuckled as she watched the Amazon on the screen. She's so much better than any of those other bimbos that they have fighting.

The fight was soon over, to her disappointment. I could beat those wimps that they keep sending against her, she thought with a confident look. If I ever got a chance to be in the Arena... The youngest Tendo indulged herself in a brief fantasy, a smile on her face, as the scene changed to two male warriors slugging it out on screen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma woke up on an unfamiliar couch and looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked his eyes and saw his father sitting there in a chair near him, reading a book. That familiar sight was extremely comforting. He sat up slowly. According to the clock on the wall it had only been a few minutes that he had been unconscious.

"Feeling better, son?" Genma put his book down. "I forgot to warn you that your mother can be a little emotional at times. She's downstairs in the kitchen making you a fresh pot of tea. Shall we join her?"

Ranma nodded and stood up. He felt rather foolish for passing out like that. But he hadn't been expecting his mother to be so strong. He knew that she studied Kenjutsu, the samurai art of swordsmanship, but her arm and shoulder strength had been quite impressive.

When they entered the kitchen, a plethora of wonderful smells filled his nose. He inhaled deeply and smiled. The aromas brought forth memories from his young childhood, all pleasant ones. His mother bowed to him.

"I apologize for choking you like that, dear." Nodoka kept her head bowed down. "I forgot myself. I was just so happy to see my little boy again."

"It's all right, Mother, really," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back upright. "I'm fine. However, I'm also feeling a little bit hungry. They didn't feed us very much on the plane." The words were hardly out of his mouth before he found himself seated at the dining table, a bowl of rice in one hand and chopsticks in the other.

The Saotome matriarch swiftly bustled in and out of the kitchen bringing more food than he had ever seen at one meal. His eyes goggled a bit at the sight. She doesn't expect me to eat all of that, does she? By the time she was done, the pigtailed boy imagined that he could hear the table groaning under the load.

"Ah, it does a man's heart good to see such food," said Genma with a broad smile. "I've missed your cooking while we were away, Nodoka-chan. Russian cuisine, for example, leaves much to be desired, and don't get me started on Spanish food." He began eating quickly, and Ranma fast duplicated him.

Nodoka looked on in horror. Her husband had taken their son out to acquire the knowledge of the world, but he still ate like he had when she had married him. Now their son was doing the same. She slapped her hand down on the table. "Genma! Ranma! What do you think you're doing?"

Pausing, Ranma had a mouthful of rice preventing him from speaking, except to give a muffled "Whmifit?" He looked over at his father, and saw the man suddenly look abashed.

"Sorry, Nodoka-chan. I'm afraid that the boy picked up my table manners. All that eating on the run, only so many hours in a day for learning, and all that." He smiled at her in an attempt to deal with what he feared was coming.

Her wrathful look did not lessen one iota, causing Genma to visibly wilt under her stern expression. Ranma chose that moment to try and swallow his mouthful of rice. Her gaze suddenly met his in mid-swallow, and he almost didn't get it down.

"Now that my son is home, I see that I will have to make sure that he is educated in proper manners," she said in serious tones. "You could use a refresher course as well, Dearest." She picked up her bowl of rice and began to eat. Ranma quickly mirrored her motions and it seemed to appease her. Genma quickly did the same.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After setting down his two heavy suitcases, the pigtailed boy eyed the prepared futon with a neutral look. After ten years of sleeping on Western-style beds in good hotels and apartments, it was going to take some adjusting. He began to unpack his suitcases and put everything away in the large dresser. In a few minutes, he was done.

He went over to the closet and slid open the door. Several brand-new Imperial Academy uniforms greeted his eyes, done up in dark blue with light gray piping, the sign of a science cadet. Ranma figured that his father had sent his sizes to his mother so that she could pick them up. He pulled one out and eyed it with distaste. I suppose that I could learn to like it, he decided after a while.

He slipped out of his old clothes and decided to try on one of the uniforms. It fit well enough, but it was a little large on his frame. Perhaps his mother expected it to shrink with washing or something. He buttoned up the collar and eyed his appearance in the mirror. Not bad, he finally decided.

Nodoka chose that time to come walking in through the open door. He looked over at her and saw her eyes shining with tears again. "Oh, my son, you look so handsome!" she said with a broad smile.

"Thanks." He was then nearly blinded when a small flashbulb suddenly went off, almost in his face. He blinked, seeing large red dots in his vision. He hadn't even seen a camera in her hands a moment ago. Now he wasn't seeing much of anything at all.

"Just a few more," said Nodoka eagerly. "I want to remember this moment with pictures." There were more bright flashes. He smiled, hoping that his eyesight returned quickly. She shot off the whole roll of film, quickly hugged him once more, and then departed.

I hope she calms down soon, he thought with a smile. He bumped his head into the wall, almost knocking himself unconscious, as he tried to move around before his eyes had fully recovered. He sat down on his futon and hoped his body adjusted to the six hours of jetlag quickly. Getting up six hours earlier than he was used to was not going to be fun.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma watched his wife enter the bedroom with a smile. The camera that she was carrying was left on the dresser. She turned to face him and returned his smile, walking over to where he was seated on his futon bed and knelt down. They turned to face each other.

"I have missed you, Dearest." She gave him a soft smile. "It is good to have you home once more."

"It was certainly a homecoming that our son will never forget, I'm sure," said Genma with a smile. "It is good to be back, Nodoka-chan. I have missed having you sleep by my side."

She smiled, briefly got up to turn off the light, and then returned to her position next to Genma. They embraced, kissed, and then explored a long-delayed reunion of their love.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day dawned far too early for Ranma's tastes. By his estimate, he had received something less than four hours sleep when his mother came into his room to wake him. She knelt by the side of his futon and shook him awake.

"Wake up, dear," said Nodoka pleasantly. "You have to get up and get ready for your first day at the Academy."

He murmured something unintelligible and promptly went back to sleep. She shook him awake again. Her command to wake up was less pleasant in tone the second time around.

After stumbling into the bathroom, he almost fell into the tub in his dazed condition. He removed his clothes and filled a bucket with cold water to wake himself up. Dumping it over his head produced the desired reaction, and his sleepiness vanished like morning fog. After cleaning up, he dressed in one of his new uniforms. It chafed a little at his neck, something he hadn't noticed when he had tried it on the day before.

He had memorized a detailed map of the area and made mental note of the best route that he could take to reach the Academy. After eating a surprisingly large breakfast, he headed out the door, carrying the new bookbag that his mother had purchased for him. It was filled with his lunch and necessary school supplies. He would pick up his texts at the Academy. He waved at his mother as he left.

"Have a good day at school today, Ranma." Nodoka watched him head out the front door. I hope he makes some friends, she thought with a smile.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the Academy, Nabiki was already conducting her morning business with one of her slower-paying loan recipients, a second-year cadet wearing a blue uniform. They were over at her usual place to conduct private negotiations, around the side of the main building. Akane stood behind her, slowly and loudly popping the knuckles in each hand and smiling evilly at the boy.

"I'm not eager to have Akane here have to hurt you, Jun-kun," said Nabiki in a falsely sympathetic tone of voice. "However, you didn't make your payment yesterday. I would assume that it had simply slipped your mind, but you also tried to hide from me. That made me think you might have been trying to avoid me."

"Honestly, Tendo-san, it wasn't like that," said the boy, alternating his gaze between the sisters. "I can give you the money today. Right now, in fact!" He held up a small, folded stack of currency notes. "I didn't have the money yesterday, but I knew that I would have it today. Please, take it."

Nabiki reached out and plucked the money from the cadet's hand. She quickly counted it and then smiled coldly. "You're short," she said mildly.

"What?" asked Jun in confusion. "It's all there, all six thousand yen."

"That covers you through yesterday," she said more pleasantly. "But it doesn't cover the penalty charges for making me have to ambush you like this, as well as another day's worth of interest. You owe me another five hundred yen."

"B-but that's all the money that I have left for this week," the boy said in stuttered protest.

"That's not my problem," she replied in cooler tones. "You can either pay me the rest, or I let Akane have you." The girl smiled another wolfish smile behind her sister; she enjoyed this part of her agreement with Nabiki.

"H-here it is," said Jun weakly, as he pulled the remaining note from his pocket. Nabiki pulled it from his unresisting fingers and stepped back.

"Go on now. We're through here, unless you'd like a loan to pay for lunch this week?" She smiled as the boy bolted away, running for the front of the Academy. Nabiki didn't care; he always came back to her. He was typical of the type of weaklings that kept her supplied with nice things, aided by the substantial threat of her little sister.

"That was fun," said Akane with a smile. "He never seems to learn, does he?" She took the money that her sister held out to her and pocketed her share. "Do we have any more business this morning?"

"Well, we can see if we can catch a look at this new wonder boy that's coming today that I've been hearing about." Nabiki quickly pocketed the remaining yen notes. "He's supposed to be brilliant. He's been studying in Russia until recently."

"What's his name?" asked Akane with interest. A new student meant a possible new challenge for her skills. "Have you heard if he can fight?"

"His name's Ranma Saotome." Nabiki started walking towards the front of the Academy grounds. "Daddy's mentioned the name once or twice that I can remember, but it doesn't sound like he's the fighter that you've been looking for. From what I hear, he isn't any kind of fighter at all."

"Darn," said Akane as she kicked a loose stone from her path.

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Walking along the quiet streets of the Nerima region of Greater Tokyo, Ranma enjoyed the early morning sunshine as best he could on as little sleep as he had had. A few other cadets were seen heading in the same direction as him, dressed in either science blue or security gray uniforms. He got a few curious looks from some of them.

Finally, he reached the outer wall that surrounded the grounds of the Imperial Academy. It reminded him unpleasantly of some kind of prison complex, several imposing-looking buildings filling the middle and visible over the tall wall. Built almost ninety years ago, it was a very stolid but dreary-looking structure. The Emperor of that time had wanted to construct a site for serious learning, designed along the lines of the finest schools of far-off lands such as Germany or Russia. The architecture was to mirror the seriousness of the purpose it was built for, but Ranma just found it oppressive. When he reached the gate, small groups of cadets were standing in the front courtyard region and chatting with each other.

He walked in through the gate, ignoring the whispered conversations and furtive looks cast in his direction, and paused inside the gate area. His first order of business was to locate Fuyutsuki's office. Spotting a small group of male cadets wearing blue like himself, he approached them.

"Hello there." Ranma offered a polite bow of greeting. "I was wondering if someone could tell me how to find Fuyutsuki-sensei's office?"

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Akane and Nabiki stood with a small group of Nabiki's other informants and operatives. In essence, the middle Tendo daughter ran her own little fief on the Academy grounds, composed of first and second-year security cadets. Some did it for the money that she paid them for having useful information or assisting her with expanding her numerous other business interests. Others did it out of a desire to attach themselves to someone with as promising a future career as the Tendo girl already had lain out.

"That's him," said one of the second-year cadets, a tall girl named Yohko Mano. As the 109th-generation Devil Hunter of her line, she was expected to follow in her family's traditions, but her abilities had earned her a slot at the Imperial Academy, nominally as a security cadet. Yohko shared Akane's passion for the martial arts, and they sometimes sparred. Before Akane arrived, she had been Nabiki's primary enforcer, but the Mano girl far preferred gathering information to making people bleed.

The younger Tendo looked the new arrival over and wasn't very impressed. Dressed in uniform, he looked much like any other male science cadet on campus, except for his short pigtail. From the way that he moved, she could tell that he had no combat training at all. Disappointment filled her when he passed nearby, even as she felt sudden warmth on her cheeks that surprised her. She noticed Nabiki looking at her and felt angry at herself. The heat faded quickly from her face, so she hoped that none of her fellow cadets had noticed.

Nabiki was curious to see the wonder boy who had somehow surpassed her on the entrance exams. According to her source in the administration offices, he had received a perfect score, the first ever in the history of the Academy. He looked ordinary enough to her, and she glanced over at Akane to see what sort of impression that the boy in question had made on her sister.

The middle Tendo daughter was surprised to see Akane actually blushing. Her sister's face then got an angry look on it, and Nabiki filed those two events away for future reference. She could admit to herself that she felt a subtle attraction to him herself when he passed nearby, almost as if she recognized him from someplace. It was strange; she had always considered herself to be above such matters like romantic impulses.

If I know Akane, there's a simple way to ensure that she doesn't come between me and Ranma until I can determine my own level of interest in him. With that analysis out of the way, Nabiki began to plan out her strategy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma stood outside Fuyutsuki's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," said a voice from within. The pigtailed boy opened the door and stepped inside the office, closing the door behind him. The office was rather Spartan in design, a few books on the shelves, three paintings on the wall, a Navi terminal in the corner, and a single plant in the window. The paintings were all Western works, Renaissance era, if Ranma was correct in his guess. He couldn't identify the painters, but art had always been a weak region of his scholarly studies.

"Fuyutsuki-sensei?" There was a slight nervousness in his voice. "I'm Ranma Saotome."

The older man behind the desk looked up and smiled at him, in a rather grandfatherly sort of way. How you've grown, Ranma, thought the man approvingly. Genma's done very well with his assigned part in the Project, raising you on his own out in the world, without a mother's influence to corrupt male socialization. Now that you're here, I'll have to see if we can train your physical abilities to their full potentials. From his reports, I can see that your father somewhat neglected that area of your development in not pushing you harder.

"Have a seat, Saotome-san. Let me be one of the first to welcome you to the Imperial Academy. I just know that this is the beginning of a very bright future for you."

"Thank you, Fuyutsuki-sensei." Ranma sat down as the professor behind himself and pulled a pair of teacups out, setting one in front of the pigtailed boy. The older man retrieved a small teapot and poured some in each cup.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Saotome-san," he said with a smile. "After we're done here, I'll have my secretary hand you your class itinerary, and then I'll escort you to your first class."

"That sounds fine, sir," said Ranma in respectful tones. "I was wondering if I could make a special request though, while I'm here?"

"Go right ahead, Saotome-san," replied the older man. He folded his hands and leaned forward to listen with interest.

"I've been working on a personal research project for quite some time, and I was hoping that you might have some private lab space that I could use, as well as helping me obtain some equipment. I have lists prepared of what I would need. Would that be possible?"

"Of course, Saotome-san," he said with a smile. "Your father has told me a little of this secret work that you've been up to. Something that will change the face of modern quantum physics, I believe he said. You leave the lists with my secretary, and she will see to it that you get everything on it."

"Thank you, sir," said Ranma with a smile. "You don't know how much this means to me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The overhead fluorescent lights clicked on in the empty storeroom in one of the sub-basements of the Academy. Ranma looked at the small piles of junk that occupied the corners, as well as the thick layer of dust on the floor, with a wry look. This wasn't quite what I had in mind, he thought, slightly sullenly. Behind him stood Fuyutsuki.

"This is the only unused space that we have available right now that you could use for a lab, Saotome-san," said the older man. "However, it's yours for the asking. The door is solid steel and quite strong, and the electrical system should be adequate for your power needs. There's a sink in the corner for water, and you can tell by the dust on the floor that it's dry. Once you clean out the junk in here and sweep it out, you'll have a nice place to work."

"It looks like it will be fine, Fuyutsuki-sensei. I know that I'll be able to do big things with it. A month from now, you won't even recognize the place. I plan to turn it into a first-rate lab."

"Excellent, young man," said Fuyutsuki pleasantly. "Now I'll take you to your first class, and you can start getting to know some of your fellow cadets."

"All right, sir," said Ranma as he shut off the lights and closed the door, pocketing the key that Fuyutsuki had given him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Class, I'd like to introduce a new student to you; his name is Ranma Saotome," said the instructor. "He is recently joining us after completing studies in Russia and Europe."

The pigtailed boy quickly bowed a greeting to the class. He had been assigned to Room 3-A for his first-year term. Apparently, first-year cadets were on the top floor, second-year on the middle floor, and the third-year ones were on the ground floor. The administration and other offices shared space on that level with the senior cadets. With his workspace in the basement, Ranma resigned himself to climbing a lot of stairs.

He looked out at those who were going to be his classmates for the next three years. About thirty adolescent boys and girls stared back at him, in a roughly even mix of blue and gray uniforms. He realized that he should probably say something rather than stand there like a mute.

"Hello." He smiled. "I am honored to be here."

The instructor directed him to an empty seat near one of the windows and continued the interrupted class. It was on mathematics.

Ranma was bored in less than five minutes. He pretended to listen to the instructor as he made a few notes on some of his equations and schematics.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane was running late to her next class, the one that she enjoyed most during the day. Yuka, one of Nabiki's junior assistants had needed to get some notes from her on what had been covered in history class yesterday, so she was now late. She burst into the locker room area at a running pace, came to a fast stop at her locker, and immediately began stripping off her clothes.

She was the only occupant of the room, the rest of her class having already changed clothes and gone on ahead. She hurriedly removed her jacket and skirt and hung them up as neatly as she could, as she kicked off her shoes at the same time. She unbuttoned her blouse and removed it quickly. Her hands went to remove her bra next, her thoughts already on class.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After stuffing his new textbooks in his assigned locker on the way to his class in physical education, Ranma headed out. He felt confident that he could perform to the instructor's satisfaction. While on the plane, he had read the Academy manual on the required performance levels and did not think that they would be difficult to attain. He had been running ten kilometers a day, as well as training in gymnastics and some moderate weightlifting for the last ten years, to stay in shape and keep from getting to look like his overweight father.

This class won't be any trouble at all, he mused.

He was wrong, but not for any reason he would ever expect.

Most of the other members of his class were already outside and ready when Ranma finally arrived at the locker rooms. He stopped to take a quick glance at the symbols on the doors to determine which one was the men's side. A moment later, he opened and ran through the door on the left side.

After the door closed, Nabiki calmly walked by and switched the signs back to their proper placement, a wicked grin on her face. This was going to be one of her best gags on her little sister yet, and it would have the added benefit of souring any possible interest that Akane could have in the boy. She checked with her lookout and received a nod that nobody had seen anything. Smiling, she walked to her next class.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane was clad only in her panties when Ranma suddenly came to a halt right in front of her and froze. They stared at each other for several agonizingly long moments. A small trickle of blood appeared below his nose, and she felt a surge of warmth flood across her face. The calm did not last.

"Uh," Ranma started to say, and that snapped her out of her reverie.

"HOW DARE YOU?" shouted Akane in rage. She felt angry and embarrassed by the unexpected intrusion, so she reverted to her easiest reaction option, violence. "YOU PERVERT!"

Ranma barely even saw her move when the girl's fist struck him across his jaw. His head snapped around, and he saw an entire galaxy of stars explode across his vision. He impacted against the lockers, struggling to remain standing upright. She quickly followed up and slammed a knee strike up into his stomach when he didn't do the sensible thing and immediately collapse where he stood. His mind was still trying to figure out what was happening while she kept attacking him.

After punching Ranma in the face a second time, Akane's hand came away with some of his blood on it. He faltered and finally collapsed to his knees, and she finished him off with an axe kick down on his shoulder. Luckily for him, the Tendo girl didn't put her full power behind it, or his left shoulder would have been dislocated from the impact.

A comforting darkness embraced the pigtailed boy as his thoughts faded away into unconsciousness.

Akane stared down at the fallen intruder and slowly regained control of herself. The red haze that had seemed to fall across her vision faded away as she absently wiped Ranma's blood off of her knuckles. What a pathetic weakling, she thought with mild disgust. A few hits and he folds. Her sister was right after all, saying this guy wasn't any kind of a fighter.

One of the assistant instructors came in as the Tendo girl finished dressing for class. Akane had checked Ranma to make sure he wasn't going to die on her, but had otherwise left his body where it had fallen. The worst of his injuries was a bloody nose, the source of the blood that had smeared her knuckles earlier. She looked up at the instructor.

"What happened here?" asked the woman in confusion. She knelt down and examined the pigtailed boy.

"This pervert came in while I was changing, and I beat him up for it," replied Akane calmly. She really wanted to get going to class now. Thoughts of him made her feel uncomfortable, so she did her best to ignore him lying there.

The instructor told her to stay where she was while she went for help for Ranma. She sighed and did as she was told, nudging the fallen boy with a foot and blaming him in her thoughts for what had happened. I won't ever forget this, you jerk. You made the biggest mistake of your life when you tried to peep on me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later, while standing in front of a glowering Fuyutsuki, Akane actually felt a little worried. She had been called into his office a few times before for fighting with other cadets, but she had always gotten off with a simple reprimand.

Not this time.

She received a week's worth of detention for harming Ranma. The man hadn't bothered to listen to her excuse that the pigtailed boy had walked in on her while she was almost naked. Oh no, thought Akane sullenly, recalling her impression of Fuyutsuki's words. Ranma must have made a simple mistake and walked into the wrong side. Yeah, right.

"Damn you, Ranma," muttered the girl under her breath, as she walked to her last class of the day. "I'll make you pay for getting me into trouble like this. I swear it!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma woke up in the nurse's office, an ice pack resting against his jaw. He felt awful. An attempt to sit up made his stomach muscles protest, so he decided that lying where he was for a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. He lightly rubbed his nose and felt a dull ache instead of a sharp pain, so it was apparently unbroken. Thank heaven for that, he thought with a grateful sigh.

He looked over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was after four, his classes were over for the day. Tomorrow had to be better than this day was.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After classes were over, Nabiki walked home by herself, having learned that Akane had gotten detention for attacking Ranma. Her little sister was so easy to manipulate sometimes, she mused with a smile. Playing little mind games and pranks on Akane was good practice for Nabiki's own future career in the Security Directorate, or at least she thought so. She was a little disappointed that Ranma had been so easy to fool with her little trick. She had expected a bit more of him than to fall for something as simple as reversing signs.

Oh well, she thought. I can have some fun with those two while I make my decision about Saotome. She walked home with a happy spring in her stride, pondering the pigtailed boy's possibilities as a potential prospect for a suitor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that afternoon, Nodoka stared at her battered son in mild shock. "What happened to you, Ranma?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it. It looks worse than it is." He sipped at his tea, wrinkling his nose slightly under the strip of medical tape covering it. According to the nurse, his injuries were simple bumps and bruises.

"Yes, but it looks like you were in a fight," insisted Nodoka. "Were you?"

"I can honestly say that I wasn't fighting, Mother," he replied sincerely. Yeah, I just got beat up by some nearly-naked girl named Akane Tendo. Like he could tell his mother that. "I just had an accident at the Academy. That's all. I'll be more careful next time."

"Leave the boy be, Nodoka-chan," said Genma, finally chiming in. "If he says that he's fine, then he's fine."

"Yes, but Genma-" she said in a worried tone.

"I said, leave it be," Genma said a little more strongly. She glanced at him with a mildly angry expression, and he sighed mentally. I'm going to be paying for that one for a day or two, he realized very quickly. She doesn't like to be ordered around like that. He briefly wondered if he would have been happier with a more compliant woman for a wife.

Probably not, he decided with a wry smile, as he sipped his tea.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Ranma overslept again. Nodoka hoped that it was only the jetlag still bothering him, since her husband hadn't readjusted yet either. Like the dutiful mother she knew herself to be, she shook Ranma awake and hustled him into the bathroom to get ready.

Honestly, she thought with a smile, I hope that this isn't going to be some sort of regular occurrence. I'm his mother, not an alarm clock. At least he healed up quickly since yesterday. He doesn't even have any bruises left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma arrived at the Academy and made his way into the building. He managed to make it to class with less than a minute to spare, and he spent the time in his morning classes working on his equations. He listened every now and then to make sure that he wasn't missing anything that could be important, but so far it had all been material that he was very familiar with.

When it came time for physical education, he carefully made sure that he walked in the right door for the locker rooms. He was a bit irritated with himself for making such a stupid blunder yesterday, but 'The Thug' (a nickname that he had chosen to dub Akane with) could have waited for him to explain his presence before attacking him.

Coach Harumasa Takami made it clear what he thought of Ranma on that first day of class. The instructor was a retired military man, a twenty-year veteran, and he treated his students like recruits. Ranma, arriving late in the term for his class, apparently warranted 'special' attention from the man.

"So you expect to pass this class, Saotome?" barked Coach Takami into his face as he stood at his place in line. The pigtailed boy blinked in surprise.

"Yes, sir," answered Ranma in a clear voice. He was uncertain why the instructor would think otherwise.

"What was that?" barked Coach Takami, a little louder. "I can't hear you, Saotome!"

"YES, SIR!" the pigtailed boy blasted back. He focused his eyes on a point in the distance and didn't let his attention waver from it. It seemed to be the most sensible thing to do at the time.

Coach Takami walked around Ranma's slender form and muttered darkly to himself, apparently very disappointed with the state of its physical condition. The pigtailed boy didn't catch too many of the words, but he resented being referred to as a hopeless weakling as well as all of the alternative phrases that Coach Takami used that meant the same thing.

At her place in the girl's line, Akane felt smug. She was one of the coach's favorite students and the most skilled athlete in the class. She was going to enjoy showing Ranma up in class this term. She still felt a faint, simmering anger at his actions in the locker room the previous day, smothering any other feelings that she might have had earlier. She also felt disappointment that he had been so weak.

After an unexpectedly grueling hour for Ranma of doing very intensive calisthenics and fifteen kilometers of running at a faster pace than he was used to, the instructor had thrown up his hands and declared the boy to be a sad waste of an Imperial citizen. He was given two hours of extra training time after normal classes each day until his condition reached 'acceptable' levels, acceptable to the coach that is. Ranma still had enough strength in his body to groan at what was to come.

The pigtailed boy practically dragged himself to the locker rooms, one of the last ones in. He noticed Akane, already showered and changed, standing next to the locker room doors. She put an arm across his path when he tried to stagger past her. He sighed and waited for her to speak.

"Let's get something straight between us, Saotome," she said coldly. "I don't want you to say one word about whatever you might have seen of me yesterday, okay? If I hear you bragging about peeping on me, I'll come down on you harder than an entire division of Imperial marines."

"Believe me, Tendo-san, when I say this," said Ranma tiredly. "I just want to forget about yesterday. Nobody is going to hear anything about you from me, so can I go shower now?"

"They'd better not." Akane waved a fist under his nose. "I have a lot more of what I gave you yesterday, if I even hear a hint of you bragging about seeing me naked."

Like I would ever brag about seeing your naked form, Tendo-san, thought the pigtailed boy sullenly. Wisely, he said nothing of his thoughts, but nodded woodenly instead. "They won't hear a thing from me."

She walked off with a harrumph sound, and he tiredly went in to get a nice hot shower. If he had been thinking clearer, Ranma would have seen that she seemed disappointed that he hadn't stood up to her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Having finally reached his last class period of the day before he had to report back to Coach Takami for his extra exercise classes, Ranma quickly unlocked the door to the basement storage room that was now going to be his lab space. He reached around the corner and flicked on the lights. They snapped on with a slight hum. He eyed the boxes of junk strewn about the room and sighed, thinking, this isn't going to get itself cleaned up, so I'd better get started.

Almost an hour later, the pigtailed boy dragged the last of the boxes out of the room and dumped them into the trash incinerator. He had checked each box to see if anything interesting was in them, but they all seemed to contain useless trash: moldy old textbooks and discarded newspapers. It had taken him less time than he had thought it would to remove them all. That left sweeping to do, and then he could start bringing in all of the equipment that he would need and beginning work.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane stared out the window of the detention hall, as the sun lowered in the sky. One of the junior instructors had given her a paper to write on the benefits of controlling anger, but she had finished it quickly. Now all she had left to do was watch out the window as the remainder of her hour ticked away. The only bright spot to her was where the window looked out on.

Outside, Akane could see Ranma puffing his way around the track while Coach Takami shouted at him through a bullhorn.

"COME ON, SAOTOME!" shouted Coach Takami through his bullhorn. "PICK UP THE PACE! I'M GETTING OLD AND GRAY WAITING FOR YOU TO FINISH! DON'T FORGET THAT YOU STILL HAVE TO DO MORE WEIGHT TRAINING TO BUILD UP THAT LAUGHABLE EXCUSE FOR A BODY YOU HAVE!"

Ranma thought dark thoughts and kept running, his anger keeping him going at the pace that the coach had set. He was not about to give the old man the satisfaction of seeing him break, so he kept going. His lungs were burning in his chest like fire, his legs were aching from the strain of his pace, but he was not about to quit.

The kids got guts, thought Takami with a grudging amount of respect. He could see that the boy was actually in really good shape, leanly built from his pre-Academy training in gymnastics, but he couldn't let Ranma know that. He would have instituted a somewhat lighter regimen for the pigtailed boy, but Fuyutsuki had given him his orders.

"Take Saotome to his limits, and then push him just a little harder," Fuyutsuki had told him.

That was what Takami was doing. If the Academy's headmaster wanted to give Ranma a test of his physical abilities, one that could make even a Special Forces applicant cry, then Coach Takami was determined to take the boy to the ragged limits of whatever he was capable of. He would treat the pigtailed boy to as rigorous a training regimen as he could think of. Besides, the overtime pay would be nice.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A week passed, and Ranma slowly settled into a routine.

He finished cleaning out his new lab space and even went so far as to repaint the walls and floors with a fresh coat of white paint. All of his requisition requests began arriving in small lots, and he started to assemble the bare bones of his invention. A small but well-equipped electronics workbench took shape in the center of the room through his efforts, and he found a long couch in another one of the storage rooms that was perfect for his needs.

One of the most vital, key components that he had needed was one of the prototype superconducting neural interlink headsets. It was almost beyond state of the art, a bleeding-edge piece of hardware, designed and built by 'the' name in computers and high-end electronic components in the Empire, Shinohara Heavy Industries. In recent months they had begun doing some experiments with various methods of linking man and machine electronically. The headset linked with the cerebral cortex by means of electromagnetic induction, and it would allow Ranma the much-needed interface with his device.

He sat with his notebook on the table in front of him, occasionally glancing at it as he worked on the circuit board in front of him. It was going to take many more days of careful work to test and align all of the components before he was ready to begin work on the heart of the system: the quantum flux coil. He still didn't have all of the needed materials to begin creating it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma puffed around the track as fast as he could manage while the coach kept yelling some impressive threats at him. After only a couple of weeks, he was already beginning to notice a marked difference in his physique. His mother had commented on his increase in appetite, but it was necessary to keep up with his new energy needs. He could admit to himself that he was eating twice as much as he had needed before and was still often hungry.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

More weeks passed.

Ranma was now not only able to keep up with the manual's stated physical performance requirements, but he had far surpassed them. However, the coach didn't let up on him, to the pigtailed boy's great surprise. If anything, the workouts became even more grueling. The highly intensive program of weightlifting and gymnastics began to add a surprising amount of muscle definition and flexibility to his frame for so short a time. When he had thought to complain about the unnecessary added work that was still being given to him, Fuyutsuki calmly informed him that the Academy was individually designed to train its cadets to their best possible levels. If the pigtailed boy was able to do more, then he would be trained harder.

It made a certain amount of sense, even if it did feel sadistic, and the exercise had produced the very surprising effect of sharpening his mind and focus even more than he was capable of before. He continued to excel at all of his classes, he was getting near to finishing the quantum flux coil, and he was getting stronger with each passing day.

Ranma kept one arm behind his back as he did pushups with the other. His posture was rigid, his legs straight and spread apart. The muscles on his arms and shoulders had filled out from daily exercises such as this, and he still had parallel bars training after this. Sweat slowly dripped from his face onto the pavement from his efforts. Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred, he mentally counted off as he finished a set. He quickly switched arms and began all over again.

Off to one side, Takami smiled. This boy is just incredible, he thought as he checked over the charts detailing Ranma's development once more, still unable to believe just how rapidly his charge was improving. The pigtailed boy's physical abilities were increasing at a rate that was at least four times what a normal human should be able to improve at, even with the extra training that he was undergoing. Every time he thought he had found the boy's limits, Ranma would exceed it, his physical prowess continuing to grow by leaps and bounds.

The only slow portion of the pigtailed boy's improvement had been in his combat skills. And Akane seemed to take great pleasure in proving that to him every chance that she could.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma slammed down onto the mat and lay there, stunned for a moment. A sympathetic, muted groan came from his fellow male cadets, most of them extremely grateful that they were not out there working with Akane as their practice partner. Ranma wished once again that he knew why the coach hated him so much as to keep pairing him with 'The Thug.'

"Saotome," said Takami, shaking his head. "That was truly pathetic. Now get up and try it again."

Above him, a cheerful Akane loomed over him and waited for him to try getting up once more. They were practicing barehanded combat while wearing white dogis. She smiled down at him. "Yeah, Ranma, that was pathetic. Are you going to let me keep throwing you around like this? Not that it isn't a lot of fun."

If there is true justice in the universe, then someday I'll find a way to wipe that smug look from your face, Akane Tendo, thought Ranma darkly as he got up to his knees and stood up once more.

A few seconds later, he crashed to the mat once again. He decided to lie there for a while, at least until the room stopped spinning.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After weeks of effort, Ranma was finally ready to test the new quantum flux coil to see if he had it right yet. Several previous attempts had yielded nothing more than a slight headache and a faint sort of buzzing sensation in his skull. He kept adjusting the tolerances minutely and knew that he was getting closer. This was his third try, and he hoped that it was the charmed one.

He booted up the stripped-down software algorithm that he had written to operate the hardware for these initial tests. The full linkup package was disengaged since he was just working on establishing a signature phase lock, instead of full immersion with an alternate reality. The software finished its self-test and the pigtailed boy found himself crossing his fingers.

Seated, with the neural interlink headset on his head, Ranma let the system slowly run through its calculations as it scanned his brain's electromagnetic pattern. He already had several ideas on speeding up the scanning process that had occurred to him, but he had yet to attempt to implement any of them. He wanted to get the core of the software debugged before he began adding modifications and enhancements.

"Okay," Ranma softly muttered to himself. "Scan is complete. The quantum pulse is activated. Let's see if I can make contact." He tapped a couple of keys, and the screen cleared.

* STAGE ONE INTERLINK SOFTWARE RUNNING. STAND BY.

Ranma suddenly experienced a brief flash of... something. He hurriedly began tapping keys, watching a mathematical representation of two sine waves slowly moving into synchronization. The software slowly began adjusting itself.

"Come on," he muttered. "Synchronize!"

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*** Earth +0.001,-0.004

Ranma blinked as a migraine headache suddenly hit him. He set down the book of classical Chinese poetry that he had been reading and closed his eyes. That seemed to lessen the pain in his head as he took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. He felt a hand on his arm.

"Son?" asked Nodoka's voice. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine, Mother. I just seem to have developed a slight headache right now. Perhaps some tea might help."

"You're probably working too hard, just like your father," she said as she headed for the kitchen.

The pain suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had begun.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

The pigtailed boy stared at the two sine waves as they moved apart once more. He still didn't have the paraequipotential phase variance aspect in his equations quite correct, and he had been so sure. He cut the power to the device and let it cool off as he went back to work on adjusting the algorithm.

I was so close. I almost managed to achieve full synchronization.

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The next day Ranma made the mistake of taking his lunch break near where the Tendo sisters conducted their daily business dealings. He had his back against a tree when he heard footsteps and faint conversation a short distance away from his position. He peeked around the edge of the tree to see Akane and Nabiki confronting a male cadet.

The younger Tendo held the blue uniformed first-year cadet up against the wall as her sister spoke with a calm voice behind her. The girl kept one fist cocked back in striking position.

"Now, Hideo-kun," said Nabiki calmly. "Despite my previous attempts to resolve the matter of your loan peaceably, you continue to avoid paying me what you owe me. Your debt has grown to a rather sizable amount, almost fifteen thousand yen according to my records."

The boy began to protest when Akane's hand squeezed down on his throat, stifling his voice to a gurgle. He thrashed a bit and tried to pull her hand away from his windpipe. She swiftly buried her fist into his stomach, ending his efforts to free himself as he sagged down weakly.

Ranma moved closer and noticed that none of the other cadets appeared to notice what was going on. The nearest ones all seemed to be wearing gray uniforms, and they were apparently acting as lookouts. Ranma finally managed to get within hearing range of what was going on.

"That was very stupid, Hideo-kun," purred Nabiki as she leaned in towards the boy. "It's hard enough for me to control Akane's temper without you trying to resist."

He started to whimper a little.

"Now that isn't going to help matters at all." She calmly reached her hand under his chin and lifted his face upwards. "This is very simple. Where's my money?"

Hideo reached a trembling hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a billfold. Nabiki's eyes took on a happy glow as she saw the object of her desires. She snatched it out of his hands and began counting off notes. She suddenly frowned as she realized something.

"There's more than enough here to pay off your loan, Hideo-kun," she said softly. "We could have avoided all of this unpleasantness if you had simply spoken up more quickly." Nabiki pulled fifteen yen notes from out of the stack and tossed the billfold back to him, as Akane released her grip on his neck.

"Sorry, Tendo-senpai," said the boy quietly as he stooped to pick up his money. "You won't have to worry about me doing anything like that ever again." He placed the billfold back in his pants pocket.

Akane noticed a gleam of steel appear in his hand suddenly and shoved her sister out of the way as Hideo made a wild slash with a long knife. She cursed under her breath as she realized that she should have taken the time to search him, a mistake that she swore to herself that she would never again make in the future. She ducked under his next swing.

Suddenly, Ranma found himself frozen where he stood for a moment as he watched the deadly duel take place. As much as he disliked the younger Tendo for her actions towards him, he wasn't really happy with the thought of her getting stabbed. He started to rise up slowly, unsure what he should do, when she took matters into her own hands.

Akane ducked under Hideo's weapon arm and shoved it aside as her other hand came up underneath the boy's jaw in a palm strike. There was a loud, crunching noise as her palm impacted with the bones of his face. She quickly followed up by capturing his outstretched arm with her blocking hand and driving his wrist towards her uprising knee.

The boy gave out a cry of pain as his wrist gave off a popping sound, possibly broken or at least sprained, and his knife sailed off a few feet away. Akane left him there, cradling his wrist and moaning softly, as blood appeared at the corners of his mouth. She backed up warily and retrieved the knife, before handing it to her sister.

Nabiki stared at the blade in her hand, surprised that such a thing had taken place. She debated having Akane hurt Hideo further, as an object lesson to anyone else seeking to harm her, but finally decided against it. It was going to be hard enough to explain how he had gotten injured to the Academy administration without causing a black mark on anyone's record. Despite the rather ruthless reputation that she had carefully cultivated, Nabiki didn't enjoy seeing anyone in pain. It struck her as wasteful effort.

"Look at me, Hideo-kun," she said Nabiki. The injured boy raised his eyes up slowly. "We were finished. You didn't have to attack me. So, why?"

"I-I was tired of being afraid, Tendo-senpai," said Hideo in a trembling tone of voice. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He burst into tears and slumped down even lower than he had been, the picture of misery.

Ranma moved away as silently as he could. He retrieved his book and snuck away, grateful that he hadn't been seen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A week later, Ranma made his breakthrough. He tapped in the last of the program changes and waited for it to compile. Now I've got it, he crowed mentally in triumph. He settled the neural interlink headset on his skull and waited for the scanning cycle to finish. He had managed to cut the time down to less than a minute.

"We have quantum pulse," he murmured with a smile. "Let's do it." He tapped a couple of keys, and the screen cleared.

* STAGE ONE INTERLINK SOFTWARE RUNNING. STAND BY.

Ranma felt that familiar brief flash of non-existence, for lack of a better term. The screen showed the two sine waves slowly moving closer together as he made the last few adjustments in the program manually, operating almost by feel alone. As he watched, the two sine waves kept moving closer into synchronization as the software finished its last adjustments and began to stabilize.

"Yes," he muttered. "Synchronize, damn you. Come on, synchronize!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth -0.003,-0.002

Ranma paused in his playing, and the sounds of the piano stilled. He looked out at the skyline of Paris as a faint buzzing sensation seemed to appear inside his skull. It was like a handful of bees had been released inside his brain. The buzzing steadily grew louder.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

The pigtailed boy let out a cheer when the two sine waves coalesced into a single waveform. He waited for the final waveform to stabilize, and a line of text suddenly scrolled across the screen.

* SIGNATURE LOCK ESTABLISHED: 100% SIGNAL STABILITY

"I did it!" he whooped to the ceiling. "I DID IT!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth -0.003,-0.002

Ranma suddenly felt the buzzing sensation cease. He shook his head, and his thoughts felt fuzzy, like he was drunk. He continued to stare out at the early morning sky over Paris.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

After he was certain that the signal remained stable, Ranma activated the shutdown procedure. There were still some minor bugs in the core software, but he would iron those out as he finished up his preliminary tests. He removed the headset and cheered once more.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth -0.003,-0.002

Ranma immediately felt like a veil had been lifted from his mind. He shrugged, deciding that it probably wasn't anything important, and then returned to his playing. The sounds of one of Beethoven's most famous piano concertos began to fill the room once more.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

The pigtailed boy leaned back and closed his eyes. After some two years of effort, his work was finally showing results. He sighed happily and settled back down before the computer screen. Pulling the keyboard close, he began typing, cross-linking other components that he had coded separately into his main software to construct the final version. He stopped right after he installed the remaining modules and ran a few more tests, studying the alignment of the paraequipotential flux. His equipment could compensate for a certain amount of phase differential, but it still had a limit to what it could deal with.

When he loaded in his new scanning module to the software, he tested it and was pleased to learn he had cut the scan time down to less than fifteen seconds. He was almost done with his final version of the software when he looked up at the clock to see that it was now nearly four in the afternoon. He had to get to his extra training class.

Ranma shut down power to his equipment, pleased that he was finally about to enter into the final stage of testing, full immersion into an alternate life. He pulled the main circuit board and made mental notes of where he needed to replace the wire-wrapping with solder before he began his first full-power test run. A broad smile was on his face throughout, and he knew that tomorrow was going to be the day that he changed the world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The morning quiet was interrupted by a loud ringing sound. A hand emerged from beneath a light blanket, slowly reaching and fumbling around for the source of the noise. A muted grumbling was heard from beneath the blanket as the hand took several long moments to track the sound to its source on the table. A brief struggle was won, and silence reigned over the bedroom once more.

A few minutes later, the door opened with a loud bang. A pair of pink slippered feet made their way into the room and stopped next to the futon. A rather angry female voice suddenly made itself known.

"Ranma! You are not going to be late for your classes again if I have anything to say about it!" The figure waited to see what reaction occurred, slowly tapping one slippered foot.

More grumbling was heard from beneath the blanket, then a little bit of motion. The motion became more and more frantic over the next several seconds, accompanied by more grumbling. Ranma emerged from beneath the covers.

"I'm up, Mother," he said sullenly, as his pleasant dream promptly evaporated into nothing.

Satisfied that her son was now awake and would not be late for his classes, Nodoka swept out of the room to finish making breakfast.

Sitting on the edge of his futon, Ranma wished for the thousandth time that his parents weren't such traditionalists that he could have had a bed. His mother would be scandalized at the thought, and his father would simply agree with his mother.

He got up off the floor and walked over to his small closet. When he reached it, he slid open the door. He pulled his uniform out of his closet with a hint of distaste. Even though it was tailored to fit quite well, he still disliked wearing it on general principles. He put on a clean shirt and socks from the drawer. He eyed the hated uniform for a moment before struggling into it.

Now I look like a proper student for the Imperial Academy, he mused, looking at his reflection in the mirror. His mind was full of sincere hopes that he wouldn't run into any trouble today. Today was going to be his first full-power test. The last thing that he needed was trouble distracting him from that.

Breakfast was the usual quiet affair. Genma kept his nose buried in the newspaper, occasionally turning pages or grumbling at one of the new developments in the world. Nodoka busied herself with delivering the usual delicious meal to the table before she herself sat down to eat.

The family ate in relative silence. Ranma gobbled down his food as fast as he could while under his mother's watchful eye, trying to avoid her usual morning lecture on his table manners. His father occasionally gulped down some food, briefly emerging from behind the barrier of his newspaper. All in all, it was another typical morning in the Saotome household.

Upon finishing with his breakfast, the pigtailed boy picked up his bookbag and stuffed his personal notebook deep down inside. Inside it was all of his work so far on his experiments, complete with all of his revisions for his calculations. He slung his bookbag up onto his shoulder, put on his shoes, and headed out the door. His parents watched him as he headed down the street.

"I swear I don't know what is with that boy lately," grumbled Nodoka. "All he cares about is that project of his."

Genma grunted noncommittally. She turned to look at him, and her look was one that he had come to see lately all too often.

"He wants to prove your theories correct. Do you think he can?"

"Ranma will succeed. He will prove himself to be the greatest mind that the Empire has ever seen." Pride filled his voice.

"If you say so, Dearest." She smiled slightly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma walked along at a leisurely pace. Classes at the Academy were not what he really looked forward to anymore, not that he did poorly at them. On the contrary, they were too easy for him. After following his father all over the world for so many years, having learned at the feet of every scholar and scientist that the man could coerce into teaching him, attending normal classes had been a relief. Boredom had quickly set in, and his lack of social skills hadn't helped with his classmates.

He almost collided with one of the annoyances in his life when he turned the next corner. The pigtailed boy stumbled, dropping his bag, as a deft footsweep caused him to lose his balance. The day was still new, and it was already looking bad.

"Watch out, you clumsy weakling!" shouted an angry female voice. Ranma looked up and grimaced inwardly. Standing before him, in her usual gray cadet uniform, was Akane. Her older sister Nabiki stood next to her with a smirk on her face.

"Ranma-kun," purred the older Tendo girl. "You should make more of an effort to be aware of your surroundings." She flashed a cool smile that chilled him to the bone. Ranma was sure Nabiki already had a promising future mapped out for her in the Security Directorate.

This is all I need today, he thought, keeping his expression composed as he got back to his feet. 'The Thug,' as he referred to Akane in the privacy of his own thoughts, watched him stand up with a frown on her face. Nabiki watched him with her usual cool look of detached interest. He bowed his head after regaining his feet.

"My sincerest apologies, ladies." Ranma hoped the faint hint of mockery that he felt was not present in his voice. He kept his head down as Akane looked at him for a long moment, before she turned with an angry sniff and stomped away. Nabiki gave him another cool smile, and her hand reached out to caress his face. Her hand felt warm, but his skin crawled at her touch.

"Be more careful in the future, Ranma-kun," she purred. "We both know that Akane is one to bear grudges for the smallest of slights." She then turned with proper military form, and hurried only slightly to catch up with her sister.

Ranma watched them both walking off before taking a slightly different route to the Academy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You should learn to take it easy when it comes to him, little sister," said Nabiki pleasantly. She walked at Akane's side with an unconscious precision to her stride; her appearance was that of a proper Imperial officer. "All that anger can't be good for you."

"I still haven't forgiven him for what he did," the younger Tendo said with a slight growl to her voice. She kicked a stone through the fence and out into the drainage stream as she stomped along in a foul mood. Damn you, Ranma. I wish you weren't always such a weakling.

"As I recall it, that incident was just an accident," said Nabiki with a smile, recalling the other girl's mood that day after Ranma had walked into the girl's locker room. It had been one of her better pranks on her little sister, and it had also served Nabiki's purposes by keeping a distance between the two. The few of Nabiki's associates who knew of her involvement would never tell; she chose her allies carefully.

"I still think it was just an excuse that he made up in order to peep." Akane felt her insides begin to seethe from the memory.

"You also got detention for a week for harming the star intellect of the Academy," observed Nabiki with a smirk, as the younger Tendo blushed with very obvious annoyance. Despite their closeness, baiting her little sister had long been a favorite game for her, and it served to prove a realization that she had made about Akane a long time ago. The Tendo family had served with distinction in the Security Directorate for almost two centuries, but Nabiki just could not see her sister rising very far in rank due to her aggressive nature.

Akane grumbled softly to herself the rest of the way to the Academy, annoyed at her confused feelings for Ranma. They showed no signs of ever being resolved anytime soon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma finally arrived at the gate in the wall surrounding the Imperial Academy and walked into the courtyard. He nodded to a few of his fellow science cadets, receiving respectful nods in return as he headed into the main building. He did not really have any friends on campus, as work on his project kept him too busy for much socializing.

His morning classes were dull, as usual, even in the accelerated program that he was in. Falling asleep was a constant danger, but he had no desire to end up holding buckets for an hour if he did. To compensate for the dullness, Ranma composed mathematical proofs and wrote research papers in his head.

For example, in his Imperial History class, he listened half-heartedly as the instructor droned on about some of the lesser-known aspects of Earth's history. Who really cared about some failed revolution in Britain's old North American colonies? Most of the western region of that far-off continent had been colonized by the Empire for over a century, after a long war with Spain. Would the shape of the world really have changed that much if it had succeeded?

There had been peace in the world for the last several decades, since it was divided up among the three remaining superpowers after the Global War: Japan, Germany, and Russia. England was only recently managing to recover in the last few years from having had three nuclear weapons dropped on it during that conflict, almost two decades ago. France was still a going concern only due to its preeminence in space, but the Empire was a close second. Both Amaterasu Station and the interstellar colony ship Yamato, the latter now finishing up construction, were two of the greatest jewels in the Empire's own space efforts, heralding the start of the colonization of the solar system and beyond by Japan.

Finally, having received written permission from the instructor of his mathematics class, Ranma headed down to his small lab located in the basement levels. Today was going to be the day when he finally achieved his dream and saw another world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Almost got it, thought the pigtailed boy, carefully adjusting the small soldering iron, as he placed the last chip back into its place on the circuit board. It snapped into place, held solidly by a few small daubs of solder. He pushed the board back into position and ran the system through final checkout. The monitor brightened into life next to him, as he sat with the keyboard in his lap. Ranma tapped a few keys when he was prompted for a user entry.

* SELF-CHECK COMPLETE

* ALL LOGIC COMPONENTS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* QUANTUM FLUX COIL IS FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* NEURAL INDUCTION SENSORS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* SYSTEM HAS 4 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN STABLE MEMORY

* SCAN FOR NEW COORDINATES: YES

* SELECT QUANTUM REGION FOR SCAN: RANDOM

* SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES

* SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST: 60.00 MINUTES

* WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL INTERLINK HEADSET

He sat back and contemplated the machine assembled in front of him in his private lab, hardly able to believe that it was finally finished. Two years of working with the equations and schematics from that strange dream, about a month of carefully assembling a mishmash of prototype components, and it was now done. The quantum resonator was finally finished, and now he was finally going to prove that his father was right.

Ranma picked up the neural induction headset. All of his numerous calculations told him it should work, and every piece of the device had been checked and re-checked. If he was going to do it, it might as well be now. The random search module was active but would not engage until he put the headset on. That would give the system a comparison model to use as it began searching for a likely quantum signature match.

The pigtailed boy could have used one of the four alternate timeline coordinates that he had already obtained during his earlier limited tests, but he decided that the first full-powered test should be to a new parallel scanned from scratch. That way would test the complete system, from initial scan to final recall.

He took the precaution of locking the lab door, and the recall mode for the resonator had already been set for an hour. That should give me sufficient time to look around, he mused.

He settled back onto the couch in his lab, the headset resting easily onto his head. The background hum of the resonator felt like a faint tickle along the inside of his skull. Like bees humming in my head, he thought. He tried to relax and make himself comfortable.

This is it, he thought, feeling a little nervous. This was going to be his first attempt at total immersion. I wonder what it will feel like?

In the background, the computer spoke in gentle tones, its artificial voice repeating over and over for several seconds as it scanned through the alternate timelines, "Searching. Searching. Searching."

Suddenly, it spoke the words that he had been waiting for, "Quantum signature match found. Initiating upload cycle."

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*** Earth +4.614, +4.502

There was a brief and mildly disturbing moment of dislocation, of a sort of non-existence, and then Ranma found himself in another place, another life. After a few moments of adjustment, as he blinked his eyes, an unexpected rush of memories from that other life filled his awareness. It was distracting and even more disorienting, leaving him confused a moment by his surroundings, so he didn't immediately realize that someone had been addressing him.

"Saotome!" shouted an angry male voice. "Have you fallen asleep in my class again? What is the answer to the question?"

Ranma looked up in surprise at the annoyed-looking instructor who was shouting at him and blinked again, before glancing around himself quickly. A classroom full of students looked back at him, and the uniforms even looked similar to the ones that he was used to, only the colors were different. He patted at his clothes and realized that he wasn't wearing a uniform. How strange, he thought.

To add to his surprise, Akane was sitting behind him and glaring at him. She was even wearing her hair the same way that he remembered from his home timeline. He looked puzzled, and she pointed at her text with a final glare. He turned around, glanced down at a similar book in front of him, and flipped to the same page. Luckily, it was apparently a mathematics class. A rather easy mathematics class, in fact.

"The answer to the problem is the cube root of seventeen, sir," he answered absently.

The instructor looked more than somewhat surprised, to say the least. "Th-that's right," he said, in a slightly stunned tone. "You are correct, Saotome." He started to ask another student about a different problem, still looking surprised.

"So you did manage to study last night after all," a female voice stage-whispered behind him. "I thought you were too busy training nowadays for Ryoga's challenge. Did you decide that school has value after all?"

"I, uh, found the time later," he whispered back. Who the heck is Ryoga, and what is this about a challenge that my analog is so busy training for?

The answers to his questions refused to come to him, and the very randomness of the memories that were becoming available to him was almost maddening. It was like trying to read all of the books in a library by pulling stray pages from each one and reading them all mixed up. However, as moments went by, the memories were slowly beginning to sort themselves out.

Ranma sat at his desk and found himself somewhat overwhelmed by the memories of a life that he had never lived, but he found himself rather intrigued by them too. His analog had traveled for over ten years with his father to learn martial arts, a curious parallel, and his life was a rather confusing kaleidoscope of random memories. Short flashes of events seen, people met, and various fighting techniques learned filled his mind.

For a brief moment, a strong image of a valley of pools of water filled his mind, but it was quickly gone before he could clearly focus on it. Jusenkyo? Another strong image appeared in his thoughts, this time of a girl, somehow associated with the name of that place. He felt that he should know this person, this girl that he was thinking of.

A new wave of memories flooded across his mind, of all the women that this Ranma was involved with. Ties of honor bound him to most of them, often the results of actions by the Genma of this world. His analog was engaged by his father to marry Akane Tendo, but several other girls also claimed him. Many of their claims seemed equally valid.

Engaged to marry Akane Tendo? The very thought made him feel slightly ill. From this Ranma's memories, he could tell that Akane was perhaps as much of a thug here as the one that he knew from his own timeline. He found himself feeling sorry for the poor fool, but he felt even more surprised when he sensed strong feelings for Akane associated with the memories, and his analog had fought to defend the Tendo girl on several occasions. However, those feelings were somewhat deeply buried beneath thick layers of denial.

He cares for her? As he thought about that, Ranma stared out the window. My analog is in love with a brutish, angry girl who constantly beats him up? This guy needs some serious mental help, he concluded.

While continuing to look out the window, he mused on the very strange life of his quantum counterpart.

The bell rang while he was still pondering these things.

Lunchtime, Ranma realized with a start, and his stomach suddenly rumbled softly. He looked at the clock on the wall. I have about fifty minutes before recall occurs, he observed.

He sat at his other self's desk for a minute before the smell of food from his bookbag finally got the better of him. He pulled out his lunch, and set it on his desk as his mind wandered. Whatever it was, it smelled fantastic. He felt his mouth salivate.

Even though the snowstorm of memories was finally settling down, it was not too surprising to him that most of the memories of his counterpart's life were rather incomplete. Apparently immersion into another life did not immediately provide complete access to all of the memories from that life.

Perhaps I'll have to set the timer for longer next time, he thought with a faint smile. That should let me get a better feel for the life of one of my quantum doppelgangers.

Ranma felt a tap on the back of his skull.

"Are you just going to sit there and ignore me through all of lunch?" asked Akane from behind him. The sound of her annoyed voice disturbed his upcoming enjoyment of what smelled like a delicious lunch.

He sighed softly, and turned around.

"Sorry about that," said the pigtailed boy pleasantly, which seemed to catch the girl off-guard. "I was just thinking about some things and got distracted. I hope that you will accept my apology." He thought that if he managed to sound meek enough, it would act to defuse her infamous wrath.

Akane softened her gaze at his apology, which surprised him a lot. His own version of the Tendo girl had never looked at him with even the slightest amount of softness or warmth, occasionally with amusement when she was tossing him around or hitting him. She apparently just saw him as some sort of a weakling, since he hadn't spent his life learning how to break bricks with his fists like she had done. However, based on the differences that he was seeing in his own quantum duplicate's life, it should have been no surprise that the Akane Tendo of another timeline could be vastly changed as well.

She did feel different, and he had to revise his opinion of her a little and try not to think of her as being like his own Akane. In this world, she was a fairly ordinary girl, for the most part. She wasn't training to be a member of the Security Directorate, and she had been involved with a few minor adventures with the Ranma of this world.

Maybe if I don't do or say anything that my analog normally did to make her mad, she might even smile at me, he mused. A puzzled look suddenly crossed his features briefly.

Where the hell did that thought come from? He blinked a moment in sudden confusion.

"Are you okay, Ranma?" Akane looked at him in mild concern.

"I'm fine, Akane," he replied. He even risked a smile, and she smiled in return.

"Nihao, Ranma!" suddenly spoke up a perky female voice behind his head. The pleasant look on the Tendo girl's face darkened into a scowl, and she turned her head aside with a slight huffing sound.

He turned around to see a bouncy female body to match the perky voice, sitting perched in the window, holding a delivery box. Shampoo, his new memories prompted, proud Chinese Amazon warrior girl. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Ranma happy to see Shampoo?" The girl lunged at him in a single bound and hugged him without dropping her delivery box. He had never been greeted by a beautiful girl like this before; it was more than a little pleasant. He started to return the hug, but a quivering at the back of his skull made him glance behind him. Akane was glaring at him again.

"Ranma," slowly said the furious girl. "What do you think that you're doing?"

"I was about to give Shampoo a hug." The words seemed to just slip out before he could think about the possible repercussions. "What do you think about that?"

"DIE, RANMA!" Akane screamed. She picked up and threw a random desk at the couple for further emphasis of her point. She sure changes her moods quickly, he thought in amazement.

The pigtailed boy reacted without thinking, grabbing the Chinese girl and jumping over the hurtling desk, which promptly sailed out the window behind him. It managed to do so, amazingly enough, without even so much as touching any of the edges of the open window. A loud crash was heard from below a few moments later.

"Ranma save Shampoo from violent girl!" exulted the Amazon in his arms, who promptly began snuggling with him happily. Many romantic visions of Ranma's heroism danced in her head, and she began to make purring sounds as she snuggled against him. He felt like he'd died and gone to heaven.

"Ranchan?" asked a new female voice, edged with anger, one that his fragmentary memories didn't recall immediately. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" A large metal object attempted to pry Shampoo out of his grip, and another girl was on the end of it.

Ukyo Kuonji, Ranma's new memories flashed up, only recently-arrived as a new transfer student. She was an okonomiyaki chef and also engaged to Ranma. He quickly let go of Shampoo, and Ukyo pried the Amazon off of him. She then immediately moved between him and the other girl.

"You stay away from Ranma, you Chinese bimbo!" Ukyo snarled out. She took up an aggressive stance, her combat spatula at the ready. He thought he saw a blue glow swirl around her body for a moment, but he decided that it had to have been a trick of the light.

"Ranma is husband of Shampoo, stupid spatula girl!" Shampoo yelled back. She took up a combat stance of her own, looking ready for anything, and Ranma saw that same blue light effect for a moment. He rubbed his eyes, and it was gone.

Perhaps it's some sort of visual illusion caused by a kind of mild phase imbalance, he thought. One that was too subtle in nature to be able to be compensated for by his equipment.

The two girls continued to glare at each other, apparently waiting to see who made the first move. I've never had women wanting to fight over me before, the pigtailed boy thought with mild envy, as he marveled at the novelty of the experience. Both girls looked pretty determined to do battle over him, and Akane just stood to one side and glowered at all three of them.

"Please don't fight," he suddenly interjected, rather louder than he had intended. All three girls looked at him in surprise, and Akane was so surprised that she forgot to glare at him for a moment. "I just wanted to eat my lunch in peace today."

"Shampoo brought you delicious lunch," declared the Amazon, as if daring anyone to question the fact. She grabbed her delivery box off a nearby desk and pulled out a bowl of something. Shampoo whipped it under his nose, a steaming serving of ramen noodles, and then smirked at Ukyo.

"I've got your lunch right here, Ranchan," the other girl said quickly. A small grill suddenly appeared as if from nowhere, and a blur of cooking took place. Faster than he would have imagined possible, Ukyo presented him with a plateful of okonomiyaki while she stuck her tongue out at Shampoo.

Ranma felt that he was rapidly reaching the limits of his ability to deal with the female of the species. The whole situation was simply bizarre to him, despite its earlier appeal. The two women nearest him alternated adoring looks in his direction with murderous gazes at each other. Akane just looked upset at all three of them equally.

"Uh, that's fine," he said mildly. "Just put it on my desk, and I'll try to eat it all." He sat down and started to eat the original lunch that he had brought out, and two more full lunches were immediately set down next to it by the two girls. Both of them promptly sat down at two of the recently-vacated desks next to him and sighed as they watched him eat. Akane just kept glaring in the trio's direction.

I think I could get used to this, he thought, as he ate with a smile. Akane moved off to eat with some of the other girls in class, still glaring at the pigtailed boy.

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*** Heaven 0.000, 0.000

The systems of Yggdrasil hummed along smoothly, maintained by the many gods and goddesses assigned to that task. In a small side-chamber, there was a swirling coalescence of light that resolved itself into a figure dressed in pale robes, the hood drawn forward and covering the face from view. The figure emerged from the side-chamber into the main hallway area and paused, as the various deities passing by remained unaware of its presence.

The figure was ignored by all, save for one young goddess.

Urd looked up from her central workstation as she managed the daily file updates for the main system. She thought that she had sensed a strange presence of some sort with her in the datacore, but there was nothing there when she looked up. She saw Skuld tapping away quietly at her own terminal, but her sister gave no indication that she had been aware of anything. Sensing no danger, Urd shrugged and went back to her work.

The figure walked to an unused workstation and stretched forth a gloved hand, and a stream of data blurred across the screen, written in symbols that were ancient when the world was young. The figure seemed to nod as it read a section of the data and then withdrew its hand.

"Now the final game begins," came a whisper from within the hood. "And there will be no one to stop me this time."

Then, in a second swirl of light, the figure was gone, and no trace of its passage was recorded in Heaven.

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Appendix:

This section is inspired by the information presented in TSR's excellent role-playing sourcebook "Tangents."

Underlying this story is the assumption that parallel universes are real, something that both quantum wave theory and the theory of relativity predict the possibility of. Endless possibilities for alternate Earths exist, all contained within a structure known as superspace. It is composed of every possible parallel universe, all coexisting side by side. Each of these individual realities will be referred to as a paraverse (contracted form for parallel universe) or a tangent. Each tangent is a timeline, an alternate version of history.

Each separate tangent is like a thread, and the entire network of threads make up superspace. Timelines branch apart from each other at various points in their history, but threads also remain braided together in rough groupings of similar tangents, forming clusters across superspace. It's generally accepted that only truly significant events result in the creation of new timelines, and truly massive events or catastrophes (such as the Second Impact from Evangelion) serve as massive bifurcations of the threads and can produce entirely new clusters.

There is also a theory (the one I am following in this story) that every action produces multiple tangents, but that almost all of those tangents merge back together into a single thread. Only a few of these tangents created cross over the minimum temporal energy threshold that will allow them to sustain themselves as separate from another tangent, but it is left to the reader to imagine how significant an event would have to be to do this. Time travel is an example of one of the ways that this might be done, but the change done in the past would still have to be large enough to split off a new tangent that would not simply fade back into one of the others.

Tangents are 'grouped' together into clusters, all of the paraverses within a cluster sharing many basic characteristics with each other, and they are all wound and braided around each other much like threads forming a rope. Each individual cluster may hold anywhere from dozens to thousands of tangents, maybe even more. Generally, the tangents within a cluster bifurcated from each other relatively recently (anywhere from a few moments to thousands of years ago), as they share many historical similarities, but it is also possible for a tangent within a given cluster to have originated within a completely different cluster and 'migrated' to its new location. For the purposes of this story, it can be assumed that different tangents tend to be attracted to others of similar attributes. An example of this is what could be called the 'Nuclear Armageddon cluster' that contains tangents where terrible wars were fought between the Empire of Japan and the United States, or even between high-tech versions of the Aztecs and the Babylonians, to name a couple of random examples.

As another example of this, consider a tangent where the biology of the Earth favored a sentient species of cats to arise to dominance over the world instead of humanity. Events and even individuals could have parallel happenings in this timeline thread that is represented by the manga or anime story of 'Ranma 1/2', complete with the entire cast being represented by catlike sentients who even bear both the same names and general attitudes as their human counterparts. Such a timeline could be pulled into the 'Ranma 1/2 cluster' of tangents, and the reader can then imagine how events would be similar and different to that other timeline thread. The dreaded Nekoken could be a tapping into the primal drives and abilities of the race in that timeline, and might not require as mind-warping a training method. Other possible, similar (yet different) events are left up to the imagination of the reader.

Moving away from the cluster of the baseline tangent used in this story, the tangents will grow more and more unusual, and I will classify them into four 'divisions' of timeline clusters: Historical, Biological, Cosmological, and Fantastic. Looking at these different divisions in cross-section, the picture would be roughly a series of concentric rings, radiating out from the center much like a bulls-eye. However, as was previously mentioned above, the divisions are not rigidly fixed, and tangents originally from the Biological division could become part of a cluster in the Historical division (such as the tangent with the catlike versions of Ranma 1/2 characters mentioned above). These divisions are also relative to each other, as an inhabitant of different tangents will define the tangents that surround them differently. For example, the 'Slayers' tangent would be in the Fantastic division as seen from our own Earth, but we would also be in the Fantastic division to theirs, since they would see us as a timeline with greatly different physical laws from their own.

The Baseline cluster is the one that immediately surrounds the tangent of Imperial Earth, the so-called Baseline tangent. It is the reference point from which all other tangents in this story will be looked at.

The Historical division generally indicates the millions of tangents where the presence of humanity is the defining characteristic. The many differences in worlds will be determined by the numerous potential divergent events and changes in human history. Different cultures may reign supreme, unusual governments may rule, and even the course of technology may be radically different, but humans are still humans. Most of the trips taken in this story will be to tangents in the Historical division.

The Biological division of clusters has seen evolution playing games. In some, humanity exists, but is subtly changed. In others, humanity shares the Earth with other sentient life forms. And in still others, the species called man never arose (or perhaps not even mammals), and nature filled the void with sentient apes, cats, or dinosaurs.

The Cosmological division represents timeline threads where the solar system itself developed differently. For example, billions of years ago, Earth itself never formed in some timelines. In others, Earth formed a little closer or a little farther from the Sun, and the whole biosphere may be radically different, if life even took hold at all.

Lastly, the Fantastic division represents tangents where the very laws of nature have taken on sometimes bizarre variations. For example, on some of these tangents, humans exist but possess strange abilities such as magic or superpowers, while in others, the Elves still rule a pristine and verdant Earth that is vibrant with magic. However, also possible are worlds where various forms of undead rule supreme over a blasted and dead Earth as the least powerful of the nightmarish servants of the elder gods of madness and darkest evil.

There might also be divisions that lie outside the Fantastic, but the incredible superspacial distances make it difficult to determine what they might be.

To make it easier on the readers to catalogue the different parallel worlds, I will be using a simple two-dimensional grid to establish a coordinate system for each tangent, using the home tangent of Imperial Earth as the Baseline tangent, and it will be designated 0.000, 0.000 for its coordinates. The further a coordinate is from the Baseline, the more radically different it will be from Imperial Earth. For the purposes of this story, the divisions previously given (Historical, Biological, etc) will each be roughly ten full spaces apart (for example, 0.000 to 10.000 along the x-axis is the radius for the Historical division). With a grid of ten thousand tangents by ten thousand tangents, that gives just the Historical division alone over three hundred and fourteen million paraverses, more than sufficient for my needs as an author.

Here are some sample worlds and also their coordinates relative to Imperial Earth:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +0.001, -0.001 - The world of Scholar-Ranko (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

Earth +4.614, +4.496 - The world of Nabiki 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

Earth +4.614, +4.502 - The world of Ranma 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer for his welcome assistance with my clumsy writing, and also to Michael Allen for his help with the pseudo-science and several plot points.


	2. Altered Fates

*** Heaven 0.000, 0.000

Urd hated monitor duty.

The platinum-haired Goddess of the Past was now regretting her offer to trade work shifts with Belldandy, but a bargain was a bargain. She smiled a moment later though, remembering how much fun she had recently with Maui, a rather rascally but also particularly charming deity from the Polynesian pantheon. He reminded her of a more pleasant version of Loki, but with a golden tan. She had first met him at the last God-Con, the annual gathering (and major party) of the deities and demigods from the different pantheons. Despite his rather roguish reputation, he always treated her like a lady, and he constantly did things to bring a smile to her face. He was also one of the few gods that she could not drink under the table, a contest that she did not at all really regret losing. Paying off the loss of that particular bet had been a most enjoyable way to spend almost a week's time in and of itself.

However, now she faced monitor duty, watching over Yggdrasil's many functions and keeping them all running smoothly. She occupied herself with setting up programs to refine the various utilities, a task that seemed never-ending to her. Tweaks here, a kludge-fix there, all were parts of the life of a programmer, especially when one was talking about maintaining the greatest computer in the universe.

Despite her boredom, the Goddess of the Past grew engrossed in her work.

She worked away at her terminal, running file updates and other system maintenance. The remainder of her attention was spent thinking about her next date with Maui, so she did not immediately notice when an unused terminal on one side of the chamber lit up and began to quickly scroll with runic symbols.

* DESTINY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED. PROBABILITY NODE ALTERATION INITIATED.

* REVISING CURRENT INDEXED NODE STATUS FROM CLASS THREE TO CLASS ONE.

* FRACTALIZING EFFECTS OF NODE TO STABILIZE MIDGARD REALITY PARADIGM.

* MIDGARD REALITY PARADIGM STABILIZED. NO ERRORS REPORTED.

Urd paused. One of her system warnings had flashed for a moment as she worked away. She stopped what she was doing, suspecting a bug, but a more detailed search turned up nothing more than one of Yggdrasil's routine updates of the reality matrix. A probability node had just been upgraded in status to Class One, causing a few localized ripples in the paradigm to begin. However, they should smooth out over time. Mortals seemed to be in an almost constant state of flux in relative importance to the weavings of Fate, so even a two-step jump upwards in status was noteworthy but nothing too exciting. Still, it would prove interesting to see what happened. A Class One probability node would begin drawing odd events into its midst, like a form of lodestone gathering iron filings.

Checking through the system log revealed nothing significant. She shrugged her shoulders. It was apparently nothing serious, just one of Yggdrasil's quirks that she had long gotten used to. With a frown of concentration, the platinum blonde-haired goddess began typing away once again, striving to repair a small snarl in one segment of system code.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. At the Academy, Ranma met Akane and Nabiki Tendo, who are studying at the Academy to become members of the Imperial Security Directorate. Their father, Soun Tendo, is a powerful man within the structure of the Directorate and expects his children to follow in the Tendo family traditions of service to the Empire. While at the Academy, Ranma constructed his device and mentally linked with another version of himself, a young martial artist.

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Chapter 2 - Altered Fates

I know Kung Fu...

- Neo: The Matrix

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete."

Ranma opened his eyes and smiled. Despite some unexpected surprises, the experiment had been an incredible and unqualified success. He slipped off the neural interlink headset and stretched his arms out until his spine popped lightly. Bracing one hand against the edge of the couch, he flipped off of it with unconscious grace in a smooth midair somersault and landed on his feet.

Unconsciously ignoring his unexpected gain in acrobatic skill, he calmly reached over to the resonator and flipped the main power bar off. He listened to the hum of electricity racing through the components slowly die as the device shut down. With a thoughtful expression, he stared at the small accumulation of equipment, the culmination of two years of planning finally fulfilled. He stood up, mildly surprised that he didn't feel any sort of the elation usually associated with major successes. Instead, he felt quiet and relaxed.

He had done it.

His face acquired a sudden bemused look. The expression on his face lightened into a bright smile as the reality of what he had done finally sank in. He punched his fist into the air.

"I did it!" he shouted, before quieting once more into thoughtfulness.

"But what do I do now?" he wondered to the empty room. He looked at his hand, opening it back up and closing it once more into a tight fist. A quiet grin appeared on his face. His memories of that alternate life were bright and clear in his mind, even the smells of the food that he had eaten. He imagined that, if he inhaled, he could still smell the subtle tang of spices.

Then there were the girls. He closed his eyes, remembering the clear expressions of love on their faces as they had gazed at him, at the other Ranma. To have two such attractive girls look at him in such a way had affected him more than he thought it ever would. Shampoo and Ukyo, he thought with a smile. And Akane Tendo. His smile faded. Why did a duplicate of himself have to be in love with Akane Tendo, of all people?

He sat down on the couch, picking up the discarded headset. He ran his thumb across one of the small contact plates, imagining that he could feel the spark of wizardry within it that had made his dreams a reality. He had always loved science and learning, always knowing that there was no mystery that he could not solve. Today, he finally crossed a boundary that few men were even aware existed, and it had left him changed.

Standing up and renewing the soft grin on his face, he took a few experimental punches at the empty air. His body felt awkward, the unexpected ease of his earlier movements was now absent. He bumbled the strikes he attempted, motions that were instinctive to his other self, and he chuckled wryly.

The pigtailed boy pictured in his mind an image of that other Ranma, a martial artist, and smiled. Compared to himself, that one led a far more exciting life, certainly one more carefree than his own. It was a life that he found himself actually wishing that he had, for a moment, even though he was sure that it had its own difficulties.

Still, it looked like a fun life, he mused as he began putting his equipment back in order. He wanted to see more of it. He knew his own life would never become half as exciting.

"That was an unbelievable experience," he muttered aloud. "To walk in a life that is so very different from my own. I wonder what else my other alternative selves are up to?" The possibilities were staggering, and the pigtailed boy found himself wanting to see as many of them as he could. The many possible tangents promised to yield an enormous wealth of rich experiences and maybe even some adventures.

If he could learn to fight like that other Ranma, then Akane would, at the least, cease to be a concern in his own life, and she could go pick on some weaker target and leave him alone. He very briefly imagined himself standing triumphantly over a defeated Akane, certain that such an event would end his troubles with the girl. He would pay her back for the weeks of bullying that she had given him.

He finished straightening his equipment, bemused again by his brief burst of athletic skill. He knew that he didn't have the sheer physical abilities of that other Ranma, but the extra training after his regular classes was bringing him closer to it. Given enough time and sufficient motivation, he felt sure that he could match his quantum brother. His previous feelings of resentment for his physical training were muted somewhat now. The Empire believed in strong minds and bodies. He would show them all just how strong he could be.

Flipping open his notebook, he sat at the small electronics bench. His thoughts continued to race as he made a few initial notes on his experiences with his first alternate life. Had there been any sort of side-effects for the other Ranma? Could he have learned new skills? If that's so, he may just have made a dumb jock into a scholastic genius. He grinned at the thought.

Taking a quick glance at his watch, he piled his books into his bag. For the first time, he was looking forward to his physical education class. Quickly finishing, he threw a cloth cover over the computer and the small stacks of equipment next to it. Hefting the bag onto his shoulder, he unlocked and opened the lab door. The hallway beyond was quiet, dimly lit by bare tracks of fluorescent bulbs. His thoughts continued to contemplate the new world that now lay open before him, all the myriad possibilities of life that were now his to explore.

Ranma shut the lights off in his lab, closed and locked the door behind him and pocketed the key. He found himself unable to stop grinning as he walked up the stairs.

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The figure moved smoothly and gracefully through the weapon kata, each motion blending seamlessly into the next. Eyes closed as he held himself in deep concentration, he twisted and wove his wooden practice blade as he pretended to fight with a dozen opponents. He was Tatewaki Kuno, already approaching mastery of his craft, and considered to be one of the most promising young duelists in the Empire.

Kuno brought the wooden blade back into his original starting position to finish, both hands wrapped around the handle held in front of his stomach, the bokken slanted upwards at the proper angle. Not even a single degree of deviation from the proper form existed in his stance. He opened his eyes, finally letting his concentration break. Loud clapping from a single pair of hands behind him caused him to turn.

"You never get tired of all those weapons drills, do you?" said an amused male voice that he knew well. Kuno completed his turn to see one of his fellow students at Whitehall Academy, a tall, and handsome youth named Mikado Sanzenin, observing him with a grin. The other boy was dressed in his usual finery, a spotless white uniform, only modified by a white scarf at the neck.

"They serve a necessary purpose," said Kuno, shrugging his shoulders. "I must strive to improve my skills constantly, ere I fall to one more dedicated than myself."

To this day, he wasn't sure how he came to be friends with a foppish sort like the Sanzenin boy. True, both of them came from extremely distinguished bloodlines and some of the finest Houses of the noble lords of the Empire, but they were a study in contrasts. Tall and dark-haired, Tatewaki Kuno was a proud descendant of a warrior legacy and determined to follow in the glorious footsteps of his divine ancestors. He held this attitude despite the modern age's slight disdain for such things in its citizens, the strength that had built an Empire. On the other hand, Mikado Sanzenin was a laughing rogue, light-haired and light-minded, a pursuer of his own pleasures, and somewhat of a mild disappointment to his own noble family.

The Kunos consisted of nobles of an ancient sort, their lineage extending back to the rise of the first samurai. Despite such an impressive background, they were still only one of the Minor Families, a situation that Kuno's father had been working to remedy for many years now without much success. The Great Families were rather jealous of their positions and did not suffer upstarts well, even upstarts from as ancient a lineage as the Kunos' possessed.

In comparison, the Sanzenins, though just as ancient a noble bloodline, arose to prominence only in relatively recent times in the Empire, less than two centuries ago. They had chosen the path of the merchant warrior, ready to defend their goods against all, but also ready to make a profit. Their original fortunes expanded greatly during the gold rush and early colonial efforts in the frozen wilderness of Alaska, and they had used that wealth to buy up several sizable holdings in frontier regions of the Empire. Considered small when compared to the most powerful Houses in the Empire, the Sanzenins cunningly married themselves into some of the most influential of the Minor Families, and were now a force to be reckoned with.

The pair had been friends for a few years, finding something missing in their own lives in each other. Mikado, for example, was a master at dealing with women, and Kuno... was not. In exchange for his friend's able assistance in such matters, Kuno had helped Mikado improve his fighting skills. Early on, he was very surprised to learn that the other boy was well-trained in both the stick-fighting and barehanded methods of Escrima from time spent at one of the many Sanzenin holdings in the Philippines.

"There is more to life than fighting, my friend," said Mikado with a sad shake of his head. "Already, I don't believe that there is a match for you among the young nobility when it comes to combat, except maybe for myself." He grinned his roguish grin once more.

"There is truth in what you say," acknowledged Kuno solemnly. He made a dramatic gesture with his bokken. "I have fought well over one hundred skilled opponents with a weapon like this in my hand, and never once known defeat. However, I doubt that you would defeat me, despite your grace and skill. You are a dancer at combat, my friend, but I have been bred and trained all of my life to fight as a warrior. I fear that none of our peers shall ever offer me a true and worthy challenge in my life, so perhaps I should begin to consider seeking it from those older than I. I fear that our generation has grown soft. I dread there are no true warriors left among us, save for myself."

"Well, maybe someday we might see, but I have no real interest in fighting anyone. Perhaps to win the love of a woman. After all, there is only one thing that I truly value, a beautiful woman. Speaking of which, how is your sister?"

Kuno grimaced. His innocent flower of a sister was one of the few things that could arouse his protective instincts. Kodachi attended Whitehall's sister academy, Blackhall. He was aware that there was no real danger in his friend's intentions, but long ago he had sworn to keep his sister safe from men who would abuse her naive trust. He knew from experiencing his own desires towards the fairer sex that there was a beast within all men, a slavering monster of lusts. To turn his quiet and shy sister over to anyone would require that man to prove himself to Kuno first.

So far, none had done so. He doubted there was any man who could.

"My sister fares well," answered Kuno gruffly. "But I worry for her. This past month she has been like a stranger to me. She has even renewed her combat training, which I find to be passing strange."

"She has seemed distant whenever I have seen her of late. I thought perhaps there had been some tragedy in your home that I was unaware of."

"It all began almost three weeks ago, when my sister woke the household with screaming," said Kuno, remembering.

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*** Earth +0.003, +0.001

Kodachi was running, her lungs aching, as bullets whined by her head. Behind her, several men armed with pistols and the distinctive black body armor of the Security Directorate pursued her relentlessly down the hallway as she strove to escape them. Her goal was coming within reach.

"Don't kill her, you fools!" shouted one of the men. "Director Ninomiya has given strict orders that she be taken alive! She's the only one left who can understand the technology!"

Reaching the steel door, she turned and fired her stolen pistol at her pursuers. The agents dove for cover to the floor as she fired off half the magazine in rapid succession. Her other hand fumbled the key into the lock, a key wet with blood that was not her own.

It turned easily, unlocking the door, and she threw it partly open. Using the doorframe for momentary cover, she fired off a few more rounds down the hall as she recovered the keys and ducked inside the lab.

The laboratory door slammed shut behind her, and she quickly rammed the sturdy deadbolt home. Her hand shakily flipped on the overhead lights. Ranma's lab, she thought miserably. How did it all go so horribly wrong? She felt tears wash down her face in two streams, marring her makeup. Fists thudded against the thick door on the other side.

"One of you men go and get something to break this door down," she heard one of them say. Kodachi moved away from the door. She did not have much time, and she could see only one way to engineer her escape. Her eyes fell on the small stacks of equipment, currently sitting uncovered in the middle of the lab.

The Empire was dying. Civil war after the unexpected death of the Emperor and most of the Imperial Bloodline had left no clear line of succession. Various factions struggled to claim the throne, pulling the Empire apart at the seams. There were even rumors of rebellion in the outlying prefectures. The Security Directorate endeavored to remain impartial, but their actions had grown more draconian as they attempted to maintain a veneer of order on society.

Kodachi Kuno was a scientist by training and desire, not a warrior. She was a science cadet at the Imperial Academy, working alongside a very dedicated young scholar named Ranma Saotome on a secret project of his, a way to contact other realities. He had once claimed to have first seen it in a fragmentary dream, but that had been sufficient to allow him to construct the device, after much trial and error.

The Security Directorate learned of the existence of the resonator when Ranma mentioned it to Nabiki Tendo, a protégé of the current Director. Hinako Ninomiya had ordered all those with working knowledge of its functions rounded up to prevent others from learning of its existence. With the Empire attempting to tear itself apart in bloody civil war, such a device could yield highly valuable intelligence data to the side which possessed it.

The pigtailed boy was shot through the chest by a sniper during his capture, right before her eyes, and Kodachi had no idea who would do such a thing. He died in her arms, his life's blood staining the cloth of her skirt even as the security agents attempted to track down the assassin. It was during the confusion that Ranma, with his final breath, gave her the keys to his lab and told her to escape this world. She used the skills obtained from one of one of her other lives to sneak away into the darkness. However, her freedom would not last for much longer, and she had no desire to die or be captured.

She powered up the resonator and cursed rather unladylike things at its primitiveness. It functioned well enough, as several tests with her as the volunteer test subject had already confirmed, but its range was limited and the scanning module software was sluggish. She ran it through the startup routine as quickly as she could. While she waited, she gathered together the only existing copy of the pigtailed boy's notes and schematic drawings and set fire to them. The flames were strangely soothing to her.

When it was finally ready, she was still watching the last wisps of Ranma's work crisp into ashes. There was a dull thudding at the steel door, possibly from some sort of ram being used to try and force the door open. She eyed the deadbolt; it would not hold up for much longer. Kodachi hurried herself as fast as she was able to.

The equipment's primitive nature actually made her planned sabotage even easier. After she had transited out of this life, a simple virus she had written would purge the computer memory. Without the notebooks or control software, the resonator was essentially a large paperweight. The virus would run once synchronization and transfer was complete, at least she hoped so. Her body would be an empty shell at that point.

That thought made her feel very alone. It was a familiar feeling, one she had last experienced when she heard of her brother's death in battle a year ago. With Tatewaki gone, she was the last of their family line in this world, so there was nothing to keep her here anymore.

The door shuddered once more, shaking her from her reverie. She leaned back on the couch and settled the bulky interlink headset over her head, pausing for a moment to look up at the ceiling over her head. One hand reached over and tapped a key, and she saw the screen begin running its calculations. A pair of sine waves sat below the streams of numbers, frozen in place. The door shuddered again under another solid impact.

She forced herself to ignore the door as the calculations began to slow down and finally stopped on a single set of numbers. The two sine waves moved together as synchronization began.

Please just let me have a few more seconds, she prayed.

The door exploded open as Kodachi screamed with fear-

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

-Kodachi surged up in her bed, screaming in terror. She looked wildly around the room, expecting to see sinister shapes coming at her from the darkened corners. Her breathing started to slow when the door to her room burst open, causing her to scream once more.

"Sister!" shouted Kuno. "What is it?" He was armed with one of his many bokken, alternating scanning the room with looking at his younger sister cowering behind the sheets of her bed.

She blinked, seeing her brother just as she remembered him from her original life, looking like a warrior from the old tales. She began to cry.

Kuno immediately set his weapon beside her bed and sat down next to her. He had forgotten how fragile she was. He cursed himself for frightening her so, aware that she must have had another one of her infrequent nightmares. He pulled her into a comforting hug and felt her body racked with sobs of fear and grief.

"Shhh... Kodachi..." he said quietly, unused to the position of comforter. "Do not fear, for I am with you. No harm shall come to you while I breathe." He patted her on the back, feeling her trembling with fear in his arms.

She tried to calm herself as the memories of this life flooded her awareness. As far as her family was concerned, it was not too different from her original life, save for recent events. In this life, she had chosen to attend Blackhall Academy, like many of her female peers among the lower nobility, studying dance and gymnastics.

Among other things, the decision point in her choice of schooling apparently came when she won the gold medal in Paris at the World Gymnastics Competition, instead of the silver that she had earned in her original life. Here, her parents were still alive, urging her to pursue her training even harder, and she had submitted to their wishes. This body was far stronger and more capable than she had ever thought herself able to become, leanly muscular underneath very womanly curves. It reminded her of the well-toned shape she had possessed in a timeline where she was a warrior.

This version of her had few friends though, devoting her attention to her studies. The other girls at Blackhall were jealous of her for some reason and excluded her from their many cliques. The few young men who had ever expressed any sort of interest in her, those who attended the all-male Whitehall Academy, were apparently unable to get past her brother. He was fiercely determined to protect her from what he viewed as their lustful predations. In this life she was very lonely. Meeting Ranma in her original life had given her a rare friendship, one her brother never knew of.

Kuno felt his sister's sobbing grow still. As the man of the house while their parents were away, it was his responsibility to take care of her. He was unsure what to do about the demons that pursued her in her dreams, save to offer her a comforting shoulder to cry on. Luckily, the nightmares of her childhood had grown rarer and farther apart in recent years. They made her seem so fragile to his eyes.

"I thank you for your concern, Brother Dear." She sniffled lightly. "I am better now. The dream is far away from me."

"Are you sure?" he asked, sitting back and releasing her. He studied her face to see if he could discern what her true feelings were. "It has been many months since your last nightmare."

"I said, I'm fine!" Kodachi snapped, and a moment later regretted it. Almost all of the memories of this new life had settled into place quickly, despite the differences. Ranma had shown her that she could be independent, and he always treated her as an equal, not as some sort of doll, like her brother did in this life. "I apologize, Brother Dear. I appreciate your concern for me, but I would prefer to be alone now."

Kuno nodded, stood up, nodded, and quietly left the room.

As he left, she noticed a familiar gleam on the table next to her bed. She reached out and picked up the small golden crucifix with trembling hands, a gift from her mother in this life long ago, a symbol of mother and daughter's shared faith in the Church of Christ the Warrior. The faint trembling stilled when the small, gold symbol was in her hands, and she stared out into the darkness beyond her window in the Kuno mansion and tried to contemplate her future.

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"That was when you noticed the changes?" asked Mikado. The other boy nodded and settled himself in at the edge of the practice mat. The Sanzenin youth sat next to him a moment later.

"Kodachi had always been such a gentle creature, the very image of a noblewoman," said Kuno. "This new Kodachi was like unto one of those commoner girls attending the Imperial Academy, independent-minded. The very next day after her nightmare, I chanced to encounter her in the mansion's training hall, working out. She was surprisingly skilled in combat techniques." His voice broke for a moment, pride in his sister mixed with concern.

"That explains how she was able to knock Asuka Saginomiya out a few weeks ago. I understand that it was quite a fight." It had also given him a very rare opportunity to offer comfort to the blonde beauty. The slap to his face had been well worth it for a kiss of those lips.

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Kodachi was in a rush to get to her next class when a figure stepped out of one of the side hallways, trailed by several cronies. The blonde leader stood in front of her and snapped an arm out, blocking her path.

"What's your hurry, Kuno-hime?" asked the girl with a smile. "We have some unfinished business, you and I. You owe me and my friends some protection money."

The Kuno girl paused, memories of bullying done by this girl springing into her awareness. Asuka Saginomiya, the self-proclaimed 'White Lily' of Blackhall Academy and undefeated captain of its Rhythmic Gymnastics squad. Kodachi turned to coolly look the other girl in the eyes.

"You and I have no business with each other, Saginomiya-san," Kodachi said in neutral tones. "I would suggest, for your own sake, that you remove yourself from my path and never bother me again in the future."

"OHHOHOHOHOHO!" laughed the other girl loudly, putting a hand in front of her mouth in a semblance of ladylike behavior. She dropped her hand when she finished laughing, the amused look immediately fading from her face to be replaced by a more dangerous one. "Oh, listen to Kuno-hime," she said with a sneer, looking back at her followers. A moment later, she returned her mocking gaze back to Kodachi. "And what happens if I don't do as you say?"

A few moments later, as the Poetry Club was enjoying the sun and fresh air on the trimmed front grass of Blackhall, a female body came hurtling unexpectedly through one of the second story windows. The girls quickly scattered as the famed White Lily barely managed to land on her feet as she came down on the grass. A bruise marred the complexion of her cheek, and fury lit her eyes.

Above, a few of the girls noticed Kodachi Kuno standing framed in the shattered remnants of the window, an odd smirk on her face. They saw her leap out from the window, body curling into a tight spin for a moment, before her feet touched down gracefully on the grass. The skirt of her uniform quickly settled around her legs.

"Care to try again, Saginomiya-san?" Kodachi raised her arms into a combat stance, the picture of a confident fighter.

"You struck my cheek!" screamed the other girl in fury. "Marred my beauty! Where did you ever learn how to fight?" She noticed that they were gathering a small crowd. Thankfully, most of the boys at Whitehall were away on a field trip, so she wouldn't have to contend with the Kuno girl's tiresome brother attempting to interfere. She glared at the other young women around them, and they scattered back from her fierce gaze.

"You'll find that I'm full of surprises today." Kodachi spoke in a bored tone. "Come closer and I'll give you a matching bruise on your other cheek. So, are you going to rant some more, or fight?" She felt quite exhilarated by the fight and secretly hoped that it would last for a little while. It would give her an opportunity to work off some of her frustrations. There was also an undercurrent in her thoughts, a desire to show the other girl who was truly the stronger female between them.

"I'm going to KILL YOU!" roared Asuka, charging at the other girl. She lashed out with a punch, and Kodachi ducked to one side. Her left fist struck upwards and rocked the other girl's head to the other side. They quickly traded blows and blocks before springing apart once more.

The blonde heard the whispers around them, and her fury deepened. She had been top girl at this Academy ever since she arrived. None of the older girls had dared to challenge her like this, even those who were fighters themselves. Suddenly the mousy little Kodachi Kuno had grown a spine. It looked like she was going to have to rip it out of her and teach the other girl her place here. She ran this school! Asuka Saginomiya! Kodachi Kuno was NOTHING!

Asuka leaped at the Kuno girl and began throwing a furious assault of punches and kicks. She was shocked to discover her opponent blocking or dodging each strike, and a counterstrike punch slipped past her guard to slam into her ribs. Ignoring the sudden pain, she drove her elbow up under her foe's chin, cracking her head back. She quickly followed it up with a savage knee strike into the other girl's gut.

Backing up, tears sprang from Kodachi's eyes from the pain of the two blows. She ducked a spin kick by Asuka and lashed upwards with a side kick of her own, managing to catch the blonde girl low in the belly. She followed it up with a solid uppercut punch that caught the White Lily flat-footed. Her head popped up, a glazed look in her eyes, as the Kuno girl spun herself around in a full turn and drove her foot across her adversary's face in a powerful spin kick, putting the full force of her twisting hips behind the blow.

Asuka's head snapped to one side, and blood flew from her mouth, as her body flew back to crash down hard on one of the lunch tables.

I'm... losing... Total disbelief colored the White Lily's thoughts. She laid there for a moment, dazedly watching the sky.

Dropping back into a ready stance, Kodachi tilted her head to each side, hearing the bones in her neck crackle and pop back into place. A smile appeared on her face as she noticed the other girls watching her with expressions approaching awe. There's a new Kodachi Kuno in town, ladies, the dark-haired girl thought with a smile. Establishing her new place in the social pecking order was long overdue, especially against a preening bully like the Saginomiya girl.

The blonde girl shook off her pain. Her foe was faster and more skilled than she had ever suspected. Fear briefly filled her but was quickly replaced by more anger. She was NOT going to lose to that pampered princess! She hopped off of the table in a vaulting leap that carried her up into the sky.

Kodachi lost sight of the other girl in the sun. Shading her face with one hand, she was almost caught by surprise by the rapidly-descending White Lily. The blonde girl's foot clipped her across the shoulder, driving her into the grass in a tumble. She rolled out of it only to catch each of Asuka's fists across her face in rapid succession before she could fully recover, causing her to reel back from the blows.

"You're NOTHING, Kodachi Kuno!" shouted the blonde into her face. "I want you to admit that!" Her fist struck Kodachi across the face once again, even harder than before. "You're no fighter! Beg me sincerely for forgiveness, or I will BREAK YOU!" Again her fist cracked across the Kuno girl's face, knocking her off her feet.

Dazed, her thoughts unfocused, Kodachi felt herself being lifted up by the front of her uniform. Her feet dangled against the grass. She felt strangely distant, and observed inanely that blood was leaking from her nose. Mother will be upset with me for getting my clothes dirty, she thought as her clarity slowly returned.

Holding her foe up by one arm, Asuka was confident that she had regained her control of the situation. She slapped Kodachi hard across the face a couple of times, watching the other girl's eyes returning to focus on her once more. The White Lily's look was cold. "Wake up, Kuno-hime. Time to end this."

She pulled back her fist and struck down, a confident smile on her face, despite the blood spilling from a split lip and battered nose.

Kodachi's hand suddenly caught the other girl's fist in mid-strike and held it there.

"I agree." On her face appeared a sudden, cruel smile. Asuka could only blink in surprise when the other girl's free hand struck her hard up under the jaw, lifting her body into the air. While the blonde was still descending from midair, Kodachi dropped one hand to the ground and launched both feet into her enemy's stomach. They both impacted hard, driving the air from the blonde girl's lungs.

Asuka's body crashed to the ground, unconscious. The White Lily has been clipped, thought Kodachi with a tired smile. Fighting had taken more out of her than she realized at first. She let her knees sag to the ground as she caught her breath and wiped at the blood coming from her nose with her handkerchief. Long live the new Kodachi Kuno, she mused.

The Kuno girl stood up when the White Lily's cronies came to check on their fallen leader. A single glare from her eyes stopped any of them from acting to avenge the other girl's loss. Ignoring amazed whispers from the crowd, she calmly walked back into the building, a weary smile on her face. It was time to make some other changes in her life.

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"So that was the tale of how she came to be injured," calmly remarked Kuno. "She would not tell me how she came by the bruises on her face, claiming that they were from an accident in her gymnastics class." He was less bothered by this new revelation than he had thought he might be. "My sister has chosen to follow the path of a warrior, as a true daughter of the Kunos. It will ease my mind a fraction to know that she can take care of herself."

"So does that mean I can take her on a date now?" Mikado joked in half-serious tones. He saw the heir to the Kuno name eyeing him neutrally, and he coughed into his fist. "Anyway, where do you suppose that she has been going after classes are over the last few weeks?"

"I do not know, my friend. I asked her about it once, and she requested that I leave her alone on the matter."

"Did you?"

"Of course I did. I respect my sister's wishes. If she desires to be alone, then I will abide."

"What if she's meeting a man?" Mikado inquired idly. There was a very sudden stillness in his friend, an almost deadly calm. "Kuno-kun?"

"My sister would not do such a thing," answered the other boy slowly. "She knows what I would do to any man taking advantage of her naive innocence. Have you heard something?"

"Umm, not really. I have only heard that she has been spending some time near the Imperial Academy grounds lately. Perhaps she made a friend with one of the female cadets."

"That might be so. Perhaps I should make an investigation into this matter more fully for myself. If she has met a man in secret, then that sneaking scoundrel shall answer to the might of Tatewaki Kuno!"

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His class in physical education had been an unpleasant surprise for Ranma when he first arrived at the Academy several weeks ago. While he ran several miles a day and studied gymnastics on his own initiative, his father made little effort to improve his son's physical performance, concentrating solely on his mental abilities while they were out on their travels. Coach Takami, his instructor, assigned him extra training after normal classes until he was satisfied with the boy's level of performance. That training was in addition to all that he was expected to do in his regular physical education period during the day.

Due to the instructor's dissatisfaction with his performance, weeks of pain and sweat followed, building Ranma's physique up to its present levels. Three hours of intensive training for six days a week had worked surprising amounts of changes on his body: building up his physique and toning his muscles to an even more well-defined state, as well as improving his reflexes. His coordination and flexibility were already excellent from his many years of gymnastics training, but his strength and stamina had been below what the instructor felt was satisfactory. Akane was among those who had enjoyed taunting the 'weakling' for those many weeks, especially when she was throwing him around during his combat training.

Today, as the pigtailed boy put on his workout uniform, things felt strangely different. That unconscious grace that had possessed him for several moments after his test was making itself subtly felt in his movements once again, as if something was changing within him. He hoped that it would not throw him off during class, especially not today. Like it was for three days out of the week, today was to be barehanded sparring with his assigned partner for class.

Unfortunately, that partner was Akane.

More than any other girl, she seemed to take some large measure of satisfaction in beating him up when the instructors weren't watching them too closely. His male classmates were somewhat sympathetic, but that was a small comfort, especially when she ground him into the mat for the fifth time in an hour like she usually did. Ranma wanted to beat her just once. She was always so smug in her victories over him, and it irritated him a great deal.

He closed his locker and walked out to the gymnasium area. A rainstorm was beating hard against the windows, occasionally broken up by bright flashes of lightning. It was a strangely ominous sign as far as the pigtailed boy was concerned. He hoped that it didn't mean he was going to get something broken today.

Akane walked past him to talk with some of her friends, favoring him with a brief look of disdain. She smiled at him and held up her left palm vertically for a moment, before driving her fist into it with a loud smacking sound. She noticed that there was something different about her usual sparring partner today, but she couldn't quite identify it. She shook her head. Like I could ever be worried about a weakling like Ranma, she thought in mild disgust.

During initial warm-up drills, the Tendo girl kept finding herself sneaking looks at him, flustering her a little. What was wrong with her? She could not get herself to shake the feeling that there was something intangibly different about the pigtailed boy today, and it gnawed at her. All she could tell was that there was something different in his movements, a casual grace that was only noticeable by its previous absence.

Ranma kept noticing Akane watching him out of the corner of his eye, and it bothered him. What does she keep looking at me for? He wondered about that as he stretched and limbered himself up for the coming conflict. A competitive fire began to burn in him, something that he had never quite felt before. It startled him a little.

After initial warm-up drills were over, he found himself facing her across the practice mat. They were kneeling, less than two meters apart from each other. She showed her teeth in a mirthless smile as they studied each other thoughtfully. The pair found themselves held by the other's gaze.

"Think you can offer me a challenge today, Saotome?" she asked quietly.

"Maybe I can give you a surprise or two, Tendo." Ranma gave her a steady look.

"Sounds good to me, Saotome." She licked suddenly dry lips briefly, as they continued to hold each other's gaze, smiling the same death's head smile. Their hearts speeded up, their breathing deepened, and there was an almost, but not quite, sexual attraction in the air now between them. There was a thing they were both born to do, more important to them than life itself, and they could each feel it slowly taking over, becoming inevitable.

The coach went down the line, loudly barking out the usual pre-match instructions. As the class waited for the signal to start, Ranma found himself eager to begin. His mind was in a state of supreme focus, one that he had only felt a few times before and never about any sort of physical confrontation. He licked his lips, his eyes never leaving the Tendo girl's as her eyes never left his.

Coach Takami reached the end of the line. A retired military officer, he took great pride in his students when they did well. If they were not doing well, he became a demon incarnate. The instructor raised his hand and dropped it swiftly.

"BEGIN!"

In a moment the pair were on their feet, facing each other, the moment of truth upon them. They rushed together, both of them now wearing those odd mirthless smiles. Akane took the initial advantage, testing Ranma's defenses with her own strong punches. She held nothing back, even though it was sparring, but he wasn't standing or moving like he normally did and managed to duck or dodge each one of her strikes.

Looking back over that moment later in his memories, the pigtailed boy felt like something long missing had finally clicked into its proper place inside him. His slightly awkward posture firmed and his movements became swifter and surer. Akane threw a punch at his jaw, and his head swerved to one side. She threw a kick at his chest, and he leaned back briefly to dodge it. He felt completely in control of the course of the fight, and he never even paused to wonder why.

A miracle had happened.

The Tendo girl wondered what was wrong, as her adversary slipped aside from one of her punches. Why did she keep missing him? He was not normally this good. Had he been hiding his real skill from her for all this time?

She frowned in puzzlement, and she began to attack him even harder and more earnestly. Ranma found his defenses able to block or dodge every one of her attacks as they became faster and faster, but her defenses kept him at bay as well. He threw a punch or a kick and her arm blocked it, or she dodged. A strange passion filled the Tendo girl. Never before had she felt so challenged by an opponent. It was glorious and wonderful to her, and she never wanted it to end.

No words were spoken between them, brief grunts of effort the only sounds they made. There was an incredible intensity between them, an undertone to their battle that required that no words be spoken. This was a test of muscle and bone, nerve and will. That odd, almost sexual tension between them continued to build as they fought. They strove against each other, each seeking to dominate the other in a primal test of strength and skill.

By unspoken agreement, they cranked up the speed of their sparring by one notch, then another, and still another. The world around them faded away, and it became a dance of skill between the two of them. Akane was a supremely capable fighter, but Ranma found himself able to keep up with her strike for strike for the first time in his life. He was so lost in the passions of the moment engendered by the fight that he didn't think to question why.

Their movements became almost a blur of motion, the intensity slowly reaching a climax, and the dance was drawing to its inevitable close. This clash of wills, of passions between them, swirled between them, driving them both onwards like a couple in coitus approaching orgasm. Something primal had taken possession of the pigtailed boy, a driving need to show his supremacy by defeating Akane.

One of his fists managed to break through her guard, and he began getting the upper hand. Almost mercilessly, caught up in the spell that he was in, he started wearing Akane down with powerful blows: a punch to her chin, a kick to her stomach, and another solid punch into her ribs. Her return strikes only grazed him, and a sense of exultation filled him. Without even thinking about it, he began to launch into a final sequence of blows that would have given him the win. He was so focused on the fight that he never even thought to question how he knew that with such certainty.

"BREAK!"

Both combatants suddenly froze in place at the distinctive snap of the coach's voice, trained to be undeniable even in the white-hot heat of battle. The spell between the pair shattered in an instant, and their awareness of the world around them returned with a crash. Sweat ran down Ranma's face, his hair plastered to his scalp. She looked as tired as he did.

Ranma took several deep breaths, feeling his heart rate slowing back to normal, and Akane did the same. Her eyes studied him with much more care than they ever had before, and there was a subtle flash of something new that had never been in her gaze before. He was trying hard not to stare at her heaving chest within her gi by looking around at his classmates.

The rest of the class was standing around the two of them, staring at the duo with amazed looks. Ranma turned back and spied the Tendo girl staring at him with a strange, almost smoldering look. A few whispered conversations were taking place, but he was having difficulty hearing them over the fading thunder of blood in his ears. Some of the girls were giving him appraising looks that they never had before, and some of his fellow male cadets were looking at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"Saotome-san!" Coach Takami's voice had a quality to it that Ranma had never heard before, at least not directed at him. "That was simply magnificent! All these weeks of training you have finally paid off! I just knew that there was a fighter inside that bookish exterior!" The man looked like he was near tears. Ranma had never seen that happen before.

The pigtailed boy just stood there in a state of shock. Akane shifted her expression and gave him an appraising look, her features settled into a disturbing sort of smile. She shook her head, scattering a few droplets of sweat from her hair. He focused his attention back on her, and on her face through a surprising effort of will. There was an odd glint to her eyes, as if she had just discovered a secret that both annoyed and pleased her.

"A surprisingly good match, Saotome," said Akane softly as she gazed at him with that strange expression on her face. "Perhaps we could bring it to a conclusion someday?" She sidled closer to him, a vaguely seductive look added to her smile. "Maybe after classes are over today?"

He stared at her as if he couldn't quite comprehend what she was saying, trying to get his thoughts in order. What the hell was going on with Akane today? She looked almost interested in him? Ranma paused to try and analyze the situation logically, now that his thoughts were clear of those strange feelings that had settled over him during the sparring match. Things were not computing well.

She reached out and gently grabbed one of his hands and didn't look like she was about to let go. Her grip was strong for a girl, the hand moderately callused from her training, and it was very warm against his. There was a vague promise in her eyes, an almost manic look upon her face. He swallowed down a suddenly dry throat, and tried to think of something to say. Nothing was coming out.

His attempted reply was cut off before he could make it as the class ended, and the crowd around the couple swept them apart. Some of the girls were giggling as they led the Tendo girl away, and she chatted quite animatedly with them. Before she got out of his sight, Akane paused to give him an enigmatic look. When he didn't respond as she seemed to expect him to, she turned and stomped into the locker room, muttering under her breath. On the other end of the gymnasium building, most of his fellow male cadets were a little unsure of what to make of him today, so he was left to himself as he trudged to the locker room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As she had been doing for the last couple of weeks, Kodachi stood outside the grounds of the Imperial Academy and watched the front gate area. Her chest heaved a little from the long run over from Blackhall Academy, and she leaned against the tree she was lurking behind as she regained her breath. A mildly painful stitch in her side was fading, a reminder of the hit she took there in her latest fight with Asuka. A brief smile lit her face at her memory of the fight.

Only a day after the first fight was concluded with the Kuno girl's victory, the self-proclaimed White Lily challenged her again. That fight ended much the same, Kodachi dusting her hands off as she left the beaten blonde lying in a heap on the grass. The instructors were quiet on the matter, which puzzled her. She asked one of them about it and was informed that such vendettas were student affairs due to their status in society. She and Asuka could apparently beat each other black and blue every day, as long as it didn't interfere very much with their assigned schoolwork.

The White Lily refused to admit defeat, and each fight did give Kodachi a bit of a challenge. However, none were quite as close as that first fight had been. She looked at it as good training for her martial arts skills, something that her solitary practice at home wouldn't have given her. The blonde had victimized her former self since the first day of classes, for reasons that neither the old nor the new Kodachi ever quite understood. Dealing with the other girl was rather difficult outside of a fistfight anymore; she refused to speak with the Kuno girl other than to snarl threats or insult her.

So the fights continued each day. Depending on the mood of Kodachi's new enemy, the White Lily would either challenge her when she first arrived in the morning for class, or during lunch period. Almost always, they fought outside on the grass where there was plenty of room for acrobatic movement. On rare occasions, the other girl even showed up at Kodachi's classroom, attacked her with savage fury, and the fight began. On those few occasions, sometimes the arrogant blonde would be tossed through a window as an opening gambit in the fight, and sometimes it was Kodachi herself. The instructor only objected to the intrusion once, when it was during an exam last week.

All of the other girls at Blackhall enjoyed watching the fighting, though it would have scandalized their parents if they knew. Few of them had ever received any amount of combat training; it was just something that properly brought up young ladies of quality simply did not do. But they received a secret thrill to see two of their own locked in savage battle with each other. During lunchtime, the female cadets ate their lunches and watched the pair pummeling each other like it was a staged show.

For her part, the fights were an almost pleasant diversion from Kodachi's concerns over what to do about Ranma. For almost two weeks now, she had been observing the version of him on this timeline as he went about his life. She felt a vague ache in her chest at the sight of him, more than she thought that she should feel for someone who had only been considered a friend to her in another life. So she watched him from a distance and wondered what to say to him.

She saw him walking out the front gate of the Imperial Academy by himself, and her breath caught in her throat. She ducked back behind the tree and breathed a deep sigh of relief when he didn't appear to notice her. He looks so much like my Saotome-kun, she caught herself thinking. Then she frowned, cursing her own stupidity. Of course he would, you foolish girl, she thought.

Slowly peeked around the edge of the tree, she saw him walking up the street, seemingly lost in thought. Okay, today is the day that I introduce myself, she thought with a sudden surge of confidence filling her, bringing her right fist up in front of her chest. She took a couple of steps after him, and then her resolve began to crumble.

What would she say to him? How would she explain who she was without coming off sounding like a lunatic? What if he wasn't even working on anything like the resonator? What if he was nothing like his analog from her world? All these questions and more whirled through her mind, sapping the strength of her convictions. She stood there as he walked around a corner and out of sight.

"Coward," she muttered a curse to herself. "Weakling!" She slammed a kick into a nearby brick wall, cracking it. Overwhelmed with extreme frustration, she burst into tears and ran home as fast as she could. She didn't even notice anyone on her way back to the Kunos' mansion, running as fast as she was able to.

After Kodachi left in tears, Kuno stepped out from where he had been observing her. A dark scowl was on his face. The face of the man who had caused his innocent sister to cry was seared into his memory, and his imagination filled with numerous dark deeds that she must have suffered at the stranger's hands to bring forth such tears. He rested his hand on the pommel of the bokken thrust through his belt. A powerful need for vengeance filled him as he strode across the quiet street to demand from the Academy administration the name to go with that face.

Entering in through the open gateway, the young nobleman almost ran headlong into a female cadet on her way out. Stumbling, he grabbed hold of her in an attempt to steady them both, causing her to drop her bookbag. He began to offer an apology when he felt his hands forcibly removed from where they were holding onto.

"Watch where you're grabbing, whoever you are," Nabiki growled softly, before regaining her normal, cool poise. Kuno blinked with surprise, completely unaccustomed to being referred to in such a casual manner.

"T'was an accident, no more," he said stiffly, his need to retain his dignity surging forward. "I merely attempted to keep you from falling. I am not the sort of man who would do otherwise."

"Right. Whatever." Nabiki bent down to retrieve her bookbag. She stood back up, noting his uniform, and looked him squarely in the eyes. "So what brings you to the Imperial Academy, my young lordling?"

Ignoring the cool-gazed girl's impertinence in the face of his greater mission, Kuno struck a righteous pose. "I seek the name of the base scoundrel who has defiled my innocent sister," he thundered. "I saw him leave through these gates mere moments ago."

Nabiki paused in the midst of straightening her uniform. A chance at making a little extra cash had apparently just run into her. She affixed a pleasant smile to her face, mixed with just the right amount of sympathy and understanding. "Perhaps I might be able to be of some assistance to you, Milord? Milord-?"

"Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen," he replied, picking up his cue. Off in the distance, lightning flashed. "The rising star among the noble warriors of the Empire, undefeated in combat, and the proud heir to the noble House of Kuno, at your service." He looked a little disappointed when she didn't immediately kneel or bow deeply to him. Impertinent wench, he thought in mild irritation, but there was something mildly appealing to him about her. He shook off that distracting sensation, having a mission to perform.

"Greetings, Kuno-dono," said Nabiki as she bowed to the proper level, trying very hard not to break out in laughter at the stuffed peacock standing so pompously before her in his starched school uniform. In the back of her mind there was a stirring of feelings similar to what she had felt upon seeing Ranma for the first time, but she ignored the unexpected distraction to concentrate on the business at hand. "I am Nabiki Tendo, middle daughter of Assistant Director Soun Tendo of the Ministry of Security. I am very familiar with almost all of the faces of the cadets attending here. If you described him to me, I am sure that I could give you the name, for a small fee."

"What?" he sputtered in surprise. "You seek to charge a lord of the Empire? Know you not that samurai have the Imperial writ to slay any peasant that stands in their way? I could dispatch you for less." He placed his hand in a more threatening manner on the pommel of his weapon. "What manner of woman are you?"

"A practical one, Kuno-dono," Nabiki replied dryly, ignoring his threat. "I have information that you require, and I'm your only option right now. The administration offices are closed now, so you could always come back tomorrow." He puffed up dangerously. "Or you could pay me a small finder's fee for my trouble, and I could give you the name of the cadet myself. I should also point out at this time that the Tendo bloodline is of minor nobility itself, Milord."

The young nobleman blinked, his arrogant mannerisms stumbling a bit, as he asked, "But why, if you are noble, do you attend this peasant's school?"

"The Tendos have served the Empire with distinction for several centuries in such capacities, Milord," said the girl with a mildly sarcastic emphasis on the last word. "Take note that you are seeking information from me now, a task that my upbringing has taught me well how to fulfill. Now, do you wish to pay me, or shall I be on my way?"

"Very well," he growled. "But I shall not soon forget this though, Tendo-san. Consider this the first and last money that you will ever receive from the noble House of Kuno. How much do you require?"

"Two thousand yen should cover a name," Nabiki replied mildly. "Five thousand if you also desire an address." She held out her hand and he swiftly counted out five thousand-yen notes into it. She caught a look at the remaining number of notes in the wallet and swallowed softly. It was more than she took in over a month. She filed that bit of knowledge away for future reference, already planning how she might supplement her income by providing future assistance to someone like him.

"The knave was about so tall," said Kuno, gesturing with his hand. "A rather dull-looking sort, but also obviously possessing an animal-like cunning if he was able to fool my sister with enticing words. His eyes were blue, set into an almost effeminate face, and he wore his hair in a pigtail. He appeared every inch an obvious base-born commoner, unworthy of even looking upon a woman as noble as my cherished sister."

Nabiki had been nodding along with his description until the nobleman mentioned the pigtail. Ranma Saotome? She was surprised, but let no sign of it show upon her face. My my, Ranma-kun, what have you been doing with yourself?

"I know the person of which you speak."

Kuno, forgetting the rules of propriety in his haste to acquire the answer to his question, grabbed her by the arms and shook her lightly. "You know of whom I speak?" he cried. "Tell me that I may punish him for the wrongs he hath done to my sister!"

The Tendo girl gave him a neutral look, one eyebrow rising slightly above the level of the other. He blinked and quietly released her.

"My apologies, Tendo-san," he said more calmly. "I fear I was overcome by my righteous wrath against this person whom I seek. Please forgive me for my unseemly behavior. It did not befit a noble lord of our Empire such as myself."

"I will forgive you, if you will forgive me for my rudeness earlier," said Nabiki mildly, grateful for a chance at preserving a potentially lucrative relationship. "I was startled to be grabbed by a strange man like that."

"We are agreed then, Tendo-san," he said, his original equanimity restored. "Please tell me the name of this person, that I might exact justice upon him."

"His name is-" she hesitated for a moment. She still hadn't decided if she wanted Ranma for herself, but she didn't think that the nobleman was going to kill him. He was probably just going to scare him. "His name is Ranma Saotome."

Lightning suddenly flashed behind Kuno, and he appeared to be committing the identity of his chosen enemy to memory. "Ranma Saotome," he grimly muttered, nodding his head slightly. "I shall bring you to righteous justice. I SWEAR IT!" He raised his arms to the skies and began to laugh.

In front of him, Nabiki raised one eyebrow as she stared at him in amazement. What kind of a lunatic lord had she just gotten herself involved with?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Unaware of the drama that had just taken place behind him back at the Academy, Ranma was lost in deep thought as he walked home, his bag slung over his shoulder. So much to think about. His combat abilities were greatly improved, which was simply amazing. He looked at his hand and slowly made a fist.

Pop will be surprised when I tell him the results of my first test run. Waitasec. Pop? The pigtailed boy felt a mild amusement mixed with concern. Up until that moment, Genma Saotome had always been 'Father' in his thoughts. He was apparently changing inside, perhaps more than he expected. He wondered if he should just avoid returning to that quantum's personality. He considered that and rejected it. If he rejected one timeline due to fear of mental contamination, then he might as well abandon the entire project. And that was not something that he was prepared to do. There was too much to gain.

He stepped around a corner, and almost bumped into Akane. She was leaning casually against the wall of an alley that he used on his way home every day, and she seemed to be waiting for someone. Her bookbag sat next to her feet, and she had her arms crossed in front of her chest. The look on her face was one of annoyance at something. She looked at him as he stumbled back from almost stepping into her.

"Akane, I mean, Tendo-san." She narrowed her eyes at him, and he started to feel that running might be a good idea. He wasn't sure why exactly, but he was sure that she was angry at him for some reason. Then, her expression subtly changed.

"Saotome-kun," she softly said, her voice possessed of an almost sultry quality. She stepped away from the wall and raised her fists, her body in an offensive posture. "I challenge you!"

"Huh?" He took another step back, and his bookbag fell from suddenly nerveless fingers. "What are you talking about? I don't want to fight you." Even as he spoke, he knew that it was a lie. More aware of them now, the pigtailed boy savagely beat down the spell of emotions that had gripped him in class. He was not going to lose control like that again.

"I want to finish what we started today in class," she continued in that same soft and sultry tone of voice. "Your martial arts skills were incredible." She advanced a half step in his direction, and a seductive smile blossomed on her face. "I don't know how you improved so much so quickly, but I want to see how good you really are now."

Ranma was having none of that.

"I don't know what your problem is, but I just want to go home now," he said gruffly, a hoarseness in his voice. He bent down to pick up his bookbag, and her sudden kick almost took his head off. The pigtailed boy snapped his body back, and her kick flashed by his face, missing by less than a centimeter. His body took up a fighting stance before he realized it.

"Not bad," Akane said with a pleased smile. "You must be very good to be able to hide your skill from me for such a long time." She lunged forward at him. "Now we fight!"

Ranma backpedaled out of the alleyway, dodging a furious barrage of punches and kicks from the Tendo girl. She's serious about this, he thought, trying to control his own rising emotions as he blocked and dodged her attacks at the same time. He flipped over her head, and lashed out with a spin kick. She blocked it with an upraised arm, and she hit him with a solid counterstrike punch to his gut.

The punch slammed into his stomach, driving the air from his lungs. His reflexes kicked in at that point, driving a solid palm strike across her jaw. Her head snapped to the right, and they broke apart. Was she feeling the same things that he was? This was just crazy.

Akane swallowed a little blood as she felt her jaw, but none of her teeth seemed to be loosened. Saotome-kun, you are a good fighter, she thought with a warm, almost loving feeling, and an awareness that she had found her life's goal. She had been missing a real challenge in her life. When they had fought together today, it was as if for the first time. She now knew that he was the one she had been looking for. She smiled very coquettishly at him, and his face blanched slightly.

"Could you please tell me why we're fighting?" Ranma was now almost desperate to avoid a fight. He was hoping that he could somehow manage to talk her out of this. He had no real desire to hurt Akane, or be hurt by her either.

"For the challenge, of course," she replied with a throaty chuckle, grinning at him. "Fighting with a strong opponent is fun."

"Fun?" The pigtailed boy sensed the truth in what Akane said but tried very hard to deny it. He paused to think about that, and she was all over him again. One of her punches slammed into his face, but his knee caught her low in her side. They blocked each other's punches and kicks, but more of her blows were getting through. He tried to throw her away from him, but his balance was off and she quickly reversed the hold. Oh no, he thought in horror, as he knew what was about to happen.

She slammed him down to the concrete on his back, and rapid-fired a series of left and right-handed punches into his face. He felt the world spinning, as she sprang back to her feet with an extremely disappointed look on her face.

"Come on, Ranma," coaxed Akane, gesturing with her hands for him to rise. "You're not trying nearly as hard as you did in class today. I thought we could finish our fight." She frowned, as the pigtailed boy wasn't moving much.

"Thought you hated me," he managed to gasp out. His ribs felt like they were on fire, and his face hurt with more pain than he had ever imagined that he could feel. He tentatively brushed his hand underneath his nose, and it came away bright red with blood. A sick feeling was in his stomach, but he also felt again that strange desire to conquer Akane.

"I hate weaklings," she replied, frowning at him some more. She wanted to experience that same rush of excitement that she had known in class, but he wasn't giving it to her. What was wrong with him? He wasn't fighting anywhere near the level he was earlier. She nudged his leg gently with a toe, ready for any tricks. He groaned, slowly struggling to get up. His elbows trembled as he forced his body up from the concrete.

"Just leave me alone, Tendo!" Ranma managed to get back to his feet. He was trying to sort out his confused feelings. "You get some sort of sick thrill out of beating me up?"

"Damn you, Saotome!" she shouted, kicking a can down the alley in anger. "This is totally different! You somehow managed to hide your abilities from me despite my bullying you, but now I know the truth! You're much better than this, I know it! If we hadn't been interrupted, you would have beaten me in class today. I need a fighter to challenge my skills, so I'm going to keep at you twice as hard as I used to. If you know what's good for you tomorrow, you'll fight me with everything I saw you had in you today." She picked up her bookbag and stalked off in disgust.

What a whacked out chick, thought Ranma in amazement. He tried to clean the blood and dirt off of himself as best that he could before he picked up his bag. He walked home, cursing her name all the way.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane walked home, cutting through an alleyway, her usual frown back in place on her face. Damn you, Saotome, she thought, kicking a chunk of concrete up between her feet. She caught it on one raised foot on the way down, balancing the softball-sized stone easily. She casually tossed it from foot to foot as she slowly kept walking, an exercise her mother had once taught her, her thoughts distracted.

The pigtailed boy's newfound skill just didn't make sense to her. How had she misjudged him so badly for so long? She paused, a delicious shiver running through her as she remembered her sparring match with him. He finally showed his true level of skill to me, she thought with a sad sigh. So why didn't he want to fight her anymore?

Far behind the Tendo girl, four shadowy figures entered the alleyway that she was in. Once out of sight of the street, three of the four young men pulled out weapons: the first flipped out and held a pair of balisong knives, the second wielded a bokken, the third used a set of weighted chains, but the last remained unarmed. As they stepped into the light, their uniforms were revealed to be from the Imperial Academy, the distinctive gray of security cadets.

A single figure appeared behind them, remaining in the shadows of the alleyway as he addressed the tough-looking young men. "You know what to do," said the shadowy figure. "I want Akane Tendo taken down hard as a lesson to her sister that there's a new power at the Academy, but I want her left alive. I chose all of you for your skill, so do not fail me in this. The four of you, my Wolf Pack, should be sufficient to deal with an annoyance like the younger Tendo sister."

"We understand, Boss," said the unarmed one. He appeared to be the most intelligent of the foursome. "Akane Tendo will be dealt with."

"Excellent." Their leader's face remained hidden in shadow. "I leave it to you then." He turned and walked from the alleyway, content that the most dangerous piece from Nabiki's ranks was about to be dealt with.

Behind him, the Wolf Pack moved towards Akane, an eagerness to fulfill their mission in their eyes.

She sensed something wrong behind her and whirled around. The stone that she had been kicking up between her feet fell to the pavement. She spotted the four cadets from the Academy, and a brief moment of fear filled her. Separately, they had been tough but beatable opponents. Together, even she wasn't sure if she could take them all. Two or three of them she knew she could handle, but not all four at the same time.

The Wolf Pack stared at its chosen prey, and Akane stared back in defiance. Her eyes blazed, her heart began to accelerate, and her breathing began to deepen. Her frustrated need for a fight with Ranma only added to her readiness. Her hands curled into fists at her side.

"So you're too afraid of me to try me singly?" taunted the girl, her feet sliding into a ready position. Her mind worked furiously as she forced herself to recall everything that she could about each of her opponents.

The unarmed one, Hiei Yuukyuuzan, was probably the most dangerous of the foursome. He practiced a powerful but rare style of martial arts called the Path of the Fist. His punches were able to shatter concrete, and he was surprisingly swift for one so large.

The one wielding the bokken was Naka Seta, a skilled fighter with his family's school of swordplay. His hair was held back by a white strip of cloth emblazoned with his family's symbol, and a bright smile adorned his face. Naka always smiled, even when he was injured.

The chain wielder was Hayate Isurugi, and the Tendo girl always wondered how he had gotten past the psychological tests given at the Academy. A borderline psychotic, he was another one that she was going to have to watch closely.

The last one, the knife wielder, was Kena Sadojima and was lightning fast with his blades. She needed to break one of his arms in their last fight before she was able to put him down. She could tell that he was aching to stab her as repayment.

This is not going to be easy, thought Akane, eyeing the four as they closed with her. They had ignored her taunt and were coming at her as a unit. For a moment, there was peace.

Then the peace shattered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma paused in his footsteps and then snapped his fingers. His mother had wanted him to pick up a book for her at the store, and he had walked right past the street that he needed. He shook his head as he turned right and headed down the street. A twinge from his back muscles earned Akane another curse from him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Tendo girl considered running but realized that she didn't have a hope of outdistancing them in the slippery confines of the alleyway. Her only chance was to fight. Besides, she thought confidently, I've beaten each of these guys before. Taking them on together can't be too tough. They'll probably end up getting in each other's way.

Naka leaped at her, smiling his usual disturbing smile but not speaking, his wooden blade thrusting downwards in a powerful strike. She dodged to one side and the strike decimated a nearby garbage can, its contents exploding open. She repaid his attack with a swing of her bookbag, the heavy leather satchel impacted with his face before he could bring his weapon up in time to block her.

"You are still as strong as I remember from our last fight, Akane Tendo," said Hiei in a calm voice. "You can't win though. There are four of us this time, and we know how you fight." His fist narrowly missed her body as she leaped up split-legged over his attack, her hands resting for a moment on his hugely muscular arm.

"We're all gonna have some fun tonight, Akane-chan," chuckled Hayate, swinging his chain around his right hand as he waited for an opening. He sent the weighted end snapping at her limbs every time he saw an opening.

"I owe you some major pain after our last encounter, Tendo," growled Kena. "I intend to break both your arms as payback."

"Come on and try it, you little pervert," she snapped back. She dealt him a kick to the face when he made the mistake of getting too close but was forced to back off when Hiei attempted to attack her.

"Hey!" called out a new voice behind them all. "What do you jerks think you're doing?"

Five pairs of eyes turned to see a slightly battered Ranma walking down the alleyway towards them. It was pretty much a toss-up as to who was most surprised to see who in the alleyway confrontation.

The pigtailed boy had decided to take a shortcut through the small maze of alleyways here in the commercial district to try and cut a few minutes off of his path. He was surprised to discover, when he turned a corner, four young men menacing a girl wearing an Academy uniform. It wasn't until he moved a little closer that he recognized that it was the youngest Tendo, partially hidden behind her group of attackers.

Akane felt a strange sense of relief to see him here, not that she considered herself to need anyone's help in dealing with a fight. The swordsman Naka was behind her, blocking her way. In the time it took to deal with him, the others would be able to attack her from behind before she was able to escape.

The Wolf Pack was irritated in varying degrees to see a witness for the expected defeat of the Tendo girl. As far as they were concerned, Ranma Saotome was simply an unfortunate bystander needing persuasion to forget what he was seeing, once the much greater threat of Akane was dealt with. Hiei tapped Kena on the shoulder and muttered, "Deal with this intrusion."

"This isn't any concern of yours, Saotome," Kena smirked. "We probably hate the little bitch as much as you do. So why don't you just turn around and walk away like a good boy? Otherwise you might get hurt." He flipped the balisong knife around in his hands, the split handle making snapping sounds as he flipped it open and closed.

Confident that the knife wielder could quickly deal with a threatless non-combatant like Ranma Saotome, Hiei turned his attentions back to Akane. Hayate grinned and moved forward, and Naka did the same. Hayate lashed out with a length of chain, encircling one of her wrists as she struck Hiei in the chest with a kick. Naka attacked a moment later, and she was hard-pressed to deal with the three of them at once.

Ranma calmly set his bookbag down as Kena walked towards him, his two knife blades spinning and flipping, one in each hand. All this fighting in one day is getting a little tiresome, the pigtailed boy thought in annoyance. He waited for the other boy to get closer.

"So what do you say, Saotome?" said Kena. "Are you going to turn around like a good little honor student and leave Akane Tendo to her fate? It would be the-URK!"

Ranma's fist smashed hard into the middle of the boy's face, cutting him off right in the middle of his impromptu speech. The two knife blades clattered to the ground as his body toppled backwards. The pigtailed boy leaped up, bounced once off of Kena's prone body to ensure that he stayed out of the remainder of the fight, and leaped into the middle of the fray.

Akane was dealing fair to poorly with the three attackers that now surrounded her, unused to fighting multiple highly-skilled opponents like this. She dodged away from Naka's bokken slash, ducked under Hiei's massive fist swinging at her, and ended up getting clipped in the chin by Hayate's chain weight. Now she was furious.

Hiei summoned up his full strength to strike her when a kick impacted into the middle of his back, driving his head through the wall. Hayate whirled to see who the new threat was just in time to catch an axe kick down across his face from Ranma as he landed behind Hiei, currently partially stuck in the wall and bellowing his rage.

Naka struck down with his bokken, but the Tendo girl was able to deal with him easier now that she didn't have two other opponents to deal with at the same time. Her body moved aside from the slash, ducking out of the way. Her fist drove into his stomach as the blade of his wooden weapon passed by her, earning her a gasp of pain from him.

Ranma's arm was wrapped around by a length of chain as he tried to dodge around the trapped Hiei. "Give it up, Saotome," snarled Hayate. "I'm twice the fighter that you could ever be, even with the special training that Takami has been giving you." He yanked at the pigtailed boy's arm and was surprised when the scholar didn't lose his balance.

Pulling on his arm, Ranma felt the tension between him and Hayate as they tested each other's strength. Time to show this jerk that I've learned some new tricks. He rushed towards his opponent, smiling grimly at the surprised look on Hayate's face.

Hiei managed to pull his head from the hole in the brick wall. "What soon to be dead coward dared to strike me from behind like that?" he roared to the skies. Akane dodged another furious assault by Naka by dropping down prone to the ground. Her right foot drove upwards into Hiei's groin with as much strength as she could manage.

As the pigtailed boy slammed his fist full force into Hayate's face, he heard a muffled whumping sound next to him. Hiei sank to his knees, tears on his face. Hayate bounced off the wall from the strength of the blow, and Ranma yanked him back by the chain he held. He drove his fist into Hayate's face a second time, and watched the other youth's knees suddenly buckle. He let him fall and turned to see how Akane was doing with the two remaining attackers.

The Tendo girl kicked upwards a second time, aiming higher, and her foot hit Naka under the jaw. His body flew up and back in an arcing flight to land with a resounding crash against one of the brick walls. The bokken fell out of his hands as he dropped unconscious.

Ranma lifted Hiei's chin up, noting where she must have hit him by the way that Hiei clutched himself and moaned. Taking pity on him, he attempted to knock him unconscious with a crack of his fist onto the other's jaw. When the first didn't do it, he added a second punch for good measure. The other boy's eyed rolled back into his head, and he fell backwards unconscious.

The pigtailed boy felt extremely lucky that he took no hits during the fight, idly noting that Akane looked uninjured. He offered her a hand up, and she slapped it away before quickly springing back to her feet. Shrugging at that, he turned around and walked back to his bookbag's resting place. Ungrateful tomboy, thought Ranma, feeling even more needful of a hot soak once he reached home.

"I didn't need your help, you know," he heard her say from behind him. "I would have been able to beat them all by myself."

"I'm sure you could have, Tendo." Ranma picked up his bookbag before he turned back to face her. He grinned at her. "I just don't like to see someone getting bullied. Even though I knew you would win, I couldn't resist joining in the fun." He turned away and walked off, waving back at her without turning around. "Later."

Behind him, Akane held one hand in a tight fist. I don't need some man to save me, Saotome. But, thank you. She relaxed her hand back open, and a brief smile appeared on her face.

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*** Earth -0.001,-0.001

Akane ducked under Kena's swing while trying to shake her arm free from Hayate's chain. The razor-sharp edge of his knife narrowly missed opening up her cheek, only removing a single lock of her hair. Blood ran down her right arm and left leg from two of his previous slashes. She buried her foot into his stomach, slamming the knife wielder back into the alley wall. Only then did she turn her attention back to her other foe. She was slowing down, and she was still outnumbered.

Hayate twirled the free end of his chain with one hand as he hauled on her right arm with the other end. He snapped it out at her, forcing her to block and devote more attention to him. A feral smile lit her tired face as she rushed him, negating his hold on her with the chain. He only had a single moment to realize his mistake before her palm strike smashed into his jaw and shattered several of his teeth.

"Oou bith!" cried Hayate through his ruined mouth. She drove a second punch into his chest, feeling the satisfying cracking of several ribs and a cry of pain that fell into soft sobs. She finished him off with a savage knee strike up under the jaw that came close to breaking his neck but only shattered his remaining teeth. His body landed in a pile of garbage bags.

Naka was slumped against one wall, where one of Akane's kicks had propelled him. A trail of blood from his face and broken nose led from his initial point of impact against the wall to the current resting place for his head. His hand twitched slightly around the hilt of his bokken. As he was unconscious, that was the only movement he made.

Out of the corner of her eye, she chanced to see Hiei rushing up from behind her and tried desperately to block, but her balance was off by a fraction from the weight of Hayate still dragging her back by the chain. The hulking boy's fist drove across her face, turning the cheek on that side into a ruin of pulped flesh and broken bone. She was blasted back by the impact into the wall behind her.

Akane felt her body going into shock. Oh God! she thought desperately. It can't end like this! She staggered away from the wall woozily. Another punch from Hiei caved in a few of her ribs, and she whirled away from him in desperation, struggling to put some distance between her and him.

"Now it ends, bitch," Kena softly said, blood foaming up out of his mouth as he suddenly loomed up in front of Akane. One of his blades sank into the base of her abdomen up to the hilt, held there by his right hand. Battered, exhausted, and on the edge of shock, she only gave a small, surprised grunt of pain.

He laid an almost gentle hand on the Tendo girl's shoulder, feeling her muscles trembling from the shock. Taking a firmer grip on his blade first, he ripped upwards through her abdomen until the edge grated on bone. A wash of blood and gore fell to the sidewalk as she slumped against him. He gave her a contemptuous shove and let her body fall to the pavement.

"She wasn't so tough," said Kena, taking a moment to spit on the dying girl. "The four of us took her out just fine. But how the hell am I supposed to get this blood out of my clothes now? Stupid bitch!"

"Idiot!" grunted Hiei, gently probing at his right eyesocket. He wasn't seeing out of that eye anymore and feared that he was blind in it now, a reminder of Akane's strength that he would carry to his dying day. "We weren't supposed to kill her!" Despite his pain, he gazed at the fallen girl, noting her open but sightless eyes. A cruel smile appeared on his face. Ah well, perhaps it had been her destiny to die.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma stopped outside the front gate and tried to ready himself for his mother's reaction. It wasn't going to be pretty. He trudged up the front walk and entered the house, and he heard his mother putting the finishing touches on dinner. With any luck he would be able to get cleaned up in the bathroom before he ran into his parents.

"I'm home! I'm going to go and wash up before dinner!" His mother didn't usually greet him at the door, so he didn't wait for a reply before he ran up the stairs as fast as his abused body could move. The pigtailed boy breathed a sigh of relief as he made it to the bathroom, and locked the door behind himself.

Ranma took a look at the damages in the mirror. They weren't quite as bad as he feared that they would be. He had a black eye, a split lip, and some impressive bruising on his face. His stomach area was bruised on both sides, but the damage didn't seem to be very serious. He took a deep breath and found that he was able to hold it without much pain. A soak in the tub would be a blessing from the gods right now.

After washing his face with some warm water, he pulled out the first aid kit from under the sink and applied some antiseptic. The stinging brought a whistling intake of breath into his lungs and pain to his abused stomach muscles. Grumbling under his breath about violent, psychotic, thuggish girls, Ranma quickly undressed to clean off before he took a quick soak.

There was a brief knock on the door.

"Ranma dear?" called out Nodoka from beyond the door. "Is everything all right? You never usually take a bath right before dinner. Is something wrong? Did something happen at school today?" She knocked again when he didn't answer immediately.

"I'm fine, Mother," he answered quickly. "My experiment was a success. I just had a little accident on my way home from the Academy, and I needed to clean myself up a little. I'll be right down." Ranma prayed to whatever gods might be listening that she would take the hint and leave him alone.

"All right, dear," she said cheerfully. "I can put off serving dinner for half an hour since your father isn't home yet." She moved off down the hallway, and the pigtailed boy breathed a sigh of relief.

Sitting on the bathroom stool, he quickly doused himself with a bucket of cold water. He flinched from the sensations it caused in him. Stifling a grunt that threatened to turn into a scream of pain from the stinging caused by the cold water, he swiftly stood up. The steaming water in the tub looked so very inviting at that moment. With a soft sigh, he lowered himself into the hot water. When the bruises on his abused stomach dropped into the water, his eyes widened briefly as a new wave of discomfort rolled in.

"Akane Tendo," Ranma muttered as he settled his head back to lie against the edge of the tub. She wants to fight me? And who were those guys attacking her? Too many questions. I think I was better off when she was just bullying me. At least then she'd just slug me a few times and that would be it. What am I going to do now? Those guys probably won't be too happy that I helped either.

He sighed softly as the heat loosened the tight muscles, and he felt his body relax. I guess I'm going to have to check up on that other version of myself for another session. I think I'm going to need to let more of his skills transfer into me. He relaxed as a fantasy of a beaten Akane, groveling at his feet and begging for mercy, filled his mind. It was quickly replaced by another, more likely one, of himself caught up in an endless series of fights with the girl, all because she had developed some sort of pathological fixation on him now.

A little later, he climbed out of the tub and dried off. The long soak in hot water had done his body a great deal of good, and he was able to move a lot more easily now as he dressed. Stopping at the sink, Ranma applied a little more antiseptic to the few scrapes on his face. He put a clean bandage across the bridge of his nose and decided that he looked halfway presentable now.

I hope that other version of me is having a better time than I am, right now, he thought sincerely.

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Nodoka actually took things about as well as the pigtailed boy expected, all things considered. His father was late coming home, so he only had one concerned parent to deal with right now.

"Ranma?" gasped Nodoka in surprise when she saw him. "What happened to you, my son? You look like you've been fighting."

"It looks worse than it is," he answered mildly. "I just had a small bit of trouble after classes. I slipped and fell." He settled down, without feeling any real pain, into a kneeling position next to the dinner table.

"It looks like you fell several times," observed Nodoka in a dry tone of voice. "Rather hard each time."

"I'm fine, Mother," he said soothingly. "I am rather hungry right now though." He tried a smile, since that usually worked in situations like these.

"All right, dear." She smiled, one tinged slightly with her remaining concerns. "I want you to go right to bed after dinner though. A good night's sleep will fix you right up." She got up to serve him dinner.

Ranma ate like a starving man, ignoring his mother's looks at him at first. After a while, he forced himself to slow down his eating speed. A martial artist should always try to eat as much as he can whenever he can, he heard in his thoughts, in his father's gruff voice. Words of wisdom to live by, from the other Genma, he thought with a smile.

"Thanks for a wonderful dinner, Mother." The pigtailed boy stifled a sudden yawn. "May I be excused now? I'm very tired." He stood up, feeling slight twinges from his recent injuries.

"Of course, Ranma dear," answered Nodoka with a nod. "Sleep well." She smiled as he slowly wandered upstairs. When he was out of sight, her face fell into a slight frown. He was hiding something from her.

Ranma stumbled a little as he came into his room, before flipping the light switch on. He threw his shirt into the corner and dropped his casual pants on top of it. Yawning, he rolled out his futon. A little sleep would make everything all right.

Sleep claimed him moments after he finished getting comfortable on the futon pad.

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Ranma stared out over a mysterious valley shrouded in a heavy mist. Something in it called to him, a memory that he could not quite place. He knew this place somehow. This was the Valley of Jusenkyo, but why did he know it? Something terrifying happened to him here once. Why did he fear this place?

"Something bad happened to me here," he heard his own voice, whispering softly from behind him. Both anger and sadness were mixed in the voice.

"What?" He turned around quickly to see himself, dressed in a Chinese-style shirt and black pants. The other Ranma was seated cross-legged, his eyes closed.

"You heard me," repeated the doppelganger. "Something terrible... horrible... happened to me here. Do you want to see?" The other Ranma continued to speak without opening his eyes.

"I-I'm not sure," Ranma stuttered in confusion. "Who are you?"

The doppelganger smiled in a friendly manner and opened his eyes.

"I'm Ranma Saotome of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," said his double. Ranma blinked and looked surprised. "I guess I'm part of you now."

"Wh-what?" stuttered the pigtailed scholar, backing slowly away from the seated figure. The edge of the cliff behind him stopped his retreat. "That isn't possible. You can't be here. I'm having some kind of nightmare." He closed his eyes. Come on, Ranma. Wake up!

"It's not a nightmare, so don't act so scared," his doppelganger said with mild annoyance. "I'm not really sure what I am exactly. When you did your experiment, something unexpected happened to you?" The voice of the other Ranma moved closer. He felt himself becoming more and more afraid.

"I picked up fragments of memories, skills that I never had before," The pigtailed boy answered his double. He sensed a presence standing near him and opened his eyes to see the other Ranma looking him over.

"Man, your Akane really worked you over good, huh?" asked his quantum duplicate with a smile, poking him in the stomach. He felt a brief twinge of pain. "You're going to have to learn to dodge her better than that, or you'll end up in traction for sure."

Ranma studied his doppelganger, as his other self studied him.

"I don't think you have to worry about me taking over your body, or anything stupid like that," said the other pigtailed youth with a smirk. "The only time I came even remotely close to doing that was in your first fight earlier today." Ranma's double sat back down in a lotus position on the rocks in front of him.

"Why didn't you come out when Akane started beating the hell out of me?" snarled Ranma, irritated at the poise of his duplicate. "Are you the reason that I feel so excited when I fight with her? Is that it?" He took a mirroring position in front of his other self, his back to the edge of the cliff.

"I dunno," his double shrugged. "I usually get beaten on by the tomboy, so I guess I'm used to it. As to finding her exciting to fight? That's a new one on me. She's about as uncute and sexless as they come. And Akane calls me a pervert." He chuckled.

"I must be dreaming. But how can I do that if I know I'm dreaming?"

The other Ranma shrugged his shoulders again, frowning. "You're the brainy one," he said in a tone of mild irritation. "I'm just the dumb jock, right?"

"I'm sorry for calling you that," said the pigtailed scholar sincerely, bowing his head low. "You know more than I do about martial arts, after all."

"I accept your apology," said his double, grinning.

"This is certainly the most surreal thing I've ever experienced," said Ranma, smiling, looking out over the valley behind him once more. "Will I remember this dream when I wake up?"

"How should I know?" said his doppelganger with a brief shrug of his shoulders. "Like I said before, you're the brainy one." His double sprang back to his feet and began performing a kata in place. "You wanted to know more about this place?"

"Yes," answered Ranma quietly. "Why do I feel such fear here?" He shivered as if a cold breeze blew through him.

"Here is where I got cursed to turn into a girl," said his double in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Here is where Ranma-chan was born."

"What?" asked Ranma in confusion. He blinked for a few moments. "What do you mean you got cursed to turn into a girl? That's just plain ridiculous. There's no such thing as curses or magic."

"Let me show you then." The other Ranma grinned. His double then sprang at him, grabbed him securely by the collar, and pitched him over the edge of the cliff.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHhhhhhh..." screamed Ranma as he plummeted off the edge of the cliffs. The screams faded away as he fell into the misty valley.

"You wanted to know the truth, and the truth hurts sometimes," said Ranma's doppelganger with a smile.

A small geyser of water fountained up from the deep pool of water as Ranma impacted into it, softer than he was expecting after such a high fall. He felt the water trying to force its way into his lungs, and he began to struggle up towards the surface. His body felt strange as he broke the surface with a loud gasp. The other Ranma was sitting near the edge of the pool.

"Have a nice trip?" asked the doppelganger mildly, a smirk on his face.

"What the hell did ya do that for?" shouted the now female Ranma loudly, sputtering slightly. She felt her body floundering in the deep water, her balance all off. Ripples filled the pond as she struggled to keep afloat.

"Notice any changes?" asked the other Ranma with a lecherous smile, pointedly staring at Ranma-chan at about chest level.

"What are you...?" the girl asked, before stopping in hesitation. The feeling of wrongness continued. The pigtailed scholar, now female, found herself to be wearing a white gi, and she opened the top. Her brain almost shut down as two sizable female breasts were revealed, and her mind suddenly registered that her voice was now an octave higher.

"Oh, sir," said the male Ranma in a singsong tone. "You fall into Nyanniichuan. Very tragic story of young girl that drowned in pool over one thousand, five hundred years ago." He smirked at her again. She was having some difficulty keeping from screaming. "Now do you get the idea?"

Ranma-chan struggled over to the side of the pool and climbed out. She looked at her new body in amazement. A lock of reddish hair drifted in front of her face, and she stared at it cross-eyed. She actually found herself to be looking up at her male self. She walked around, feeling the change in mass and center of gravity.

"I don't believe this," she said, frowning at the sound of her new voice. "This is impossible. My mass has changed, and I'm smaller. In some areas that is. Physics says this is impossible." She opened the gi top once again and just kept staring at her naked chest in stark amazement.

"It's magic," said the male Ranma with another casual shrug of his shoulders. "Anything is possible with magic." He suddenly looked very unhappy. "Anything but a cure for me."

A steaming kettle suddenly appeared out of thin air when he reached out, and he poured the contents over her. She felt her entire body seem to tremble for a moment, almost a pleasant sensation running through her, and then she was a he once again. His clothes even changed back to what he was wearing before but damp now.

Ranma took a moment to feel his broader shoulders and pat his male chest, marveling at the dramatic change. He turned to look with sympathy at his doppelganger.

"How did this happen to you?"

"My stupid father took me to this legendary, cursed training ground in China called Jusenkyo," said the other Ranma in disgust. "Now he turns into a panda, I turn into a girl, and several other people I know turn into other things."

The other boy turned to look out over the valley of pools. "Life hasn't been all bad, though," he said in quiet tones. "My life has been an adventure."

"So where do we go from here?" Ranma turned to study his martial artist alternate self.

"This is your dream," said his double in thoughtful tones. "I'm just memories from a life you never had to live. Yours is a lot better than mine is in some ways. You have a mother, for instance. I never knew mine."

"What do you think will happen when I try the resonator again?" asked Ranma in curiosity. "Do you think I should try your life again, or try other lives?"

"I dunno what might happen if you went back to my life," responded the other boy with a shrug of his shoulders. "It could do nothing. It could do something bad, fry your brain or something. You could end up with more of me in here, I suppose, not that I'm sure how much of me there is in here as it is. We're both the same person though, aren't we?" The other Ranma sat down on the path between the pools and cupped his chin with his hand.

"You certainly don't talk like a dumb jock," Ranma said mildly to his seated duplicate, and both boys grinned. He looked at his hands, the hands of a fighter now. "The really strange thing is that I feel like I'm more complete for having you here."

"Thanks," said the other Ranma with a smile. He stood up, and the scenery changed to that of a strange building.

"A dojo?" asked the pigtailed scholar in surprise, finding himself back in a white gi. His companion remained in his normal Chinese-style clothes.

"I thought we might do some sparring and a little training while we're together," said the red-shirted doppelganger. "All this talking is about things you'd understand more than me. All I know is martial arts and how to get myself into strange romantic situations. Be grateful that you aren't engaged to marry your version of Akane, for instance."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at the thought. "Like that's ever going to happen in this life. You don't know her as well as I do. She's easily more violent and thuggish than yours could ever be. She just wants to find a sparring partner more than a husband."

"Oh?" said his twin with a smile. "You might be surprised what's going on in a girl's head. They all have an agenda, buddy. Some are just more obvious about it than others. So, shall we see how much of my combat experience you have?"

"Yes," replied Ranma as they both moved to the center of the dojo mat.

"Then let's begin."

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Soun looked in on his sleeping daughters when he finally returned home. He was surprised to see bandages on Akane's face when the dim light from the hallway fell across her face. She had been fighting again, he noted sadly. There was so much of her mother in her.

After closing the door to her room quietly, he trudged quietly down the length of the hallway and into his own bedroom. He turned on the light and sat down heavily on the bed, resting his head in his hands. There's just so much to do, he thought quietly. Tomorrow I set the arrangements into motion for the Saotome boy's future with my family. I've put them off for too long, now that he's back in Japan.

He stood up and removed his uniform jacket, laying it over the simple wooden chair next to his desk, feeling tired from the long day. Following that, he removed and hung his shoulder holster and sidearm from one side of the chair. He slowly removed his trousers and laid them across the chair, trying to be careful with the creases. Dressed only in white underclothes, he pulled down the covers and sat back down on the bed.

Soun looked at the small picture of his wife near the bed, the same one they had at the family shrine. He slowly reached out and picked it up, smiling gently at a memory of one of the happier times in his life. After pouring a small glass of whisky from the bottle he kept in his nightstand, he toasted the picture. Here's to my managing to make it to the end of another day without you, dear. He sipped from the glass, setting the photo back down in its accustomed place.

Here's to your memory, Kimiko-chan. I pray that our daughters will someday understand why I will do what I am about to do. They'll both need someone to take care of them, as you wished.

Soun swallowed the entire glass of whisky, turned off the light, and lost himself in dreams.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer for his experienced assistance with my clumsy writing, and also to Michael Allen for his help with the plot points.


	3. Parallels And Permutations

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

At the Imperial Academy, a special early morning meeting was taking place. Seated behind a small desk in one of the sublevels of the Academy, a figure with his face concealed in shadow gazed at his four assistants with a coldly speculative look, not liking what he saw. All four of the Wolf Pack wore varying degrees of bandages on their faces and limbs. Only Hiei was meeting their leader's gaze as he sat back in his chair and regarded them all coolly.

"I sincerely hope that you're going to tell me that you have dealt with the matter of Akane Tendo," the partially hidden figure said mildly. The four shuffled their feet nervously, and even Hiei looked distinctly uncomfortable. Their leader sighed and tapped the fingers of his hands together. Naka was the only one smiling, but he always smiled, even though he was studying the floor with as much interest as several of his teammates were.

"There was an unexpected complication, Boss," said Hiei in his best attempt at diplomatic tones as he could currently manage through the thick bandages covering his face. His stance shifted uncomfortably. "She had help."

"Yeah, Boss!" blurted out Hayate. "There must have been a bunch of Nabiki's people waiting for us when we ambushed Akane. We coulda dealt with the bitch alone."

"More?" inquired their leader mildly. "How many more, Hayate?"

"Four, maybe five guys. It all happened so damn fast!" said the boy nervously. Behind him, Kena grimaced and put his hand to his face, adjusting his grip at the last moment so his broken nose was not touched.

"I-it wasn't quite as Hayate said, Boss," said Hiei, sending a withering look at his smaller companion. "Kena can tell you who it was better than I."

"I will overlook your failure to report information to me accurately for this one time only, Hayate," said their leader coldly. "Do it again, and the consequences will be dire. Do I make myself clear?" He paused a moment. "Unless, of course, you wish to challenge me for leadership. Any of you?" All four of the Wolf Pack, even the powerful Hiei, quickly shook their heads, fear evident on all faces but Naka's. He still wore his usual smile, but his gaze remained lowered.

Their leader shifted his attention to the suddenly-sweating Kena.

"Report, Kena," the shadowed figure said mildly. "Who, pray tell, took down half of you so quickly?"

"It was that new guy, Boss," the boy squeaked nervously. "It was Ranma Saotome." He pulled out one of his balisong knives and nervously began flipping it around in his hand, making a staccato clicking sound. "He surprised me when I went to deal with him." The memory of that loss burned like a fire within him, alongside the very real fear of his boss for his failure.

"Are you trying to tell me that one of the toughest fighters at this Academy was defeated by that book-loving, wimp of a cadet, Saotome?" the figure asked quietly, continuing to tap his hands together by the tips of his fingers. "I've seen him fight myself, only just last week. He shouldn't have been able to last five seconds against you, Kena. The man's a weakling scholar, not a warrior!"

There was a brief pause, as their leader collected himself from his brief outburst of anger. Hayate and Kena tried to hide behind the stoic Hiei, and Naka simply stood his ground and smiled. Their boss fixed each of them with a penetrating stare. Hayate and Kena redoubled their attempts to conceal themselves behind Hiei's bulk, Hiei continued to radiate his stoicism, but Naka's smile lost a little bit of its luster.

"Shall I take care of Ranma Saotome for you, Boss?" asked Hiei in a dangerous and quiet tone. "I would consider it an honor if you would give me that task. There is no possible way that he could be able to stand up to my strength in a face-to-face fight. He struck me from behind before, a coward's attack. I will enjoy breaking all of his limbs in repayment." He stretched out his arms and closed his hands into fists, the tendons making slight cracking sounds. Even the foursome's shadowy leader looked mildly impressed at the sight of such raw, physical power.

"You have my permission, Hiei, to deal with Saotome as you see fit. But wait a short while though, and allow yourself to heal. If he has been hiding his true level of skill from us all, then it would be best if you fought him at your prime. Only that accursed Tendo girl has ever managed to defeat you at full strength, and I doubt that mewling little Ranma Saotome is as great a fighter as she."

The hulking boy smiled, bringing his hands together in a thundering salute to his chosen leader, one massive hand grasping another equally massive fist. He bowed deeply in respect. "This task will be my pleasure, sir. The coward Saotome will fall by my hand. Have no doubts on that."

"Do not fail me in this task, Hiei," said the shadowy figure quietly. "I intend to run this Academy once all possible challenges to my power among the student body have been neutralized by the four of you. After Saotome and the two Tendo sisters have been dealt with, then I fully intend to take over Nabiki's complete organization. But that day will not come until those three learn their place in the new order that I seek to establish on this campus. So do not fail me. It would be a grievous error on your part."

Hiei went down to one knee, bowing his head low in supplication. The other three quickly did the same.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them:

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth -0.001,-0.001 - The world of Akane's death (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Kodachi Kuno escaped from an Earth being torn apart by civil war by transferring her mind to this one. Changed by her experiences, she dealt with the bullying White Lily and earned an enemy for herself in her new life. Kodachi sought out Ranma, who was a friend in her old life, but ran away at the last moment in tears, confused at her feelings. Her older brother Kuno saw this and assumed Ranma to have seduced and cast aside his innocent sister. Seeking vengeance, he ran into Nabiki and learned Ranma's name. Finally, on the way home, Ranma assisted Akane against a foursome of martial artists brought together by a mysterious figure and learned more about the other Ranma in a strange dream.

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Chapter 3 - Parallels And Permutations

History is the sum total of things that might have been avoided.

- Konrad Adenaur

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The arrival of dawn found Ranma already waking up. Yawning, he looked over at the small clock next to his futon and saw that the time read 6:29 in the morning. Surprised at waking before his alarm for the first time in a long while, he rolled over and tapped it off. For some reason, waking up had always been hard for him, but not today. He yawned once more, stretching his body lazily, feeling faint twinges that were the remnants of the previous day's bruises and injuries.

He sat up in bed, still stretching. He barely remembered his head hitting the pillow last night, even with his superior abilities of recall. Fortunately, his bruises were greatly faded from the day before, his health restored by a restful night's sleep. He stretched his arms out once more, feeling only the ghosts of pain. A smile on his face, he felt energized as he anticipated the infinite possibilities awaiting him with a new day.

Slowly making a fist and relaxing it, the pigtailed boy recalled the many strange events of the previous afternoon with crystal clarity. Even now, his memories of the fight with Akane left a vague tingling along his nerves, and he found that to be unsettling. Remembering the fight against the four young men who had been menacing the Tendo girl, he also felt a sense of satisfaction at their defeat. All of these new feelings were almost as odd as his dreams during the night had been.

The spirit, or perhaps more accurately the coalesced memories of that other Ranma, had visited him in his dreams like a phantom, bringing a few explanations that left him feeling less than fully satisfied. He felt that there was so much more to know about just that one life; he had only barely scratched the surface. The curse from Jusenkyo was a surprising revelation, especially when he had felt it happen to him in his dream.

He sprang out of bed, momentarily pausing in a one-armed handstand, and landed on his feet with a light thump. He stood in front of his mirror, dressed only in his boxer shorts underwear, and did a few martial arts stances. There was really no reason he knew why he couldn't take up the Anything-Goes School, he thought with a smile. After all, it wasn't as if he was going to have to fight anyone. It would just be good training for his body.

A flash of lightning lit up the skies outside, followed immediately by a short downpouring of rain. Ranma looked out his window and frowned. It looked like he should bring his umbrella today, he thought, ignoring any possible portents in the event.

He began to dress for the day. He pulled a clean uniform from his closet, recalling briefly the dressing down that he received from his mother over the several small tears in the material from his scuffles with Akane and the Wolf Pack. Luckily, he now owned six, and she would have a week to mend the damaged one. As he dressed, most of his thoughts were focused on dealing with the Tendo girl's disturbing new level of interest in him, and he thought that perhaps avoiding the issue entirely was the best course of action for himself. Unfortunately, he was also still feeling the emotions of the other Ranma, and they were getting mixed in with his own, confusing him about how he really felt. He hoped that the effect was only temporary.

He snorted lightly, remembering Akane's demands yesterday for him to fight her. I am not going to fight with that uncute tomboy, despite what she may think, he mused. If she's looking for some sort of stupid challenge for her martial arts skills, then she can just look somewhere else. I have much more important things to deal with in my life, like where the hell are the trousers for this uniform? He quickly rummaged through his closet until he found them hanging towards the back.

Struggling into the dark blue trousers, Ranma hopped around on one foot as he pulled them up. A clean, white shirt went on and was tucked in quickly, followed by him pulling on some clean socks, and his jacket. He fumbled with the collar for a moment as he looked at himself in the mirror. With a smile, he walked out of his room.

All was quiet for several moments.

Ranma peeked his head back into his room, grimaced at forgetting his bookbag in his rush and picked it up. I just need to get myself something quick to eat, and I'm out of here, he thought as he snagged it up from the floor. Now how am I going to avoid Akane for an entire day? Hmmm, I suppose I could just lock myself in my lab space for the day. After all, I'm ahead in all of my subjects. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

He grinned as he walked down the stairs. The day was looking up for him now that he had solved the Akane Tendo problem for the moment. He was sure that a longer term solution would present itself to him eventually. He ignored another rumble of thunder from outside. Odd, he thought with slight puzzlement, stopping in the hall and peeking out the window to watch the rain still coming down. There wasn't supposed to be any rain at all this week.

"How are you feeling this morning, Ranma dear?" asked Nodoka, hearing him moving around in the hall.

My mother has ears like a bat, the pigtailed boy thought in amusement. He knew that he was not being extraordinarily noisy, so he was surprised that she heard him. He set his bookbag down in the hallway by the front door and went into the kitchen.

"I'm feeling better today, Mother." Ranma sat down at the small table in the kitchen and smiled reassuringly at her. "You were right. A good night's sleep was what I needed."

"So how is your project going?" she asked, sliding a bowl of rice and a small plate of fried eggs and bread in front of him.

Ranma felt his mouth watering from hunger, but also felt the strangest urge to eat quickly, in case someone might try to take it away. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, before thinking for a moment on how he should try to answer her.

"I had a major breakthrough on it yesterday, and it has me pretty excited," he finally said, beginning to quickly wolf down his breakfast after speaking, while his mother's back was turned. She turned back and blinked at how much he had eaten. "I want to confirm my test results today before I tell Pop, I mean Father, about it." He contented himself with a slower eating pace while Nodoka watched him, sipping her tea.

"You and your father get so wrapped up in your theories and work sometimes," she said, clucking her tongue. "There's much more to life than science, Ranma dear. When are you going to get a girlfriend? Should your father and I plan to arrange a marriage for you?"

He suddenly paused in his eating and coughed, getting such a strange look on his face that it gave her pause. She looked at him with surprise evident on her face. "Is something wrong, Ranma dear?"

"Uh, no," he replied, though he was greatly surprised that she mentioned such a thing after what he had just experienced. He smiled disarmingly. "I don't think an arranged marriage would be such a good idea right now. I'm sure that I can find a nice girl on my own that you'll like."

"But Ranma dear," said Nodoka seriously. "You are getting to an age where we should be planning for your future. I don't know what sort of strange ideas that you might have picked up on your journeys; but in the Empire, an arranged marriage is expected for someone of our station. After all, the Saotomes are descended from samurai, landless though they were, and many of your ancestors have served some of the greatest of the nobility. Besides, your father and I were an arranged marriage after all, and look how happy we are."

"But-" he said. His mother's steely-eyed gaze prevented him from speaking further. At least it's not going to be to a Tendo, he thought, attempting to remain cheerful. Just what I need in life, some woman to tell me what to do, like Mom does with Pop.

"This isn't something that's necessarily going to have to happen tomorrow," said Nodoka firmly. "But I want you to keep it in mind. A marriage involves family honor, after all. Now that you've been home for a while, I was thinking about discussing it with your father."

"Uh, all right." Ranma had a hint of concern in his voice. I'm sure that Pop will set her straight, won't he? He went back to eating the last of his breakfast, but with his appetite gone due to the shock, it was an effort.

Nodoka watched her son as he finished eating. He got up from the table and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he walked out of the kitchen. She watched him walk out into the hallway, slip on his shoes and pick up his bookbag, and then leave out the front door. She smiled when he came rushing back into the house a moment later to pick out an umbrella.

I swear that that boy is getting to be as eccentric as his father, she thought, turning around to busy herself with getting Genma's breakfast ready. Maybe I should talk with Genma soon about arranging a wife for Ranma. He might have some ideas. After all, it's never too early to start planning for the future.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The two Tendo girls walked alongside each other down the wet street, underneath umbrellas. The elder sister wore her usual thoughtful look on her face. Akane's face, healed enough to remove the few bandages she had worn the night before, was quite unlike her usual frown. Instead, she wore a pleasant smile.

"All right, Akane," Nabiki said finally, unable to contain her curiosity anymore. "What are you so happy for?" Her younger sister would say nothing at dinnertime last night, only humming happily. She found the change to be rather disturbing.

"I've finally found the man that I've been looking for, Nabiki," said Akane happily. If anything, her smile got even wider.

"Oh?" replied Nabiki, somewhat sarcastically. "So who is this paragon of martial arts fighting skill?"

"Promise that you won't laugh?" Uncertainty showed on Akane's face briefly as she looked at her sister.

"Would I do such a thing?" There was a brief pause as her younger sister said nothing, and Nabiki shrugged. "All right, I promise."

"It's Ranma Saotome," said Akane, a blissful look on her face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma sneezed. He looked up at the storm clouds that were still lightly raining on him and shook his head. I hope I'm not coming down with something, he thought with mild concern. I haven't been sick since I was a little kid. But, why else would I sneeze?

He continued down the rain-slicked streets, the Academy almost within sight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You've finally lost it, sis." Nabiki's voice was laden with sarcasm. "You've been beating him up quite easily in your class for what, six weeks now? And today you expect me to believe that he's turned into some sort of martial arts superstar overnight?"

"Ranma finally showed me how much of a man he is yesterday, Nabiki," said Akane, beginning to get angry. "You can ask anyone in my physical training class! He was able to fight me to a standstill!"

Nabiki looked at her with one of her patented 'I'll believe it when I see it' looks. "Uh huh, sure, sis."

"Fine," huffed Akane. "Be that way about it. When he gets to the Academy this morning, I intend to finish the fight. Then you'll see the real Ranma, and how much of a man he is."

As they neared the gates of the Imperial Academy, a lone figure stood solemnly, holding an umbrella in one hand and armed with a bokken in the other. The distinctive dark-blue uniform of Whitehall Academy rested on his frame. Rain dripped from the lowered tip of the weapon, as it projected beyond the protection of his umbrella. A look of noble determination was upon his face.

Cadets passing Kuno eyed him in speculation, but none cared to approach him. The manic look on his face did not invite casual conversation. Those of Nabiki's organization already present on campus waited to talk to their leader, certain that she would know who this stranger was. They were convinced that she knew everything when it came to people. Why? Because frequently she did, and this time was no exception.

Vengeance shall soon be mine, Ranma Saotome, the nobleman thought with cool malice. Today I shall teach you what it means to treat my beloved sister as you have so obviously done. And my skill with this weapon shall be how I instruct thee. He raised the point of his bokken a small amount and resumed his waiting.

"Who do you suppose that is?" Akane wondered, as they passed by the stoic-looking boy standing outside the gates of the Academy. She peered at the armed figure through the light rain in curiosity. After all, she lived to find new opponents for herself.

Tatewaki Kuno, thought Nabiki, instantly recognizing the young aristocrat by his mannerisms and weapon, even before she was able to clearly see his features. A slight smile appeared on her face. He said that he would teach Ranma a lesson in public, "for all to see his fall." This promises to be interesting. She gently nudged Akane in the ribs. "I think he's here for Ranma."

"What makes you say that?" Akane demanded. When they got closer, she turned to size up Kuno. Hmm, Kenjutsu, obviously. I wonder if he's any good? From his stance, he appeared capable to her. She paused at the gate area to observe him.

Nabiki continued on into the courtyard just beyond the gate, a few of her operatives immediately rushing up to meet her. She silenced their imminent questions with a wave of her hand. They contented themselves by simply clustering around her.

"Ladies, I feel a new betting opportunity about to begin for us today," she said cheerfully. "Keep your eyes upon yonder armed nobleman when Saotome arrives. There's going to be a fight today, and that means money for us. Are we clear?" Her assistants all nodded and scattered to lay the groundwork for betting among the groups of cadets already on campus.

Far from ignoring her sister's earlier statements about Ranma's new skill, Nabiki had added it to what she already knew about it from other sources. If the pigtailed boy had really become as good as people were now saying, then things were going to get very interesting around the Academy. Fighters tended to draw other fighters seeking to test their skills. If my instincts are right, then this is only the beginning, she thought with a pleased smile.

She had done some checking on the two combatants in question. By all accounts, Ranma had indeed fought Akane to a total standstill. The pompous Kuno, despite what she thought of as mere boastfulness about his skills, was a near master-level fighter with his chosen weapon and truly was undefeated for the past three years. His duelist ratings, very well-documented on the Imperial datanet, left no doubt as to that fact. Dozens of young noblemen had fallen to his skill already.

Based on that, Nabiki decided that the aristocrat was the definite favorite in this contest. Her sister was an excellent fighter, and the pigtailed boy would have to be equally capable to battle her to a standstill. But Kuno had gone up against some high-quality competition. The only question now was what odds to give on him to encourage some bets on him. She doubted that many would bet on such an obvious underdog like Ranma.

Uh oh, she thought suddenly. I forgot about Akane.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hi there," said the youngest Tendo brightly. "I'm Akane Tendo." She walked over to Kuno and stood next to him. The young aristocrat looked her over once, grunted briefly in disinterest, and then returned his eyes to scanning the street for Ranma's arrival. Akane wasn't used to being so casually and quickly dismissed by a boy, and her eyes narrowed in irritation. She also felt a subtle tingling in the air when she got near the boy, a feeling that only Ranma had previously engendered in her on their first meeting.

Kuno was lost in his thoughts. One of the many commoner girls that attended the Imperial Academy had just approached him, but as one of the lower-born she was beneath his notice. Her name did not even register upon him, so he briefly acknowledged her presence with a glance and a grunt, before returning his attention back to his more important task. But there was a subtle itching at the back of his mind.

"If you're here looking for a fight, why not try me?" she said loudly, irritated at being ignored. She was determined to teach this arrogant stranger a lesson in respect with her fists. She dropped her umbrella and bookbag and raised her hands, the light drizzle already beginning to dampen her short hair.

Kuno looked back at her and froze, as if truly seeing Akane for the very first time. To him, a choir of angels seemed to sing behind his back, and she appeared to blaze for a shining moment with light to his eyes. The effect quickly faded, but he knew in that moment that he had to have this girl standing before him. As he thought her a mere commoner, he was certain that she would, of course, be willing to submit herself to his desires. That she was apparently a fighter as well would also make his taming her all the sweeter. He bowed slightly to her but did not remove his eyes from her face. She is magnificent! he mused in wonder.

"Such a beautiful rose to find in such an unlikely place," he murmured softly. "You have fully captured my attention, fair maiden," he said more loudly. "Hear now and know joy, Akane Tendo, for I am Tatewaki Kuno, the rising star among the nobility of our great and powerful Empire, undefeated in a multitude of battles, the proud heir to the noble House of Kuno, and your new love, at your service. My heart is now thine, and if a fight with me is what you seek then my sword arm shall show the strength of my newfound love for you. Prepare to be conquered, fair Akane." He dropped his umbrella and pointed his bokken at her in a dramatic gesture. Lightning flashed across the skies behind him.

Akane blinked. A faint blush briefly appeared on her cheeks, and she was suddenly uncertain how to respond for a very brief moment. Violence seemed to be the easiest answer, so she attacked. Her initial punch was quickly blocked by Kuno's weapon, and the battle was joined.

He's good, she thought, ducking under his swing. Her return kick was swiftly blocked by the pommel of his weapon. She felt her blood begin to sing within her. Battle against a strong opponent was what she lived for, and the young aristocrat was giving her what she craved. He's very good, she realized.

She has talent, noted Kuno approvingly. He dodged aside from a high spinning kick from Akane and forced her to retreat with a quick series of thrusts with the point of his bokken. She was but merely a female though, and no woman could ever defeat him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki quickly got busy taking bets on Akane's fight with Kuno, cursing herself for not remembering her little sister's passionate addiction to combat sooner. If her sister ever saw a likely male opponent, then a fight challenge was usually only moments away. The action between the two of them was going on fast and furious each time she looked up, but Akane was holding her own against him.

"I bet five hundred yen on the new guy!" shouted one male cadet, pushing his way up to her and waving money.

"Gotcha covered." Nabiki grinned. She quickly wrote out a receipt with a well-practiced move and pocketed the money before moving on to the next one. Around her, other members of her organization were doing the same.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane managed to finally duck in under Kuno's guard and brought a swift uppercut up under his chin. He managed to shrug it off, but the brief hesitation in his movements allowed her to hit him solidly several more times. He slashed out at her with his weapon, and she danced away from him. It had been a long time since he had felt himself to be so challenged, and he found himself enjoying it a great deal.

She is quite formidable, the young aristocrat thought with pleased surprise. His initial admiration for Akane's skill and strength continued to grow with each passing exchange of blows. Each strike that she managed to land only seemed to increase his ardor for her. I must have her! She is so unlike the many soft women of the nobility. So few of them would even dream of demonstrating such strength. This Akane Tendo is truly a paragon of feminine might, a veritable tigress! I must prove myself worthy of her! He swiftly lashed out at her and managed to score a hit upon her arm.

Akane grunted in pain as she maneuvered around the young nobleman. That last was the most solid strike that he had hit her with, the earlier ones were more glancing. She smiled mirthlessly, showing teeth, as she leaped up and attempted a high kick. If only this was Ranma that I was fighting like this, she thought, in a brief moment aside. She simply wasn't feeling quite the same level of excitement fighting Kuno that the pigtailed boy had brought out in her during their fight. It was close, but the magic and raw passion just didn't seem to be there.

Ranma came around the corner at that moment and saw all of the commotion in front of the gateway to the Academy. He stopped, not quite believing his eyes. The drizzle had lessened to almost nothing by now, but bright flashes and loud thundering from the sky spoke of more rain on the way. Before him, fighting fiercely, was a figure battling the younger Tendo sister that he knew almost instantly from his new memories. Tatewaki Kuno, what is he doing here? And why is he fighting Akane?

The young nobleman suddenly noticed a figure standing by the gateway, letting his attention wander briefly. That's him! Kuno thought with a sudden rage. Ranma had finally arrived, and he found himself caught on the horns of a dilemma: finish his conquest of the fair Akane Tendo now, or leave off and thrash the villainous Saotome as he felt the pigtailed boy so richly deserved? Decisions, decisions...

Akane took advantage of that moment of distraction to punch him solidly across the jaw. Her other fist came around a single moment later to rock his head back in the opposite direction. Stunned by the savage attack, he fell backwards. She quickly finished him off, knocking him unconscious with an axe kick dropped across his stomach. The young aristocrat lay still, and she stood up, feeling somewhat disappointed. Another weakling male, she thought, frowning.

However, her face quickly lit up with a smile when she saw the pigtailed boy standing nearby. Ranma, she thought with a sudden rush of desire. Now you can finish your fight with me and claim your reward. I've waited so long for a man like you. She hurried over to him.

Uh oh, thought the pigtailed boy. She spotted me. He had been trying to edge around the fight, but the press of the crowd prevented him from making very much progress. He made a valiant attempt to escape through the crowds, but she managed to get a firm hold on the back of his collar. He tried to shrug her off, but it was no good.

"Hello, Ranma," said Akane softly, feeling her face blush with a now familiar excitement. Her heart was still racing a little from exertion during the fight with Kuno, and the pigtailed boy's presence kept it going and was even speeding it up. Now that the preliminaries are over, Ranma and I can have our own bout, she thought with a smile. She felt a faint tingling wash over her nerves in his presence, a slight taste of the sensations that had filled her during her fight with him yesterday.

"Uh, hi, Akane," said Ranma lamely. He grabbed hold of her hand and managed to pry it from his collar. "Nice fight." He winced inside at making such a stupid-sounding comment. She was staring at him with a promise of imminent mayhem mixed with lust in her eyes, and he frankly found the combination to be quite disturbing. She reached out a hand to brush the front of his uniform lightly, and he moved a half-step back.

"Did you really think so?" she asked him happily, linking her hands behind her back in a demure pose. The stance thrust her chest forward a little bit. She smiled brightly when she noticed the effect that she was having on him and took a half-step forward. "I would have far preferred to be fighting with you, Ranma."

Yikes! Ranma felt an internal grimace of fear. This was much worse than he imagined. He tried to keep his eyes on her face with mild difficulty, as she stepped a little closer. All girls have an agenda, he remembered his double saying in that strange dream. He moved another half-step back. His thoughts were becoming rather confused from the remembered feelings from the other Ranma towards the other Akane. It was getting to be a mild struggle to fight the attraction he felt for her.

"Kuno looked tough," he finally said, purposely ignoring her comment.

"He wasn't anything that I couldn't handle," she said softly, her eyes dancing with amusement. She had never felt this giddy around any boy before. It only added to the strength of her desires to fight with him, to have that intense surge of emotions and wondrous passions fill her once more. A seductive smile appeared on her face. "So are you ready to fight me for real today? I promise it to be an unforgettable experience."

"Uh, no thanks." Ranma backed away from Akane and waved his hands in negation. He kept moving backwards at a pace matching hers. "I've got a lot of work to do down in my lab, so I really should be getting to it. Maybe after classes."

"But Ranma," she pouted. She started to walk more quickly towards him, and he took off at a full run, dodging through the press of cadets with great agility. She tried to pursue, but she was held back by the crowd. The old anger that he used to fill her with bubbled back to the surface like a geyser. "Ohhh, damn you, Ranma Saotome!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over by Kuno's fallen body, Nabiki finished counting the last of her winnings. By a little judicious odds making, she managed to overcome her initial wrong guess about the level of his skill compared to Akane's. It cut into her profits more than she cared for, which didn't leave her feeling very charitable towards the young nobleman, currently lying unconscious on the wet pavement.

"Help me carry this idiot over to the Academy infirmary, will you, Yohko?" she asked. The other girl bent down and lifted Kuno up, and between the two of them they got him up onto his feet, sort of. Yohko grunted with effort as they got under Kuno's shoulders to carry him.

"Man," said Yohko. "He weighs a ton. Why are we doing this for him, Nabiki?"

"Well, let's just say that I'm trying to preserve a potentially lucrative business contact and just leave it at that." Nabiki hefted her half of Kuno's weight, and the two girls trudged to the Academy building with him suspended between them, his feet dragging behind them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma finally reached the door to his lab. Man, what is with Akane? He rummaged in his pocket for his keys. She just gets done with one fight, and she's eager to begin another? How did I ever get myself tangled up with a psycho chick like that? He pulled his keyring from his pocket.

He unlocked the door to his lab, flipping on the main light switch. The fluorescent lights flickered on slowly, snapping into full luminosity one by one. He closed the door, relocking it behind him, and set his bookbag down by the door. He breathed in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Here he felt safe. Here he could continue to explore the new frontier that he had finally breached. Here he did not have to deal with the likes of Akane Tendo.

After walking over to the area around his workbench, he ran a hand along the cloth covering it, a smile on his face. He flipped on the main power bar and let the equipment begin warming up as he started to remove the tarps covering everything. He felt a sense of expectancy wash over him at another chance to see what other secrets were held behind the quantum barriers.

The monitor blinked on, and Ranma sat down and began tapping away at the keyboard. The screen cleared, and printed out:

* SELF-CHECK COMPLETE

* ALL LOGIC COMPONENTS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* QUANTUM FLUX COIL IS FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* NEURAL INDUCTION SENSORS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* SYSTEM HAS 5 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN STABLE MEMORY

* TIME DURATION OF RECENT TEST RUN: 60.00 MINUTES

* SCAN FOR NEW COORDINATES:

He typed "NO" on the keyboard and hit the enter key. The screen cleared once more.

* PLEASE INPUT QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE DESIRED:

Ranma sat back and thought for a long moment, one finger tapping at his temple as he gazed at the screen. I suppose I should simply take them in order of discovery. As they progress outwards across parallel time, it would enable me to see if there are any patterns to the changes. It will be interesting to see how each of these new experiences compares to my first live test run. Excitement filled Ranma as he bent down and typed away for a few more moments at the keyboard. The monitor cleared and read:

* QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000001 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

* PLEASE STAND BY...

* MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000001. DETAILS?

He typed out "YES" for a response this time, and the screen began to print out more information on the file.

* FILE #0000001 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

2 YEARS

2 MONTHS

12 DAYS

3 HOURS

56 MINUTES

51 SECONDS AGO.

As he watched, the counter kept increasing the seconds count. Hmmm, he thought with an intrigued smile. That would be a few weeks before I had my dream.

* SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES

* SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:

He thought about it. The first test run had been for an hour, and it had been a success. He still had no data on how the memory transfer was taking place, so the time set might not matter. Unfortunately, he had a lot of ground to try and cover today, so he couldn't be overly generous with his time for each one. With a grin of anticipation, he set the timer for thirty minutes instead of sixty once again. The computer screen cleared, and the familiar double sine wave patterns appeared. The system was ready to initiate synchronization.

* WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET

Settling himself into a comfortable position on the couch, he placed the headset over his head. The thrill of discovery tingled inside him from the prospect of seeing another life that he could have lived, seeing another possibility. As he relaxed back onto the couch, the faint background hum of the resonator was a familiar tickle running along the inside of his skull. I wonder what this life will be like?

The last thing he remembered was the soft computer-generated voice making its solemn pronouncement, "Initiating upload cycle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth -0.001,-0.001

Ranma found himself sitting in a darkened laboratory as lightning flashed outside the small windows. A notebook was in front of him, filled with schematics for some sort of computer design. It was a completely unfamiliar design to him, but it tingled on the edge of comprehensibility. He was wearing casual clothes and a white lab coat, instead of any sort of uniform. I don't attend the Academy here? How curious.

He looked up and saw a cloth-covered figure resting on an operating table in the middle of the room, surrounded by a multitude of tools and electronic components. I really hope that isn't a dead body, thought Ranma solemnly.

While waiting for his alternate self's memories to be made available to him, the pigtailed boy screwed up his courage, swallowed once, and walked the short distance to the table. White cloth covered a shape that gave every indication of being a corpse. A flash of lightning lit up the skies beyond the window that was almost immediately followed by a loud crash of thunder. He lifted back the cloth as yet another bright flash of lightning occurred outside.

Beneath the cloth was revealed the face of an adolescent Japanese girl with reddish hair, apparently asleep. Her features were unfamiliar to him, which worried him a little. The rush of memories from his alternate should have occurred by now, unless there was some variable factor of which he was still unaware of. Tentatively, he poked his right index finger against the cheek. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt warm flesh at his touch.

A hand suddenly came down on his shoulder, and Ranma came close to expiring from heart failure on the spot. He turned around and saw his father looking at him with a smile.

"Can't get enough of looking at her, son?" asked Genma. "This is a stunning achievement that you've done. The Empire will record your name forever in the history books as one of the inventors of the world's first artificially-intelligent android."

His alternate life's memories came crashing in at that moment, filling his awareness. He had received an invitation to study with the occasionally erratic scientist and genius, Professor Kyuusaku Natsume, at Mishima Heavy Industries. Ranma remembered the invitation from his own life, but he had finally rejected it in order to pursue his own goals of creating the resonator.

In this timeline, he apparently accepted, as there was no memory of ever even having such a dream in this life. He had a well-equipped lab space here in the Ministry of Science, fully funded by Mishima. Old Man Mishima loved him like an adopted son for all of his efforts on the company's behalf. Anything he requested was delivered to him within hours, a heady thing to realize. The only thing missing in his life was a companion, and the pigtailed boy was surprised to realize that that was why his counterpart had encouraged the professor to make the prototype android female. He shook that thought off.

"It is quite an achievement, isn't it?" said Ranma with pride. I never knew I had such a tremendous talent for computer technology, he thought as he pulled the sheet from the figure. My alternate managed to improve the original neural network designs created by Natsume-sensei just before his death in that car crash that killed him, his wife, and their son. He felt a single tear roll down his cheek at the memory of the funeral. The man had taught his counterpart almost everything he knew about cybernetics and computers.

At least in this timeline, his work was completed, thought Ranma with a large feeling of pride. This was my alternate's tribute to him, as well as solving the need for an organic component in the central processor. NK1124, aka Nuku Nuku. An entirely new line of android companions for the very wealthy that could also double as bodyguards was created, to challenge Genom's solitary preeminence in the field of artificial people. Old Man Mishima gave my alternate NK1124 as a bonus for a job well done.

The girl was dressed in a skintight, white silk jumpsuit and boots, which hid none of her rather impressive figure. Her designation number was stenciled into the fabric in bold, blue letters and ran down the length of one thigh. Ranma could not easily bring himself to stop looking at her. She's gorgeous, he thought with a smile.

So many differences for such a small amount of time, he thought with a smile. Changing one event changed my entire life. He never attended the Imperial Academy in this life, nor did he ever need to. Mishima Heavy Industries was willing to fund his research whims until the end of his days after his successes in helping bring the NK Project to a profitable conclusion. He even received an honorary induction into the Ministry of Science as well.

"I didn't mean to take you away from your work, son," said Genma pleasantly. "The new Science Minister needed a report from me, so I just stopped in to say hello. Your mother wants you home for dinner tonight as well, so don't get too caught up in your work. She told me that she would have a surprise for you, so be prepared. I'll be back to pick you up for the train ride home at five." With a wave, he departed.

Alone in the lab, Ranma's attention was drawn back to the silent figure lying on the table. According to his counterpart's memories, he was currently working on upgrading her central processor unit and neural network. A command phrase appeared in his thoughts.

"Wake up, Nuku Nuku," he said softly. The girl's eyes blinked open, jade green in color. She stretched her arms out to the sides in a way that did marvelous things to her chest, in his opinion. He smiled at the android girl.

"Ranma," she squealed happily. She launched herself at him from off the table, catching him up in a warm hug. She was a little shorter than he was, so her head was able to rest quite comfortably against his shoulder. He put his arms around her and felt odd about the whole thing, maybe even a little sad. I have all the research materials that a scientist could ever ask for, but I had to build myself a woman to love in this life, he thought with shocked realization. Maybe this isn't as good a life as I originally thought.

The pleasant feel of the android girl in his arms kept distracting him from feeling too morose though. She was so cute, and looked and felt so much like a real girl, that it was extremely difficult to think of her as artificial. And, surprisingly enough, his analog loved her very deeply, even though she was only a machine. It was a rather sobering realization to him.

He looked down into a pair of concerned-looking green eyes. Her eyes were at about the level of his chin.

"You feel sad, Ranma," she said. "I can tell from your body posture and muscle movements. Tell Nuku Nuku what's wrong."

"Do you, uh, love me?" asked Ranma uncertainly, already knowing what the answer would be, but feeling that he had to ask anyway.

"Of course I do, you silly," she said with a smile. "You are the only man in the world for me. Let Nuku Nuku show you." She pulled his head down into a kiss. Their lips touched, and Ranma felt waves of emotion fill him from the depths of his alternate's mind. Her fingers ran through his hair lightly as the kiss deepened, and he tightened his arms around her. She even smells like a real woman, he thought idly.

He pulled his head back, gently breaking the passionate kiss, his very first. She smiled up at him with warmth and trust glowing in her eyes, before snuggling her body against his and resting her head on his shoulder once more. She feels so real, he thought in amazed wonder. His initial doubts about her began to fade, and he became even more impressed with the level of sophistication of her construction. She was a real woman, in everything that mattered.

"Ranma?" she asked against his chest. "When will you tell your parents about you and me?" Her voice had gone soft. He witnessed a few brief memories of his alternate's attempts to do just that, but never quite finding the courage. His mother was beginning to pressure him to find a wife, to carry on the Saotome name. How could he tell his mother that he had fallen in love with his own creation?

"I don't know." Sadness filled him. "My mother wouldn't understand. She wants me to marry, but I don't think that she would appreciate you as much as I do." He felt her hug him tighter, warm against the cold sadness that filled him from her obvious unhappiness.

"Nuku Nuku understands," she said softly. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Perhaps I could be your mistress? I don't need to be your wife. I only want your love."

"That would be acceptable to you?" asked Ranma, surprised.

"Of course," she replied brightly, her tears fading. "I only want to love you. I owe everything that I am to you." She snuggled against him once more, looking content. He looked around the well-equipped but sterile lab, a far cry from the humble one that he had in his own timeline.

"I do love you, Nuku Nuku." He felt the truth in his words, at least as far as his counterpart did.

She looked up at him with a smile, before kissing him once more, her mouth opened slightly. He felt her tongue brush against his lips during the kiss, and he wasn't sure what to do. His hands stroked down the back of her head, and she leaned back against the table. She moved her hands into a light grip on either side of his head, gently caressing his hair as she kissed him.

This is certainly much better than any of my Academy classes have ever been, was his only thought. He concentrated on learning more about the best ways to kiss, and she appeared to be more than eager to teach him what pleased her.

The brief time went by quite pleasantly for both of them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete," the computer voice spoke.

Ranma blinked rapidly and inhaled deeply several times, an echo of the passions that he had just been experiencing slowly fading in his mind. The quiet solitude of his lab now surrounded him as he slowly removed the neural interlink headset. What an experience, he thought.

Sitting up, he brushed his fingers against his lips, imagining that he could still feel the android girl's lips touching him there. In his mind he could see some of the elements that went into her construction, quite revolutionary concepts, even though the memories were vague. They were the legacy of a man who died on both worlds, but on his own world Mishima Heavy Industries never completed the NK Project. He remembered reading about it in one of the publications of the Ministry of Science. However, the exact details were never revealed for corporate security reasons.

He got up and splashed a little water on his face from the sink in his lab. He rinsed out the mug on the small shelf below the mirror and filled it with water. Raising it to his lips, he toasted his reflection with a smile. May your life in that other timeline be a very happy one, Ranma Saotome.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kuno awoke to the feel of a cool cloth on his forehead. He sat up with a grunt of pain to see Nabiki seated next to him, calmly flipping pages in one of her textbooks. She glanced over at him.

"Finally awake, Kuno-dono?" she asked mildly. "I was beginning to wonder about you." She calmly set down her book. Looks like your head is harder than I thought it was, she thought with an internal smile of amusement.

"Akane Tendo," murmured the young nobleman with a sudden smile. He whirled to face Nabiki. "I must have her!"

Hmmm, thought the Tendo girl with a slight frown. Either his head isn't as hard as I thought, or perhaps Akane hit him harder than I thought she had.

"Nabiki Tendo," he said solemnly. "Loathe though I am to give more money into your greedy, grasping hands, I fear that I cannot live without my new-found love for the fair maiden, Akane Tendo. I need your help." The last word was spoken through gritted teeth.

Correction, she grumbled in her thoughts, Akane didn't hit him hard enough.

"My sister isn't really anything that I can sell, Kuno-dono," said Nabiki neutrally. His description for herself she filed away to raise the eventual price for any future services that she gave him. Although selling Akane is an intriguing notion, she thought with an internal smile. "I'm not exactly sure what aid I can offer you in this."

"Anything!" he cried in desperation. "A lock of her hair, some simple photographs, anything that I might treasure until I am able to prove the strength of my love for her! I shall conquer her with that strength! But until that day I require some small tokens of her to enable me to carry on."

Nabiki's thoughts briefly whirled over the possibilities. A wealthy fool of an aristocrat was practically begging to throw a great deal of money at her for pictures of her younger sister and a lock of her hair. This was the sort of thing that she lived for; things did not get any better than this. The thought of all that profit brought a cool smile to her face.

"Perhaps I might be able to assist you in this, Kuno-dono." She nodded in an encouraging fashion. "Photographs of my sister I can take for you easily enough, and a lock of her hair is also doable. Beyond that I can't promise anything."

"Done!" said Kuno excitedly. He took her by her hands, causing her to feel that strange, almost electric, tingling that she had felt at their initial meeting. It was much like meeting Ranma had been like, and it caught her by surprise. The young aristocrat was too caught up in his fervor for Akane to notice the surprised look that briefly appeared on her face. "Despite your mercenary ways, Nabiki Tendo, I trust thee to maintain these dealings as a secret between us? T'would not be seemly for a noble lord of the Empire, such as myself, to be seen consorting with the likes of a money-grubbing woman such as thee."

Nabiki felt a strong sense of irritation burn across her mind like a flash fire, but she kept her features calm through long practice. That arrogant, overbearing, half-witted, strutting peacock, she thought in anger. But she kept these unexpected feelings hidden behind a mask of calm. That she had felt herself attracted to such a man as this somehow made it even worse for her. You will pay for that remark, Tatewaki Kuno, she vowed. Have no doubts on this. Oh, how you'll pay.

"Of course, Kuno-dono," she said neutrally. A predatory glint appeared in her eyes. She intended to utilize all of her skills to wrest as much money as she could from this situation.

Then a thought struck her, one that would allow her to deal with Akane's new and unexpectedly strong interest in Ranma. "However, there is a slight problem," Nabiki said diplomatically, feeling gleeful inside. "One that I feel you should be made aware of, Kuno-dono."

"Problem?" His face fell into a frown. "What sort of problem do you speak of, Tendo-san?"

"Well, my sister already happens to have another suitor for her hand. She speaks of him quite highly."

"Another seeks the hand of my one, true love?" roared Kuno, as he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Tell me the name of my rival that I might eliminate his interference!"

Wow, she thought. That sure caught his attention. She felt a little bit guilty about what she was about to do to the pigtailed boy, but she felt confident that it was for his own good. Having someone like Kuno set himself between Akane and Ranma would only help her own case when she finally decided to ensnare the scholar for herself. And with her sister dealing with her new suitor, Nabiki was sure that it would keep her distracted and away from Ranma.

"First, Kuno-dono, please remove your hands from my person. I'm afraid that you are wrinkling my uniform."

She watched him release her, pleasant thoughts about the large stumbling block that she was about to toss in Akane's path filling her mind. This is almost going to be too easy, she thought with an internal smile, holding out her hand.

"Two thousand yen for the name of my little sister's suitor," she said pleasantly. The young aristocrat immediately slapped two thousand-yen notes into her hand, and she closed her fist around them, feeling warm inside. Once Kuno made his intentions known, Ranma was sure to feel even more disinclined to return Akane's affections. This was for the poor boy's own good, after all.

"Well?" said Kuno impatiently. She wrinkled her nose slightly, trying very hard not to laugh at the irony of the situation.

"Akane is interested in Ranma Saotome, Kuno-dono." There was quiet for the space of several very long moments. She wasn't sure if he had heard her, and she was about to repeat herself when he got an interesting look on his face. It was as if an intense fury was being suppressed within him by only the slimmest of margins. That was perfect, as far as Nabiki was concerned. Inside, she exulted at her spontaneous plan taking shape right before her eyes.

"That fiend, Saotome," murmured Kuno, gripped in the midst of his rage. "First, he seduces and callously discards my beloved, innocent sister. Now he seeks to keep me from my own one, true love. I shall have VENGEANCE!" He sprang from the cot that he was seated upon and quickly ran from the room.

Nabiki stared after the departed nobleman with a speculative look, a little surprised at the aristocrat's reaction. I hope he doesn't hurt Ranma-kun very badly, she thought, a little worriedly. I was expecting him to try harder to win Akane, instead of wanting to beat Ranma-kun to a pulp. Sorry about that, Saotome. I hope your new skills are enough to keep your hide intact.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane sat in class, bored, softly tapping her pencil against her desk. A faint smile was on her face as she remembered the thrill of facing Ranma in combat yesterday, accompanied by a very light blush on her cheeks. How could I have missed seeing his strength? she wondered idly. Ranma is far more than he appeared to be at first. To hide such skill at martial arts, to pretend to be so inept and weak, takes a special sort of ability. I wonder what other secrets he could be hiding from me? She sighed dreamily at the newfound mystery of the pigtailed boy, her gaze drifting to Ranma's empty desk.

"Psst, Akane," whispered a female voice from behind her. The instructor was currently writing a long diagram of a piece of classical literature on the blackboard. She turned around, confident that he wouldn't be looking at the class for the next ten minutes, at least.

Behind her was Yuka Masami, one of Nabiki's henchwomen and Akane's best friend at the Academy, despite the other girl's disinterest in the martial arts. A pretty girl with long brown hair, she wore the gray uniform of a security cadet with a single hash mark on her sleeve. She smiled and softly whispered, "Is it true, Akane?"

"Is what true?"

"About you and Ranma Saotome, silly," whispered Yuka, still smiling. "I heard that he managed to beat you up pretty good during a sparring match yesterday. Is that what's got you looking so distracted today?"

"Well, he sort of surprised me with his martial arts skills yesterday," whispered the youngest Tendo, feeling her face blush again. "He's a much better fighter than I ever thought he was."

"Aaannnd?" whispered Yuka, drawing it out as she leaned forward on her desk.

"I-I think he's the one," Akane whispered back, feeling embarrassed. "Oh Yuka, I've never felt anything before like what I felt fighting Ranma yesterday. It was magical. He showed me how much of a man he was yesterday. He was actually winning when the coach ended the match." A brief quiver of happiness ran through her at the memory of his skill and strength overpowering her, mastering her.

"You'd better stake your claim soon then, girl," whispered Yuka with a smile. "I've been hearing rumors that a few of the other girls started really noticing Ranma after the two of you fought yesterday. Seems like you're not the only one who's taken a fancy to the new martial artist on campus."

"What?" Akane shouted, shooting up to her feet. The class came to a grinding halt around her, and the instructor glared menacingly at her.

"Akane Tendo, go stand in the hall!" ordered the instructor. "I will not tolerate any such outbursts from any cadet in one of my classes." He pointed at the door, and she walked to it, her right eye twitching slightly.

No one is taking Ranma Saotome away from me! she thought fiercely. He's going to be mine! She stomped into the hall and picked up both buckets of water. At least the exercise would help her calm down.

Sometime later, Kuno came tearing up the last of the stairs and spotted her as she stood at the far end of the hallway. "Ah, my love," he said softly with a smile as he raced towards her, overwhelmed by the strength of his passions for the girl. "Now I shall begin my efforts to free thee from that villainous Saotome. Ready thyself for the rapture of my embrace, Akane Tendo!"

Akane looked over at the young nobleman coming towards her and blinked in surprise. He almost caught her up in a brief hug before she knocked him through a nearby window. She stomped over to the window and glared down at the fallen aristocrat, currently lying stunned but otherwise unhurt on the grass three stories below.

"I want Ranma Saotome, not you!" she shouted down at him before stomping back to her original position.

Down below, the young nobleman gathered his thoughts as the passions that had so recently overwhelmed him faded slightly.

But wait, he thought for a moment. Perhaps t'would be better to give my new love a gift. Yes! I shall bestow upon Akane Tendo a symbol of my yearning for her. Then I shall sate the need for conflict which burns within her breast before I claim her for mine own. Vengeance against Saotome can wait for one more day.

He then passed out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma walked back over to the couch and pulled the keyboard into a comfortable position. The screen lit up with the data from his last test run. Another successful run makes me two for two, he thought with a smile. Time to pull up the data on file number two.

* QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000002 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

* PLEASE STAND BY...

* MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000002. DETAILS?

Ranma typed out "YES" for a response, and the screen began to print out more information on the file.

* FILE #0000002 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

22 YEARS

11 MONTHS

17 DAYS

19 HOURS

12 MINUTES

8 SECONDS AGO.

The counter kept increasing the seconds count as Ranma watched it. It was still a very close tangent, he thought with an intrigued smile. Hmmm. A life that was different even before my birth, but how much different?

He settled down on the couch and relaxed. The neural headset was placed on his skull, and he waited. The system finished final synchronization with the expected words, "Initiating upload cycle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +0.001,-0.001

It looks like I'm still in my lab at the Academy, Ranma thought, staring at an unfamiliar circuit board in some sort of handheld device with a hot soldering iron in hand. I guess the divergences weren't all that great for this one, he thought. Feeling a rather uncomfortable crick in his counterpart's back from the stooped-over position, Ranma quickly sat up straighter, stretching the shoulders back. Something felt off. Ranma set the hot soldering iron down in the holder before suddenly realizing that there was something _very_ different about this counterpart.

He was a she.

Ranma sprang up from the stool that the girl had been seated upon in a state of shocked surprise, knocking it backwards with a loud clatter onto the concrete floor.

Whatthehellisthis? the now female Ranma thought in extreme amazement.

A girl's Imperial Academy uniform in science blue rested on her body, the knee-length skirt softly rustling as she moved. Blinking in extreme disbelief, staring down at a body that so strongly reminded her of the dream from last night, only one thought was on Ranma's mind.

I'm a girl, she realized in shocked wonder.

After a few long moments of staring down at the borrowed body, some of the memories from this life began to flood into her awareness. Ranma was quite amazed at both the differences and similarities that existed. For example, instead of Ranma Saotome, this female alternate was named Ranko Saotome. That was only the simplest of the many differences between them. Her life had paralleled his to a very great degree; the schools attended, the people met, but colored differently by being a female.

One major difference in their lives came during her seventh year, while studying in France. One of her chemistry instructors turned out to be a highly ranked Savate fighter as well, and trained Ranko in the French kickboxing style at her request. She loved it and advanced so quickly that Genma had been amazed. From that point onwards, he made a point of encouraging her to study as much of the martial arts as she desired, as long as it didn't impact on her scholastic studies. She did it for the exercise mainly, and later on to keep her figure, but Ranma was very surprised to discover in her memories a secret thrill at competition.

Nine years after that first class in Savate, Ranko had earned black belts in three other styles: Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, and Kempo. During that time Ranma also saw in her memories a fair number of back-alley fights around the world that Genma had likely never been aware of. She held a secret pride in her heart at never having lost a fight. Ranma was a little bit disconcerted to discover how much she enjoyed beating up male opponents, especially all of those she held to be her mental inferiors.

While she didn't bully people or go out looking for trouble, trouble always seemed to find her. Currently, her favorite target to tease and fight with was a male security cadet a year older than her by the name of Kaneda Tendo. They had a semi-fierce rivalry with each other that would have stunned the Nodoka of this world if she knew of it. She was apparently determined to turn her tomboyish scholar of a daughter into a more ladylike and proper citizen. The efforts had produced some severe tensions between mother and daughter.

It couldn't be, Ranma thought, seeing a face suddenly appear in her memories that looked disturbingly like how a male version of Nabiki might appear. Kaneda, like his female counterpart on Ranma's own world, ran a sizable network on campus. He teased Ranko mercilessly at times, and they had fought several times since her arrival on campus six weeks ago. She always managed to defeat him, and her memories were full of incidents where she called him an idiot or a macho jerk.

Feeling uncomfortable at examining such thoughts, Ranma turned more attention back to Ranko's physique. Her body felt very fit to him, and she lashed out with a quick side kick to test it, only a little bit hindered by the skirt. Her foot snapped out, and Ranma was able to hold her body easily in balance on the other foot as she raised the kicking foot up over her head. Despite her scholarly upbringing, Ranma knew that she was also a very impressive fighter. The boy turned girl felt a little guilty at not having done the same in his own life.

It was something to be rectified. Coach Takami was going to find an eager student from now on. There was no way that he was going to let himself remain in poorer shape than a female counterpart of himself. Ranma's male ego simply balked at the idea.

She slowly lowered the kicking leg back down to the floor, feeling the distinct differences in balance and the lowered center of gravity that went with a woman's body as opposed to a man's. It was an educational experience as her borrowed body was put through its paces for several minutes of exercises. She was in as good of shape as any of their martial artist analogs. That fact made Ranma feel like a slacker.

After finishing, she walked over to the sink in the lab a little nervously, suddenly very curious to see what this female counterpart looked like. This is what I would have looked like if I had been born a female, the boy temporarily turned girl thought. Reaching the sink and mirror, Ranma just stared in surprise at the reflection, raising one hand up to touch a cheek and watching the girl in the mirror making the same gesture. This is so strange, Ranma thought. The appearance of the girl in the mirror was also shockingly familiar.

It was Ranma-chan.

There were subtle differences, but the girl in the mirror was almost identical to that other Ranma's female form. Reddish hair, far lighter than Nodoka's own dark red coloring, was worn pulled back into a loose ponytail and tied with a dark blue ribbon. Bright blue eyes were wide with surprise in the reflection. Strangely fascinated by the sight, and a little weirded out, Ranma was only able to stare at the female face in the reflection. I'm-she's gorgeous, the boy turned girl thought briefly, then slapped herself across the face to shake herself out of the brief reverie.

Get a hold of yourself, Ranma, she commanded herself. She briefly looked up at the clock on the wall, noting by the time that there was only a little bit less than ten minutes left, before turning to look at the stack of equipment on the workbench. Whatever it was that Ranko was working on, it was not a resonator.

Ranma sat down, immediately crossing Ranko's legs in a very ladylike manner while doing so. Her thoughts froze for a long moment.

What? she thought, mildly stunned, realizing immediately what she had just done so naturally in this body and staring at the results of the casual mannerism. I-I didn't even think about it. I just sat down and did it because it felt right.

A bead of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Ranma purposely uncrossed her legs and sat with them slightly apart, like a man would, and leaned forward to think. The borrowed body's breasts pressed against the arms, and she quickly leaned back in surprise, disturbed at the unexpected sensations that touching them caused. I didn't realize that they would be so sensitive, she thought casually, looking down at them, and re-crossing her legs because they felt wrong spread apart like that. There was another brief pause. What the hell am I thinking?

She forced herself to sit up straight and look over the notebook used by his counterpart in her work, slowly flipping through its pages. All of the equations and schematics were new, she noticed, casually rubbing at her lower lip with her thumb. All of a sudden, her hand paused in the midst of flipping pages. Hello, she thought, what's this?

Ranko was working on a special project of some sort, but one that was very different from his own, some sort of hand-held device that was barely half-finished. The central equation was nearly complete in the notebook, only the very last portion was missing, and it filled an entire page. Ranko had made several notes on it, writing such things as 'anti-gravity?' at a few locations around the equation and supplementary schematics. The device she was working on would create some sort of energy field at the point of focus, some form of manipulation of gravity.

Ranma stared at the figures. Even as incomplete as they were, there was something tantalizing the edge of her awareness, something she felt she should know. She briefly wondered about the equation. The last part needed to be solved, but she wondered if anti-gravity was the correct interpretation when the equation was finally completed.

Then it came to her in a flash. The equation held elements from the same master equation that led to the resonator, but as it was, there was a power issue that Ranko's device would not be able to overcome. The field created would collapse within a split-second. Picking up a pen, she impulsively wrote down the missing piece of the equation, giving her analog the solution.

The equipment shared several components with the resonator, but there were also other circuitry designs that did not quite make sense to her. She committed it to memory, hoping that it all made the transition back successfully. Being in a girl's body like this was making her feel a bit nervous and reminded Ranma more than she really cared to know about what it must be like for a certain Jusenkyo-cursed martial artist counterpart.

Ranma sat back on the couch, noting that only a couple of minutes remained before recall mode activated. Suddenly curious to see more of the body she temporarily possessed, she reached up and slowly undid the bow around the collar and set it aside. The uniform jacket joined it a few moments later. She hesitated at removing the white cotton blouse, and contented herself for several long moments with staring down at a very surprisingly well-endowed chest for a teenaged girl.

This is just such a strange experience, she thought, as she very tentatively touched one breast, and then began fondling it through the clothing covering it. It felt pleasant to do so, and she guiltily dropped the hand after a minute of that, feeling her face blushing. Noticing that only a minute remained, she pulled the blue jacket back on. Ranma started to replace the bow when her thoughts grayed out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranko awoke on the couch, puzzled by the strange time loss that had just occurred. I guess I must have decided to take a nap, she thought in mild confusion. I wonder why I don't remember? She idly retied the bow around her neck, puzzled that it had come undone like that. She hopped up off the couch and stretched her arms out, before doing some brief exercises to loosen up.

She noticed her notebook lying open, and she studied the new additions to it, her eyes suddenly widening. She grabbed it up, and a smile lit her face. It was solved! Somehow, it was solved. She smiled even more brightly.

By this time tomorrow, I'll be able to begin my experiments, she thought proudly. Let that overly-macho moron Kaneda laugh at me then for being an unfeminine bookworm. Hmmm, that reminds me, I still owe him a pretty serious pounding for grabbing that feel during our last sparring match, the stupid pervert. He can claim innocence all he wants. She cracked her knuckles softly, grinning.

With a soft chuckle, Ranko imagined the beating that she was going to give Kaneda for trying to feel her up during practice. Fighting with him was always enjoyable, but she would never admit it to an arrogant, macho chauvinist like the Tendo boy. If she didn't know that he was the best male fighter at the Academy, she would probably be a bit more forgiving to him. As good as he is at martial arts, he should know better than to grab a girl's chest, the idiot, even if it might have been an accident. I'll teach that Kaneda a lesson that he won't soon forget.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete."

Ranma laced his fingers together and stretched his arms up over his head, palms outward, feeling the tensions move out of his shoulders. When he brought his hands down, he slid the headset off his skull and left it resting on his stomach. He put his hands behind his head and stared upwards at the ceiling of his lab with a hint of amusement.

I have a counterpart who is female, he idly thought. How truly odd. When he closed his eyes, he could see her face in the mirror clearly. She's also a martial artist. My quantum sister, the tomboy. That thought brought a faint chuckle to his lips. Still, there's no way that I'm going to let a girl version of myself be a better fighter than me. That just ain't gonna happen. Looks like I'll have to train myself even harder.

He didn't even notice the slang in his thoughts.

He sat up and reached for his bookbag. Humming a faint melody, he pulled out one of his blank notebooks and tossed it on the workbench, while he rummaged around for a pen. The memories of the information from Ranko's notebook apparently made it back okay when he was recalled back to his own body, but he wanted to get the information down on paper as soon as he could, not quite trusting his memory for such an intricate level of details.

Anti-gravity, he thought with a smile. He hopped off the couch and sat himself down on the stool next to his workbench. He clicked the pen open and flipped to a clean page in the notebook. He bent over the notebook and began to write, slowly and carefully.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi was quietly reading a book of poetry during lunch period on the front lawn of Blackhall Academy, for once not needing to contend with the White Lily, when a shadow fell across her. She immediately leaped from her seated position into a midair somersault, landing on her feet ready for a fight. Expecting to see Asuka standing there, she was quite surprised when the looming figure was revealed to be her own brother, especially since he was armed and wearing a manic expression. She also noticed several colorful bruises on his face.

"Brother Dear," she said, pleased to see him. "This is a wonderful surprise. Have you come to join me for lunch?" Without speaking, he slowly sat down, his expression grim.

"My dear sister, I have come to forbid you to have aught further to do with Ranma Saotome."

"What?" she asked, astonished. "How did you know?" Inside, her mind whirled with questions.

"So, you do not deny knowing the vile miscreant," sighed Kuno, louder than she cared for. She noticed with mild despair that several girls nearby were listening. "T'is as I suspected then. When did that scoundrel Saotome seduce thee?" Suddenly, every other conversation around the pair ceased. Several more girls around them began listening as Kodachi felt a blush cross her face. Her brother did not appear to notice or care.

Asuka heard Kuno's statement from her position among the columns at the front steps of the Academy and smiled. So, the oh-so-damnably-perfect Kodachi Kuno is a fallen woman, eh? she thought with a deep level of amusement. She cocked her head to listen to the quite interesting conversation more attentively, quietly sipping from the juice container held in her hand. Kuno was normally a tiresome sort in her eyes, but occasionally he provided her with rare amusement such as this news of his sister.

"B-brother Dear," said Kodachi nervously. "It is not as you think. I have not even ever spoken to this Ranma Saotome of which you speak. He is a stranger to me." She stood before her still seated brother, who appeared as stoic and unyielding as a statue for a moment.

"Then why did you run home in tears after gazing upon the foul knave?" he asked loudly, turning his fierce gaze upon here once more. "Be not saddened, my sister. I intend to avenge the insult done to our House and to you on the morrow. On that day, I shall punish Ranma Saotome with the full measure of my skills. He shall rue the day that he ever heard the name of Kuno."

"You mustn't!" she shouted, suddenly afraid for the scholarly Ranma. As far as she knew, he had no combat skills beyond the mere basics provided by the Academy. "He is innocent of any wrongdoing. He has done nothing to me!" Kodachi bent down and grabbed at Kuno's shoulder as she pleaded with him. He looked at her with sudden rage.

"Innocent?" roared Kuno, as he shot to his feet. He raised up his bokken to point at the heavens and struck a noble pose. "This day I have found my one and only true love, only to discover that she pines for this self-same scoundrel, Saotome! The same man who has caused my sister tears! Nay, I say it shall not be so! On the morrow, I shall smite the villain and avenge your dishonor! Then he shall cease to be a hindrance to my noble cause of love as well!"

What did he say? the White Lily thought disbelievingly. One true love? That is what he once called me! She slowly rose to her feet as Kuno continued his rant, a deep scowl appearing upon her face. Her cronies watched her with wary eyes, uncertain what actions that their mistress intended.

Ranma is involved with another? thought Kodachi in surprise. A sinking feeling suddenly filled her heart. "Who is this new love of whom you speak, Brother Dear?"

"Ah," he sighed wistfully. "Her name is Akane Tendo. I bore witness to her grace and strength this very morn, and I bear the marks of her fighting spirit with pride. Truly she is a goddess above all other women, a lady of noble birth laboring at the Imperial Academy as if she was a mere commoner. Never before have I encountered a woman with such spirit, nor her equal in strength among any of the daughters of the nobility of the Empire."

Asuka crushed the small juice container that she was holding in her hand when she heard that statement, a few droplets spilling to one side. How dare that man compare some obviously common, low-born strumpet to such a nobly-born lady as myself! she thought with sudden fury. How dare he call another my equal in his heart, that pompous bastard! She threw the crushed lump of waxed cardboard at the trash can with all her might, hearing it thunk against the inside before falling.

Her four cronies stood around, not daring to approach the White Lily too closely when she was in such a mood.

Akane Tendo? thought Kodachi with surprise, and then began to laugh. Kuno looked at her with a shocked expression.

"Sister, why do you laugh so?" he said, wearing a puzzled expression. "Have you taken leave of your wits?"

"It is just that- you and Akane Tendo-" she chuckled softly, striving to control her mirth. Her former worry was replaced by relief. If the Akane Tendo here is anything at all like her other versions that I have seen, then she is not anyone that I will have to worry over taking Saotome-kun from me, she thought with a smile. He is no brutish fighter to capture her interest, so he is safe from her attentions. My brother, on the other hand, is another story.

"Sister," murmured Kuno in mild anger. "I do not see a reason for mirth in this situation. Here I tell you of my finding the perfect woman for myself-"

There was a sudden roar of feminine rage from behind him. He blinked and turned around. Asuka stood behind him, almost glowing with rage. Surprised, Kuno stared at the sight as if mesmerized.

"You DARE to say that a lady like myself is less than some Imperial Academy COMMONER?" she shrieked into his face. Totally nonplused, he only gazed back.

"Be off with you, Saginomiya-san," said Kuno with irritation as he waved his hand at her in a dismissive gesture. "I speak with my sister now on matters of import. I truly care not what a shrew such as thyself thinks of my private affairs." He turned back to face his sister and quickly found his face slammed down into the turf, the White Lily's foot planted on the back of his head.

"Don't you ever dare turn your back on me when I am speaking to you, Tatewaki Kuno!" the blonde shrieked in a full rage. "I demand that you apologize to me for your statement! I find it a grievous insult!" She gracefully stepped off of Kuno's head and folded her arms across her chest. Her four assistants formed up ranks behind her, glowering at the two siblings.

Kuno drew himself back up to his feet, and to his full height, and stared at the simmering and haughty-looking Asuka. A few small clumps of dirt fell from his face. A look of extreme annoyance crossed his features as his grip slowly tightened on the pommel of his weapon. "If you were not a lady of a noble House," he said quietly.

"I thought you liked warrior women, Kuno-chan," cooed the girl, her mannerisms quickly changing to one of sweetness as she looked at him. He frowned at her, and she smiled back in a saccharin-sweet way. She giggled lightly at his discomfiture.

"Trifle not with mine affections, Asuka Saginomiya," said Kuno quietly. Kodachi stood to one side and regarded the scene with intense interest. "My heart has flown to another, and no words of thine shall ever change that. Truly, thou shrew, now that my noble heart has been claimed by another, I can see thee for your true self as a spiteful, vindictive harridan. The powerful enchantment that was once cast over me by your beauteous features is ended, so begone." He made a shooing away gesture with his hand briefly, before turning his back on her once more to face his sister.

Kodachi watched the other girl's face take on the most interesting series of expressions, trying hard not to smile. For a year, Kuno had pursued the cold Asuka with no return of interest on her part. But now that he had apparently found another to replace her, the White Lily gave off all indications of jealousy over it. It was a very educational and amusing sight for the Kuno girl.

I will win your heart back to me, Tatewaki Kuno, thought the trim blonde with a tightening of her lips. Only so that I may crush it beneath my heel as you so very richly deserve. With a last glare at the siblings, she stalked off, trailed by her cronies.

"That was most unpleasant," said Kuno in a very stiff tone of voice, after the other girl had departed. "I know not what madness ever caused me to show interest in such a vile, evil creature. Truly she is like a demoness in human form, and I am glad that she shall trouble me no more. Now I might turn my full attentions to the beautiful, sweet, and no doubt virtuous Akane Tendo."

"Brother Dear," said Kodachi quietly, gazing at him with hooded eyes. "I fear that I must decline to follow your instructions regarding Saotome-kun. You are so very wrong about him."

"I? Wrong? Never!" shouted Kuno. "I have seen this villain with mine own eyes, and he is far beneath suitable for a delicate flower of nobility such as thyself. I forbid you to see him." He sheathed his weapon and folded his arms; the matter was closed to him as far as he was concerned.

Oh no, you will not prevent me from seeing Saotome-kun, if I so choose, Brother Dear, thought the Kuno girl defiantly. I will have back at least the friendship with him, and possibly more, that I had with his counterpart. You shall not stop me in this.

The two siblings stared at each other for a long time, both lost in their own thoughts, both looking adamant.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Asuka stalked through the corridors of Blackhall Academy, and her thoughts were dark and filled with simmering rage. That arrogant, pompous, infuriating- Ooohhhh! He makes me so mad! I will teach him that he should not trifle with the White Lily's tender feelings like that! Feeling a very light tap on her shoulder, she whirled. Azusa Shiratori, one of her four assistants, quickly scampered back a little at the look on Asuka's face.

"What is it?" shouted Asuka. "Can't you see that I am brooding?"

"My apologies, Milady," said Azusa with a bow. "I was wondering what you intended to do about your new rival?"

"Akane Tendo is no rival of mine!" blasted the White Lily. Azusa eeped and hid behind Ayako Mitsui, Asuka's second in command and a powerful martial artist in her own right. The blonde looked at the tall girl, and a sudden smile crossed her face. "Ayako-chan, I have a small task for you."

"I am at your command, Milady," said the girl, bowing slightly. "Do you wish me to deal with this commoner on your behalf?"

"A tempting thought, but no. Instead, find out all that you can about Akane Tendo and Kodachi Kuno's lover. I have a plan in mind to punish the two scions of the House of Kuno. An amusing plan indeed." She turned to face Ayako. "Now go and gather me all the information that you can on the ones called Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome."

"As you command, Milady," said the girl, bowing. She vanished in a blur of motion, leaping away from her leader into the shadows.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma leaned back from the workbench and looked up at the clock. Almost time for physical education class, he noted with a sigh. He gazed down at the notebook and flipped back through the pages. A large number of them were now filled with duplicates of the equations and schematics from Ranko's notebooks. He shook his tired hand and stood up.

Every class I was able to skip today, but not this one, he thought with a smile. It's just as well. I need to get some exercise anyway. He leaned back and his spine cracked and popped.

He shut down power to the resonator and threw a tarp over the system's components. Then he stuffed all of his notebooks into his bag with a smile, pleased with the amount of work that he had completed. Most of the details from Ranko's notebooks were now transcribed into his own, and he considered that to be a job well done.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is a rather unusual request that you have made, Kuno-dono," said Fuyutsuki. Now seated across from him was a slightly nervous-looking Kodachi. She had requested a leave of absence from all of her afternoon classes in order to meet with him.

"I understand, Fuyutsuki-sensei," said the girl somewhat shyly. "I hope you do not think me to be ill-mannered in making such a request to you directly like this. I am simply finding myself somewhat less than fully challenged by the curriculum at Blackhall, and I was told that there might be some research projects that I could assist with taking place here." She sat with her hands folded demurely.

"Research projects?" he asked in surprise. "There aren't any such projects taking place at the Academy. Well, except for one of the cadets, Ranma Saotome. But I don't think he would be open to having an assistant at this time, even one so lovely as yourself, Kuno-dono."

"Ranma Saotome?" asked Kodachi, acting as if she was surprised to hear the name. "Not the Ranma Saotome, winner of the Imperial Medal of Scholarship for his paper on temporal flux states in a low-gravity environment?" Fuyutsuki looked surprised for several moments. Good thing I did some research on Saotome-kun before coming here, she thought with an internal smile.

"Yes, he is, as a matter of fact," said the man with a smile on his face. "I understand his current project involves some ground-breaking work in the field of quantum mechanics." Sitting back, he thought for a long moment, pondering new possibilities. He then smiled at Kodachi.

"I would love to have an opportunity to meet Saotome-san," said Kodachi with a pleasant smile. "I'm sure that I could be a great help to him in his current work."

"Very well, Kuno-dono," said Fuyutsuki with a smile, folding his hands before him on the desk. "He has a private lab space located in the lower basement, room five. He's at his physical education class right now, but he has a free study period that he uses for his work. He will be down there within the hour. Just tell him that I said it was all right."

"Thank you, Fuyutsuki-sensei," said the young aristocrat, standing up quickly and bowing deeply. She left with a smile on her face.

Interesting, thought Fuyutsuki, after the girl left. She seemed to be quite strongly interested in young Saotome in particular, despite her attempts to portray herself otherwise. Perhaps I should keep an eye on them. Yes, that would perhaps be very wise.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma pumped his arms and legs as he ran around the track as fast as he could. Off to one side, Coach Takami held a small stopwatch in his hand and watched him closely. However, the pigtailed boy's attention though was not on the coach, it was on pushing his body even faster and harder than the coach ever had. He was on his third full speed kilometer already, and his lungs were burning in his chest like they were on fire.

Ignore the pain, he thought. Memories of training under the other Genma popped up in his mind as fatigue poisons slowly built up in his body. Don't stop running. As bad as it was feeling now, he was sure that the late afternoon session was going to be worse, because he had requested it be made so. The coach had actually looked at him with a great deal of respect and then sent him out to run on the track while he timed him for speed. Ranma kept putting one leg in front of the other and kept pushing himself, striving to keep going.

Akane watched him running ahead of her as she trailed him at a sprint, both of them lapping the rest of the class once again, who were jogging along at a slower pace. She shook her head in amazement, even as she admired his stamina. Why won't he fight me? she mused with irritation. He must have felt the same things I did. I know he must have.

Before Ranma had gotten very far ahead of her, she suddenly accelerated from her place behind him as her competitive nature refused to let him outdo her, even at such a thing as running. She managed to pull up next to him and grinned evilly at him, before accelerating past him to her top speed. I'll show you that I can run you into the ground, Saotome, she thought boastfully.

The pigtailed boy glared at Akane's back as she sprinted on ahead of him. So you want to try and show me up, Tendo? I don't think so. Ranma Saotome doesn't lose. With that thought, he began pushing himself even harder and poured new speed into his legs.

Both of them had already run several kilometers together at near top speed, so Akane was very surprised to see him gaining on her as they went around the track. After another kilometer, he managed to pull up next to her and returned her earlier grin with a slightly tired one of his own. They continued on, running neck in neck, as the rest of the class finished their usual three kilometers.

Takami had a smile on his face as he watched the two young athletes spurring each other on. They were both on their fourth kilometer now and were still matching each other pace for pace.

I'm the best athlete at this Academy, Saotome, thought Akane, pushing herself a little harder and pulling ahead of him again for a brief time. Exhaustion was starting to catch up with her, and she angrily ignored it. You're not going to outrun me!

Push it harder, Ranma! he thought angrily at himself, as he drove his body to go even faster to keep up with her. But he was getting tired. You're not gonna lose to that tomboy, are you? Hell, NO!

The two of them pushed on through another kilometer, and he managed to catch up to her once more and then pass her. I'm not ever gonna lose to a girl! Not ever again!

At their seventh kilometer at full speed, the contest was his when Akane couldn't keep up the pace anymore. She collapsed and tumbled onto the grass as he went a little bit farther ahead before stopping himself. Both of them were exhausted, but she felt a happy glow inside her.

Ranma had beaten her again.

After class, the pigtailed boy stood under a spray of hot water in the showers for a long time. His muscles felt like jelly, but the tiredness was a good sort of feeling now. He ducked his head under the water as he leaned against the wall, feeling the cool tiles against his forearms as they supported him.

The water suddenly turned freezing cold.

"AIEEEE!" he screamed, dashing out of the spray and panting. The coach grinned at him, even as Ranma glowered back after briefly glancing at his chest.

"It's only a little cold water, Saotome," said Takami, grinning, as he tossed the pigtailed boy a towel. "I just wanted to congratulate you."

"For what?" asked Ranma, shivering a little from the after-effects of his cold water shower. He dried off quickly and wrapped the towel around his middle.

"Today you managed to tie the Academy record for a five kilometer run by a first-year cadet. Ten seconds faster and you would have broken the Academy record," said the man with a smile. He shook his head in disbelief. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. All your heavy training has been paying off. I'm actually eager to see just what you can do if we up the level again."

"I'm ready, but I really am most interested in martial arts training," said Ranma. "I want to be faster and stronger than I already am. Can you help me, Coach?"

Takami scratched behind his head after removing his ever-present dark green cap. "I spent ten years teaching boys how to be soldiers in the Imperial Army, Saotome," said the man after he replaced his cap. "I believe that you can improve your strength and endurance, but it won't be easy from this point on. I suspect you're currently at a plateau in your training, although I've never seen anyone get to your level so quickly. I was expecting to be working with you for months, not weeks, to get you this far."

"I can do better, Coach," said Ranma with certainty. "I know I can."

"I believe you, Saotome. I don't know why, but I believe that you've only just scratched the surface of what you're truly capable of. I confess that I wasn't sure about you in the beginning, but you've surpassed all my expectations so far. So be prepared to work your ass off from here on out. This has been the easy part up until now." He laughed with false malice.

"Thanks, Coach," said Ranma sincerely. I need to find a teacher though, he thought with concern. Takami and the martial arts instructors on campus can take me up to a certain level, but if I want to strive to that other Ranma's level of skill then I'm going to need to find a martial arts master of extraordinary ability to study with. How am I going to do that?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma unlocked and opened the door to his laboratory, before he set his bookbag down just inside. His hand went unerringly to the light switch on the wall, flicking them on. He walked in as the overhead fluorescent panels snapped on, shutting and locking the door behind him. With only an hour available, he knew he would only have time for a single run.

Flipping the cover off the resonator, he flipped the main power bar back on and let it run through self-check while he pulled out his notebook and made a few more notes on the variability in times before his three quantum counterpart's memories were available to him. He was sure that there was some unknown factor involved in the delay that he wasn't seeing just yet.

Hearing a beep, the pigtailed boy looked up and grunted when he saw that the resonator was ready for him. He tapped rapidly away at the system's keyboard, setting up for the next experiment. He pulled up the next file in rotation and waited for it to load.

* QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000003 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

* PLEASE STAND BY...

* MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000003. DETAILS? YES

* FILE #0000003 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

2,111 YEARS

6 MONTHS

21 DAYS

23 HOURS

20 MINUTES

25 SECONDS AGO.

A long time ago, he thought as he hefted the headset up. The historical differences should be interesting. He eyed the clock for a moment to mark the starting time and then settled back with the headset resting on his head.

The two sine waves moved together on the screen, and the upload cycle commenced.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.112, +3.066

Ranma found himself holding lightly onto a leather strap connected to a wall stanchion. In front of him was a large video screen currently displaying the Earth from space. He almost immediately lost the food in his belly and felt as if he was on a free-falling elevator car. I'm in space? he thought with surprise. What am I doing in space?

He glanced down at his clothes and saw that he was wearing a pale blue jumpsuit with the kanji for 'Saotome, Ranma' stenciled across a patch on his right breast. His body felt fit and well-trained, roughly at the same level as his own was now. He felt with one hand along his collar and was a little surprised to discover rank insignia pips there.

Seeing a dim reflection of himself in the glass of the monitor tank, he tried to discern what rank he was wearing on his collar. If it followed standard Imperial military patterns, then he was a lieutenant, junior grade. What is going on here?

He turned around to see several people watching the monitor that he stood near. He recognized Ukyo among them, just floating into the room through an open hatchway. She was wearing a pale blue jumpsuit like his own, but her patch read 'Saotome, Ukyo' on it. On her collar were ensign's pips. Her expression was worried as she floated over to him, and she hugged him when she got near.

"Oh, Ranma," she said sadly. "Hold me until it's over." Unsure what she was talking about, he acceded to her soft-voiced request and put an arm around her, feeling the warmth of her body against his.

A flood of memories filled his mind from his counterpart at that same moment, some very familiar but most very different from his own life. He held onto Ukyo and let them begin to settle into his awareness, his other hand wrapped into the wall strap to keep from floating off.

This analog had been chosen to participate in a very noble achievement by the Empire, the colonization of another star system by means of a slower-than-light, multi-generational ship: the Yamato. Every member of the crew on board, himself and Ukyo included, had been computer-selected for their suitability for this mission. In the cargo bay were frozen sperm and ova for animal populations to be created on their new world, as well as several thousand human embryos. He was the most junior member of the astro-navigation section, and his young bride was one of several biologists who worked in the hydroponics bays and monitored the cryogenic storage units.

What had started out as a grand adventure to prove the Empire's superiority and a vast public relations coup, unexpectedly turned into the last hope for mankind. It became the means of saving a small portion of the human race from the terrible madness that was about to consume their home. With only days left before mission launch was to occur, the remnants of the old Ottoman Empire and the Russians declared war on the Empire of Japan.

The crew had watched as news broadcasts relayed the unfolding events. The two allies threw the combined weight of their militaries against the Empire and managed to force an opening across the borders, their troops spilling onto Imperial soil. The Emperor had made several demands for them to withdraw, but they were refused.

The price of that defiance was about to kill a world.

"Look!" shouted one of the other occupants in the room, pointing at the monitor behind Ranma, a young man who was unfamiliar to him at the moment. "It's started!"

He turned and looked, while Ukyo hid her face against his chest and cried. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be seeing at first, then his eyes widened in horror.

Plumes of bright light were beginning to sprout across the Earth, the distinctive sign of nuclear weapons detonating across the surface. He could only imagine the devastation that was now raging around the world. As he watched silently, the islands that he had once called home were covered in a multitude of circles of light. It was a horrible microcosm of the destruction that was spreading over the whole Earth.

"My God," he heard someone say softly behind him. Ukyo simply kept her face buried against his chest and cried. He knew that his other self's parents were down there, and a wave of remorse filled him. Not knowing what else to do, Ranma pulled Ukyo in tighter, feeling her body shaking against his with sobs.

They were newly married, part of a policy for the crew in an attempt to minimize sexual frictions by providing stable family bonds. They were actually paired up during training when the new policy was announced and were still in a process of adjusting to each other. These adjustments occasionally led to some spectacular arguments and fights, but there was a strong love bond now between them.

After several long minutes, the destruction began to fade as the last of the bombs fell. All that was left behind were glowing patches of heat and radioactivity strewn across the surface. Towards the end of the vast conflagration, there was a white flash and a vast explosion from one of the regions of southern China that caught Ranma's and several other's attention. A last missile impact? he wondered, somehow doubting that was what it was. His counterpart had no knowledge of anything of strategic value in that area that was worth targeting with such a large-yielding bomb. He suspected that he would never know.

"It's all over," whispered several people around them, stunned by the sight of Earth destroyed so quickly. Ranma gently stroked Ukyo's hair.

"Let's go back to our cabin," said Ukyo as she looked up, the remainders of tears in his eyes. "I have something that I need to talk with you about, Ranma."

"All right," he said. She gave a brave attempt at a smile and kicked off from the wall, shooting like a slow ballistic missile towards the open hatchway. He found himself watching her trim form with a smile on his face. She sure is cute, he found himself thinking.

Confident that he had his space-legs now, he did a very quick mental calculation and shoved off from the wall with his feet. His body flew through the air with a tremendous feeling of freedom, even as a vast heaviness hung inside him at the loss of his parents on this timeline. With a slight smile at his newfound skill, he shot cleanly through the hatchway and narrowly avoided colliding with someone coming the opposite way.

"Sorry about that," he called back, not recognizing the other person. A brief curse was muttered back his way, but he didn't pay any attention to it.

Ranma banked around a corner with an acrobatic move, still finding himself unable to catch up with Ukyo flying on ahead of him. His knees agilely soaked up the impact from the wall and shot him off in the new direction. In his mind he saw a rough map of the vessel, built to hold three hundred people. There were only one hundred and twenty-eight aboard now, possibly the last survivors of the human race in this timeline.

Ukyo stopped suddenly and he collided with her with a thud, sending them both bouncing off from each other slowly.

"Ow!" cried Ukyo. "Watch where you're going, you jerk." She thumped him across a shoulder with her fist.

"Sorry about that," he said with sincerity. "You surprised me when you stopped so suddenly."

"What did you expect me to do?" she asked in puzzlement. "This is our cabin, after all."

Oops, he thought, suddenly remembering that fact. That will teach me to pay more attention on these jaunts to my memories, and less on the cute girls I keep finding myself around. He watched her unlatch and pop open the seal on the door.

Beyond was a very small living space, but a few tokens of a life now lost behind them populated it. A single bed was hinged up against the wall. Ranma suddenly recalled that the habitat area that their cabin was in could be spun for gravity around the ship's central axis. That wasn't going to happen for several weeks to ease navigation, as the vessel accelerated around the sun in a slingshot maneuver. He looked around at the small homey touches. Ukyo's work, he imagined.

He looked at a small framed photo of himself, his young bride, and their parents attached to one wall. He and Ukyo were dressed in their blue flight suits, and his other self was flashing a proud thumb's up in the direction of the camera. She was leaning on his shoulder from behind him, her wedding ring glinting from the sunlight. Everyone looked happy, and the scene brought a small lump to Ranma's throat. He floated in midair and wiped a few tears from his eyes. Guys don't cry, he thought.

A pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and Ukyo nuzzled against his right ear. She said nothing, only holding him close to her. He dimly noticed the feel of her breasts pressing against his back. It was making him a little uncomfortable.

"How are you holding up, Ucchan?" he asked softly, using the nickname he had given her during training. Inside, he was literally of two minds about what he just saw. The astronaut part of him, memories called up by the recent event, felt deep sorrow from the loss of most of the people that he ever knew. The scholar part of him was more distant, viewing these things as something happening to other people, so he was not as touched. It was a safety net against the dark sadness that would have filled him otherwise.

"I'm doing well enough, I suppose, Ranma," she whispered into his ear, before kissing him lightly along the back of his neck and then softly chuckling. "You're acting like a solid rock emotionally, as usual. Care to tell your beautiful bride what you're feeling?"

"I think the shock has numbed me a little," he said, hedging a little with what sounded like a reasonable answer. He turned around to draw her into his arms. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"You're going to be a father," she said, lowering her eyes shyly, a small smile on her face. Ranma felt his brain make a sort of 'erking' sound even as she continued speaking. "I found out yesterday, shortly after we left Earth orbit."

He felt his vision black out as recall occurred.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma heard an urgent pounding against the door as he readjusted himself to his present surroundings. Blinking his eyes open, he pulled the headset off and set it down on the floor next to the couch. He sat up and wondered who could want to see him down here. Only Fuyutsuki has ever even been in here, he thought, feeling rather puzzled.

He set the system into standby mode with a few clicks on the keyboard. Most of the components hummed down into a low-energy use setting, the monitor blinking off. He set the headset up onto the workbench with the rest of the equipment and flipped a tarp over the lot of it.

There was another loud banging at the door.

"I hear ya!" he shouted. "Hold on, and I'll be right there!" He walked over and unlocked the door, expecting to see the headmaster on the other side of the door.

Ranma was very surprised to see Akane standing outside the door. His eyes went wide, and he tried to shut the door in her face. She quickly slammed her foot down in the space, blocking the door from closing.

"Oh no you don't, Saotome," she said in calm tones, before pushing the door back open against his half-hearted resistance. "You and I have some unfinished business to deal with. I came looking to find a man to challenge my skill, but instead I find a boy cowering in the basement." She entered the lab in a single stride and shut the door behind her.

Ranma sighed. This is not what I want to deal with right now.

Akane looked around his lab space with some interest. It didn't look like much to her. A tarp covering something on the large table in the middle of the room caught her eye. She walked towards it, and he made a move to block her, but she managed to dodge around him.

"So this is where you go to hide every afternoon?" she asked with a frown. "You don't know how hard it was for me to find you down here." She lifted up one corner of the tarp covering his equipment. "So what's under here?"

"That's sensitive equipment I'm working with," said the pigtailed boy stiffly. "It's nothing someone like you would ever be interested in." He quickly tugged the tarp corner back down. She pulled it back up, and added a glare in his direction for good measure. He pulled it back down once more, and returned the glare.

"Just let me see it, Saotome," she said through slightly gritted teeth. "Don't make me have to hurt you again." Without waiting for a reply, she slugged him in the jaw. Surprised by the suddenness of the attack, he flew back, bounced off of the couch with a notable lack of grace, and landed face-down on the concrete with a soft thud.

"Ow," he muttered to himself as he raised himself off of the floor. Why doesn't this uncute tomboy just leave me alone?

Meanwhile, Akane was looking over his equipment with a great deal of interest. She casually dropped the tarp on top of his prone form. Ranma muttered softly about violent tomboys from psychotic families while he was underneath the tarp, before pulling it off of himself and standing up. She looked innocently at him.

"Ready to fight me now?" she said with a teasing grin. When he didn't make any response, she slowly started flipping a few switches on the console. Ranma felt his face twitch each time she did.

"Believe me, I'm considering it," he said softly, going over to the other side of the table in an attempt to calm down.

"Oh?" said Akane with a bright smile. She slowly clenched her hands into loose fists, turning to look at him with a sly look. "Really?"

"Look, Tendo." Ranma sat back in his chair as he spoke. "I have no interest in whatever sick fantasy you've got about me. I'm a scholar, not a fighter." She glared at him venomously as he spoke.

"That's not it at all!" Akane shouted at him. She stomped over to him and loomed over him in the chair. "I've fought my way through almost every male cadet at this Academy. None of them have been a challenge for me. You were a pathetic joke when you first arrived, so I never bothered really fighting you."

He felt himself tense at the insult. Uncute tomboy was the lightest of curses that he hurled at her in his thoughts.

"Then I saw you yesterday," she said, her expression softening into a seductive smile. He found that to be even more disturbing than her anger, for some reason.

"I wasn't myself yesterday." He tried to scoot his chair away from her. The Tendo girl wasn't looking to be very stable in his eyes at the moment. He wanted to put as much distance between him and her as he could, but his escape was thwarted.

"I don't care!" she shouted. She quickly grabbed both arms of his chair and looked him straight in the eyes. "I need a challenging opponent to improve my skills. You have that ability, especially after the way you fought me yesterday. I've never felt like this about a boy before, Ranma." She raised a fist up under his nose. "Don't make me have to be more persuasive with you."

A large bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

There was a gentle cough behind Akane.

"Am I interrupting anything?" asked a voice that was surprisingly familiar to the pigtailed boy. A somewhat hesitant female voice called from the doorway. "The door was unlocked, so I just came right in."

Akane quickly turned her head to look over her right shoulder at the unexpected intruder while her fist still hovered beneath Ranma's nose. He craned his neck to look past the Tendo girl, grateful for the unexpected interruption. Kodachi stood there with her school bag held in her hands before her. Her well-tailored, Blackhall Academy uniform showed off her figure surprisingly nicely to Ranma's eyes. He blinked as he recognized her.

Kodachi Kuno? he wondered, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Who is this person, Ranma?" asked Akane with deadly calm in her voice, turning her eyes back to look at him. The smoldering passion that was in them so recently had been replaced by a jealous anger. Her fist was still held in its ready position in front of his face, and he suddenly heard the knuckles popping slightly as it tightened. He saw the lithe muscles in her forearms bulging outwards a little.

He swallowed down a suddenly dry throat. I'm so dead, he thought, certain that his doom was upon him. He began to pray in his thoughts.

"Fuyutsuki-sensei sent me down here to see you, Saotome-san," said Kodachi pleasantly, smiling sweetly at the pair. "He thought you wouldn't mind some help with your project. I just know that it will be a very great pleasure working with you."

The solid oak armrest held in Akane's other hand suddenly gave off a loud cracking sound when she squeezed it. Her gaze pierced through him, pinning him to the chair. He wanted to answer her, but for some reason his throat didn't seem to work.

This isn't good, Ranma thought in a mild panic, feeling himself starting to sweat.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their most detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	4. Romances, Rivalries And Revelations

Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. He used those skills to fight several opponents, including Akane Tendo, earning her intense interest in him. Meanwhile, Kodachi Kuno escaped from an Earth being torn apart by civil war by transferring her mind to this one. Kodachi sought out Ranma, who was a friend in her old life, but ran away at the last moment in tears, confused at her feelings. Her older brother saw this and assumed Ranma to have seduced and cast aside his innocent sister. Nabiki gave him Ranma's name, hoping to use Kuno to force a wedge between any possible interest between Ranma and Akane. Ranma visited several more versions of himself, including a counterpart who was born female. Now, both Akane Tendo and Kodachi Kuno have Ranma cornered in his lab.

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Chapter 4 – Romances, Rivalries And Revelations

Within each of us, there burns the soul of a warrior.

In every generation, a few are chosen to prove it.

- Mortal Kombat: the TV Series

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Kodachi shifted her weight slightly from one foot to the other as she tried to maintain a projection of outward calm. Inside, she felt as if several rather large butterflies were beating against the walls of her stomach. To ease her nervousness, she shifted her attention onto Akane once more. The other girl had turned her back on her to make some sort of threatening gesture to Ranma, but she couldn't quite tell what was going on from her current position.

What is Akane Tendo doing down here? She never paid any attention like this to Saotome-kun in the other timeline. A brief memory of all of the bullying that the other girl had done to all of the male cadets in Kodachi's original timeline surfaced in her mind. Her grip tightened slightly on the leather handle of her bookbag, the knuckles whitening. The urge to protect the pigtailed boy from the Tendo girl's depredations was growing within her. Is she bullying poor Saotome-kun for some reason?

How did I get myself into this mess? Ranma mused, trying to make sense of his present situation. Akane was still holding onto his chair in a way that prevented him from making an easy escape. Fragments of the solid oak armrest sifted down from underneath her hand, and her fist continued to hover menacingly beneath his nose. He hadn't realized before quite how strong she was. He managed to gather his thoughts to a degree when her gaze shifted back to stare at the new arrival.

Glaring at the intruder with a cold-eyed stare, Akane inspected the girl for any possible threat. She noticed Kodachi's Blackhall uniform, and a slight sneer curled her lip. What is some pampered noblewoman doing here at the Imperial Academy? A strong martial artist like Ranma just couldn't possibly find any interest in some soft piece of fluff like her. Maybe I should just scare her off, and then he and I could get back to our business. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she projected a greater level of menace.

As the two girls continued their unspoken duel, Ranma found himself caught by Kodachi's unexpected beauty, her hair done up in a single ponytail and tied back with a dark blue ribbon. She simply continued standing there pleasantly, her black leather bookbag resting against her thigh in a demure pose. He noticed that she kept glancing at Akane now and then, but he was still slightly mesmerized by the sight of her and expected her to break out in a chilling laugh at any moment.

To Akane's view, an entirely different Kodachi suddenly appeared, not as soft or yielding as her initial impression. Her eyes answered the Tendo girl's challenging look, and an invisible spark of lightning seemed to leap between the two with a promise of brutal mayhem in their immediate future. The duo's gazes locked solidly upon each other, both girls mere moments away from attacking each other, each somehow recognizing a rival almost instantly without a single word being spoken between them. A faint blue glow of battle aura slowly rose around them both.

Ranma suddenly sneezed loudly.

Surprised, Akane turned back towards him, breaking the contest of wills between the two girls. With the break in tension provided by him, the two battle auras quickly dissipated. She suddenly seemed to realize what her position might look like to a stranger, and it brought a brief blush to her cheeks as she suddenly felt strangely embarrassed. She quickly maneuvered herself over to stand next to him, her stance now mirroring the other girl's demure pose. That done, she went back to glaring at Kodachi with her previous level of menace, but the aristocrat was now ignoring her.

Kodachi raised one eyebrow as she briefly changed her smile to a smirk at the Tendo girl, before restoring her previous pleasant expression to her face as she turned to look at Ranma. She stood there with her arms clasped behind her, unconsciously straightening and showing her figure off to great effect. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed at my lack of manners," she said sincerely, feeling the giant butterflies increasing in number as she looked into his eyes. She didn't remember them being so blue, so handsome, so warm- She blinked, lowering her gaze demurely to look at the floor. "I haven't introduced myself. My name is Kodachi Kuno, Saotome-san."

Well, she seems to be normal enough, he thought with a small amount of surprise. The image of the laughing psychotic dressed in gymnastic garb in his memories was not matching up at all with the pleasant-looking girl standing before him so shyly. He slowly stood up from his chair. There was a subtle undertone to the air as he focused his attention on her, like hearing a beautiful but half-heard melody, a very relaxing sensation; quite unlike the more intense sensations that Akane induced in him, but similar in a way as well.

"Yes, umm, it's very nice to meet you, Kuno-dono," said Ranma softly. He walked forward, slowly closing the short distance between them, and then bowed politely to her. She gracefully returned the bow, lowering her head a fraction of an inch further down than propriety demanded in a greeting for one of her higher station, an unspoken form of compliment to him. He didn't really notice, due to his own high levels of nervousness, and the years that he had spent away from Japanese society dulling him to such subtle nuances.

However, Akane noticed, and her eyes narrowed even more. How dare that pampered bitch? She barely managed to restrain her growing rage at Kodachi, and the desire to hurl herself at the other girl and attack. All of her instincts were screaming at her that this was a rival for Ranma's affections, but she wasn't quite sure why. It was only a feeling from deep inside her. A tightening of her lips occurred, one that neither of the other two in the room noticed. She continued standing at parade rest at her current position and attempting to look casual, but the attempt was foredoomed to failure due to her building irritation at the young aristocrat.

"Uh, you mentioned something about helping me with my work, Kuno-dono?" asked the pigtailed boy, keeping his tone polite. He felt attracted to the young noblewoman, surprising him. It was keeping all of his nerves on edge, especially since he kept finding himself expecting her to call him 'Ranma-sama' at any moment. He briefly noticed the look on Akane's face, one that seemed to him to be promising record amounts of pain for him if he dared to laugh at her discomfort. He didn't realize that the expression might not be directed at him.

"I have been following your achievements in the sciences for several months now, Saotome-san," said Kodachi, continuing to ply him with her pleasant smile. "Your name is quite well-known to me, ever since I came across some of your recent published works. I discovered by accident that you were back in Japan, and I thought it would be very educational to assist you in your current work. I asked for permission to see you, and Fuyutsuki-sensei allowed me to come down to meet you, Saotome-san. He thought you wouldn't mind some help with your project."

"My project?" He couldn't recall that Fuyutsuki had ever even set foot in his lab since that first day. Ranma briefly noticed that Akane was muttering something under her breath, but he decided to ignore her for his own peace of mind.

The Academy's headmaster was always able to procure the equipment and materials that Ranma had needed for his project, that was one of the reasons why he came to the Academy in the first place. Most of the resonator was composed of fairly standard components when it came to its circuitry, only requiring a few rather unique pieces that he had been forced to fabricate from scratch. Chief among these specially-built components was the quantum flux coil, the heart of the resonator. It simply wasn't something that a person could walk into a neighborhood electronics store and walk out with. It required a number of rare earths as part of its composition, all of them mixed into the proper ratios and forged into a coiled wire with certain tolerances. Creating it had been the single most challenging thing that he had done in his life so far.

"Yes," said Kodachi with a nod. "Fuyutsuki-sensei felt that I could learn much from you." She set her bag down on the table and settled herself on the couch near where his equipment was assembled, before crossing her legs. "I'm sure that you could teach me," she shyly glanced down at her hands folded in her lap before looking back at him with a coquettish smile. "Many things. Don't you agree?" As she asked this question, an extra sparkle gleamed in her eyes. That unexpected look froze the pigtailed boy's thoughts dead in their tracks, while Akane made soft strangling sounds behind him.

"Um," he adroitly murmured, as he swallowed down a throat suddenly gone dry. Pulling himself together enough to at least speak, he nervously said, "That is to say-"

Flashing the Tendo girl a look of triumph, Kodachi thought to herself as she smiled, He's so cute! She quickly returned her gaze to him, looking as if she waited for the pigtailed boy to speak the very wisdom of the heavens. Her butterflies were fading a bit, now that she saw that he was feeling just as shy as she was. I can't believe that I never noticed that about his counterpart before. Well, I don't intend to make the same mistakes twice. I'm going to make you mine, Saotome-kun. I don't care what my brother thinks about that, and as for Akane Tendo, she very briefly flicked a condescending glance at the gray-uniformed girl, her brow furrowing with distaste. She had better not think about getting in my way either.

Over at the position where she was casually standing in a modified parade rest stance, the youngest Tendo sister continued glaring at the cozy-looking pair, grumbling deep in her throat. She did not care in the slightest for the very warm looks that the other girl was giving to Ranma. The goofy looks that he was giving back to Kodachi charmed her even less. What's with him? she thought with a frown. Hasn't he ever had a girl smile at him before?

Her eyes suddenly opened wide as she realized what was going on with him, and a playful smile suddenly appeared on her lips. So, the great Ranma Saotome is shy with girls, eh? No wonder he's been so resistant to me. The tactics for a plan that was sure to win his heart began to form in her mind. She nodded to herself as the beginnings took form, pausing only to glare briefly at her new and unexpected rival.

How dare that pampered weakling of a noblewoman even dare to think of laying claim to a real man like my Ranma? Akane quickly added in a few extra touches to her plan to remove the other girl from the picture. The aristocrat's feeble story about wanting to help him in his work was such an obvious fabrication to her. I need to talk to Nabiki first to set it up. I'm sure that she'll help me deal with this annoying little princess.

Ranma coughed softly into his fist. The room seemed to be getting a little too warm for his comfort, especially if he kept looking at the still-smiling Kodachi. She was gently bobbing her foot demurely up and down as she waited for him to speak. The young noblewoman had artfully positioned the hem of her skirt so that he could readily see her trimly muscular calves, but her knees and thighs were covered as was proper for a young lady of her social stature.

The slight motions of the girl's foot created a quite surprisingly powerful curiosity in his mind about the appearance of the rest of her legs, let alone the totality of what he was certain was a quite athletic body, currently hidden beneath her tailored uniform. The thought of the Kuno girl's counterpart's toned gymnast body from his memories, combined with the much more pleasing personality of the aristocratic and gentle young woman currently seated before him, was proving to be an intense distraction. He wasn't sure what he would do if this version of her turned out to be a gymnast as well.

At least she's not a fighter, he thought with relief.

Looking over at Akane wasn't helping matters either. Ranma knew full well the emotions that she was able to generate in him lately, if he allowed himself to feel them. Interpreting her lethal-looking gaze through his memories of the other Akane made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. Since he was between the two girls, he assumed that her ire was directed at him. He forced his eyes back to Kodachi and focused on her face with mild difficulty.

"Your offer to help me with my research project is very flattering, Kuno-dono, but quite unexpected," said Ranma suddenly. He needed to put some distance between himself and the two girls. The combined level of the attractive feelings that they were causing in him was very quickly becoming quite overwhelming. "Please excuse me for a few moments."

Akane watched him move across the laboratory, her gaze held firmly at a point somewhere below his beltline as she watched his backside walking away from her. A coquettish smile was on her face as she suddenly found herself considering doing many different things with the pigtailed boy other than just fighting with him. This surprised her, as she had never really thought such things about any boy before, since they had all shown themselves to be so weak, until Ranma had proven otherwise to her.

She briefly flicked her gaze back to the very irritating presence of Kodachi. A brief but rather pleasant fantasy of beating the other girl within an inch of her life, before sending her back to the rest of her useless aristocrat peers, filled her thoughts. It brought a happy sparkle to her eyes as she turned her attention back at the pigtailed boy.

Kodachi followed Ranma's movements with her eyes and softly sighed at his unexpected poise. She couldn't recall his analog ever moving with such unconsciously graceful movements. If anything, he seemed to be-

Her thoughts stalled briefly as she suddenly studied him more carefully, her expression changing slightly. He's a martial artist, she quickly realized with surprise, her ability at recognizing such things still so new to her that she forgave herself for not noticing it before. He appeared to have had many years of training too.

The realization that he knew how to fight somehow added an exciting new dimension to her feelings, which surprised Kodachi. She found herself suddenly curious to see how good he might be, so perhaps it was just as well that her brother wanted to fight Ranma. She knew that his body must be in at least fair shape if the training that she had seen his counterpart undergoing was any indication, not to mention the years of training in gymnastics he had told her about before joining the Academy. She felt a brief blush cross her face at the direction that her thoughts were heading, wondering how muscular he was, and how flexible. Well brought up young ladies of noble families were taught not to think about unattached men the way that she found herself thinking about him. It just wasn't proper, but she couldn't help herself.

Her gaze drifted back over to Akane, who was now studying the pigtailed boy with a look of possessiveness that did not please the noblewoman at all. A brief fantasy of pounding the other girl into the ground, like she had been doing to the White Lily now for several weeks, brought a smirk to her face. Her thoughts were filled with confidence. You've more than met your match in me, Akane Tendo. I know that I can put you down with little difficulty if it came to a fight between us.

Kodachi looked over at the uncovered equipment on the table, a bright smile appearing on her face as she instantly recognized a completed resonator unit when she saw one. So this Ranma has completed one too. A brief suspicion came into her mind. Has he encountered a martial artist counterpart in his explorations? That might explain how he looks to have had years of training in his movements, unless this timeline diverged even further back than I originally thought. Perhaps my life didn't change as much, but his life did. She turned to watch him some more, heaving another soft sigh at the sight of him and how gracefully he moved.

Unaware of the intense scrutiny that he was undergoing from the two girls during his simple walk across his lab, Ranma went over to the small sink in the corner. His thoughts were slightly confused. What am I going to do? I don't know if it's such a good idea to bring in anyone else to witness what I'm doing down here. Kodachi seems normal enough, but there's something making me feel nervous around her. I wish that I could figure out what it was.

He looked into the mirror, a brief illusion of himself looking like his martial artist counterpart suddenly appearing in the glass. He closed his eyes for a few moments. You're worrying over nothing, Ranma, he thought, attempting to calm himself. That other reality has no bearing whatsoever on this life. In this life, you don't have any enemies or romantic rivals looking to beat you up, and you're not engaged to a bunch of violent girls either. Don't start panicking unless Shampoo and Ukyo show up, if they even exist in this world. Focus on your work and don't let unfounded worries distract you. He opened his eyes, feeling a little more relaxed now.

After picking up the large mug resting on the shelf above the faucet, he slowly rinsed it out. When he was done, he filled it to the brim with some cold water from the tap, and then raised it to his lips and drank. Swallowing deeply, he drained the mug in four large gulps. He looked back, somehow fearing the worst, and saw Akane giving him another one of her coquettish smiles that was a rather disturbing counterpoint to Kodachi's flatly admiring look. He noticed them both briefly exchanging much less friendly glances with each other and suspected that they weren't the first ones that they had been giving each other while his back was turned.

Okay, maybe my concerns weren't entirely unfounded, he thought with an internal grimace. Let's see. I have two attractive young women in my lab, and both of them aren't making any motions to leave. But at least they seem to be behaving themselves. So what do I do now?

For a moment, Ranma tried to imagine what Ranko would feel if Kaneda was able to best her, hoping to gain some inspiration as to how to act. An uncomfortable feeling came over him as he imagined what her reaction would be to someone as smart as or smarter than she is. Uh-oh, he suddenly realized, breaking out into a sweat as he looked back at the two girls, feeling even more uncertain than he had before.

I'm not accomplishing anything here like this, Akane thought with a frown. Ranma is going to be mine, but first I have to deal with this aristocrat bitch, it seems.

"I'll talk to you later, Ranma," said the Tendo girl suddenly, as she strode to the open door. "Don't forget that we have a date."

"Hey! I never agreed to nothing!" he shouted at her as she was about to walk out the door. "And I'm not fighting you, ever!"

Pausing in the doorframe and turning for a moment, Akane smiled at him with a strange glint in her eyes. "Ranma, you kidder, I expect you to meet me at 4:00 p.m. today, just like always. See you!" She had briefly debated attacking him right then and there to have the fight that she craved with him, but things could easily get complicated with the added annoyance of the other girl present.

A moment later, she was gone. Ranma's thoughts were black as he stared at the empty doorway. First she always bullied me, since I never fought back. Then, when I suddenly gained the ability to fight back, she cheerfully beat me black and blue. I stupidly went all noble and helped her out in a fight, and it didn't appear to make the slightest bit of difference to her. Even after that, she still apparently won't leave me alone until I break her jaw or something. He sighed.

"So that was Akane Tendo," said Kodachi suddenly from his right. "She seems to be a woman of very great passions." Ranma noticed that she had drawn near to him, but he didn't even remember hearing her stand up from the couch. He casually moved a little ways away from her, trying hard not to be too obvious about it.

"Yeah, I suppose," he murmured, as he turned to look over at her. He caught a whiff of the very delicate perfume that she was wearing and started to step closer to her before he stopped himself. He recalled absently that both Tendo sisters both wore a similar fragrance, but he could not remember ever smelling it before meeting them. It smelled very nice to him. Must be some new brand, he finally decided.

He studied the young aristocrat and then shrugged his shoulders. A woman in his life was a distraction that he didn't feel he needed right now, and he could have been misinterpreting her body language anyway. He didn't really understand girls, despite his brief time spent as Ranko, and he wasn't too proud to concede that one small point of ignorance. He considered it to be about the only blind spot of knowledge in his life, but now he found himself seriously considering exploiting his newfound method of learning about girls and their mysterious ways.

"So, would you like my help with your project?" Kodachi asked him, rocking lightly on the balls of her feet. Her voice had dropped into a more seductive-sounding undertone, and her hands were clasped behind her back as she smiled at him. The position accentuated her bosom and the lines of her body, to Ranma's discomfort. "I very much wish to learn all that you can teach me about quantum mechanics." She looked him in the eyes with a hooded gaze. "To be honest, I was expecting someone quite different, based on your papers, perhaps more formal. In person you're very charming."

Ranma felt his ego swell. "That's a very flattering thing for you to say, Kuno-dono. I, uh, thanks."

"Please," she interrupted, "you may call me Kodachi. There is no need for you to stand on formality with me." She smiled encouragingly at him.

"Umm, all right. Kodachi it is." He found himself smiling back at her. "You can call me Ranma then, I guess." He reached up and absently scratched at the back of his head with his right hand, looking very nervous, and she had to control herself from acting on a sudden desire to tug on his pigtail. The right look from his blue eyes would have had her blushing again, she was certain of it.

"It is nice to meet you, Ranma," said Kodachi. "You are certainly nothing like any of the men that I meet from Whitehall." Her sudden forwardness left her feeling uncertain. "Not that I ever meet any men, uh, never mind."

The last thing that she wanted to discuss with Ranma was the matter of her overly-protective older brother. A brother who wants Akane Tendo, she suddenly realized. All I need do is figure out a way to focus all of his attentions exclusively on Akane, and I will have managed to eliminate two stumbling blocks at once. She will keep my lonely brother busy, and that will also eliminate Akane Tendo as a threat to my destined path of happiness with Saotome-kun. It's PERFECT!

"So how long have you been interested in science?" asked Ranma, seeing that as a far safer topic than dating and relationships. "I heard that Blackhall has some excellent instructors for their science program."

"Oh, I've loved science since I was a little girl," gushed Kodachi, hoping that she wasn't overplaying her hand. Her skirt swayed gently with her movements. "I think my mother was the one who started my interest on that path. She's a botanist."

"A botanist?" he asked, surprised. A sudden image of black roses swept over him, and he mentally smacked himself to dispel it.

"Oh, yes." She smiled at him. "Mother was even brought in to work in the Emperor's private botanical gardens last year, due to her expertise with rare plant life. He had a very rare breed of black rose that was refusing to bloom, and my mother managed to coax it into life."

Ranma nodded at the explanation, inwardly feeling rather relieved, even though the mention of black roses gave him a momentary quiver. "I see. Do you share your mother's interests in the biological sciences?" He took a subtle half-step back, the subtle smell of the girl's perfume from so close was becoming distracting once again, but she maintained their nearness, moving forward a half step as well. She continued to smile at him, and he felt that the room seemed to be getting a little warm again.

"Oh, I helped her grub around in the dirt with her little plants, but it didn't really hold much interest for me for a career," replied Kodachi, totally misreading his interest in her botanical pursuits. "I grow some flowers at our estate for relaxation, but it's merely a hobby with me." She moved another half-step closer to him, her hands still clasped tight behind her back demurely, and he absently ran a finger under the edge of his collar to loosen it a little. His back was now pressed against the workbench, trapping him.

"Well, umm, how about if I think about it?" he asked, noting by the clock on the wall that he was coming up on his training time with Coach Takami. "The assisting part, I mean." He suddenly reached down to pick up her bag, and pressed it into her arms. "I've got to finish doing some straightening up right now. I have to go to a special training class in just a few more minutes."

"What?" asked a slightly bewildered Kodachi. She started to protest as he guided her gently to the door. "But I-I wanted to talk with you some more about what you're working on." She was still protesting as he gently shoved her outside the door.

"I said that I'd think about it. I promise that I'll talk to you again tomorrow. Come back in the morning. It would be a lot more convenient for me than right now. I don't really have time to discuss it at the moment. Bye now." He spoke in a rush, before he lost his nerve completely. She still had her mouth open to say something when he closed the door on her. He slid the deadbolt home with a sigh, and leaned his head against the door.

I couldn't seem to concentrate with her looking at me like that, and also there was that perfume that she was wearing, thought the pigtailed boy with a shrug of his shoulders, as he went over and shut down all of his equipment. He flipped off the main power bar, not noticing from his position the warnings that had printed across the screen from Akane's earlier fiddling with various switches. I really don't need any sort of distractions right now. I have to focus on my work.

Heedless of any problems, he covered the equipment with a tarp and began gathering his things. He was looking forward to his training class now. Today I really start throwing myself into my training, he thought a bit excitedly. There's going to be a new Ranma Saotome soon. I can just feel it. Today is the first day of changes in my life.

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Outside of the lab door, Kodachi paused with her hands resting on her hips, a little irritated at Ranma's abruptness with her. He didn't have to be so rude, she thought, feeling rather cross with him. But he told me to come back tomorrow morning. Her expression changed back into a wistful smile. Planning to do exactly that, she turned away from the locked door. I hope that Father and Mother don't object too strongly to my transfer. That would make things complicated.

She slowly walked down the hallway to the stairs, away from the door to his lab. She knew she had pushed the issue a little too hard and paid the price, apparently even scaring him a little with her forwardness. She heaved a dramatic sigh, a mild frown appearing on her lips.

Perhaps it is just as well that I not talk to him until tomorrow morning, she thought with a brave attempt at a smile. I'll leave him alone for today, since trying to talk with him again right now would just be counter-productive. I need to earn his trust first, since I certainly never expected him to be so shy. His counterpart never seemed to feel shy with me, but then he just treated me as a lab partner, not as a woman.

Kodachi heaved another sigh as she walked. I never expected him to feel afraid of anything, let alone me, she thought as her face fell into an even deeper frown. It was probably due to that other girl's presence. She must know that she's entirely unsuitable for someone gentle and kind like Saotome-kun, the vicious, little, barbarian peasant girl. He needs someone nicer and more feminine, but mixed with just the proper amount of spirit. Someone like me. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice that she wasn't alone.

"Didn't have any luck with him?" asked Akane smugly, stepping out of the shadows at the end of the corridor. "I just thought I'd wait and see how things went between you two." She blocked the other girl's path, her jaw set with determination, and her arms folded across her chest. Inside, she exulted at the thought of the beating that she planned to give to the other girl.

"I do not see how my time spent with Saotome-san should be any concern of yours, Tendo-san," Kodachi replied in a very stiff tone of voice. She started to walk past the other girl, her head held high. The nerve of the little harridan, she thought with annoyance.

"I'm making it my concern, Kuno-dono," said Akane coldly. She looked up as Kodachi started walking past, grabbed the aristocrat girl by one shoulder and shoved her hard against the wall. She released her hold immediately and placed her right palm flat against the wall, before she suddenly leaned in slightly in a menacing posture. She smiled in a very unpleasant way. "I have a prior claim on Ranma Saotome, and there is no way that some rich, spoiled, debutante witch like you is ever going to interfere with that. Do I make myself clear?"

"Quite clear, Tendo-san," replied the young aristocrat in cool tones, her chin held up. "However, I fear that I must decline your advice though. Please do be good enough to stand aside and let me pass now. You wouldn't like it very much if you forced me to remove you from my path." Kodachi started to move to one side, and Akane's other hand smacked flat against the wall, mirroring the position of the first. The two girls stood in a silent tableau for several moments.

So, the little debutante witch is going to defy me? Akane's face took on a mirthless smile, yet she was strangely pleased all the same. The mere presence of the other girl was irritating to her, like a faint itch at the back of her mind. A vision of the brutal beating she was going to give to Kodachi, or to any other girl that ever dared to come between her and Ranma, floated across her mind. She felt her breath coming a little faster as she let the familiar rage build inside her. No little piece of soft, inbred fluff from the nobility is going to stand between me and my happiness!

This ill-mannered, loathsome peasant is actually threatening me! thought Kodachi with a great deal of surprise. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she met the other girl's own cold gaze, and she felt her heartbeat increase as her body prepared itself for savage combat. She could not see how some barbaric and crude commoner, as she thought of the other girl standing before her, was ever going to keep her away from a boy like Saotome-kun. You just don't stand a chance against me, Akane Tendo. So it looks like I get the pleasure of beating some manners into you!

"Say, what are you two girls still doing around?" asked Ranma's voice suddenly from behind Akane. Neither girl had even heard him leave his lab and approach them; they were so focused on each other. He feared that he already knew the answer, from witnessing the tableau that had been taking place, but he desperately hoped that he was wrong.

Akane instantly sprang aside from the aristocrat, a blush filling her cheeks. She smiled at Ranma, her eyes downcast and her thoughts confused. "Oh!" she exclaimed, feeling strangely embarrassed at him seeing her in such a position. "We were just, um, chatting, and getting to know each other." She gave a brief, warning glare in the other girl's direction.

Kodachi felt her heart skip a beat at the pigtailed boy's sudden appearance, but she quickly took advantage of Akane's distraction to slip away from the other girl. It was getting to be time for her to head home as it was, so fighting with the ill-mannered peasant could wait until the morning. She locked eyes with the Tendo girl for a brief instant, another invisible bolt of lightning passing between them, before she turned her attention to Ranma, standing there in his uniform and holding his bookbag on his shoulder.

"That's right, Saotome-kun," said the Kuno girl evenly. "She and I were just discussing something, but it wasn't anything very important. Shall we pick this up again in the morning, Tendo-san?" Another brief look of challenge was given and answered between the two girls, despite the smiles on both of their faces. Ranma didn't appear to notice anything out of all this.

"Why, yes," said Akane, looking somewhat distracted. "Kuno-sama and I are going to meet tomorrow and have some girl talk. I'm sure that we'll have lots to talk about." She had another brief but satisfying vision of pulping the other girl's face with her fists, and her smile turned cold when her gaze swiveled to Kodachi. Her right hand balled into a fist as she struggled to hold her anger in check in front of Ranma.

"I'll see both of you tomorrow then," said the young aristocrat as she bowed to Ranma. She gave Akane the look a noble would give a commoner while waiting for the peasant to bow. After a quick glance at the pigtailed youth, Akane bowed, her fists clenched at her side, receiving a very slight lowering of the head from the other girl in return. An evil smile briefly crossed Kodachi's face as she looked at Akane, but her expression was far more pleasant when she gave a look Ranma's way. "Until then, Saotome-kun, Tendo-san. Adieu."

"Uh, later," said Ranma uncertainly. He watched her leave with a mildly wistful expression. His companion noticed, and a dark scowl appeared on her face.

Just you wait until tomorrow, Kodachi Kuno, thought Akane with a great deal of malice directed at the young noblewoman. I intend to show you how wrong you are to even think to mess with me. She noticed Ranma heading away from her towards the stairs and hurried after him.

"Wait up, Ranma!" she shouted after him. "Let me walk you to the locker rooms!" Since he didn't feel like running away from her, he let her draw up even with him.

"I thought you had somewhere else to be?" he remarked. He kept his distance from her as best that he could, ignoring the few looks that he was getting from the remaining cadets on the campus at seeing the two of them together.

"Well, I just have to meet Nabiki to walk home with her. You're heading the right way, and I don't mind spending some more time with you." She smiled cutely at him, and it was disturbingly familiar to Ranma how much it was like the way that the other Akane smiled at his martial artist analog sometimes.

I wonder what her reaction would be if I called her an uncute tomboy? he found himself briefly wondering. Maybe if I make her mad enough at me, then she'll go away. After considering it at some length during the walk, and watching the vaguely possessive way that Akane walked next to him, he doubted it. I'm going to have to watch my words carefully, but that shouldn't be a problem for a genius of my caliber. A smile crossed his face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Where is that little idiot? Nabiki mused, tapping one foot on the ground in mild impatience. The idiot in question was ten seconds away from earning her wrath. He was a new addition to her organization this year, a form of experiment to see how one of his kind worked out in it.

"I'm here, Tendo-san," said a soft voice from behind her. She felt her heart jump into her throat at the unexpected voice behind her. She covered it, when she recognized the voice, by whirling around to gaze in an imperious manner at the very person that she was waiting for. She managed to hide her surprise beneath one of her usual cool looks.

"You were almost late, Gosunkugi-kun," said Nabiki in chilly tones, a mild expression of her displeasure. In a few moments he would have been late. "It is not a good habit to form. I expect my operatives to be a little earlier to each assigned meeting time. And what's the big idea of sneaking up on me like that?"

Hikaru Gosunkugi shrugged his slight shoulders. The Tendo girl was again amazed that someone of such weak physical ability was attending the Imperial Academy, especially wearing the gray uniform of a security cadet. However, pinned on his collar was a small black symbol, and the reason for his presence at the Academy. Even she felt a slight thrill of fear while looking at it, the unmistakable sign for possibly the most feared and secretive arm of the entire Security Directorate: the Mobius Institute.

Since the Empire first became aware of their existence several decades ago, Espers, as they were commonly called, became a very useful addition to the Ministry of Security. From the time they were first employed until very recently, Espers normally attended their own small school, one that was considered to be an adjunct to the main Imperial Academy. However, this year the higher-ups in the Directorate felt that such a training policy was fostering an insular mentality among the Espers, and a new idea was being tried out to change that. So Gosunkugi and one other cadet from the Institute now attended classes at the Imperial Academy in an attempt to try and learn how to fit in better among their future peers in the Directorate.

Gosunkugi's compatriot and senpai was named Kyosuke Kasuga, and he was in Nabiki's homeroom class. He was a shyly distant sort, but actually fairly personable in his own way. Kyosuke was not nearly as inherently spooky as Gosunkugi could be most times either. His Esper abilities were mainly psychokinetic in nature, and he was also reported to be able to teleport great distances, though he had never demonstrated any such abilities around Nabiki. He and Yohko Mano, Nabiki's second in command, were currently exploring a relationship with each other that had lasted for a couple of months now.

The Tendo girl preferred to keep her distance from the couple whenever they were together. For some strange reason, putting the currentmost generation of Devil Hunter and an Esper together in a relationship seemed to attract more than a fair share of oddities around them. The last thing that she needed in her life right now was the many types of zany strangeness that those two endured in their brief time together. Yohko alone could be bad enough to be around at times, but adding an Esper to the mix was just 'Asking For It.'

Yohko was currently a little upset with Kyosuke. The Esper boy had apparently showed an interest in another girl that he saw dancing in a club while he was out on a date with her. So the Devil Hunter hadn't spoken to him for two days since their date, despite several attempts by the boy to patch things up between them. Personally, Nabiki doubted that Yohko had anything to worry about when it came to losing her man to some tough-talking streetpunk girl in a leather jacket like Madoka Ayukawa.

Gosunkugi, on the other hand, was a relatively low-level Esper, and his capabilities were limited to more non-violent things: a fairly strong avoidance screen that would cause most people to ignore his presence, and some minor mind reading ability. There were severe limitations on his powers though. A person possessing a decently high level of mental awareness would be able to sense him, despite his avoidance screen. For example, most times Nabiki was able to, unless she let herself be distracted.

The spooky boy's telepathy was very limited unless he was able to make physical contact, and even then he couldn't probe very deeply. So far, Nabiki simply considered him to be an occasionally useful stooge and also sometimes a spy, but she kept these thoughts to herself. Luckily, her security training in resisting telepathic probes was sufficient to resist if he ever tried his feeble skills on her. He had also developed an amusing crush on Akane which made him easier to work with for her, so he worked cheap for that reason.

"What do you have to report to me, Gosunkugi-kun? And make it fast. I'm meeting my sister Akane here shortly."

Akane-chan, thought the Esper boy with a slight sigh, as he remembered his love goddess. He didn't let himself dwell on her beauty and charms for long though. For some reason, that tended to irritate Nabiki, and he far preferred to stay on the middle Tendo daughter's good side. Akane was the main reason why he put up with Nabiki's moods and demands, as the Tendo sisters were frequently together.

After he made his report to Nabiki, he was going to begin his personal investigation of these dreadful rumors that he had been recently hearing about his love goddess pursuing a relationship with that stuck-up newcomer named Ranma Saotome. If they turned out to be true, then he planned to do something unpleasant to the pigtailed scholar, but he wasn't quite sure what presently. If necessary, he was planning to do some research on the matter. There was a rather large multitude of books on magic that had been entrusted to the Mobius Institute, and he might even be able to talk one of the apprentice magic-users into helping him. After all, someone like Saotome just didn't deserve to have a vibrant woman like Akane; her ability to beat people up in a fight always left him breathless whenever he saw it.

"There is nothing further yet to report on the identity of your rival." The Esper boy bowed slightly. "He has managed to keep himself cloaked sufficiently well by acting only through his four chosen intermediaries, so I am still unable to discover his identity. I don't dare try and probe them from up close, and their minds are too impenetrable for me to get a face from them at range." He had an expression of distaste on his face.

"Whoever he is, he's a canny sort," acknowledged Nabiki with a frustrated wave of her hand. "Continue to monitor his four cronies. Perhaps we'll get lucky, one of them will make a mistake, and I'll finally learn their leader's true identity." She had been working to narrow the list of possibilities from among her fellow security cadets with only a fair amount of luck. She still had some twenty names left.

The matter of her mystery competitor was beginning to annoy her. At first, it had given a new thrill to her life to have someone daring to compete with her on her own level, one master strategist to another master strategist. But the attack on her little sister recently was taking things just a little too far. If Ranma hadn't been around to help, who knew what might have resulted. So she wanted to find this person, and his continuing ability to evade her substantial information network, even with the aid of people such as Gosunkugi, Mano, and her own little sister helping her, was getting on her nerves. For all she knew now, it could have been someone like Ranma pulling the strings from the shadows.

Wait a moment, she thought, rather surprised at the direction that her thoughts were suddenly taking. My new rival didn't begin making waves until shortly after Saotome's arrival. And he had even been rather convenient in the time of his appearance to save Akane yesterday, and he was not touched even once. There is also the matter of his 'new' level of fighting ability. Could he be the mystery genius behind the attacks on my organization? She shook her head, but the nagging thought that Ranma was hiding something from her would not go away.

"Do you require me for anything more, Tendo-san?" Gosunkugi quietly asked, his hand fiddling slightly with the gloss black Institute pin on his uniform collar. She waved him away, and the spooky little teen faded back into the shadows and vanished.

Just what are you hiding, Ranma-kun? Nabiki looked up at the cloudy sky. I intend to find out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma went through his stretching exercises, striving hard to improve his limberness. He was grateful that he had trained so many years in gymnastics, which gave his muscles and tendons conditioning for the range of motions that he needed to be able to do if he wished to call himself a martial artist of an equivalent caliber to his quantum counterpart. Even so, he needed to be better. His limberness was coming along though, and at a surprisingly rapid pace which astounded him even more than it did his coach.

His newfound physicality was a source of great pride, adding even more to what was an already impressive ego from his various intellectual accomplishments. He was truly becoming the Imperial ideal for its citizens. He anticipated the day when he considered himself a physical match for his quantum counterpart.

That day did not seem to be as far away from him as he once would have thought. His muscle strength and his body's conditioning were very steadily improving, and at a roughly similar pace to his agility and limberness. The annoying thing to him was that using his analog's combat skills in his own body still made him feel like a rusty martial artist, and he suspected that it would for some time yet to come. He knew there was so much more that he was capable of, but he possessed no doubts that he would achieve greatness someday.

Once he finished his stretching exercises, he hopped up onto his feet and took off for the running track at a sprinting pace. When he got there, Fuyutsuki was standing there, and Takami was not around. The older man was smiling at him as Ranma came running up.

"Hello, Ranma," greeted the older man. "Takami-sensei invited me here to see how you were progressing. You don't mind if I watch a little of your training today, do you?"

"Huh?" said the pigtailed boy, surprised. "No, that's all right, sir."

"SAOTOME!" screamed Takami, spotting him over near the bleachers but not seeing Fuyutsuki. "HURRY IT UP! I WANT TO SEE YOU DONE WITH TEN KLICKS A.S.A.P.! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO WANTED THIS TO BE HARDER!"

When he got closer, the coach noticed the older man standing there and bowed, before speaking in a much quieter voice. "I didn't see you there, sir."

"Quite all right, Takami-sensei," said Fuyutsuki, returning the bow and then waving his hand to one side. "Pretend that I'm not even here."

"Yes, sir." He noticed Ranma still standing there and scowled. "ARE YOU WAITING FOR A BUS, CADET? GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR! MOVE IT!"

The pigtailed boy snapped into sudden motion and went tearing off down the track at full speed.

"He certainly seems more physically fit than when he first arrived, Coach," observed Fuyutsuki as he watched Ranma with a dispassionate expression, like the pigtailed scholar was a lab animal in an experiment of his. "You've done an impressive job with the boy."

"Well, I can't take all the credit, sir," said Takami. "Saotome's managed to surpass all of my expectations. I've never seen such a high ability to adapt and improve to such a rigorous level of training before, nor such a natural talent at physical performance as he has, other than perhaps the two Tendo girls. The boy's simply a marvel to train."

"Indeed. But this morning you mentioned a new approach that you wanted to try in his training regimen?"

"Yes, sir." Takami removed his cap and scratched at the back of his skull. "Especially after what I saw him achieve during the regular class today."

"Oh?" asked Fuyutsuki in an interested tone. "What happened today?"

"He managed to match the record for a first-year cadet doing a five kilometer run. But I don't think that he would have been able to do it without the challenge from the younger Tendo girl. She managed to goad him into a faster pace. I think if I could make some adjustments to their training schedules, then I could use this rivalry to make them even better."

"What do you propose, Takami-sensei?" Fuyutsuki watched Ranma running around the track.

"Currently, the boy's schedule is to have his regular physical training class, then a free period, then this extra training?"

Fuyutsuki nodded.

"And Akane Tendo has her Imperial History class at the same time as Saotome's free period?" Seeing another nod, he grunted. "I want to change his schedule and hers then. I want her to train with the boy during a three hour special class to be overseen by myself and Coach Fujinami, to take place after they finish their scholastic studies."

"An interesting notion," said Fuyutsuki, nodding approvingly. "You want to intensify their martial arts training then?" Fujinami was the most capable martial arts instructor on campus, with a Seventh Dan rating in Shorinji Kempo and an Eighth in Shotokan Karate.

"I suspect that of the two of them, Ranma truly has the potential to be a grandmaster inside of him, and I think I can turn their rivalry to good use for that. The boy's expressed an interest in improving his fighting skills, and I want to give him a chance to do just that. You watched the tape of him and the Tendo girl?"

"Yes," acknowledged Fuyutsuki. "The camera angle was a little off, but from what I could see I was quite impressed with his skills. I had always thought that Akane Tendo was impressive, but Ranma shows clear signs of eventually outdoing her completely."

"He was beating the Tendo girl in that match," said Takami with a bewildered look. "And for the life of me, I don't know how his skills improved so much so quickly. Only one day earlier she was mopping the training mat with his face, and now this? It was totally uncanny, like I was watching a different person fighting entirely. He was using moves that I've never seen before, and I've seen a lot."

"Nor have I," said Fuyutsuki with a ghost of a smile on his face. "It's a pretty puzzle though, isn't it?"

"You could say that. Myself, I just find it to be damn spooky, but I find myself liking the boy. He's earnestly trying to improve himself, and ever since yesterday it's been like something lit a fire underneath him. Perhaps all of the beatings that he suffered at the Tendo girl's hands before yesterday forced some sort of breakthrough in him. He's a pretty proud kid."

"What of the older Tendo girl?" asked Fuyutsuki. "Do you see much potential in her?"

"Nabiki?" said Takami slowly, as if tasting the name in his thoughts. He nodded a moment later. "Yes, that might be a good idea as well. She has arguably more potential than her sister, I think, but she doesn't try nearly as hard as she could. I can't seem to find a way to motivate her to reach for excellence, but I think she could outdo her sister if she only found reason to try."

"I agree." Fuyutsuki had been a little disappointed with the other Tendo girl's slower development. There was also the added benefit of seeing the three youths interacting in close proximity for such a great length of time, he mused with an inner smile. Under such stressful conditions as training at that intensive a level, the boy should develop a bond with one or the other of the Tendo girls. Then it would be time to discuss Ranma's future with Genma. He should be mated with one or more of the girls from the Project. He and the others in charge of it had such plans for the next generation.

"So I have your permission to change each of their study schedules, starting tomorrow? I think this will be just what both Tendo girls need. For example, I think I can force a breakthrough on Nabiki if I force her to train alongside the boy. She does have a competitive streak, just a quieter one than Akane's. But if I set her against Saotome, then maybe I can push her further along the same path that he's following."

"You have my permission, Takami-sensei." Fuyutsuki smiled. "By the way, you never mentioned your opinion of Akane."

"She's a different story," replied Takami, nodding thoughtfully. "She was actually stagnating in her training before the boy's match with her. However, his new abilities have also sparked a new fire in her. She's apparently determined to match him every step of the way as he improves. Strange as it may sound, I think she's smitten with the boy. I never noticed it before, since she always treated him with such tremendous contempt, at least up until after their match yesterday."

Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome, a couple? wondered Fuyutsuki. This is quite interesting news. I wonder if she has had a chance to meet the Kuno girl yet? I would almost suspect the gentle hand of fate in action to bring her here, especially as she was seeking to meet the boy. Most curious indeed.

"I will be most interested in seeing the results of this change, Takami-sensei," he said calmly, a fatherly smile on his face now as he watched Ranma running. I have such plans for you, Saotome-san. A glorious new day is dawning for the Empire, heralded by you and the other children like you. What wonders will you and the others bring forth? It is still hard for me to believe that the day fast approaches.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

During the walk home, Nabiki was silent as she contemplated the mystery of Ranma. One day he's a nothing, and the next he turns into a martial arts wonder. There's something that I'm missing here, but what?

Akane, walking along beside her, wore a wistful smile on her face as she thought about the pigtailed boy. It was only dimmed slightly as she tried to figure out why, now that he had finally revealed his true strength to her, did a rival for him appear out of nowhere? That damn Kuno bitch, she thought darkly. How dare she show up and try to steal him away from me!

Memories of the aristocrat girl set her teeth on edge, and she found herself looking forward to the fight tomorrow. She probably won't even show up, knowing I intend to rearrange her delicate features, she thought confidently. A pampered, inbred noblewoman like that won't be much of a challenge for me, but once I send her back to her worthless peers then I can devote all of my attentions to Ranma.

Nabiki heard Akane sigh once more, and she could tell by the wistful smile on her sister's face that it was over the pigtailed boy. Ranma, Ranma, Ranma, what is it about you that's changed? And what is it that you're hiding down in that laboratory of yours? She suddenly paused, and the younger Tendo walked on ahead for a few paces before turning to look back.

Ranma's lab, thought the older Tendo. The answers were probably there.

"What's wrong, Nabiki?" Akane studied her sister.

"I just remembered something that I forgot to take care of back at the Academy." Her thoughts were far from her younger sister right now.

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Akane, recalling the recent attack on herself, and being concerned for her older sister.

"No, I'll be fine." Nabiki smiled confidently. "I don't think it will take very long. You go on ahead. I'll be home in a little while."

"Okay, sis," said the younger Tendo, waving goodbye as she turned around and continued on her way. "I'll see you at dinner."

Nabiki turned around, her thoughts already on the task ahead of her. She absently patted the pocket that contained her mini-camera and set of lockpicks. I'm probably imagining things about Ranma-kun, she thought with a cool smile. But I am curious about what he's been doing down there for all these weeks.

An ominous rumble of thunder rolled across the skies as she hurried back to the Academy buildings. She paid it no mind, quite used to the odd weather patterns that Nerima always seemed to have.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma paused between sets of sit-ups and allowed his body to hang from the boots that held his feet vertically in midair. Sweat dripped off of his face and fell to the wooden floor a foot beneath his forehead. He turned his head to see a bright flash of lightning race across the sky outside.

"What's the holdup, Saotome?" asked Takami, coming over nearer to him with his usual clipboard in hand. "You still have another fifty sit-ups to do before you're done." He loudly whacked Ranma across his stomach muscles with the clipboard. "No slacking off. You wanted hell, and I'm going to give it to you!"

"Yes, sir!" shouted the pigtailed boy, as he started into another set of sit-ups, his stomach muscles objecting to the activity. He focused his attention on his efforts, ignoring everything else.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soun sat in his office in the heart of the Security Directorate, and he was only able to keep a smile off of his face by sheer discipline, now that his plans were close to fruition. He studied the middle-aged woman seated in his office with a critical eye. To put his plans into motion, for dealing with the matter of the Saotome boy, was going to require meticulous care to make everything seem like a perfectly natural set of occurrences. Luckily, the main plan itself was relatively simple.

He had spent a great deal of time in researching all of the finest matchmaking agencies in the Empire as the first part of his plan. A fortunate discovery for him during this research was coming across Otsu Mitsuma, a pleasant-looking, middle-aged lady who was a former operative for the Directorate many years ago, before she decided to get married and have a family. She currently worked part-time at one of the best agencies as a matchmaking advisor, perfect for his needs. She was amenable to the assignment, even confessing to Soun that she missed the thrill of field work.

The bug that one of his operatives had managed to place within the Saotome home a week before Ranma's return back to Japan gave him all of the information that he needed on dealing with the decision maker in the family, Nodoka Saotome. She was apparently the real strength in the household, and she was the one who would make the final decision on the girl that Ranma was going to marry.

Soun smiled in his thoughts at learning of Genma's meek acquiescence to his wife's decision to pursue a search for a bride for Ranma. He had certainly never been that subservient with his own wife, Kimiko, when she was still alive, even though she had been a combat veteran of many savage campaigns during her time with the Imperial Special Forces.

He still remembered the day that he had first met her, the woman who was to become his wife. He, a young agent newly assigned to the Directorate with a promising future ahead of him, had been wearing his best dress uniform and feeling more than a little bit worried upon meeting the young woman that had been chosen by his parents to be his new bride. He had been sitting in the front room of his parents' home when his blushing fiancée and her family had arrived.

His parents had escorted the Nakakamis into the front room, a smiling older couple, and a frowning girl his own age with short hair who was wearing a military dress uniform, a patch from the Imperial Special Forces proudly displayed on one shoulder beneath her rank insignia. She had been a junior grade lieutenant then, and she had not been quite the blushing innocent that Soun had been hoping for. Even now, he could still remember that first look she gave him.

He had thought that she was going to kill him right then and there from the glare she gave him when their eyes first met, as if she blamed him for the whole situation. After such a terrifying look, Soun remembered finding himself regretting that he was unarmed. He had known that she came from a proud warrior family, but he hadn't expected to feel afraid of the woman who was going to be his wife.

Both sets of parents had chosen to withdraw at that time, to let the new couple get to know each other. She had stared at the floor. He had quickly found his own spot to stare at and joined her in the activity. It was a moment heavy with tension.

Soun wasn't ashamed to admit, in the privacy of his own memories, that he had sat there petrified in fright from the glares that the girl had been giving him. She remained sitting there with her hands clenched in her lap, her knees together, only looking at him occasionally. She did have a faint coloring on her cheeks, but it was offset by the almost murderous gaze in her eyes.

He still had yet to meet a woman who was as beautiful and deadly as Kimiko. She was also the only woman he had ever loved. The terror he felt at their first meeting only added to the spice that was their passion.

"So, we are going to be married," she had said softly as an opening salvo in their first conversation, a rough edge to her voice.

"Yes." Soun was feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. He had turned to look at her once more, only a brief glance, and had seen her studying him. "What?"

"You don't have to keep looking at me like I'm going to bite you or something," she had said in irritation. "I'll have you know that I'm a very nice girl underneath this uniform."

He didn't really remember what he had said in response, but the next thing he had known was the feel of her hands on his jacket as she had bodily picked him up and shoved him up against the wall. She had then gazed into his eyes with fury burning in hers.

"Look, buddy!" she had growled at him. "Either you treat me with proper respect, or I'll rip both of your arms off and beat you to death with them! If I say that I'm a nice girl, then you damn well better believe it! I may be a soldier, but I'm also a woman. You're going to be my husband, so you're going to have to deal with those two things. Are we clear?"

"Quite clear, Nakakami-san. You can put me back down on the ground now. Please?"

She had laughed at that as she had put him back down, but, instead of feeling irritated, that smile and laugh had captured his heart. He had even complimented her on that when his feet touched back down to the ground.

It had been a beginning for them.

Soun's memories flashed forward over the events that soon after followed in their lives together: their courtship, a surprisingly long and drawn out one filled with many more complications than he cared to remember; their eventual marriage a year later, and how nervous he had been; the birth of their eldest daughter, Kasumi; the births of the other two daughters that she had given to him; the happy years that had followed as the former warrior explored being a mother as well; and finally, the emptiness left behind when her vibrancy was taken from him forever. He had thrown himself into his work to deal with the pain, seeing her face in all three girls. He had loved his daughters as best that he could, but it was so very easy to use his duty to hide from the pain.

During Kimiko's all-too-brief time spent as their mother, all of their daughters had benefited from her passing on her combat skills, and while Kasumi was the best among them, only Akane had really inherited his wife's warrior spirit. Her death had left a hole in the household, but he was able to see her every time that he looked at Akane. She was looking more and more like her all the time.

However, His youngest child was not the girl that he hoped to match with the Saotome boy. Oh no, that honor was reserved for Nabiki. Akane, as much as Soun loved her as a daughter, was not Nabiki's equal in his heart. The middle Tendo daughter reminded him most of himself at that age, ambitious, clever and full of promise. Her skills at gathering information and organizing people were truly impressive, and she deserved to be rewarded with the finest match that he could find. So he had chosen the best for her in a husband, someone who could keep up with her quick wit, and that someone was Ranma Saotome. And it was what Kimiko had wanted.

Akane, on the other hand, needed a husband who was better suited to her personality, another inheritance from Kimiko, and who was even stronger in combat than she was, and Ranma was more scholar than warrior. She would eat a boy like him alive, since he would be unable to stand against her strength. Although she tried hard to please him, the girl was totally ill-suited in temperament to becoming a member of the Directorate, and he feared that she would only embarrass the family reputation for excellence if she continued in her attempts. The qualities that would have enabled her to be a fine soldier of the Empire would only hinder her effectiveness as a future security operative. It required a subtler touch than she was capable of.

Soon, however, Nabiki would be engaged to the man that he and Kimiko had chosen for her, and then he would be able to turn all of his attentions to Akane's future next. There were several choices for his youngest daughter that he was going to explore once the matter of Nabiki and Ranma was finally settled. He had also even sounded out some of his contacts among the Defense Directorate at obtaining a place for Akane in the military. The Tendos and Nakakamis had honorably served under both ministries over the years, his own family admittedly favoring the Security Directorate, so he was not anticipating any difficulties in getting Akane transferred. He was certain that his youngest daughter would earn numerous honors fighting for the glory of the Empire on the field of battle someday.

"Director Tendo?" intruded a gentle voice into his thoughts. He looked up and cursed himself for allowing himself to drift off into a state of inattention like that. It did not befit the image that he had of himself. He folded his hands in front of him on his desk.

"My apologies, Mitsuma-san," he said sincerely. "I have been listening to your report with great interest. I was simply recalling something I need to deal with. I trust that you understand the extreme level of importance for this assignment to the future of the Empire?"

"I don't quite see how arranging a marriage could be that important, but I will do all in my power to arrange for your daughter Nabiki to be engaged to Ranma Saotome," Otsu said pleasantly. "You are paying me enough to do so, after all. I have reviewed his file extensively, and I believe that I can sell Nabiki quite easily to Saotome-san."

"It's very important that my name never be mentioned in this transaction as anything but the father of the bride-to-be," he cautioned. "It is also quite vital that you not appear to be too eager about Nabiki, just enough that suspicions will not be raised. Do you have the throwaway candidates' files that I selected for you?"

"Oh my, yes," chuckled Otsu. She pulled out a couple of manila file folders and set them on his desk. She picked one back up and waved it around. "Wherever did you find this girl? According to her file, she's been rejected in over two dozen different bridal candidate selections for all sorts of reasons in the last year alone, including beating up several of the potential grooms. Admittedly, her family background criteria will fit the profile that you gave me, but the girl herself, no. According to the boy's personality profile and hers, they'll be like oil and water, totally incompatible."

She pointed at a section of one of the pages and said, "Take this for example. Does she really dress up as a boy?"

"Amusingly enough, yes," said Soun with a chuckle. "I understand that the Kuonjis are getting quite desperate to wed their only daughter off. She has apparently rejected all of the local boys, a few of them rather violently. I have it on very good authority that the Kuonjis are the finest of the remaining true ninja clans left in the Empire, and Ukyo is supposed to be next in line to inherit its leadership. That is, provided that she can find a husband."

"Ah, I see. But why the dressing as a boy part? That I don't quite understand."

"Blame her senile great-grandfather for that one," said Soun with another chuckle. "While the parents managed the day to day affairs of the Kuonjis' interests and taking care of the family shrine in the Koga mountain area, she was being raised and trained as a ninja by her great-grandfather back up in the mountains, learning ninja lore. Unfortunately for Ukyo, for some strange reason, the old fool apparently became convinced early on that she was a boy, and he raised her as one for years. Her parents didn't learn this until a little less than a year ago, but the damage was done. I'm told that her mother about had a heart attack at meeting her 'son' at that time."

"Does Ukyo know that she's female?" Otsu's brown eyes had widened a little at the tragic tale.

"Oh, she does," he admitted. "However, according to her psychological profile, the problem is that she simply isn't aware of the proper ways to act as a girl, so she tends to be rather mannish in her attitudes. But she also wishes to be a real girl, so there's quite a bit of fascinating gender confusion going on. The girl is quite an interesting psychological study, as well as being a formidable martial artist by all accounts."

"Oh my." Otsu smiled. "Her first meeting with Ranma will be rather interesting."

"To say the least," said Soun, handing the file back to Otsu. "That's why she's one of the throwaway candidates. Her family background is an excellent match, but I very much doubt that Nodoka Saotome would look with very much favor on having someone like Ukyo for a daughter-in-law. Despite her samurai family background and warrior training in her youth, a traditional woman like Nodoka would surely find Ukyo, well, flawed. The girl is totally unsuitable, but her flaws will make Nabiki shine by comparison."

"And the other one?" Otsu picked up the other file folder.

"Ah, the other side of the equation. I picked this name myself from a stack that one of the bridal services gave one of my contacts. The girl is perfectly unsuitable for entirely different reasons than the first."

"Kodachi Kuno?" asked Otsu, her eyes widening a little. "How could you possibly expect me to suggest such a match? The girl is a daughter of high birth. Her family registry is filled with blue-blooded nobility. Ranma Saotome, while he does descend from samurai stock, would never be acceptable to the Kunos' patriarch unless he was a great warrior of some sort as well."

"And if he was that, he would have no interest in a timid mouse like Kodachi Kuno," said Soun in a scornful tone of voice. "According to her file, the girl is typical of an overbred daughter of nobility and has done everything that she was ever told to do. She had an opportunity to attend the Imperial Academy extended to her, but she instead chose to attend Blackhall, at her mother's insistence."

"She is quite lovely," said Otsu, doubt in her voice. "The boy might be taken by her looks."

"My daughter Nabiki can easily outshine a spoiled aristocrat girl like Kodachi Kuno. She was chosen to show the opposite end of the scale from Ukyo, a girl without much spirit despite having an impressive family pedigree. Between the two of them, Nabiki will shine forth like a star in the heavens. After all, my dear daughter comes from a good family with excellent connections for a boy like Ranma. Play your part and nothing can possibly go wrong with the arrangements."

"You have my word, Tendo-san, that I will follow your instructions to the letter," said Otsu with a smile. "Your daughter Nabiki will be pledged to Ranma Saotome as you desire. Nothing will stand in the way of that."

"Excellent, dear woman," said Soun with a smile. "I am counting on you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What sort of game are you playing at, Tendo?" wondered Hinako in the privacy of her office. She had heard that Soun was speaking with a former Directorate operative in his office, a woman who worked in one of the matchmaking bureaus.

The intercom on her desk suddenly buzzed. "Director Ninomiya?" asked a voice over it, her new assistant, a young woman named Yui Ikari.

"Yes, Yui?" Hinako replied. "What is it?"

"I have the files you were asking for from the Ministry of Science," said Yui over the intercom. "Oh, and I have also heard that Director Tendo is finished with his meeting with the Mitsuma woman."

"Excellent. Bring in those reports, and then you can go home, Yui. You've done enough for one day."

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm on my way."

Outside, at her desk, Yui gathered up the files on her desk that Hinako wanted. So late in the day, there were few people around. She was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with her pet cat, perhaps relaxing in the bath with a romance novel.

She walked the short distance from her desk to Hinako's office door and gently knocked before opening it. I swear, Ninomiya-san needs to get a boyfriend, she muttered in her thoughts. Not that my life is any great shakes socially, but all this obsessing that she does over Tendo-san and his activities can't be good for her.

Hinako looked up from her obsessively tidy desk, in the middle of making notes on a pad of paper. "You can set those there, Yui," she said, pointing at a spot near her right elbow on the desk. She then went back to making cryptic notes on the paper she was writing upon.

"Yes, Ma'am." Yui set the stack of folders on the desk at the appointed place. "Are you sure that you won't be needing me for anything more this evening?"

"Positive," said Hinako, looking up with a smile. "Go on home and have a good evening, Yui. You've done enough, and tomorrow is another day."

"Thank you, Ma'am. Goodnight." She turned to go.

"Oh, by the way, how is everything going with your new boyfriend?" asked Hinako, looking at the other woman with a smile. "I noticed that you had a new picture on your desk. Things didn't work out between you and Captain Rokubungi?"

"Oh, we had a parting of the ways some time ago," said the girl with a brave attempt at a smile. May you rot in the lowest and hottest corner of hell, Gendo, for cheating on me! she thought behind the fake smile. "He told me he was accepting a new assignment in one of the northern Chinese prefectures, and that was the last that I've heard from him."

"He was a little old for you, I suppose. So who is your new one?"

"Keiichi?" A more genuine smile was on her face now. "Oh, he's just a good friend right now, but who knows what the future holds? He's one of the design engineers at Mishima, making better vehicles for the Empire and all that. He and I met while I was out with Miyuki and Natsumi after work several weeks ago. He's really very sweet, and I like him."

"He obviously makes you happy," noted Hinako, smiling gently at the younger woman. "Take it from a woman who knows, Yui. If you find a man who makes you happy, then grab on with both hands and don't let anyone take him from you."

"Yes, Ma'am, but he's just a friend." She suddenly looked at the floor, and a faint blush crossed her cheeks.

"I see," said Hinako, in an amused tone of voice. "Well, you give my best to your 'friend' when you see him next, Yui. Now go on. Get out of this place for the night." She pointed at the door with one finger. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, Ma'am." Yui left, closing the door behind her.

Hinako set the pad on the desk and gently rubbed her eyes. Hopefully, these files will explain what interest that Soun could have in Ranma. They were certainly buried deeply enough in the Science Ministry's archives.

She pulled one of the files to her, and read what was written on the cover. Ranma Saotome, Project Phoenix, file number one-zero-eight. What in the sacred name of the Emperor is Project Phoenix? She flipped the file open, revealing a small sheaf of papers and a single flash drive in a plastic sleeve. She pulled it out and turned it over in her hands. There was nothing written on it, save for the same file number as was on the folder.

Setting it aside, she scanned through the papers. Much of what was in them appeared to be concerned with a physical given to one subject, named Ranma Saotome, age five, over a decade ago. Hmm. A fairly complete set of tests done, both physical and mental, including a full genetic analysis. No abnormalities or defects determined. Somewhat above-average both physiologically and neurologically, a basically normal and healthy boy. Deemed suitable for induction into Project Phoenix, whatever that is. So why all the interest in the boy on Soun's part?

The flash drive caught her eye, and she slipped it out of the plastic sleeve. Holding it up in her hands, its silver case dimly reflected the light from the lamp on her desk. Perhaps the answers are in here, she thought as she plugged the device into the proper slot in the front of her Navi. She waited, somewhat impatiently, as the system read the information on it.

A moment later, a terse message appeared on her Navi's screen, and she looked at it, rather unsurprised.

* ENCRYPTION PROTOCOLS ACTIVE. INPUT PASSWORD:

Bastards, she thought, without much anger. It was about what she would have expected at this point. She tried a few times with some sample passwords that she thought might work, but they came back with negative responses. Ah well, I have some of the best decryption software that the Security Directorate has available. I should have no difficulties cracking this.

Hinako tapped away at a few keys, connecting her personal system to one of the Shinohara-manufactured mainframes in the basement. She left the disk in the drive and let the software start up. After a few moments, it came back with an analysis of the encryption.

* FILES SEALED BY IMPERIAL EDICT. FURTHER USE OF DIRECTORATE DECRYPTION

* ALGORITHMS IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN WITHOUT ROYAL AUTHORIZATION – INPUT

* AUTHORIZATION CODE:

Sitting back in her chair, she stared at the lines printed on her monitor in puzzlement. What was it about Project Phoenix that could be of such sensitivity, or so secret, that it required an Imperial Edict Seal to protect it from Security Directorate investigation? She pulled out a small five-yen coin from one pocket and began absently playing with it, rolling it back and forth between her fingers. It was a nervous gesture of hers that she had had for years.

There's more to this than meets the eye, she decided after several long moments. She stood up and watched the rain falling outside her window against the darkening sky. The coin in her hands rested between her index and middle fingers, and she brought her palm up to focus on the small hole in the center of the coin. She flipped it into the air and snatched it back up with the same hand. I was just curious before, but now I'm even more determined than ever to know the answers. What secret do you hold, Saotome-san?

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Nabiki managed to make it into the main Academy building before the rain really began coming down. She shook off her umbrella and set it in the rack by the main door. The evening cleaning staff could be heard working in the building, and the sounds of electric cleaning equipment were humming in the distance. She smiled when she saw that no one appeared to notice her arrival.

Off to her right was the entrance to the stairs, and she quietly opened the door and closed it behind her. The lights were on in the hallway, for which she was grateful. She had a flashlight on her, but she preferred to save its batteries for when she might need them. No sounds came up from below, so it looked like she would not have to worry about anyone disturbing her little bit of burglary.

Ranma's laboratory door was locked, and she eyed it with an unhappy look. Lockpicking was not one of her better skills, but she had to give it a try to get through the door. She pulled out the small zippered case that her father had given her for a birthday present. She eyed the lock again and pulled out a couple of items.

"Seems like a standard Academy door lock," she murmured softly to herself. She knelt down next to the door and inserted a pick and probe gently into the lock. She tapped a button on the side of her watch until the digital readout changed to stopwatch mode. Nabiki took a deep breath and let it out.

She tapped a button, setting the chronometer into motion, and it began counting off fractions of a second. She quickly began fiddling with the lockpick, her tongue wedged between her lips on the left side of her mouth. Come on, Nabiki, you can do this.

Down at the other end of the corridor, she heard a few of the cleaning staff descending down the stairs.

Work the lock, she thought, slightly frantic. Don't think about getting caught. Just work the lock.

The final tumbler clicked into place, and she turned the probe with a grateful sigh, hearing the deadbolt slide open. She pulled out her pick and probe with a smile, absently tapping her finger to stop the counting of the stopwatch. She opened the door quietly and quickly slipped inside Ranma's lab a moment later.

She closed the door behind her with a confident grin and set her bookbag down on the floor to one side of the door. She very gently slid the deadbolt shut, mere moments before she heard a hand test the door. The lock rattling sounded very loud in the quiet of the room. A moment later she heard the footsteps passing on.

After letting out a sigh of relief, she flipped on her flashlight and let the beam move about the room. There's something fun about doing this sort of thing, she thought with a smile. She pointed the narrow flashlight beam at her watch. Not bad, fifty-two seconds. Daddy raised me up to be a proper investigator, not to mention a pretty good thief.

She found the light switch and turned on the power, flipping her small flashlight off as the fluorescent bulbs flickered into life. She eyed the contents of Ranma's lab dispassionately for a moment as she let her gaze sweep around the room. Her eyes settled on the cloth-covered table on one side of the room next to a rather ugly-looking couch. What have you been working on down here, Ranma-kun?

Flipping off the cloth covering the table and its contents, she beheld a modest collection of equipment sitting there neatly. A small computer monitor sat next to a power bar and a keyboard, both of them connected to a gray case. A thick wire ran to a headset of some sort, with several prongs on it running down to several small, flat, black metal plates. It all looked rather anti-climactic. She had been expecting to see something much more impressive.

Curious, she flipped on the main power bar and let the equipment warm up. The screen immediately began printing out an intriguing series of self-test messages.

* SELF-CHECK COMPLETE

* ALL LOGIC COMPONENTS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* QUANTUM FLUX COIL IS FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* NEURAL INDUCTION SENSORS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* SYSTEM HAS 5 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN STABLE MEMORY

* TIME DURATION OF RECENT TEST RUN: 30.00 MINUTES

* SCAN FOR NEW COORDINATES:

The cursor paused at this point as it awaited some form of input. A sense of amazement and wonder filled her at that moment.

Quantum flux coil? Nabiki thought as she looked over the case in the middle. She turned the headset over in her hands, suspecting that it was most likely the 'neural induction sensors' that the one system message referred to. Quantum coordinates? What could Ranma-kun be playing with down here? Her curiosity was piqued from all of the mysterious-purposed hardware and arcane phrases.

"Let's see what happens if I type 'yes' there," she muttered with a smile. She typed the word in and hit the return key.

* SELECT QUANTUM REGION FOR SCAN: RANDOM

The word 'RANDOM' was blinking, so she just hit return, not knowing what else to do.

* SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES

Again, the input word was blinking, so Nabiki tapped the return key once again.

* SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:

She carefully typed in '30.00 MINUTES' and tapped the return key once more, taking her cue from the report of the length of the most recent test run.

* WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL INTERLINK HEADSET

That was it, no further input requests. Well, what do I do now to get this thing to show me what it does? She eyed the headset resting in her lap and the couch behind her. I guess Ranma-kun wears this and lies down on the couch.

Nabiki, carrying the headset in one hand, sat down on the edge of the couch so that she could see the screen. She put the headset on her skull and waited to see what happened. I feel silly doing this, she thought with a sardonic grin. There was a vaguely pleasant hum that felt as if it was within her brain, and she started to remove the headset when she noticed that a computer generated voice was speaking. On the screen a pair of sine waves suddenly appeared and slowly began moving into convergence.

The computer spoke in gentle tones, its artificial voice repeating over and over for several seconds the same word, "Searching. Searching. Searching."

Suddenly, it said, "Quantum signature match found. Initiating upload cycle."

Nabiki felt a moment of nothingness, and her body suddenly flopped back as if she'd been poleaxed and sprawled partway across the couch, her eyes closed as if in sleep. One arm fell off the edge of the couch and rested on the cool concrete floor.

The timer began counting down.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.614, +4.496

There was a brief and mildly disturbing moment of dislocation, a sort of non-existence of self, and then Nabiki suddenly found herself in another place, one she did not immediately recognize. It was early evening, but the skies were clear, instead of raining as she distinctly remembered it doing outside only a few minutes before. She was outside, somewhere in Tokyo it looked like. However, she had no idea what had just happened to her, and the skyline looked different.

I-what? Where am I? She looked around in confusion, and her brain felt slightly fuzzy, almost like it was wrapped in soft cotton. The feeling faded quickly, allowing her thoughts to clear. Okay, Nabiki, calm down and take stock.

She stood where she was and blinked her eyes as she adjusted to her new surroundings. Mere moments after her return to awareness, and possibly even more surprising and disturbing to her, a confusing stream of mental images suddenly seemed to fill her mind over the course of a single moment. It was a kaleidoscopic torrent of memories, an entire lifetime of experiences shoved into her awareness all at once. The unutterable rush of the occurrence totally overwhelmed her for that moment. It took her a few moments afterwards to realize that someone was speaking to her.

"Nabiki?" asked a familiar, male voice, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Looking over to her right, she was startled to see a very familiar-looking young man standing next to her, dressed in an outfit of Chinese-style clothes. She recognized his face instantly and then couldn't help staring for a moment. It was Ranma, yet it somehow also wasn't. Seeing something that was so very familiar to her, and yet knowing with an absolute certainty that it wasn't in the very same breath, was a bit disturbing to her. However, it was not nearly as surprising as the thought that suddenly popped into her head when she looked at him.

Ranma-kun is my fiancé, Nabiki instantly realized, then wondered why that thought would come to her like that. He was looking at her with a worried expression on his face, and she felt a strange warmth from deep inside her at seeing his obvious concern. She smiled back at him pleasantly, and it felt right to do.

"I'm fine, Ranma-kun," she said calmly. "I guess I was just lost in thought." He nodded, apparently accepting her explanation at face value. Her years of practice at hiding her feelings kept her from showing the quivery nervousness that she was feeling at this new and unexpected experience. Everything around her felt completely familiar to her, and yet it wasn't at the same time. So where am I? she found herself wondering.

Nerima, near the Tendo Dojo, came a sudden thought to her, one that wasn't really in words and just seemed to come from the back of her brain, but she was suddenly fully aware of where she was. She nodded contentedly at the name for a moment, then she paused and cocked her head in confusion. Tendo Dojo?

She suddenly realized that she wasn't wearing her Academy uniform and looked down at herself. She saw that she herself was also dressed in Chinese-style clothes similar to Ranma's, but it was not a surprise, for some reason. She casually raised her right hand up to stroke the silky material of the shirt and caught a glimpse of her hand. It was her hand, and yet it wasn't. Fascinated by that simple thing, she studied it for a moment and noticed the calluses on them, somewhat thicker than the ones that she expected to see, oddly reminding her of her mother's hands.

These are the hands of a heavily-trained fighter, she realized in an instant. She noticed her reflection in a plate glass window next to her and looked at herself, noting the braid at the back of her hair, much longer than the pageboy-style haircut she normally wore. A warrior's braid. She then wondered how she knew to call it that.

Behind her, Ranma stared at his fiancée and was not sure what to make of Nabiki's sudden change in mood. She was checking herself over as if she was seeing herself for the first time, and that was just plain strange to him. He decided not to press the issue though. If she wanted him to know what was going on, then she would tell him.

Suddenly, a new mass of memories became clear to her, rising unbidden into her awareness around a single, central realization. I am Nabiki Tendo, the heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. Random other memories came to her, associated with that one central thought, and it was like the stories she had heard people tell of seeing their lives flashing before their eyes before they died. Slowly, over several moments, many of the memories slowly sorted themselves out in her mind, and they were immensely fascinating to her.

Up until less than two months ago, she had been out on a decade-long training journey with Genma Saotome, Ranma's father, learning and improving her now formidable skills in the martial arts. A new torrent of memories sped through her mind, too quickly for her to really grasp onto anything firmly. So many people had been met over that time, places seen, and various fighting techniques learned. It was like seeing herself as the heroine of a martial arts action movie series, and it was both terrifying and wonderful. She felt an unexpected joy fill her upon embracing these new memories, as if they filled an empty place within her that she had not even known existed until that one shining moment of revelation.

One of the more terrifying memories centered on falling into a pool of water during some sort of martial arts training exercise, one of many in a mysterious valley located in China, and a name for the place popped into her awareness. Jusenkyo? The name of the place conjured up another powerful image for her, of a handsome young man dressed as she herself was in the reflection. She tried to follow that thought, to learn who this young man was, but it seemed to hover ever so tantalizingly out of reach.

Nabiki turned back to face the reflection of herself in the plate glass window. She noticed Ranma's face also being reflected in the glass, and he was simply staring at her with a confused look. She turned to look at him, and he stared expectantly at her.

"I'm going to take a walk by myself, Ranchan," she said, and his look of confusion reappeared. "Don't worry. I won't be long. I just have to check on something." A sudden impulse came to her. "Don't let your old man eat my share of dinner, okay?"

That seemed to reassure him, and he smiled at her. "Sure thing, Nabiki. How long you think you're gonna be? I can let Kasumi know."

"I should be back in a half hour," she said, shrugging her shoulders. The longer she was here, the less it felt like a dream and the more like real life. There was a quality to dreams that was simply not present, and that left her with the inescapable conclusion that she was really here, wherever 'here' was. Looking at her companion kept filling her with strange new feelings that she was unused to, and she wasn't sure what to do if she saw her family until she had figured out what was going on. So she waved at him and jogged off down the street, needing some time to think and reason out what had happened.

Ranma watched Nabiki run off, and then shook his head. If there's anyone in this city who doesn't need a chaperone, it's her, he thought with a smile. Turning his feet back towards home, he walked in the opposite direction from the way she had gone.

Nabiki never remembered feeling so alive before, as she did while she ran down the street, recognizing places and streets that were a mixture of both similar and very different from the Nerima that she had known for her entire life. On an impulse, she almost effortlessly bounded to the top of a wall without thinking about it, gracefully landing a moment after her feet had left the ground. She suddenly laughed at the sky, feeling a new sense of freedom in herself, and a new confidence.

I'm not dreaming, she firmly decided. She knew from her own experience that dreams had their own tone, and this felt too 'real' to be a dream. So she focused on what she did know about what was going on around her. One, I activated Ranma-kun's device in his lab. Two, I found myself here, with my mind filled with memories of new experiences that I never lived. Three, wherever here is, I'm a martial artist of great skill. Four, his device referred to a component within itself called a quantum flux coil. She sat down on the top of the wall.

"So what does that all add up to, Tendo?" she muttered softly to herself as she studied the stars beginning to emerge in the evening sky. "It either adds up to one strange dream that you're having in Ranma-kun's lab, or this is all somehow very real. And you've already determined to your own satisfaction that this isn't a dream. So if this is real-"

Nabiki suddenly snapped her fingers.

"If this is real, then this is how he developed his new combat skills overnight," she concluded, talking softly to herself. "Somehow, in some way, this is me, only in another life. A life where I did all of these things that are in my new memories now." She held up her hand and made a fist.

"Let's see what this other me is capable of," she said with a grin as she leaped from the top of the wall to a nearby rooftop.

The next several minutes were filled with a laughing Nabiki leaping and running from rooftop to rooftop across Nerima. Her fists and feet lashed out at a thousand phantom opponents as she tested the body she now wore to its limits. It was an exhilarating and wondrous experience, and she marveled at the flow and grace of each motion of her body. She knew that she was the preeminent martial artist among her peers here, and every movement of her body proved it to herself.

She stopped on a random rooftop and went through a swift kata of blocks and strikes, feeling the perfection of every movement as she jumped and dodged. She smiled broadly as her hands wove through the graceful motions of the various Kung Fu styles, her body filled with unbelievable agility and power. As she moved in a random way through the martial arts lore that this body knew in every fiber of its being, she felt something deep inside of her change, but she was not sure what it was. She paused at the end, feeling her breath coming a little quicker.

Oh, Ranchan, she thought with a smile, bringing her right fist around to hover before her body, palm upright. To invent something like this. You truly are a genius, and that must be why I love you so.

That unexpected thought brought her movements to a stumbling halt, and she was still standing there looking confused when the world went away around her. She felt a moment of dislocation.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki looked around in surprise. Where did Ranma go? She lowered her hands from the combat stance that she found herself in. Did I get into a fight with someone? What just happened here?

Feeling a rumbling of hunger from her stomach, she decided that eating was more important right now than dealing with her confusion. She leaped to the next rooftop and began heading home.

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*** Heaven 0.000, 0.000

The systems of Yggdrasil hummed along smoothly, maintained by the many gods and goddesses assigned to that task. Belldandy, the Goddess of the Present, had her attention focused upon her central workstation as she managed the daily file updates for the main system. Yet her gaze quickly noticed the message appearing on one of the secondary screens. She paused in her activities to study the scrolling symbols.

* DESTINY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED. PROBABILITY NODE ALTERATION INITIATED.

* REVISING CURRENT INDEXED NODE STATUS FROM CLASS THREE TO CLASS ONE.

* PARADIGM SHIFT DETECTED. TIME TO COMPLETION: UNKNOWN.

The young goddess eyed the screen and frowned ever so slightly, a sign of her concern. She reflected on the nature of the Destiny Protocols for a moment.

A system as complex as the universe reflected a middle ground between two extremes.

On the one hand, every event that has ever happened, is happening now, or ever will happen, have all been meticulously predetermined to the last detail. Reality was a clockwork mechanism, predestined to follow a rigid and unchanging fate that allowed only for the illusion of free will.

On the other hand, random chance was the controlling factor in all things. God played dice with the universe, and everything that happened in it was unpredictable and uncontrolled.

Neither option was fully correct, but neither were they fully incorrect.

Instead, reality should be thought of as a pinball machine. Playing pinball required the right combination of skill and chance, and an understanding and mastery of indeterminacy as balls careened all over the playing area. Control and randomness interacting together in a form of synergy.

Yggdrasil had just put a new ball into play.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete," said a soft voice in the background.

Nabiki slowly opened her eyes and simply stared at the plain cement ceiling over her head, broken only by faint cracks, conduits, and the fluorescent lights. She suddenly became aware of her back muscles complaining slightly from the awkward position they were in, and she shifted around to a more comfortable one, raising her arm up off the cold concrete floor.

That was simply incredible, she mused as she sat up slowly. Her thoughts felt a little bit strange, as if her awareness was divided among two very similar thought patterns, but the feeling quickly went away. She absently squeezed her right shoulder with her left hand, and a faint grimace appeared on her face as she noted the lesser amount of muscle on herself with some dismay. She already missed having the lithely well-sculpted musculature of her body in that other life. I need to work myself into better shape. Correction. I will work myself into better shape. I always thought I was in excellent condition, but that other body was even more so.

She took a moment to stare at the resonator, humming lightly to itself with power. She had come here expecting to find the answers to her questions about Ranma, and instead she found herself with more questions than before. Ranma-kun, your secret is even more amazing than anything that I was expecting. How did you ever come up with something like this?

Nabiki suddenly smiled. Like it or not, Ranma-kun, you have a new partner in your endeavors. There's no way that I'm going to walk away from this, now that I've seen what I've seen. You owe me an explanation now. She lifted the headset off her skull and allowed it to rest in her lap. Memories from that other life hovered in her mind like fireflies, refusing to settle where she could examine them more closely.

Standing up, she set the headset back where she found it and noted the new text printed on the screen.

* TEST RUN COMPLETE... FILE #0000006 ADDED TO STABLE MEMORY. DETAILS?

"Sure, why not?" she muttered. She typed out 'YES' and hit the return key, finding herself almost breathless to see what would come up next. She wasn't disappointed when the screen quickly began printing out more information on the new file that she had just unintentionally created.

* FILE #0000006 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

4,910 YEARS

10 MONTHS

15 DAYS

9 HOURS

35 MINUTES

31 SECONDS AGO.

Ohmygod, the Tendo girl thought as she sat there in stunned silence. The count of seconds continued to rise as she watched it. I was right. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't an imaginary world. It was real, and I was there, living and breathing inside another version of myself.

She looked at her hand, curling it into a fist and opening it back up several times. I was a fighter, a martial artist. How simply amazing. She looked at the resonator and a sly smile came onto her face. You and I definitely need to talk, Ranma-kun.

Not knowing if there was any special way of turning the device off, Nabiki simply shut down the power at the main switch. The device died, locking shut once again the window between dimensions that it offered. She had the odd sensation of the memories from that other life fading into the background noise of her own thoughts, as if her mind was soaking them up like a sponge. It was not unpleasant, and it made her feel strangely more complete as a person.

Since she planned to talk to Ranma in the morning anyway, she did not make any real attempts to hide her presence. She put the headset back where she found it and covered over the equipment with the tarp. She gazed at the covered table with a smile, and she felt an eagerness fill her to see what other mysteries were hidden across that gauntlet that she had just crossed and returned from. But that could wait until tomorrow, after she confronted Ranma with her knowledge of his secret.

Nabiki snapped on her flashlight a moment before turning off the fluorescent lights. She picked up her bookbag and listened at the door to see if she heard any activity in the hallway beyond. Hearing nothing, she slid open the deadbolt and slipped out of Ranma's lab into the darkened hallway.

She slipped the tiny flashlight between her teeth as she pulled out her set of lockpicks and went to work relocking the door. She didn't even bother timing herself this time.

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"The Boss was pretty mad at us for yesterday, wasn't he, Hayate?" asked Kena, as he pulled a cold can of beer from the street vending machine with a grimace. "I thought he was going to kill you for lying to him like that."

"Somehow it just seemed to be a better idea than telling him that you and I got our butts whipped by Saotome," said Hayate. "He made us both look like fools!"

"You at least had more warning than I did," said the other boy stiffly. He gently rubbed at his bandage currently itching his nose, wincing at the pain. "The little punk caught me by surprise, and he broke my damn nose! You got any idea how embarrassing that is?"

"Yeah, but Hiei's gonna fix him good," said his companion with an evil smirk. "Whatever he leaves behind, you and I can have fun with."

"Sounds good." Kena tipped his head back and drank deeply from the can of beer. When he lowered his face back down, a smile suddenly lit up his features as he saw what was coming their way on the other side of the street. He nodded once with his chin. "Looks like our luck is improving today already. See who's coming?"

Hayate turned to look and smiled wickedly. Nabiki was walking on the other side of the street past them, alone. He slipped his chain out of his pocket as Kena tossed his half-empty can into the alley behind him where it landed with a thunk against some trash bags.

"No bodyguards, and out alone like this," smirked Hayate. "Care to have a little fun with the bitch?"

"Sure." Kena smiled, pulling one of his balisong knives out and quickly flipping it open. "I'm going to enjoy seeing the high-and-mighty Nabiki Tendo bleeding. Maybe it'll make my nose hurt a little less."

Over on the other side of the street, the Tendo girl walked along with a bemused look on her face. She was still thinking about that other life and wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings very well, but a sudden quivering at the back of her neck caused her to leave off from her thoughts and stop.

In front of her stepped Hayate and Kena, wicked smiles on their faces. She suddenly realized that she was alone on the street with the two fighters, and that she didn't have Akane or Yohko around to defend her. This is bad, she thought, frowning, as she started to back up slowly away from the two street punks.

"Evening, Tendo-san," drawled Kena as he drew out a second knife. "A pretty thing like you should be careful, out alone on a darkened street. Maybe my buddy and me here could escort you?" He nudged Hayate with an elbow and chuckled.

"Yeah," chuckled the other boy, flipping the weighted end of his chain in a lazy circle around his hand. "Never know what sort of things could happen to a cute girl like you."

Nabiki turned and ran. The two punks squawked for a moment in surprise at seeing her getting away and chased after her. They called out all manner of threats and catcalls at her as they ran close behind her, slowly gaining.

She ducked down an alleyway in an attempt to lose the armed pair, but they followed right on her heels. This is what I get for depending on others to do my fighting for me, she thought angrily at herself.

"Running's just gonna make it harder on ya when we catch ya," gasped Kena as he managed to close the range a little more. He never knew that she could run so fast, and it only added to his anger. His companion just panted along right beside him without speaking, saving his breath for running.

Nabiki turned a corner and suddenly found herself facing a dead-end alleyway. Seeing her trapped when they came around the corner, Hayate and Kena slowed to a walk and grinned at her. Nabiki backed away from the pair slowly. Damn it! If I could just fight like my other self, I'd wipe the alleyway with these two jerks!

At a nod from Hayate, Kena came in with a low chuckle and faked a swing at Nabiki. "Gonna make you bleed a little first, Nabiki-chan, before Hayate and I have some real fun with you. Ain't nobody gonna be saving you here. You're all ours." He swung once more at her, and she blocked with her bookbag.

Suddenly, the Tendo girl felt like something clicked into place within her, and a cool smile appeared on her face. She ducked under Kena's outstretched arm on his next swing, blocking his knife thrust with the bookbag held in her left hand, and she dropped split-legged to the pavement. Her right fist fired up lightning-quick, with all the strength that she had in her arm, and it impacted solidly into the boy's groin area.

Kena coughed hard, then gave off a soft whimper of pain and staggered back from her, dropping his knives and clutching at himself.

The other boy immediately paused in his approach, and the fun that he had planned for this girl had suddenly turned serious. That idiot Kena must've been caught by surprise, he thought with a shake of his head. Everybody knows that Nabiki Tendo doesn't fight; she has others do her fighting for her.

Nabiki gracefully flipped herself back to her feet and took up a combat stance, tossing her bookbag to one side. She smiled coyly at Hayate and made a come-hither gesture with her right hand towards her suddenly uncertain assailant.

"Here I am," she called out in a mocking tone. "Come and get some."

"Kill the bitch!" squeaked Kena, as he leaned against a wall and regained his breath. "Show her that she's way out of her league!"

"That's right," said Nabiki softly, batting her eyelashes. "Show me how big and strong you are. After all, I'm only a weak and helpless girl." Her fear was gone, replaced by a sense of anticipation as her heart rate sped up and her breathing deepened. She felt totally in control of the situation, and the knowledge of dozens of disabling moves quickly flashed across her thoughts as she gazed at her adversary and his current stance. But she wanted this to last.

Lashing out with his chain, Hayate missed when Nabiki stepped aside, and her mocking grin was firmly fixed on her face. She leaped into the air, feeling a strange energy adding strength to her legs, her body doing a quick somersault in midair, and she landed easily on her feet on the other side of the boy. Her thoughts focused on the fight, she never even thought to question how she was able to do that. Her left fist lashed out in a backhanded punch that snapped the chain-wielder's head to the side, and she followed it up with a hard uppercut from her right fist.

Hayate flew up and crashed back down to the ground in the alleyway, stunned, and she turned around to see Kena coming at her with a snarl of anger. His silvery blade darted around her body in a rapid series of strikes almost too fast for the eye to follow. With her newfound grace, Nabiki dodged around the razor-sharp blade, keeping her skin well away from the edge.

"Nobody does what you did to me and lives, Tendo!" snarled the enraged boy in a much higher octave than usual. Pure adrenaline was helping him ignore the pain as he savagely attacked her with elbow strikes, punches, stabs with his blade, and an occasional kick. Like a ghost, she flowed around them all, dodging most, and parrying those she was unable to dodge.

"Looks like your friend is ready to play some more," noted Nabiki with another sardonic grin as she spotted Hayate trying to attack her on her blindside. She ducked under the chain, parried another one of Kena's strikes, and then tossed him headlong into the other boy as hard as she could. She heard a satisfying crunching sound as Kena's nose broke for the second time in as many days against Hayate's forehead.

"You're supposed to fall down at this point," she said calmly as she saw that Hayate still remained standing, leaving Kena to flop around on the ground and scream with pain as he clutched at his twice-broken nose. She coolly drove her foot across Kena's face in an attempt to shut him up. The abused blade fighter's eyes rolled back up into his skull as he went unconscious.

Hayate managed to loop his chain around her neck in that brief moment of inattention on her part, and yanked on it, pulling her in, while he launched a savage kick into her gut. She leaped over the kick, using her newfound momentum to continue up and forward, driving her knee up into his chin. There was the sound of a bone-crunching impact, and the boy's head snapped back as a bright spray of crimson fluid, and a few small chunks of teeth, flew up out of his mouth, narrowly missing her clothes.

As the chain-wielder collapsed to the ground, mostly unconscious, Nabiki landed gently on one foot and immediately pivoted herself around in a tight spin that freed her neck from the chain. The movement also slammed her raised foot against Hayate's backside in a solid kick as he struggled to stand back up. She coolly watched the boy's face impact against a brick wall, led by his forehead, and he slowly slid down it a moment later, leaving a smear of blood.

Soft groans emerged from the two unconscious members of the Wolf Pack as she dropped back down into a ready stance. She suddenly became aware of what she had just done, and a strange glint appeared in her eyes as she surveyed the results of her efforts. A few light bruises were on her neck and arms from the chain's impacts, but she was otherwise unharmed. A heady feeling of excitement at her victory filled her as she gazed down at her two former attackers.

Now I know what Akane always talked about, Nabiki mused with a wry smile. There is something fun about fighting, at least when you know what you're doing. She flexed her hand and made a few practice punches, and they felt pretty good to her, as if she had done them for years. Nabiki chuckled softly. Won't Ranma-kun be surprised when he sees what I can do now, too. Maybe I should do like Akane and challenge him to a fight. She smiled at that thought, picturing the look on his face. I wonder if I could beat him? No, she knew she could beat him.

Setting that thought aside for the moment, she slowly straightened her uniform and dusted herself off while gazing in a somewhat contemptuous manner at Kena, before she bent down and grabbed Hayate by the front of his uniform. She judged him to be the less damaged of the pair, and a better recipient for the message she was about to give him. His eyes focused on her face too slowly for her tastes, and she smacked him about his cheeks until he did. Blood dribbled in a thick stream from his mouth as he gazed at her with fear written in his eyes.

"Listen up, you little wretch!" she snarled into his face. "I want you to pass along a message for me. You tell your punk-ass boss that I'm getting tired of these attacks on me and my people. If he doesn't stop, then I'm going to come down on him like the wrath of God, no matter how well he tries to hide from me. Don't you ever forget this, I run the Academy." She pulled the boy's face a little closer to her. "You tell him to close up shop. Our little competition is now over, and I've won."

Nabiki let the beaten boy fall back to the pavement without any further thought and went over to her bookbag. She picked it up and dusted it off casually, before slinging it over her shoulder. She glared at the two boys lying in the alleyway, filled with confidence at her newfound skills, and walked off into the gathering darkness. She vanished from Hayate's sight a few moments later when she turned and went around the corner.

First that bastard Saotome kicks our asses, and now Nabiki Tendo does the same? thought Hayate with a groan of pain, suddenly spitting one of his teeth out whole. Damn bitch! I'm gonna get her for this! Both her and Saotome die for this! He looked at his tooth, shining wetly with his blood as it sat on the ground near him. He let his body slump down against the pavement, his vision blurring, since it hurt too much to try and stand. One clear thought filled his mind shortly before he fell unconscious. Damn, the Boss ain't gonna like this.

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Dinnertime around the Kunos' table was always a very quiet affair, and tonight was no exception. Kodachi sipped delicately at her miso soup, appreciating the mild flavors, even as her eyes shifted from watching her father to her mother and back again. Her parents were seated at the extreme ends of the long table, while she and her brother sat across from each other in the middle. No one spoke. Her parents thought speech disturbed the dignity of a family meal.

Across from her, Kuno ate his soup quietly, the bruises on his face much diminished from how they appeared at lunchtime. His eyes met hers once, and a neutral expression was on his face, before he quickly returned his attention to his meal. The house would have to begin burning down around him before he would break the sacred quiet of the evening meal.

From her position, Kenseiko Kuno, the matriarch of the household, noticed that her only daughter appeared a bit agitated over something. She was a beautiful, regal sort of woman, much as Kodachi would probably look with another twenty years added to her age. She enjoyed her position as Lady of the Kuno household, and she loved both of her children dearly. However, lately Kodachi was beginning to worry her so.

"Dachi-chan," she said, breaking with tradition and causing her daughter to almost jump from her chair in surprise. Down at the other end of the table, her husband raised his eyes to look with surprise at his wife but said nothing.

"Yes, Mother?" answered Kodachi. Across from her, Kuno continued to eat his soup, mirroring his father doing the same at the end of the table.

"You appear restive, child. I fear that it is disturbing your enjoyment of your meal. Tell your mother what is wrong." Her gentle tones had the ring of steel behind them.

"Well, I suppose that it might as well be said here," said Kodachi quietly. The two Kuno men continued to ignore the conversation between the two women. "I spoke with the headmaster of the Imperial Academy today, and he is willing to accept me as a transfer student."

Both Kuno men stopped eating and stared at her.

"Oh my," said Kenseiko hesitantly. "Why would you ever want to do that? I thought that you were happy at Blackhall. I went there when I was your age, and I could not imagine a finer school for a young lady of quality to attend. Why would you want to leave your own kind to associate with such riffraff as populate that place?" She dabbed at her lips with a napkin, as the servants emerged to replace the soup bowls with the next course.

"She does it for the sake of a vile cad," growled Kuno in low tones. "I told you to have nothing further to do with him, and you defied me! Your own brother!"

"Manners, son," chided Kenseiko. The boy immediately bowed his head to his mother and refrained from speaking further for the moment. His father said nothing, only began eating his rice and fish quietly, and he ignored his son when the boy looked to him for support. "What is this about a young man, Dachi-chan? Have you taken a lover?"

"Mother!" Kodachi's cheeks flamed with embarrassment. "It is not like that at all! I am simply not happy among my so-called peers. Plus, the Imperial Academy offers more challenging coursework in the sciences."

"But what of this young man that your brother spoke so adamantly about?" asked her mother with a gentle smile. "Does he have a name?"

Kodachi muttered something far too softly to be heard, her cheeks still continuing to burn bright red.

"His name is Ranma Saotome, Mother," said Kuno suddenly with a grimace of distaste. "He has apparently seduced my sister with words of cunning and deceit. A base corrupter of an innocent virgin he is!"

"Brother Dear!" shouted Kodachi, wishing that she was near enough to kick him in the shins for his words. "Desist in this name-calling, I implore you!"

"Did he not bring you to tears by his mere presence only yesterday, my dear sister?" Their mother turned her gaze to him and he quickly continued. "I bore witness to her tears myself, Mother. She waited outside the gates to that place, hiding herself behind a tree when the villain emerged. She started to approach him, but broke and ran in tears at the last moment. I have sworn myself to smite the vile wretch for his crime!"

"Good for you, my son," said his father unexpectedly from the other end of the table. Kuno turned his head to stare at his sire, and he would not have been more shocked if one of the statuary had chosen that moment to speak. "I entrust you with the sacred task of proving the worth of this Saotome boy. But if he can overcome you, then I shall consider allowing him to court your sister."

"WHAT?" shouted Kuno, echoed by the two women a moment later.

"I am familiar with the Saotome name for reasons that do not concern you, Tachi-kun," said the Kuno family patriarch with a grim look. "If this boy can defeat you, then he is welcome to pay court to your sister. I shall say no more on this matter." With that, he went back to eating.

Kuno sat there with a stunned expression, mirrored by one on his sister's face.

"I will allow you to transfer, Dachi-chan," said Kenseiko with a thoughtful tone to her voice. Kuno made strangling sounds from his position at the table, but Kodachi looked to her mother with a smile that lit up the room and then turned to look at her brother in triumph.

"Perhaps you should transfer as well, Brother Dear," said Kodachi in a saccharine-sweet tone of voice. "It would allow you to be near your new love, Akane Tendo."

Their father raised his eyes again for a moment, but did not speak. Their mother, on the other hand, was a different story.

"My son, is this true?" she asked, a suspicious look upon her face. "I had thought you interested in that Saginomiya girl, the one with the odd flower fetish. She seemed eminently suitable for you, and her family is excellent. What sort of background do the Tendos hail from?"

"A noble background, I assure you," said Kuno, attempting to soothe his mother. "After speaking with her elder sister and being informed that the Tendos were of noble blood, I checked on that myself. They are of landless samurai background and have served as squires to several great lords over the centuries."

"Soun Tendo's daughter?" The elder Kuno looked up once more from his meal. When his son nodded, he appeared satisfied over something and returned to eating. Kuno stared at his father for a moment before returning his attentions to his mother.

"I shall tentatively allow you to pay court to this Tendo girl, my son," said Kenseiko. "However, if you choose to pursue it beyond making her your mistress, then I must require that you bring her before me that I may determine her suitability as a wife."

"Of course, Mother," said Kuno fervently. "I would not even dream of doing otherwise." He returned to his meal, visions of his new love filling his mind.

Across from him, Kodachi looked both pleased and concerned. I hope that you do no harm to Ranma Saotome, Brother Dear, for your sake. She went back to eating, and the table reverted to silence.

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Nabiki collapsed into her bed after finishing dinner with her sister and doing her homework. This has been such a strange day, she thought with a faint smile. She lifted her hand above her face and studied at it for a long moment, her memories suddenly filled with thoughts of her mother, and the great warrior she had been. Ever since her death, the diligent training routines that a younger Nabiki had once followed so religiously had faded off over the years. Her physical training at the Academy had compensated for the years of slacking off to a large degree, but she was well below the capabilities of her other life.

She now knew that she had been coasting for too long, only doing the minimum required of her to pass, and that was now going to change. I've let myself sit in Akane's shadow when it came to the physical things for too long. I can see now that I'm more than capable of outdoing her when it comes to combat. And thanks to Ranchan's little toy, I've gotten ten years of martial arts skill training.

The last thing that Nabiki realized before sleep claimed her was to question the change in how she referred to Ranma. When did I start to call him Ranchan?

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Special thanks goes out to Jim Bader for his kind permission to borrow from Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) for Earth +4.614, +4.496 (Nabiki 1/2).

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	5. Travelling The Path, Part I

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Nabiki found herself standing on a rocky promontory, dressed in her gray uniform, staring out over the crashing ocean waves far below. The far surroundings had a hazy quality to them, and the sky was a pale pink and reddish-orange as the sun settled down in the western sky. It was a familiar scene to her, but her memory was fuzzy as to why. The skirt of her Academy uniform rustled almost soundlessly around her legs.

"Hello," said a voice behind her. She slowly turned around, and the figure that she saw behind her appeared in very sharp contrast to the haziness of her surroundings, somehow being more 'real' than the rest of the world was. The face on the figure was hers, and she blinked at the sight before quickly taking in the rest of the image before her.

The other Nabiki was dressed in Chinese-style garb, a loose silk shirt, light green in color, with wooden ties securing the front, and loose, black gi pants with the ankle cuffs tied snugly. A sense of an athletic and trimly-muscled figure was only partially concealed beneath the loose clothing. Her feet were shod in black, slipper-like shoes. Her twin stood in a relaxed stance, the doppelganger's face smiling as she watched the setting sun.

"Who are you?" asked Nabiki in surprise, although her oddly fragmented memories suddenly held the answer a moment after she had asked the question. Her double dropped her eyes from watching the skies to look into her own.

"I'm Nabiki Tendo, heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," the other girl said, bowing slightly. "Pleased to meet you."

"What?" Nabiki suddenly felt confused. Her memories were frayed at the edges, and this dream (for she was certain now that it was a dream, but she could not say how she knew) was different from any that she could remember ever having before. She had done something before she had gone to sleep, but she could not quite grasp what.

"Take your time," said her double and then sat down on the grass. "I guess I'm a little more used to weirdness like this."

"Ranma-kun's device," Nabiki finally remembered. "It did something to me." She moved away from the edge of the cliff and sat down in front of her duplicate. A moment later, her posture became a mirror of the martial artist version of herself.

"What do you remember?" asked Martial-Nabiki, her hands resting on her knees as she sat cross-legged.

"I activated it, and something happened." Nabiki's face showed a slight frown as she struggled somewhat to remember. "I became you for a time." She suddenly remembered how free that she had felt, how gloriously free. No regimentation to her life, no need to wear a uniform, her future not planned out to the last detail, just being able to embrace each day as it came and live life to the fullest measure possible.

"Interesting," said her twin, calmly looking around at their immediate surroundings. As she watched, images suddenly began to materialize in the air, fragments of memories. Martial-Nabiki watched them with interest, laughing at some, and looking sadly at others. They floated in the air like bubbles, each one only showing for an instant before being replaced by another. Neither of the girls seemed to be in control of them, and that was made clear when Nabiki started to see memories that she knew were not her own.

"What's going on?" Nabiki stared at one image that seemed to be more powerful than many of the others. She turned to look at the other girl, and her duplicate was frowning.

"It's nothing that you need to worry about," said her double, rising to her feet. "But that is Jusenkyo Valley. A place that changed my life, in more ways than one." A reflected image, as if seen in a pool of water, appeared in another bubble of memories. This image was of a handsome young man dressed much as her martial artist doppelganger was, and there was sadness on his face.

"Who is that?" asked Nabiki, her eyes bright as she looked at her duplicate. "He's gorgeous. Is he your brother or something on your world?" She turned to look back at the image for another moment, before she heard muffled laughter behind her. When she turned around, that same young man that had been in the bubble image was there.

"Surprise," said Nabiki-kun to a startled Nabiki. "Behold the power of Jusenkyo."

All of the memories of that first transformation in the cursed Spring of Drowned Man were suddenly Nabiki's, and she was only able to stare in shock at the male version of herself. Nabiki-kun posed for a moment while Nabiki felt herself absorbing the memories of that terrifying time.

Her duplicate suddenly reached behind himself and pulled out a steaming teakettle. He poured the water over himself and his form lost several centimeters of height, transforming back into a duplicate of Nabiki, save for the clothes and the more muscular build.

"That was amazing," Nabiki said softly, feeling both a fear of the curse and a strange fascination for it filling her. That she felt such a fascination was disturbing to her, so she buried that thought deep.

"It has made my life more interesting," said the once-again female, alternate version of her in a slightly dry tone. "There are times that I am thankful that it happened, but it has made my life hellish too. If it wasn't for my fiancé, Ranchan." Her voice trailed off as she looked very thoughtful.

"I guess he is rather special, in any world." Nabiki felt an odd blush cross her cheeks. She clamped down on her thoughts with her iron will, and the feeling went away.

"Interesting memories you have of yours," said Martial-Nabiki, her attention returning to the bubbles of scenes hanging in midair. The first was of Nabiki's very first meeting with Ranma, of feeling that subtle electric tingle that had overwhelmed her control for even a short time. The Chinese-garbed girl blinked and smiled. "Wow! That was something else. Even as much as I love my Ranchan, I've never felt that much of a turn-on from him."

Nabiki felt very embarrassed that her control had proven insufficient during that incident, the Iron Bitch melting for a brief time in a blast furnace of unexpected passions. And to see such open emotions displayed on her other self was also odd.

"I like him, okay?" she said, watching her other self replaying each of her meetings with Ranma. Feeling vulnerable from the desires that he had awoken in her, and not liking the feeling, she had reinforced her cold, disdainful attitude whenever she saw him. Her teasing of him had an edge to it that she now felt very unhappy to see in her memories.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to pry, but I can feel how much you seem to care about him deep down. Why be so mean to him all the time?"

"To keep him at a distance, I guess," said Nabiki, her eyes looking outwards in a thousand-meter stare. "It is far better to be feared than to be loved, after all." Her voice suddenly choked a bit, but she quickly recovered. "Ranma-kun isn't anything special. No guy is."

"Right," said her double, disbelief plainly evident in her voice. In an attempt to change the subject to something easier for them to deal with than men, she said, "Hey, you wanna try some sparring with me?" She went through a quick sequence of moves.

To her surprise when she tried them, Nabiki was able to duplicate them exactly, and her double nodded. "I thought so."

"The fight I had." Nabiki suddenly remembered it, how easy it had been to deal with the two toughs, as if they had been moving in slow motion. "I have your skills." She went through a kata, her body moving a little more gracefully than it was able to in real life, but not by much.

"It looks like it," said her doppelganger, smiling with a twinkle in her eyes. "I worked my ass off for years following Uncle Genma around Asia to learn all of this, and you take a nap for a little while and can do the same. But at least my body is in better shape."

"I'm not that far behind you," Nabiki muttered, suddenly feeling a little defensive next to her other self's accomplishments.

"No, I guess you aren't," agreed her twin, looking a suddenly naked Nabiki over, noting her body's athletic musculature from her Academy training, and the calluses on her hands and feet. "A couple of months of intensive training, and your body could be up to my level. The skills and the reflexes are over half the battle, and you already have those from me."

Nabiki tried willing some clothes around herself, feeling strangely unembarrassed at her unexpected nakedness, but all that appeared was a twin of the outfit that her other self was wearing, only with a red shirt. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's spar," she said, raising her hands into a guard. Her twin smiled at her.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.614, +4.496 - The world of Martial-Nabiki (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. After viewing some other alternate lives and dealing with some unexpected situations, Ranma decided to intensify his workouts to bring himself up to the level of his counterpart. Fuyutsuki mentioned a mysterious plan that involved Ranma and several of the cast. Meanwhile, Soun put the first stage of his plan into play to ensnare Ranma, and Hinako learned something about Ranma's past. Nabiki snuck into Ranma's lab and managed to activate his device, contacting and duplicating the skills from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. Forever changed by the experience, Nabiki dealt with two enemies using her new skills and has decided to make Ranma an offer that will prove difficult for the boy scientist to refuse.

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Chapter 5 - Travelling The Path Of A True Martial Artist, Part I

The path of a true martial artist is fraught with peril.

- Soun Tendo: Ranma 1/2

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Nabiki rolled over in her bed and found herself staring at her clock as she blinked her eyes open. Her dreams of the night before faded away like smoke as she blearily read the time. 5:28 in the morning? She groaned mentally at the time on her clock, not being very much of a morning person, especially not this early an hour in the morning. She closed her eyes and attempted to go back to sleep for the time remaining until her alarm normally went off, but it was to no avail. Yawning, she sat up in bed and stretched her arms up and back.

I guess I should get to my morning workout, she thought with a tired sigh. She slowly rolled out of her bed and wandered over to her closet. She had been going through it for several minutes before it occurred to her to wonder at her own thoughts. Morning workout? Since when do I do a morning workout without Mother around? It had been years since she last got up at the crack of dawn to exercise.

Shrugging her shoulders, she continued rummaging through her closet and found her old workout gi in the back. Seeing that it was now easily about two sizes too small for her since the last time that she wore it, she tossed it onto her bed and continued looking for something else to wear. She made a mental note that she needed to buy some new clothes that would be suitable for martial arts training. Those Chinese-style outfits that her martial artist counterpart wore yesterday had felt pretty comfortable to wear for such activities. She finally settled on a plain white T-shirt and dark-blue sweat pants, figuring they would have to do for now.

A few minutes later, Nabiki was in the medium-sized training hall back behind the main house. Her parents had received the house as a wedding gift from her father's parents, and her mother's parents had paid to construct the hall after her mother had left the regular Imperial Army and gone into the reserves. Originally, it was so that Kimiko could maintain her skills in combat, but she later used it to teach her daughters how to fight and to pass on the traditions of honor she held dear. For Nabiki, that training began when she had first begun to walk and continued, alongside her two sisters, until the passing away of her mother over six years ago.

She had not been inside the building for the purpose of training for several years, but it felt right to be there now, as if she was reclaiming an abandoned part of herself. The subtle smells of the training hall filled her nostrils, triggering a multitude of memories of times past. She briefly reminisced about the many long hours spent out here under her mother's patient tutelage, a little girl training to be a warrior like her mother before her. That training had not seemed to matter as much after her mother had died, one of many things locked away and deliberately forgotten about to avoid the pain they evoked, but now it did to her once again. Her mother had been so very proud of them all, and she felt a renewed desire to become the warrior that her mother had always told her that she was.

"Mommy is so proud of you, Biki-Bushi-chan," she remembered her mother always saying with a loving smile on her face. "You keep training like that, and someday you'll be a great warrior."

"Like you, Mommy?" Nabiki had once asked as she had paused to wipe sweat from her brow. She had been eight years old at the time, but the memory still lived for her as if it was yesterday if she closed her eyes and remembered. This particular memory was one of the more precious ones to her.

"You're going to be as great a fighter as I ever was, Nabiki-chan," her mother had said more seriously. "I can somehow see it out there in your future. Someday, if you're very diligent in your training, you'll become a superb warrior, maybe even better than I ever was."

"Really?" her younger self had asked, wide-eyed with surprise. She had always thought that Kasumi would be the warrior in the family, or maybe Akane. Her older sister had never let up on her regimen after their mother had died, and she still continued to train for two hours every day, even after her recent marriage. And the youngest Tendo had made perfecting her combat skills into her own personal religion even before that time. Nabiki, on the other hand, had simply stopped trying. Without her mother around to prove herself to, there simply didn't seem to be much point.

"Of course, Nabiki-chan," her mother had replied, poking her in the forehead with a fingertip and a grin on her face. "But don't think you can take your broken-down, old mother in a fight yet. I may be older and slower than you, but age and treachery will always win out over youth and speed."

"Let's see about that, Mommy!" her younger self had cried, launching herself into an attack, a broad smile on her face as they fell to sparring.

Nabiki leaned heavily against the door post and let herself remember other things from the past. There were other memories that she had not allowed herself to recall for so many years. She was surprised to suddenly realize how much all of them had changed after her mother's death. Her father had almost completely retreated into his work, and the cheerful man that she remembered from her childhood had evolved almost overnight into a much colder sort, a pure professional. She knew that she had been emulating him in order to gain approval from her only remaining parent, an approval that she now wondered might have carried too high a price for herself. The memories from her counterpart gave her a rare opportunity, a chance to re-examine the path that she had been on and think about the choices that she had made.

In that other life, I am the center of attention, loved by some, hated and feared by others, and respected by many, she thought as her gaze roamed around the training hall. Here, I am known as the Iron Bitch of the Imperial Academy, a person both feared and respected, and a true heir to the ways of my father. She sighed softly, like the sound of a soul that has realized how lost it was for the first time. Perhaps it is not too late to change, but change to what? I am not that other self, nor do I wish such a chaotic mess of a life, but perhaps some of her attitudes might be worthwhile to take for my own. It was something to think about.

Nabiki thought that talking to Kasumi would help. Her older sister had gone through changes almost as great as her father had. Before their mother's death, the eldest Tendo daughter had been a flighty innocent, popular with the boys and seemingly without a single thought in her head for the future. Afterwards, she evolved into this quiet presence in the house, projecting a Zen-like region of calm around her as if she were a Buddha who had taken mortal female form and come to live with them. She had also begun studying medicine and martial arts with equal fervor, and never went out on dates anymore, to the extreme disappointment of a fair number of boys in the area.

Kasumi had also begun to help their previous housekeeper, a grand old lady that was a friend of Kimiko's, keep the house clean and assist with the cooking. Nabiki had not cared to engage in such activities, and Akane had proven herself to be utterly hopeless at doing such things as cooking and cleaning, much like their mother had been. At least her elder sister always seemed to enjoy doing most of the cooking, and Nabiki was grateful to her for it. She would be the first to confess that she missed her sister's comforting presence in the house. It just wasn't the same without Kasumi humming as she went around the house with one of her medical books in hand or cooking in the kitchen.

Now to see how much work I have ahead of me, Nabiki thought with a mild grimace. She knew that she was pretty well-muscled and toned for a girl her age due to her requisite physical training class at the Academy, but her counterpart easily had several more kilograms of solid muscle on her and was in even better shape. To match her duplicate's figure was going to take some time and a lot of effort and sweat. She strongly suspected that Ranma had also discovered the same thing about his own counterpart. She also deduced that that was almost undoubtedly why he was continuing with his current rigorous training schedule, despite what she had heard about his present levels of performance at athletics. She had seen him running through his regimen a few times, and it looked brutal.

She walked to the center of the training hall and sat down on the cold wood, the sensation triggering even more memories of happier times in her life. It was a little chilly that early in the morning, but the cold was invigorating to her as she began doing a light warm-up and a regimen of stretching exercises. She spread her legs as widely as she could and was pleased to note that she was almost as flexible as her counterpart as she bent down, a holdover from the intensive training done in her youth. She grasped her right foot with her hands and lowered herself over that leg. She then repeated the process with the other one.

Perhaps I should volunteer to participate in Ranma-kun's training class with Takami-sensei, she mused as she pulled herself down lower and lower onto her outstretched leg, stretching out the muscles as much as she could. I'm going to need a much more intensified workout schedule if I hope to improve myself, to become a physical equal to my counterpart. I could also use a good sparring partner to hone my reflexes and skills on, and I would bet money that Ranma-kun is undoubtedly the perfect person for that. As she pondered such things, she continued stretching the rest of the major muscles in her body, striving to maximize her flexibility. She smiled when she finally finished stretching the last area and stood up slowly.

As she stood there for a few moments, Nabiki briefly wondered about what Ranma's other life was like, the life where he had received his new martial arts skills from, and what her analog on that world was like. In my own counterpart's life, I am the best martial artist in all of Nerima, she thought with a measure of borrowed pride. There is a Ranma there who is, at best, a second-stringer in fighting capability next to my own counterpart. I wonder how good a fighter I am in the world where the counterpart dwells that he received his skills from? Is that Ranma also trained in the Anything-Goes style? She made a mental note to ask him these questions, along with a score of others that she had for the young scientist.

She settled herself into a stance and began running through a kata, letting her body slowly move through the half-familiar motions. She grimaced slightly as she felt herself moving at significantly less than perfect form and focused on eliminating as many of the imperfections as she could. She felt very rusty at the activities, but that didn't surprise her very much when she paused to think about it. The skills from her counterpart would take time to absorb, assuming that they were as permanent a part of her as she suspected they might now be. She pushed herself even harder, trying to recapture that graceful fluidity of motion that she had experienced yesterday. A sheen of sweat began to accumulate on her body, dampening her white T-shirt despite the cool morning air.

This is so incredible, Nabiki thought as she continued pushing herself harder and harder, increasing her speed as much as she could. It was strange, but the less she thought about the motions and just let herself move as her body would, the better she did at them. She purposely let her mind drift away to other things as her body continued moving through the regimen that she had set herself for this morning. As she did so, her body's posture slowly changed to a near-match of her other self, and her movements increased in grace and speed. She closed her eyes and embraced the freedom.

After about half an hour of that, she then went over to the heavy bag, hanging from a thick chain on one side of the room. It was one of a pair in the room, both somewhat worn from the efforts of her sisters during their own training over the years. She settled herself in front of it for a moment.

"Hiyah!" Nabiki suddenly cried, driving her fist into the thick black leather. It responded by jerking back slightly from the impact with a rattling sound from its heavy chain, and she immediately launched another blow into it with her opposing fist. She repeated this back and forth, punching the heavy bag a hundred times with each fist, feeling the impact on her knuckles. As she worked through a second set of punches with each hand, an almost pleasant ache slowly built up in her shoulders and arms, and there was something rather satisfying about landing blows into the bag.

When she was done with her last punch, she began working on her kicks next. Her leg flashed up to solidly strike the bag, knocking it back on its chain, and she felt the shock of impact all the way to her hips. Again and again, she landed kicks into the bag, driving it back. The efforts brought a heavy sweat to her brow, and her T-shirt now clung wetly to her body. She was almost done with her second set of a hundred kicks when she heard a voice speak up behind her.

"What are you doing out here, Nabiki?" asked Akane's voice from behind her. Nabiki paused and turned around, seeing her little sister standing in the doorway of the training hall in a well-worn, white gi. "I thought I heard someone, but I never expected it to be you."

"Just working out a bit before getting ready to conquer the new day, little sister," said Nabiki with a smile, as she panted a little. "I woke up early, and I felt inspired to see how much I could remember from the training that Mom gave us." The lie came quite easily to her tongue, but they always had. Akane just stared at her in slight confusion.

"Well, after I've warmed myself up, are you interested in doing some sparring?" Akane suddenly smiled. "With Kasumi gone, I miss having someone around to practice with. Do you think you might take up training again?"

Nabiki debated the matter in her thoughts. I wonder if I could take my little sister in a sparring match now? She felt a sudden and rather unexpected urge to try and nodded. Her sister looked pleased.

"That's great!" Akane said, beaming even brighter. "With my help, I'm sure that you'll get to be a great fighter. Not that I mind helping you out as a bodyguard, I mean."

"Let me know when you're ready." Nabiki turned her back on her sister before beginning to kick the bag once more. She put more effort into each kick, feeling a soft burning building up slowly in the muscles in her legs.

A short time later, Akane called out that she was ready. Nabiki turned around with a smile, breathing hard and deeply to replenish her strength quickly as she began walking over. She saw the other girl standing in the middle of the mat, moving slightly from side to side. By the time that she reached the middle of the mat, her breathing had calmed almost back to normal. Her mother had always commented that she always seemed to recover the fastest of the three sisters from the strenuous efforts of training. She was proud to see that her abilities at recuperation remained undiminished.

"Ready when you are, sis." Nabiki settled herself into a combat stance.

Akane decided to go easy on her older sister, at least at first. She smiled when the other girl blocked the first few strikes with seeming ease. I guess Nabiki hasn't been letting up on her training as much as I might have thought, she mused. Still, I should have gotten at least one punch through by now. Akane continued to attack, and her sister easily continued to block or evade every punch or kick. Her constantly missing was beginning to irritate the youngest Tendo.

Either she's going really easy on me, or I'm much better now after that experience in Ranma-kun's lab than I thought I was, noted Nabiki with mild pleasure as she flowed around all of Akane's efforts to strike her. The recent experiences of her fight with Hayate and Kena last evening notwithstanding, she had not been expecting to be doing quite this well against her younger sister. So far she had simply been defending and was pleased to see that the other girl was starting to look frustrated at her inability to connect. Nabiki decided to up the ante a little bit and lashed out with a quick punch of her own.

Why isn't she fighting back? Akane was getting annoyed. I've been leaving a few openings in my defenses on purpose that she could have exploited by now. Why doesn't she try and hit me? Her sister's sudden punch burst through her guard a mere moment later and impacted squarely into her face. Akane blinked at the strike, more surprised than really hurt. She hadn't even seen it coming. Wow! Nabiki is even faster than I thought she was. The younger Tendo increased the tempo of their match, her natural aggressiveness emerging.

"Nice punch, Nabiki," said Akane with a wolfish smile on her face. "I guess you might be some competition for me, after all. All right, this time for real!" She lashed out with a complex combination of kicks and punches that had only ever failed once to take an opponent down, that opponent being Ranma.

"Whatever you say, Akane-chan." Nabiki smirked, a note of smug mockery in her voice. She wove through all of her sister's powerful strikes like smoke, some of the blows failing to connect by mere millimeters. "I guess I'm better than you expected?" She blocked one of Akane's hands, locked a quick hold onto the extended limb, and then flipped her.

"Yeek!" screeched Akane in surprise, landing flat on her back onto the mat in the training hall with a dull thud. Internally she cursed herself for letting her sister get the better of her so easily and sprang back to her feet. An intense fury filled her as she attacked Nabiki with her full strength, but she only managed to shatter a fist-sized hole into one of the walls of the training hall, instead of laying her sister out on the mat, unconscious. A light blow suddenly hit her squarely on the back of her neck a moment later, what would have been a knockout or even killing blow if it had landed with more force, and she blinked in surprise.

Akane pulled her fist from the hole in the wall and turned around, looking at Nabiki in shock. Her older sister stood there in an almost casual stance, but still ready for further combat, a thoughtful look on her face. She shook shards of wood from her hand, her anger at the other girl diminishing a bit due to sheer surprise. Her older sister had been standing right in front of her, and then she suddenly wasn't.

"How'd you do that?" she asked with a puzzled look, her surprise at her sister's combat abilities briefly overcoming her anger. "I hardly even saw you move. Wherever did you learn to fight like that?"

"It's a secret," said Nabiki, feeling a strange urge to keep the knowledge of Ranma's invention to herself. "I'll tell you about it someday though, okay?" She smiled, feeling not quite like herself at that moment.

"Okay." Akane's sudden anger at her sister so easily evading her was already fading, but she still felt suspicious. "You must have found a new teacher on the side, it looks like. It sure wasn't anything like the stuff that Mom ever taught us, or even what the Academy makes us learn. So what was it?"

"It's a style of Kempo. I really shouldn't say anything more about it. Okay?"

"Sure, Nabiki. Just promise me that you'll teach me someday." Akane attempted to duplicate one of the blocks that her sister had used during the fight. "It looked like a powerful style." Nabiki simply nodded, feeling a strangeness to her thoughts.

Oh yes, Akane, Nabiki thought while she kept nodding. It's quite a powerful style. One that I've never even heard mention of before my experience yesterday, and now I know it, and I suspect that Ranma-kun does too. How very strange.

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At about the same time in the Kuno household, Kodachi finished pummeling the heavy leather bag in the mansion's training hall. The muscles in her limbs ached slightly from the intensive efforts that she had given, but she knew from experience that her body would recover very quickly. In her original life, she had not pushed herself to the true limits she was capable of. In her present life, she kept pushing what she thought of as her limits further and further, and her body kept improving in strength and speed.

She smiled as she went through a brief kata, enjoying the supple power of her physique. Many years of intensive gymnastics and dance training had given her counterpart a body that was ideal for performing as a martial artist. Lithely muscular, as fast and graceful as a cat, and with a well-proportioned female form overlaying it all, she felt quite confident that she would be able to overcome any difficulties in her pursuit of Ranma.

Ah, Saotome-kun, she thought with a pleasant sigh. Once I deal with that annoying Akane Tendo today, then you and I can explore a romance to equal anything in literature. I will prove the strength of my love for you by utterly decimating that little, brutish thug in your name. Her right fist snapped out with near-lethal power, the sleek muscles in her forearms standing out in base relief. Kodachi whirled through a quick sequence of strikes and blocks, every movement done with precision.

When she was done, she picked up her towel and dabbed the sweat from her brow. Her chest heaved a bit from her deep breathing, as her lungs scavenged oxygen and quickly rebuilt her strength after her efforts. I have to confess that I will sort of miss fighting with Saginomiya-san though, she thought as she padded across the floor in her bare feet. There really isn't anything quite like dealing with a strong opponent on a regular basis to keep the reflexes sharp. Maybe I can talk Saotome-kun into sparring with me. That thought sent a surprisingly pleasant quiver through her body, a brief fantasy of yielding herself to the victorious pigtailed boy like the heroine of a martial arts romance manga running through her mind.

Kodachi looked at her brother as she passed him, a frown crossing her face at his earlier refusal to spar with her. She had politely asked him if he had cared to, after completing her warm-up and stretching, but he had demurred. It was the only thing that she could think of to prove her strength to him, and her ability to take care of herself. I will simply try again tomorrow, she decided. An impish, little smile appeared on her lips. Perhaps if she insulted him a bit next time.

Kuno watched his sister leave the room out of the corner of his eye, the remainder of his attention on practicing his form. Today is the day that you fall before me, Ranma Saotome. My gentle and innocent sister is not for the crude hands of the likes of you, nor shall the sweet and virtuous Akane Tendo be thine. A brief but vivid fantasy of a maidenly Akane dressed in traditional garb, greeting him with a kowtow as he returned home, filled his mind. The powerful image of her gave him new determination to visit doom upon Ranma Saotome following classes today.

Perhaps I should consider Father's advice and transfer to the Imperial Academy, he thought, slashing through the air with his weapon. T'would bring me closer to the fair Akane, and the might of my guarding hand would be ever-present to defend my young sister from the grasping and lecherous Ranma Saotome. One such as he is entirely unsuited to consort with my fair sister. T'would be a noble sacrifice, but necessary, I think.

He slashed through a wooden target with his bokken, and the top half fell to the side with a crash, sheered clean through as if by a razor-sharp blade. Count the hours you have remaining, Ranma Saotome, before you face my righteous wrath. My sweet sister and the innocent Akane Tendo must be defended from thy lustful desires.

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A short time later, Kodachi fussed with her bow as she observed herself in the full-length mirror in her room. This was to be her first day attending the Imperial Academy, and she wanted everything to be perfect. She felt a bit out of sorts wearing the standard-make, wool and linen uniform for a science cadet, not being able to obtain any tailored ones suitable for one of her refined breeding on such short notice. So, for a day or two, she would simply have to forego finer fabrics and tolerate these more plebian ones. As she finished adjusting her bow, she found herself looking forward to dressing Ranma in silks and satins as well, as she felt he deserved.

Finally satisfied with her appearance, she blew a seductive kiss at her reflection. She practically skipped down the stairs, buoyed up by the happiness filling her heart. She quickly raced through eating her breakfast, more than a little impatient to be off. Her father had left the house early to attend a meeting with some of his fellow lords, leaving her mother to preside over the breakfast table.

"You seem most eager to see your new lover, Dachi-chan," said her mother in a teasing tone of voice. Kuno promptly snapped the set of chopsticks in his hand in half in mid-bite. Kodachi's face blushed bright red across her cheeks.

"Mother," said Kodachi in a put upon tone of voice, a touch of whining mixed in. "I have told you that it is nothing like that. I am simply eager to learn what the Imperial Academy has to teach. Saotome-kun is most certainly not my lover." She began eating what was left of her breakfast more daintily. Although he would indeed be most welcome to become so, Kodachi brazenly thought, embracing an impulse that brought another maidenly blush to her cheeks.

Kuno grumbled under his breath, more and more convinced that the dramatic changes in his sister were due to the morally corrupting influences of the pigtailed boy. His thoughts were filled with a simmering anger against the young scientist. When we finally meet, Ranma Saotome, you will face the unleashed fury of Tatewaki Kuno, he who is the quintessentially supreme duelist of this modern generation. At that meeting between us, only one shall remain standing, and it shall not be thee, Ranma Saotome. He began gobbling down the remainder of his breakfast as fast as propriety allowed.

After breakfast was over, their mother saw them off at the front door, while servants handed them their school supplies. Kuno gave his mother a brief kiss on the cheek, part of his morning routine since he was five years old and first left home for school. Kodachi gave her mother a gentle kiss on the opposing cheek a moment later. Their last sight of their mother was of her in her usual position, a quiet smile of farewell on her lips.

The ride in the limousine was quiet. When the car stopped in front of the Imperial Academy, Kodachi departed from her brother with a brusque nod. He returned the nod, his hands resting lightly on the hilt of his bokken as its point sat on the floor of the vehicle. She shaded her eyes with her hand as she emerged from the dimly-lit interior into the morning light.

Back inside the limousine, Kuno pondered his course of action for the day. The temptation to smite Ranma Saotome as soon as possible weighed heavily upon him, but he decided to proceed with his initial plan of action. He tapped on the window and motioned the driver to continue on.

Kodachi took in a deep lungful of the fresh, morning air and let it out with a pleasant sigh. She was rather early, so she occupied herself with watching her fellow cadets arriving as she waited at the gate for her beloved to make his appearance. Several groups of cadets eyed her curiously, obviously noting that she was new, but she ignored them. Her eyes waited for only one young man.

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Ranma strolled along, grateful that he had managed to get out of the house this morning without having to hear his mother give yet another lecture about the joys of an arranged marriage. It was a sunny day, the birds were singing in the trees, and he felt glad to be alive. Life just can't get any better than this, he mused.

"You have an interesting fate clinging to you, boy," said a voice from behind him, startling him from his good mood. Ranma stopped and turned around, blinking in surprise when he saw a small figure dressed in the robes of a wandering Buddhist monk, a straw hat hiding the face, and a tall staff in one hand. The wooden staff was metal-shod at both ends and was topped by three jingling rings of brass attached to a circle of metal at the upright end.

"What?" asked the pigtailed boy, a little irritated at the unexpected event. "Did you say something to me, old man?"

"I said that you have an interesting fate clinging to your aura, boy," said the wizened voice. The hat tipped back, and an ugly little gnome of a monk gazed up at him. "It has been some time since I have seen its like. A strange and possibly dark destiny awaits you, young one." The old man's voice had dropped into spooky tones at the last.

"Who the hell are you, old man?" demanded Ranma, not only irritated at the unexpected delay in his morning routine, but also now more than a little weirded out to be accosted like this by the strange individual.

"I am Cherry." The ugly, little, wizened figure gazed at him calmly. "Just a simple, wandering monk, and a student of arcane lore. By the way, do you have any extra food on you, by chance?" When Ranma did not reply, he shrugged then pointed at the pigtailed scholar with the head of his staff, the rings jingling slightly. "Mark my words, boy. Your destiny calls to you, and I am but a humble harbinger of its approach. Powerful and strange forces swirl about your life, and a vast storm looms on the horizon of things. I can clearly see that you have been chosen for a great task. It is Fate." Ranma could actually hear the capitalization of the final word from the manner in which the old man spoke it.

"What the hell are you babbling about, you old geezer?" snapped the pigtailed boy, finally breaking the brief spell of wonder that the mysterious, old man had cast over him. He turned his back on Cherry and started to walk away. "I don't got time to listen to such mystical nonsense."

"Then you're a fool, Ranma Saotome. I will take my leave of you until you finally come to your senses." The little gnome of a monk wandered into the gloom of a nearby alleyway while Ranma blinked in surprise that the old man had known his name. The gentle ringing of the monk's staff receded into the alleyway.

"Hey!" shouted Ranma, turning back around and taking two steps to bring him to the mouth of the alleyway. He goggled in surprise, for the old man was gone, leaving behind only the fading echoes of the jingling rings on his staff. Now where the hell did that old geezer go? wondered the pigtailed boy for several moments. Was he some sort of master ninja or something? He couldn't possibly have managed to clear the distance to the other end of the alley. He was only out of my sight for a second or two. And how the hell did he know my name? Argghhh! I don't got time for this right now!

He decided to leave off from exploring his questions for another time, since he didn't want to be late for classes this morning. The word was that they were getting a new substitute instructor for homeroom as a replacement for Tokimo-sensei while he went on a long sabbatical. I hope they found someone with a little more personality than that dried-up old prune, he thought.

The remaining time spent walking to the Academy grounds were devoid of any further strange occurrences, and Ranma was glad. He had experienced too many of such things over the last few days. My life used to be so quiet, he thought with a sigh. Hopefully after I get Akane over her little fixation with me, then my life can return to normal. A little excitement is one thing, but this is getting to be ridiculous.

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Akane and Nabiki walked along, enjoying the morning. Each girl wandered in her own thoughts. The elder analyzed the abilities that she had gained overnight and wondered at how great she felt after the heavy morning workout. The younger fantasized about her future life at Ranma's side as his wife, lover, and best friend.

The younger sister was completely convinced now that she was obviously the best choice for Ranma's wife, and she looked forward to a long life fighting at his side, in what she was certain would be an exciting, martial arts-filled romantic adventure like her favorite television programs. A great many of her imagined scenes were taken from one of her most favorite anime series, 'Young Warriors.' It was a story about a pair of highly-skilled, teenaged martial artists, a boy and a girl, and their numerous adventures around the world fighting against many new and recurring foes.

Briefly breaking out of her fantasy, she was also looking forward to brutally stomping on her only perceived rival for the pigtailed boy's affections, Kodachi Kuno. Once I take care of that pushy little debutante bitch, then nothing further will stand between me and my destiny with Ranma, thought Akane, feeling a wave of happiness fill her. She closed her right hand into a tight fist and smacked it into the open palm of her other hand. I'll have to talk with Daddy about arranging a marriage meeting with the Saotomes, but that shouldn't be a problem. Then Ranma will officially be all mine. I can hardly wait.

Akane-chan looks like she's thinking about Ranma-kun again, noted Nabiki in her own thoughts, observing the starry-eyed gaze filling her little sister's eyes. Since the pigtailed boy's battle with the younger Tendo, it had become a very common occurrence. In addition, every now and then this morning her visage would darken, and she would mutter rather dire imprecations about Kodachi as she clenched her right hand into a fist and released it. It did not bode well for the young aristocrat.

I may have a fight on my hands after all, once I finally get myself engaged to Ranma-kun, thought Nabiki with mild concern. Akane won't just roll over and play dead. And what's with Kodachi showing up like this? How did she suddenly develop an attraction towards him? She never had any interest in him in that other world, and yet here Kuno claimed that Ranma was having some sort of sordid relationship with his sister. It looks like I'm going to have to start taking steps to deal with any more unexpected surprises appearing on the playing field. The absolute last thing that I need is to have to contend with any more complications in my pursuit of Ranma-kun. She paused for a moment, her hand clenching into a fist. Still, anything worth having is worth fighting for, so let them all come, if they dare.

The pair continued walking, reaching the front gate to the Academy a few minutes later. Akane solemnly eyed the new addition to the campus cadet population with extreme distaste, an expression that was coolly returned by Kodachi. Nabiki looked at the Kuno girl with moderate interest, having heard Akane ranting a little bit over dinner about the girl who was plotting to steal 'her' Ranma away from her, now that she had finally found the man she had waited so long for.

Still, while those two keep each other occupied, I can take care of everything needed to win Ranma-kun for myself, thought Nabiki with a smug look briefly coming over her face. Face it, girls. Next to me, you two are hopelessly outmatched. However, I do want to see everyone happy if I can, and eliminating an enemy by taking away their reason to hate you is always good strategy. Her little sister wanted a warrior, and Kuno may be insufficient in ability to defeat her. I wonder if there's a Ryoga Hibiki in this world to pick up some of the slack? While she mused on this, she wandered over to a small cluster of her usual cronies, several plans for dealing with all of these new developments tumbling through her mind.

Akane broke away from her sister's side and approached the young noblewoman at a measured pace. She stopped a short distance away from Kodachi, and they sized each other up. She slowly closed her right hand into a fist and reopened it, her breathing deepening slightly.

"Tendo-san," acknowledged the other girl with cold politeness, nodding her head slightly, her voice almost resonating with disdain.

"Kuno-san," replied Akane coldly. "I didn't think that you'd have the guts to show up, after the warning I gave you yesterday. Ranma isn't around to save you from having my fist planted into your face in the next few moments."

"You really are a most crude and unpleasant sort, aren't you, Akane Tendo?" observed the Kuno girl in a conversational tone of voice. "How a brutish barbarian like you could possibly think that such primitive behaviors would attract a peaceful and refined soul like Saotome-kun's is quite beyond me. Still, if you're looking for a fight, then I'm more than willing to teach you some manners. I would even go so far as to say that I would consider it a distinct pleasure."

"Why, you arrogant-" snarled Akane, dropping her bookbag. She sprang at the aristocrat with fire in her eyes, grabbing the other girl firmly by the collar of her uniform with her left hand and pinning her against the wall just inside the gate. Kodachi willingly went along with the motion, a faint ghost of a smile briefly appearing on her lips. The cadets began jostling each other for position, hoping to get a good view of the upcoming action.

Nabiki noticed the sudden commotion and began accepting bets, quickly instructing her assistants to do the same. She set the odds to favor Akane slightly, laying out quick spreads as to duration of fight and a few other betting options. Ranma-kun is sure to see them fighting over him when he arrives, she thought as she began scribbling down receipts while fistfuls of money were shoved at her. How he reacts to that will be quite educational. I'll just act as my usual self for now. Wouldn't want to give away the new Nabiki too soon, after all, and surprise is always a valuable tactical advantage in any situation.

"Let go of me, Tendo," said Kodachi in very icy tones, dropping even the pretense of politeness. Her school bag had been kicked to one side during Akane's sudden rush. She wrapped her right hand around the Tendo girl's wrist as the pair locked eyes in a battle of wills. Akane increased the pressure of her forearm against Kodachi's shoulder.

"In a moment you're going to learn that you shouldn't mess with me, you stuck-up bitch," said Akane angrily. She slowly curled her right hand into a tight fist as she drew it back and cocked it. The crowd watched in breathless anticipation but kept a good distance away from the pair. A fight involving the youngest Tendo could move around quite quickly.

"Oh?" wondered Kodachi pleasantly, suddenly driving her knee hard up into her assailant's stomach and then knocking the other girl away. "And why is that, Tendo?"

Akane gasped for air, taken by surprise by the hit. The crowd made some appreciative noises at the unexpected tactic, and even more money flowed into bets on the Kuno girl to win. Akane's eyes narrowed in fury, and a red haze seemed to fall over her vision. Fine, she thought darkly. That's what I get for underestimating the little debutante bitch. But nobody makes me look like a fool.

Seeing the move, Nabiki decided to modify the odds to even.

Akane launched into a furious and powerful assault against the other girl, but her punches and kicks were turned aside by deft blocks and parries time and again. To counter this, she became even more fanciful in her strikes and dealing out even greater power in each of them, spinning kicks around her body to add more force to them as she leaped into the air. Against previous opponents this had proven to be a devastating tactic, delivering bone-crushing impacts against the upper body and face. Against her current foe it was much less effective, and her kicks failed to connect as the young noblewoman ducked and whirled around her. The air was filled with the sounds of grunted effort on the part of both girls and the muttered comments and occasional loud cheers from the crowd.

The Kuno girl countered the assault with a level of skill that was Akane's equal. Where her adversary had the definite edge in sheer power, she made up for it in grace and speed. One of her punches cracked across Akane's cheek, but the other girl shrugged it off. To her surprise, the young aristocrat found herself enjoying the challenge of the fight, and the two girls pushed themselves to the limits of their abilities as they contended against each other.

Yohko watched the fight with professional interest from her guardian position next to Nabiki, as she had often picked up a few pointers to add to her own techniques by watching Akane's skill in action during previous fights. A slick move could sometimes prove to be the only thing standing between life and death for a Devil Hunter. Inside, she cheered her friend's sister, only showing it outside with a faint grin on her face as she tried to maintain a professional demeanor.

She noticed Kyosuke in the crowd watching the fight, standing over next to Gosunkugi. Other cadets were giving the two former Mobius Institute cadets a very wide berth without looking as if they were trying to do so. Yohko sighed, briefly forgetting her present irritation with her boyfriend over his staring at that Ayukawa girl. She knew how much he wanted to be accepted as just another security cadet, but the small pin on his collar seemed as if it would set him forever apart from regular humans. Perhaps it's time for me to forgive him, she mused, her attention briefly drawn from the fight.

Akane-chan, thought Gosunkugi with a sigh, glorying in the sight of the supple power of each movement of his love goddess. He swiftly pulled out a mini-camera from a front pocket and began snapping pictures, a feat that only his senpai standing next to him noticed. She is so graceful and strong. Oh Akane-chan, your every movement is like a symphony to me.

What are you doing, Gosunkugi-kun? asked Kyosuke mentally, directing his thoughts to his fellow Esper.

My apologies, senpai, thought the younger boy with a faint coloring of embarrassment. I just love her so. Every movement of her body is so graceful and powerful. There is just something special about a woman who can move like that.

Yes, there is, thought Kyosuke in reply, a brief memory of some of his time spent with Yohko accompanying it. Any luck in your attempts at courting her?

She doesn't even know that I'm alive, senpai. Gosunkugi's thought held a ringing note of misery. And now with Saotome in the picture, I don't know what to do. He had confirmed the rumors that he had been hearing, and a dark depression still filled him. He consoled himself by snapping another couple of photos of the Tendo girl in action.

Why don't you talk to her? thought the elder Esper in exasperation. At least let her know that you're interested. You don't see me going about acting too afraid to talk to a girl, do you? His thought sending was colored with pride.

Not even Ayukawa-san? teased the younger boy, briefly grinning at his senpai's sudden frown. She has been in your thoughts a great deal the last few days. Are you thinking of leaving Mano-senpai?

My private life is really none of your concern, Gosunkugi-kun, thought Kyosuke stiffly, walling off his deeper memories. I suppose I could say much the same thing about you and that young Ghost Sweeper girl studying at the Institute. What was her name again?

All right, senpai, you've made your point, the boy grumbled, ignoring the question and turning his attention back to the two girl's fight. Only a few seconds had gone by during the mental conversation.

Kodachi found herself operating on the defensive, letting herself take her adversary's measure, or at least that was the initial plan. She kept trying to get some distance between her and Akane to let her use her powerful kicks, but the other girl was relentless. Her mistake was in using the same strategies that she had always used against the White Lily, and she was not adjusting quickly enough to the tactics of a new opponent. She missed a block, and Akane's fist streaked in to slam low and hard into her ribs, right underneath her breasts. The other girl was a hard puncher, and the pain suddenly erupting from her chest was intense. She was surprised once again at the sheer strength behind the other girl's fist. She staggered back, slightly stunned, and the Tendo girl quickly followed up with a smashing uppercut across her jaw. Red flecks of blood spattered against the wall behind her back, shortly before the young noblewoman collapsed against it, her head spinning.

Akane stood back a pace, actually quite surprised that her foe had gone down so quickly from only a couple of strikes. The young noblewoman wasn't proving to be as much of a challenge to her as she had vaguely hoped, and it was ending far too quickly for her tastes. She rubbed a bruise on her cheek from one of the aristocrat girl's fists with the back of her hand, tasting a little blood in her mouth from a cut inside her cheek. It was one of several minor injuries that she had received on her face and body from the young noblewoman. Seeing that the other girl wasn't springing back to the attack quickly enough to suit her, Akane started to shout at her.

"Come on!" she yelled tauntingly, gesturing with her hands briefly before returning her fists into a ready position in front of her body. "Get up, you weakling! I still have quite a few things to teach you!" She circled around the other girl warily, holding down her desires to pummel the aristocrat while she was down through sheer force of will. She had done it before to other challengers, driving her fists into the bodies of unresisting opponents after she had knocked them down, but it never offered her the same intense sense of satisfaction that going toe-to-toe with a strong foe who could defend themselves did.

Kodachi caught her breath while she leaned against the wall and grimaced, shaking her head slightly to clear it. Her adversary's strength was great, and her blows were powerful. Still, she was now certain that she was slightly faster than the other girl, and she remained confident that her skills would yet prevail, despite the blood that she now tasted in her mouth. This has gotten too far out of hand, she thought dazedly, while she regained her breath. I can't afford to waste any more time with this brute. I'm sure that Saotome-kun will thank me for taking this barbarian savage down. She gathered herself, slowly pulling herself up the wall.

"Ready for more? Good!" Akane smiled. The crowd cheered for Kodachi in a few scattered locations as they watched the aristocrat girl pull herself back up to her full height. Akane came quickly rushing in with a very straightforward attack, more one of raw power than skill. She wasn't expecting to see any more fight left in the other girl, so her defenses were weaker while she went into her all-out offensive.

That was all the opening that the young noblewoman needed. Her left foot exploded up from the ground in a powerful side kick that drove hard into Akane's stomach. Quickly dropping her foot, she used it as a pivot for a reverse spin kick that whirled her body about, focusing all of the energy from her torqueing hips into her swiftly-uprising leg. The crowd gasped as her right heel slammed across the Tendo girl's face with a bone-crunching sound of impact, spinning her around in a dazed condition as blood flew from her nose. However, a sudden blurring in Kodachi's vision when she dropped her foot back to the ground prevented her from finishing her foe off at that moment, while the other girl was stunned and off balance.

Nabiki actually stopped what she was doing at that moment to watch the unexpected turnaround in the fight. She had not been expecting Kodachi to give her little sister such a challenge, and for several long seconds there were no motions from either fighter. The aristocrat girl is far more of a threat than she initially appeared to be, if she can stand up against Akane as well as she has, noted the elder Tendo girl, filing away the information in her mind. There were no clever tricks being used by this version of the young noblewoman, no wielding of ribbons or other odd weapons of Rhythmic Gymnastics to fight with. No, this version was simply a well-trained unarmed combatant, demonstrating extraordinarily high caliber skills. This looks to be more and more interesting. I do so love a challenge, Nabiki thought, smiling.

Gosunkugi started forward to help Akane when a hand came down on his shoulder. Kyosuke shook his head when the younger boy looked back at him. Do you really think that she would want help in a fight? he thought at the other boy. Win or lose, it must be by her own hand. Do not interfere with the two mundanes, my young friend. You will not earn her appreciation if you do. She is a girl of intense pride.

Nodding, the sunken-eyed youth's thoughts were dark as he stared at the ponytail-haired girl who had struck his love goddess so brutally. You have made a life-long enemy this day, Kodachi Kuno, the young Esper thought fiercely. I will not forget your actions against my Akane-chan. Ever.

Amazingly, to those in the crowd who had witnessed both kicks landing solidly into her body and face, Akane took both powerful strikes and was still managing to remain on her feet. Her mouth slowly leaked blood from a split lip, more blood dribbled from her nose, and it felt like one of her molars had come loose during the impact of Kodachi's second kick. She probed the inside of her mouth with her tongue for a moment to confirm it, and then she grinned savagely. Other than against her sister and Ranma, she hadn't had this much of a challenge in a long time. It was an enjoyable experience to find yet another opponent that she could cut loose on.

I don't believe this, thought Kodachi with annoyance as the other girl came back up into a ready stance after several moments. That kick would have floored an Arena fighter. Is she part cockroach or something? However, the young noblewoman also felt an unexpected quiver of savage joy run up and down her body as her foe smiled a bloody smile at her in the bright morning light. All of her fights with Asuka had not forced her to reach quite so deeply into herself as this fight had required, and she had to admit that she was strangely grateful to find such a worthy opponent. After all, the greater the challenge, the sweeter the victory.

She raised her hands back up into a guarding position again, a smile that was eerily like Akane's on her face. The two girls circled each other again, both far more wary of the other's capabilities than when the fight had begun. Each of them now realized that they faced an opponent who was roughly their equal.

"Was that your best shot, debutante?" Akane sneered contemptuously.

Kodachi's eyes glinted angrily, but she didn't feel like wasting any of her breath on replying. Her jaw hurt a great deal, and she knew that she was going to have some colorful bruises all over her body after this was over. She didn't feel that any of her bones were broken, and she suspected that the other girl's damages were equally superficial. She did notice that her foe was moving slower, but she was surprised that the other girl was still able to move at all. Putting the Tendo girl down was not proving to be as easy for her as she had first thought.

"Come on, princess," Akane coaxed, gesturing for her enemy to close with her. She spit out some more blood, the pain of her injuries dulled through the mask of her hatred for the other girl. However, now mixed in with that hatred was a grudging respect for a worthy opponent. She circled around the aristocrat, eyeing her for any weaknesses in her defenses, while her body recovered its strength. She felt a savage joy in her soul. Fighting always made her feel truly alive, and she now anticipated the day more than ever before when she faced Ranma like this in single combat once again.

She took a couple of my best kicks and didn't fall, noted Kodachi with clinical detachment, taking a few moments to study her opponent as she searched for any weaknesses in the other girl's defenses. This Akane Tendo's skill at fighting is impressive. Far better than I anticipated from her. She is much tougher than she looks.

Akane quickly tired of waiting for the other girl to make a move, and she suddenly came in with a series of punches, elbow strikes, and kicks. Kodachi had no choice but to try and see if she could slip any blows past the youngest Tendo's defenses while doing her best to block and dodge the new assault. However, for every punch that she threw, Akane returned one in exchange. They moved across the courtyard in a dazzling display of martial arts skill.

Asuka Saginomiya watched the combat from a nearby tree with envy filling her soul as she witnessed her arch-enemy fighting with the Tendo girl, her unexpected new rival for the heart of Tatewaki Kuno. Not that she ever actually considered such a primitive brute of a girl to be a true rival, only an annoyance in her life that she would soon deal with. She had not realized before how skilled the Kuno girl truly was, and it rankled her that her arch-enemy had actually been holding back her true ability, as if she, the White Lily of Blackhall Academy, had not been worthy of its full measure. She made a mental note to hire the finest teachers that she could find, so that she could improve her skills sufficiently to best her nemesis once and for all.

Next to her perched her right hand woman, Ayako Mitsui, easily balanced on the tree branch on the balls of her feet. Asuka looked over to see that the other girl was not following her instructions but was instead watching someone else in the crowd. She followed the line of the other girl's vision to see what her friend and sparring partner was looking at, and she was surprised to see an identical twin of Ayako standing amidst the crowd, next to the sister of the Tendo girl.

"Yohko," murmured Ayako, venom filling the single word as she softly and slowly spat it from her lips. She noticed her liege looking at her and gave a quick bow of her head to her mistress in apology. "I'm sorry, Milady. It is an old family score that I must deal with at a later time. Please forgive me for my inattention."

"It is nothing, Mitsui-san," said Asuka calmly. "In fact, it gives me an excellent idea for a future task for you."

"As always, Milady, my honor is to serve you," said the other girl humbly. "Name the task, and it shall be done."

"Soon, Mitsui-san, soon," breathed the White Lily softly. "For now, I am content to watch the beating that Kodachi-chan is taking from that savage brute she's fighting. You don't know how pleasant it is to see that bitch sister of Kuno's receiving such punishment. I only wish it was myself doing it." Her eyes glittered in the morning sunlight streaming down through the tree branches.

Down below, Kodachi's head rocked back from another one of Akane's uppercuts, and she responded with a quick footsweep that caught her adversary behind her ankle. She pressed her attack and pounded three more hard, quick punches into the other girl's face and torso while her foe struggled to regain her balance. Once she had, the Tendo girl drove a hard punch into Kodachi's ribcage that landed just enough off-center to prevent several bones from cracking. The Kuno girl, now on the defensive, found herself unable to get past her enemy's guard without leaving herself more open than she cared to be, so it quickly became a battle of endurance. Both girls traded hit after hit as they both refused to yield.

Kodachi is a wonderful opponent, thought Akane, pausing for a moment to catch her breath. She's strong, fast, and skilled. If Ranma's skill is greater than hers or Nabiki's, then I have to see what a fight to the finish with him is like. She couldn't stop grinning at the thought of her inevitable confrontation with him. This was what she lived for, the challenge of the fight. However, tempering that was a desire to follow the example of her Arena idol, Shampoo, and yield herself to a strong male. She had come to consider herself to be an Amazon at heart, and she was looking forward to finding out if her ideal man was indeed Ranma.

The duo traded punches and kicks once again, in another wild flurry of action that carried them back and forth across the paved area in front of the Academy. Kodachi blocked a punch and counterstruck in the same smooth motion, her fist snapping Akane's head to the right. But the other girl came back with a lightning-quick return strike of her own, her backfist hitting the young aristocrat across the face. They broke apart for another moment.

I was wrong, thought Kodachi, wiping at a thin line of blood that leaked from her nose. Akane is a _lot_ tougher than she looks. She started out this fight angry, but now she keeps grinning at me. What does she keep grinning about? Does she think she's won? She paused and tried to think of a way to win. All of her usual strategies had failed to put the other girl down, and she had taken much more abuse in this fight than she had in a long while. She can't be able to take much more of this.

"The dancing is over, Kuno-hime," said Akane suddenly. She could feel one of her eyes swelling up, and the taste of blood had not left her mouth in some time. "Now you and I are going to get serious." She started moving forward, ignoring these distractions.

Kodachi readied herself. She felt bruises on top of bruises all up and down the length of her body, and she now seemed like she was fighting in mud, her movements were so sluggish. Her injuries had tired her out, but it looked like the other girl was able to take even more punishment still. The thought of losing to someone like her brutish adversary was anathema to her, so she wasn't about to willingly give up. No retreat, no surrender, she thought grimly to herself. I am a Kuno, a samurai, and I refuse to yield! Her focus restored, she moved forward grimly to meet her enemy.

The eyes of their many watchers were riveted upon them as the two girls came together in a last sequence of strikes. Powerful blows that would have been easily blocked or dodged earlier, slipped through defenses now ragged from exhaustion. Akane took a solid shot up from beneath her jaw from Kodachi's fist. A split second later, the Kuno girl felt her foe's punch impact against her shoulder right at the joint, turning her entire left arm numb. The Tendo girl followed up by driving her knee low into her right side, but the young noblewoman managed to blunt the blow's damage by twisting away at the last moment.

Her left arm hanging limp, Kodachi managed to execute a side kick that gave her the satisfaction of hearing her foot crack against her foe's ribs, but she was unable to tell if she had broken any bones. However, the effort to do so had cost her dearly, and her vision was graying out. She felt herself stumble back and fall against the high stone and cement wall behind her, struggling to remain standing even as her knees gave out on her. She's so strong, thought Kodachi as her thoughts blurred. She's so strong.

"Uhn!" Akane cried, staggering back from the other girl's last-ditch assault, her ribs flaring with agony. She fell to her knees on the cool pavement, wrapping her arms around her torso, her vision blurring from her exhaustion and pain. She looked up and dimly saw her enemy slumped against the wall by the main gate, her head bowed. I c-can't lose, she thought as she struggled to rise once again to her feet. Mama didn't raise me to be a loser. I-I'm a warrior, just like she was.

She managed to slowly stagger over to Kodachi and lifted the other girl's face up by the hair to punch it, but she had already fallen unconscious. She felt a powerful thrill of victory surge through her at seeing her downed foe. It even managed to overcome the pains of the multiple bruises and other injuries that were making it hard for her to concentrate now. She sat down against the wall, sliding down next to Kodachi, suddenly feeling so very tired. I won, Mama, she thought as her thoughts blurred to a gray fog. Now, I'll just rest here and catch my breath. Nabiki will cover for me again. She always- Akane's last thought faded to black as she fell over unconscious.

Nabiki suddenly left her assistants to pay off the bets on Akane and rushed to her sister's side. She was right behind Gosunkugi and a few others from the younger Tendo's unofficial fan club on campus. The spooky little Esper boy was patting Akane's wrist, trying to wake her. Nabiki shouldered him aside, earning a dark expression from him that lasted for only a moment before being replaced by one of the boy's usual obsequious looks he always gave her.

She looked Akane over, even peeling back each eyelid to see how dilated her sister's pupils were, all of her training in advanced first-aid techniques being put to good use. Looks like little sister is simply out cold, she thought calmly, surveying the damages to the girl. No broken bones as far as I can tell, except for maybe those ribs.

"Somebody see to Kuno-san," she snapped, as she and Yohko picked Akane up between them and carried her off to the Academy infirmary.

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"Let's go," said Asuka suddenly, her voice neutral, startling Ayako from her observance of the activities over by the wall as cadets rushed towards the fallen pair. "I've seen enough of this. I now know all that I need know, to achieve my victory over my nemesis when I face her next. She has obviously run from my growing skills at combat, but I will see to it that she kneels before me and acknowledges my supremacy before all of Blackhall, or I shall deal with her just as that vicious Tendo girl did. Now it is time for me to train for my destined day of victory." A sudden burst of chilling laughter came out of her, and a moment later she and her companion were gone over the wall.

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Ranma arrived at the campus a few minutes later, while the cadets were still talking about the fight, but he did not pay them any heed. His mind was already preoccupied with thoughts about the strange event that had occurred during his walk to the Academy campus. He slowly wandered past several knots of cadets, unnoticed by all save for a single exception.

Gosunkugi gazed at the pigtailed scientist with a sullen look of hatred burning within his sunken eyes. It was for your sake that my Akane-chan now lies injured, Saotome, thought the Esper boy with a deeper anger than he had ever felt before towards anyone, even against Kodachi. He had very quickly probed his beautiful love goddess' mind while she lay unconscious, and her many scattered thoughts about why she had fought with the Kuno girl had shocked him deeply. It was not enough for you that you charmed sweet Akane-chan by revealing your skills as a martial artist to her. Now you draw another woman that you have ensnared into your webs to this campus, and that she-demon fought with my beautiful Akane-chan over you. If I only had the power to destroy you, I would.

Unaware of the level of emotion directed at him, Ranma continued on into the main building. It was only when he was outside his homeroom that he stopped to wonder why Akane hadn't assaulted him yet today. He had been half-expecting her to be lying in wait for him at the main gate. It was a relief to him that she was not.

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"Explain yourselves to me."

Hayate and Kena looked at each other nervously, both of them now swathed in more bandages than the day before. To one side, Hiei wore a look of displeasure that somehow made his face even more frightening-looking to the two bullies. Naka stood with his bokken resting on his shoulder as he studied his two teammates, a bright smile on his lips that did not reach his eyes.

"It was-" the rest of Kena's speech faded off into a mumble as he looked down at the floor. Hayate, his mouth wired shut from his broken jaw, somehow looked even more miserable than he had before.

Atop the raised area at the end of the room, the figure of their boss moved in the shadows that he favored. He thought that it made him look cooler as a leader to do so, but his anger at this new disruption to his plans overcame that. He strode forward into the light and grabbed Kena by the collar of his uniform.

"Tell me the name of whoever did this!" thundered the brown-eyed boy as he shook the injured youth by the collar. "Was it Ranma Saotome once again?"

"I-it was Nabiki Tendo." Kena's eyes refused to meet those of his leader. "She broke Hayate's jaw and broke my nose again. I'm so sorry, Kashuoh-san! Boss, let us have another chance!" With a look of extreme distaste, Kinnosuke released his follower and let him slump to the floor.

"Nabiki Tendo," he muttered, straightening his blue cadet uniform. "She takes a direct hand against me now, rather than let others continue to do her dirty work." A solemn look on his face, he walked back to his chair. Shortly before he reached it, he turned to the Wolf Pack and ordered, "Leave me to my thoughts. I must make new plans."

"Yes, Boss," muttered each of them, Hayate's only coming out as a few unintelligible syllables. They quickly filed out of the room, and Kinnosuke leaned forward, a brooding look on his face.

"Why do you put up with those four idiots, Kinnosuke-sama?" asked a female voice from behind him. Three tall, female figures emerged from the shadows to stand near him as the lights came up in the room, all dressed in stylized versions of the Academy's female security cadet uniform: the speaker, a short-haired redhead, wore a military cap as an accessory to her outfit; a blonde with the bangs of her straight hair swept over one eye; and a dark-haired girl with deep blue highlights in her long tresses. The now fully lit room revealed his trio of personal bodyguards, and the reason behind his iron control over the warriors that made up the Wolf Pack.

Each girl appeared to be in her late teens at the oldest, dressed in individually modified versions of a female security cadet uniform, with abbreviated blouses and jackets, leaving part of their trim midriffs bare. They were each approximately one-point-seven meters tall, the blonde being the tallest by an extra couple of centimeters, and all of them were somewhat broad-shouldered for women, with athletic and quite well-proportioned figures. The tailoring of their uniform jackets hid little of their assets in that particular regard.

Their most distinctive features however, were the two tapering, cat-like ears atop their heads and their slit-pupiled eyes, both features marking them as creations of Genom Corporation. Other than these two non-human features, they were all beautiful women in form. Each of them was an experimental prototype to Genom's three new lines of liliths, female humanoid replicants created for the purposes of being exotic sexual companions and bodyguards for the very wealthy, and these prototype units were named after their series designations. They were meant to follow up on the great success of the original Puma series.

Like the Pumas before them, these new models had received strong mental conditionings and personality governors implanted into them, and at the core of their identities, all three of them had been given two main motivations. They had been imprinted to love and to be loyal to their master without question, and they all did so with a passion. They were eager to please him, willing to do any and all tasks that he bade them do, even if it meant dying on his behalf or killing in his name.

For these three prototypes, that master was Kinnosuke Kashuoh, the heir to the Kashuoh's vast financial holdings, among which was a controlling interest in Genom itself. Due to the desires of their creators, each of them was presently a teenager physically, but they would age and mature as a normal human would. The boy had received the three catgirls as a present from his grandfather, a mark of his ascension into manhood.

"We await your bidding, Kinnosuke-sama," said the redhead. All three young women then knelt before him, their eyes lowered to look at the floor until they had been given his permission to rise. Each of them had their ears cocked forward to listen to his command. A cold smile on his lips, he took a long moment to study them.

The redhead with jade-green eyes was named Tiger, the semi-official leader of the trio of lethal lovelies. She wore a pair of long trousers that flared out at the knees, Prussian style, before being tucked into calf-length boots, and her military-style hat was perched at a fashionable angle between the two cat-like ears atop her head. She was also the eldest, after a fashion, the first one decanted and given in service to Kinnosuke at Genom's facilities. Her model's hardwired reflexes and skills in combat were arguably the greatest of the trio, programmed into her nerves and brain during her creation. In addition, she was also implanted with several optional skills beyond those of a strictly combative nature.

The middle one was named Panther. She was the muscle of the trio, her model designed to be stronger physically than the other two, but she was also a little bit slower as well, both physically and mentally. She was the most aggressive of the three catgirls, and she had very much enjoyed the task of beating up the members of the Wolf Pack for her master. Her long blonde hair was worn straight, and a lock of her bangs seemed to perpetually cover one of her steel-colored eyes, usually the left one. Like Tiger, she wore long trousers tucked into calf-length boots, but hers fit snugly against her long legs over their entire length.

The last one was Lynx. She was the quietest of the trio, an athletic and trim dark-haired girl with cobalt-blue eyes. Her model was the weakest physically by a small margin than the others, but her mind had a special ability to analyze an opponent or a combat situation with incredible speed. And she was also somewhat faster physically than even Tiger. Unlike how the first two were dressed, she wore a very short skirt that was slit up one side to her hip, exposing her long, shapely legs. Instead of boots, she wore fashionable shoes on her feet.

Kinnosuke considered all three of them to be useful tools in his plans while he attended the Academy. They had 'convinced' each of the members of the Wolf Pack to serve him as his agents among the masses by beating them brutally to gain their loyalty, but that action was now appearing to be a severe mistake. Two of the Wolf Pack, hand-picked from the Academy's ranks for their supposedly high-caliber skills at combat, had already fallen to totally unexpected opponents, first Ranma Saotome and now Nabiki Tendo.

Nabiki Tendo, the boy thought with an angry look, before it turned wistful a moment later. How I long to claim you for myself, to bend that iron will of yours to my desires. I would have you as my own consort, placing you by my side as my woman. If you would only yield to me as your master, as is my right as a man. After all, I should be the one who runs things at this Academy, not a mere girl such as you. Women were made to serve men, and I will see your beautiful body bowing down before me, even as my three pretty playthings do now. Someday soon, you will be mine to do with as I please, and nothing will stand in the way of that goal. I intend to own you utterly, body and soul.

"Rise, my pets," he commanded. The three catgirls stood up, all of them gazing at him with adoration in their eyes, their cat-like ears cocked forward to listen to his every word as they awaited his orders. He turned his back upon them, pacing back to his chair before turning around to face them once more. "I am very troubled by these new developments."

"Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger, an almost purring undertone to her voice, a seductive sound that appeared to have no effect on him. She walked over and stood behind him, her hands rising to begin rubbing at his shoulders. "Allow me to soothe you, Master." Her strong hands began gently kneading at the tautness in his muscles. The other two catgirls started to move forward, but a cold glance from his eyes froze them in their places, and their ears drooped in sadness. He shrugged Tiger's grip from his shoulders with a brusque movement of his arms, and her ears flattened gloomily like the others, a clear barometer to her mood. "Kinnosuke-sama?"

"Not now, Tiger," reproved Kinnosuke coolly. She backed up a single pace from him. "I have to get to my first class now, but I will have tasks for you later though. I want all of you to wait for me here, and I will return during lunchtime." He walked towards the door.

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," intoned all three of them, bowing their heads as they watched him depart, their ears twitching slightly. Once he was gone, they turned to face each other.

"He was thinking about _her_ again," growled Tiger, a deep frown on her face, her ears flat with her anger. "How I have grown to hate the name of Nabiki Tendo!"

"Why would he ever want such a frail human girl when he has the three of us?" wondered Panther, anger in her voice. "I could break the little bitch in two with my bare hands."

"That would most likely displease Kinnosuke-sama, if we killed her," said Lynx, her ears laid back as she thought about the matter. "He wants her for himself as a consort."

"The very idea," snorted Panther. "Only the three of us are suitable consorts for Kinnosuke-sama. When I think of how her defiance has hurt him, I just want to kill her!" She flexed her hands into fists.

"Killing her is not an option at this time," said Tiger with a note of regret. "However, she has revealed herself to be a fighter of some skill. That opens up another option."

"You have an idea, Tiger?" quickly asked Panther, both of her ears swiveling forward to listen to her 'sister.'

"Perhaps," said Tiger. "We defeated those four useless fools in the Wolf Pack easily enough, even when they all fought together, and they were supposedly the strongest fighters at this Academy, next to Akane Tendo. Defeating a single human girl like Nabiki Tendo should therefore pose no great difficulty to any one of us, and then we can force her to kneel before Kinnosuke-sama and swear fealty to him. I'm sure that such a thing would please him greatly, though why he would want a soft, human girl like her when he already has three strong consorts like us, all eager to please him, is just simply beyond me." Tiger's tone of voice betrayed her deep contempt for all human females.

"But he has not bedded any of us in a while," said Lynx softly, her tone a little mournful. "Does he not find us desirable anymore?"

"Shut up, Lynx!" shouted Tiger, her face blushing as red as her hair from her own unfulfilled desires for their master. "It has not been that long. He is simply distracted by his frustrations with the Tendo bitch. She is at fault for this, do you hear me? This is all Nabiki Tendo's fault!"

"What about Saotome?" asked Lynx, ignoring Tiger's outburst. Her soft voice was thoughtful, and one ear was cocked forward to point in the redhead's direction. "He might act to defend her. He defended the younger Tendo girl, after all."

"If he interferes, then we destroy him," said Tiger in a matter of fact tone of voice. "He caused pain to Kinnosuke-sama by daring to interfere with his plans for the younger Tendo bitch, and for that act alone I would cheerfully break him in two." She made fists with both hands and pantomimed the action, a fierce light glinting in her slit-pupiled green eyes, her ears flattened to her head.

"It sounds like a good plan, Tiger," said Panther. She smacked a fist into the open palm of her opposite hand. "I look forward to this. So when do we put it into action?"

"I'm not sure," replied Tiger, her ears cocked in puzzlement. "I suggest that we watch and wait for a while. It may be that we will be sent against the Tendo girl today, and then we can have some fun with her before we present her battered body to Kinnosuke-sama."

"I miss Kinnosuke-sama already," mourned Lynx softly. Her ears drooped in sadness.

"Shut up, Lynx!" shouted the other two catgirls in stereo.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The limousine arrived at the grounds of Whitehall Academy, and Kuno waited briefly inside for the driver to open the door for him. He tapped the hilt of his bokken with two fingers, and his thoughts were dark as he had found himself growing very concerned during the short ride to Whitehall to have his sister be so far from him, her fragile innocence unguarded from the lustful depredations of the commoners and lower-born nobles that infested the place. The thought of her consorting with the likes of Ranma Saotome set his teeth on edge.

This day will be long, he thought darkly, as he emerged from the interior of the vehicle. He saw Mikado lazily lounging on the front steps. Kuno gave a brief wave of greetings to his fellow among the Duelists of Whitehall, as the members of the Kendo Club were more commonly known. He felt their nickname was appropriate, and he prided himself on being known as the pre-eminent duelist among all of his noble peers.

"Greetings, Kuno-kun," said Mikado, standing up and brushing off an invisible particle of dirt from his trousers. "I see that your sister did not arrive with you."

"I now understand your frustrations, Sanzenin-kun, having to put up with the whims of a younger sister," grumbled Kuno. "A sister can be a sore trial to a nobleman, especially when she has been turned against her own brother by the schemes and honeyed words of a wretched knave."

"So does this walking dead man have a name?" asked the other boy with an oddly neutral expression. Kuno looked at him and chuckled.

"Aye, he does." Kuno's hand firmly gripped the pommel of his weapon. "Ranma Saotome. I intend to humble the vile wretch in single combat before all who are there to witness it. As the undefeated warrior that I am, he shall prove to be little challenge to my prowess. Then, when he is licking the dust at my feet, after I have broken him utterly, I intend to show my sister what a weak and worthless man she has chosen to love."

"If by some chance you fail," said the Sanzenin youth in as diplomatic of tones as he could manage. "I shall challenge him as well." A light shone in his eyes as he spoke. No one is worthy of your sister, my friend, but me. I shall gladly help you in dealing with this low-born upstart.

Kuno grunted and nodded, grateful to have such a selfless and stalwart friend as Mikado to act as his second. "It shall be a glorious day today. I shall smite the villain with my trusty weapon. However, if I should somehow fail, then my second shall take my place on the field of battle, but only a God-given miracle can save this lowly wretch from my puissant prowess. Mark my words, gentle friend, I shall defeat him, and he shall rue the day that he ever heard the name of Kuno."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma sat at his desk and looked out the window as he waited for their new instructor to arrive. He had just overheard the talk about the fight between Akane and Kodachi from some of the other cadets in his class, and the news had left him feeling morose. This day is already starting to look bad for me, he thought, his eyes following a cloud moving across the sky. I think I'm just going to go hide in my lab after homeroom period is over.

The door opened, all eyes but his turned to face the door, and there were some immediate soft whistles made by several of the male cadets. Ranma, puzzled by the sounds behind him, turned to face the door and saw the new instructor, a rather stunning-looking woman. Instructors were not required to wear uniforms like cadets, and her outfit revealed more than it concealed her figure. She was dressed in a low-cut black top that showed a moderate amount of cleavage beneath a white jacket, a gray skirt that rested several centimeters above her knees, and a pair of black pumps. Topping all of this was a lustrous mane of reddish hair that fell between her shoulders like a wave of fire. Her eyes swept the room in a cool gaze, and calm was quickly restored.

As a unit, the class rose and bowed to the new instructor before they retook their seats. Ranma, finding the new instructor to be far easier on the eyes than the old man who had been it before her, hoped that Tokimo-sensei stayed away for a long time. She shut the door behind her and strode the short distance to the desk, her heels making a soft clicking sound on the hardwood floor. She set her attaché case on the desk and turned back to face the class, clearing her throat gently.

"I am Ayaka Kisaragi, your new instructor for homeroom," she said in a clear voice. She sat down on the edge of the desk and crossed her long legs, and the sound of several male throats all swallowing as one accompanied the action. A few girls looked very unhappy with several of the boys in the room. "I expect you to listen to what I have to teach you with respect, and we'll get along fine. Cross me, and you'll regret it. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, sensei!" roared the class, Ranma's voice among them.

"Good," Ayaka said pertly, uncrossing and re-crossing her legs the opposite way. Heh, she thought with amusement, letting a smile find its way to her face. This will be an easy assignment. Her eyes swept the room as she nodded, pleased. She pulled out the attendance roll book from her attaché case and began to read off names.

"Saotome," she said finally, after reading off many names and listening for the replies.

"Here, sensei," Ranma called out. She gave him a very enigmatic smile for a moment, before moving on to the next name. He then went back to admiring the new instructor. His concerns about the events of this morning faded to the back of his mind.

"Ranma Saotome," suddenly crackled the speaker over the classroom door. "Please report to Fuyutsuki-sensei's office immediately." Ranma got up, Ayaka nodded her permission for him to leave, and he headed out of the classroom.

I wonder what he could want to see me about now?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane slowly returned to consciousness, and the first sensation that greeted her was pain. Her body ached all over. She sighed and tried to relax back against the soft mattress beneath her. Even such a simple thing as breathing hurt, so she made herself take little panting breaths. When she finally opened her eyes, the first sight that she saw was Nabiki looking at her from a nearby chair, a smile on her face.

"I see that you're back among the living, little sister," said Nabiki in a pleased voice. "Looks like you bit off a little more than you could chew this time. Does it hurt much?" She examined the bandages wrapped around Akane's chest.

"I hurt all over," Akane moaned out. "How badly am I injured, Nabiki?"

"Not too badly. You have some bruised ribs, a few moderate contusions, and some minor muscle damage. Luckily, none of your internal organs were injured, and you also managed to avoid a concussion by some small miracle. The doctor said that you should be fine in a couple of days if you take it easy." Nabiki paused as she looked over her beaten up sister. "That means no fighting with Ranma-kun over that time, and no morning spars with me. So, was it worth it?"

"Every fight is worth it," said Akane, nodding slightly. "A fighter can only improve by challenging and defeating strong opponents." It was something that their mother used to say, a phrase that she had taken to heart over the years since her death. She looked her older sister squarely in the eyes. "You don't know the thrill of combat like I do. You can't understand what it means to me to fight."

Oh, I think I do, mused Nabiki. Or at least I'm beginning to.

"Tendo-san?" said the nurse, looking at the elder sister. "Fuyutsuki-sensei wishes to speak with you. Akane needs to get her rest anyway."

"All right," said Nabiki. She smiled down at Akane. "You take care of yourself, little sister. Get some sleep. I'll be taking you home over lunch period."

On a cot similar to the one that Akane was resting on, Kodachi woke up to the sounds of the two Tendo sisters speaking, and she immediately wished that she hadn't. Her face felt puffed up and hurt quite a bit, and her body had pains all up and down its length. That's what I get for fighting with so much arrogance. Fighting with Asuka was one thing, but Akane Tendo was another level of threat entirely. She is a much stronger fighter. She relaxed back into the bed she was lying in. That's what I get for underestimating you, Akane Tendo. However, the next time I face you will be different.

She looked out the window, where a songbird had begun to sing in the tree outside. "Oh, Saotome-kun," she sighed softly, her voice only a bare whisper. "I will prove myself worthy of you. I will train myself more diligently for the next time, and then Akane Tendo will learn that I am the superior woman for you. Nobody is going to have you but me." She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma was waiting in the area outside Fuyutsuki's office when Nabiki walked in the door. When she saw him, a warm flutter went through her heart that surprised her with its intensity. He gave her a neutral look, his own thoughts well-hidden from his face. She walked over and sat down across from him in one of the other chairs, her usual cool poise quickly returning to her. She crossed her legs and arranged her skirt demurely. A quick glance of her eyes showed that he was looking away from studying her.

What is it with me and girls lately? The brief sight of Nabiki's trimly muscular legs seemed to burn through his thoughts. There was something different about the way that she was walking today, he had noticed, but he wasn't sure what it was. It's probably nothing important, he finally decided. To occupy his mind, and prevent him from staring at her body again, he picked up a magazine from the table and thumbed through it.

This is so strange, thought Nabiki. Here I am sitting near him, and I can't think of a thing to say to him. After all, it's not as if I can say, 'Oh, by the way Ranma-kun, I know all about what you're doing in your lab since I broke into it last night. I tried your device and now I have all the skills of a martial artist version of myself in my head.' Yeah, right. That would really endear me to him. She shifted her position in the hard, wooden chair, the feelings of attraction that the pigtailed boy conjured in her were distracting her once again, but she was surprised that it was occurring at such a distance. Almost two meters separated their knees.

I wonder what Nabiki's doing here? For that matter, why am I here? Fuyutsuki-sensei has taken much more interest in me over the last few days than he has in all of the weeks that have gone by before. Ranma shifted his position, trying to get comfortable in the chair and failing. The subtle tingling that he had experienced around each of the two Tendo sisters, and now also Kodachi, was back once again. The smell of her soft perfume drifted across his nose, but he forced himself to ignore it.

The door to Fuyutsuki's office opened at that moment, disrupting the uncomfortable scene. He smiled at them from the open doorway and spoke, "Please come in. I have some important things to discuss with the two of you."

The two cadets filed in. Ranma let Nabiki walk in first, and he caught another whiff of her faint perfume that she always seemed to be wearing. It was both invigorating and slightly intoxicating to him whenever he smelled it. However, he was getting used to it, so the effect was lessened a little from what it had done to him during previous times.

They took the two seats in front of Fuyutsuki's desk, both of them far more comfortable than the hardwood chairs that were outside in the waiting area. Nabiki crossed her legs as she sat down, and Ranma stole another glance at them as she arranged her skirt. He pulled his eyes away from the sight quickly and returned his attention to Fuyutsuki. The pair just missed noticing the looks that they had given each other when the other wasn't looking, but Fuyutsuki did not.

The possibilities that their actions raised did much to justify his recent decision regarding them. It's a shame that I will be losing the younger Tendo girl soon, he thought, glancing at the request for transfer that he had received via fax an hour ago. But it looks like these two might be all I need. And there is also the Kuno girl to be considered. Judging from my view of the fight that she had with Akane earlier, Kodachi's abilities are considerable as well. She will make an excellent replacement for the Tendo girl.

Akane was being transferred to Furinkan Military Academy as of tomorrow, a place that was filled with several decades of tradition, of producing the very finest soldiers of the Empire. An abnormally high percentage of its graduates went on to fill the few available slots each year in the various Special Forces training programs. Akane's mother, Kimiko Tendo, formerly Kimiko Nakakami, was herself a former graduate of its hallowed halls. Fuyutsuki understood that she was something of a local legend there, with several still-unbroken performance records. For his part, he thought that Akane would fit in well there.

"I suppose that you're both wondering why I've called you to my office," he said pleasantly. He sat down in his large chair and folded his hands together on his desk, a fatherly smile appearing on his face. "I've made a decision to institute some immediate changes in your training schedules. Specifically, in your physical training."

Nabiki blinked in mild surprise, the coincidence a little jarring to her. I was going to volunteer to join Ranma-kun's training class, she thought, sneaking another glance at the pigtailed boy seated next to her. That can be the only reason why he and I would both be here.

"What sort of a change, sir?" asked Ranma. He noticed Nabiki glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Takami-sensei and I have consulted about you two," said Fuyutsuki calmly. "And we have decided that it would be in both of your best interests for Tendo-san to join you in your extra training class. We feel it would give both of you a chance to excel to the full limits of your capabilities."

Ranma looked briefly at Nabiki, and said, "But she's a girl. She won't be able to keep up with me." He blinked. Why the hell did I just say that?

"What was that, Ranma-kun?" asked Nabiki, a glint suddenly appearing in her eyes. "My, we are full of ourselves, aren't we?" She stood up and planted her hands on her hips, her cool gaze not quite glaring down at him. "Did I just hear you challenge me to be able to keep up with you?" From deep inside her, she felt an almost undeniable urge to compete against him suddenly come boiling up to the surface. "I can keep up with any training that you can, Ranma-kun."

"I doubt that," he snorted, his male ego now running dangerously out of control. His newfound sense of macho pride absorbed from the other Ranma had just taken full possession of his mouth. "Guys are just naturally better at doing physical stuff." He saw her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, really?" Nabiki's irritation was growing. "I happen to know that I can beat you at anything, but how about martial arts?" Now it was his turn to get a funny look on his face. He sprang to his feet.

"If you think that you can take me on, then you're welcome to try," said Ranma, a little irritated at Nabiki's smug certainty that she could beat him. "I don't ever back down from a challenge." Both of them were now wearing similar looks, confidence bordering on arrogance.

"Neither do I," she said firmly, moving to stand nose to nose with him, her eyes almost level with his. "Care to put it to the test?"

"Anytime you say, Nabiki. You can't be as tough as your tomboy of a sister, after all."

For his part, Fuyutsuki was simply observing, finding the whole exchange to be simply fascinating. He watched them face off, their postures matched in aggressiveness. Such strongly competitive spirits in each of them, he mused with a pleased feeling. This will surely bring out their best efforts. But, it did seem a bit out of character for them both, based on the results of their last psychological profiles. Interesting. He chose that moment to interrupt the two with a loud whistle.

Both teenagers blinked at each other, looked at Fuyutsuki with rather abashed looks, and then quickly sat down in their chairs.

"Now that I have your attention," he said with a smile. "I can see that you two have a difference of opinion to work out, so I propose a test. Beginning today, Nabiki will join you in your physical training class, Ranma." The pigtailed boy started to grumble, and the older man held up a hand. "I'm not finished with spelling out the nature of the test. For starters, you two are going to have a sparring match every day for the next two weeks, to see who the better fighter is, since you both seem to be so convinced that the other one isn't. If she manages to defeat you in at least five of the twelve matches, then you will cease your protests and work with her in your class as a full partner."

"That won't be a problem for me, sir," said Ranma confidently, sparing a glance at the girl seated next to him. "How about you, Nabiki?"

"Not a problem for me either, Ranma-kun." She smirked. "I'll have those five wins before the first week is out."

"In addition," continued Fuyutsuki with a calm voice, before the two cadets could come to blows right there in his office. "She will also be following your same exercise regimen, Saotome-san. Seeing that she is a year ahead of you in her training, I'm anticipating that to be the least problematic part of the test for her."

"A little competition will be good for you, Ranma-kun," purred Nabiki with a wry smile, finding that she enjoyed teasing him like this. I wonder how much of this immense ego is from him, and how much is from his counterpart? For her part, she was not normally quite this openly competitive, and she knew it, but there was just something in his overly macho attitudes towards her that had triggered an almost primal desire to test herself against him, similar to the one that she had felt this morning that had inspired her to spar against Akane. She suspected that it was some of that other Nabiki's personality showing up in herself.

"If you can keep up with me, Nabiki, then you're welcome to try," said Ranma, finding a strange pleasure in the thought of a challenge to his newfound abilities. "I won't go easy on you."

"Neither will I against you, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki with another brief smirk. "I hope that you're as fast with your fists as you are with your mouth." The two of them now wore matching smiles, each subconsciously recognizing something in the other that their counterparts had possibly never encountered before.

"My secretary has your new schedules at her desk, you two," said Fuyutsuki, briefly interrupting the staring contest. "Pick them up on the way back to your classes."

"Yes, sir," they said, almost in stereo. Ranma got up and walked to the door, followed closely by Nabiki. Fuyutsuki smiled at the door after it had closed behind them.

"Interesting," he said to the empty room, a smile on his face. "It will be quite fascinating to see where this leads." He pulled out his journal and began to write.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka heard the telephone ringing while she was folding up the morning laundry. She quickly muted the sound coming from the television with the remote and picked it up. Genma had just left to teach his morning classes, so she had the house to herself for the next several hours.

"Hello. Saotome residence," she said into the receiver.

"Good morning," said a pleasant female voice on the other end. "I'm looking for Nodoka Saotome. Do I have the honor of speaking to her now?"

"Yes." She nodded slightly as she spoke. "This is Nodoka Saotome. Who am I speaking with?"

"My name is Otsu Mitsuma," said the voice on the other end of the phone. "Your name was given to me on a referral. You have a son by the name of Ranma Saotome?"

"Yes, I do," replied Nodoka, puzzled at where this was going. "What is this all about?"

"This is your lucky day, Saotome-san. Your son's name has been selected to receive a complimentary matchmaking from the service that I work for, all free of charge to you."

"What service is that?" Nodoka wondered at her good fortune. It sounded too good to be true to her.

"Why, I'm calling from Chrysanthemum, the Empire's finest service for matching the youth of the Empire," said Otsu brightly. "We offer a complete line of marriage services, but we are the best-known name in the matchmaking game. And I have been authorized to provide you with the names and portfolios of three young women, each a possible wife for your son, Ranma. If you're available, I can meet you anytime today and present them to you. I think you'll find the daughter-in-law that you've been looking for among them."

Nodoka found herself breaking out into a smile. This phone call was the answer to her prayers. Genma had been concerned at the sizable cost of arranging for a matchmaker, claiming that Ranma was still too young for such an expense, but now she had been given an opportunity to bypass that objection. This was wonderful news.

"I could meet you for lunch, I suppose," she said, not wishing to sound too eager if this was some sort of scam after all.

"Excellent notion, Saotome-san. How does Hanna Miller's sound to you? It's an excellent restaurant."

"That sounds fine to me." Nodoka had always been curious to eat there. "Shall we say noon?"

"Noon it is then. Until then."

Nodoka hung up the phone with a broad smile on her face. I'm going to find Ranma a bride today!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma unlocked the door to his lab, having just come from his meeting with Fuyutsuki. He flipped on the lights with a casual move, moving into the room and shutting the door before all of them could even flicker on fully. Why the hell did I mouth off like that in front of Nabiki? he wondered, flopping down on the couch and putting an arm over his eyes. I must have sounded like a complete jerk. If I had said such a thing to my female quantum counterpart, Ranko, they'd be prying my body out of a wall.

He replayed the incident from his memories, but all he could seem to focus on was the glimpse of Nabiki's legs, exposed as they were to her knees for that brief instant that he had been looking at them. He shook his head and sat up, disturbed at his thoughts. And yet, where does she get off acting so tough? She must know that I beat her little sister in a fight, so why does she think that she could win against me? Maybe a few days ago she could, since she's been training here at the Academy a year longer than me, but now I've got the skills of the heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts inside me. That Ranma always wins in the end, and I think I'm gaining on his physical abilities in my own training, so pretty soon I'm going to be the best fighter in the region. There's no way that Nabiki is going to be able to match that.

He decided that a little work would distract him from his new problems, so he powered up his equipment. While it was warming up, he pulled out his notebook and began to make a few little notes in the margins around his new entries taken from Ranko's work. A brief time later, he was writing in his notebook when he noticed something strange in the startup messages, on the periphery of his vision.

* SYSTEM HAS 6 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN STABLE MEMORY

What the-? Ranma was surprised to see that. There were only supposed to be five. He tapped at some keys, breaking out of the program running to pull up the general system log. He scrolled through it casually before he noticed something odd, and he stared in brief amazement at the screen. Someone ran a full immersion test at 4:17 p.m. yesterday? He tapped away at the keyboard, pulling up the file in question and looking at its individual log. But that was when I was in the middle of my training class.

He restarted the program and loaded the file. He tapped a few keys and was surprised once again to see where this new one was placed among the timelines. "That same region of paraverses again," he mused aloud, tapping his index finger against his chin as he rested it on his palm. I'm beginning to think that there's something odd about that area of timelines, since it keeps drawing my equipment's scanning pulses to it more than statistics would indicate. But this world wasn't found using a scan of me, so whose mind was used as the template? Since it wasn't me, it may not even have a counterpart for me. He shrugged his shoulders. There's only one way to find out for sure.

His fingers tapped away at the keyboard quickly, setting up all of the usual parameters for a test run, but only for ten minutes. He tapped on a few final keys before he pulled the headset off of the workbench and laid back on the couch. He fumbled the headset onto his skull and closed his eyes.

"Initiating upload cycle."

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*** Earth +4.614, +4.496

The brief period of nonexistence that accompanied a transit into the mind of one of his quantum counterparts passed quickly. Ranma had his suspicions that he was simply getting used to it, but it still left him feeling unsettled each time. He blinked his eyes, finding himself to be seated at a desk in a classroom that was similar to the one in the other timeline. It gave him a very odd feeling of deja vu, even though the classroom that he remembered was now effectively farther from him than the farthest star.

He looked down and saw that he was wearing a school uniform for Furinkan High School. The classroom was oddly quiet, only the faint scratching of pencils on paper. He looked down at the paper on his desk. An English test? Half of the page was filled out, but a few of those answers were wrong. Not knowing what else to do while he waited for the memories of this life to appear, he started to fill out the rest of the page.

While he was diagramming a sentence for one of the questions, the expected kaleidoscope of new memories suddenly whirled through his mind. In this life, he had been raised by his mother and Soun Tendo while his father had taken Nabiki(?) out on the ten year long training mission, and now she was the heir to the Anything-Goes School. Weeks ago they had returned, and a world of strangeness had come with them.

She was cursed to turn into a young man(?) by the strange powers of Jusenkyo's pools, and his father was once again cursed to turn into a panda. Why does Pop keep turning into a panda? he wondered for a moment. Is there some strange meaning behind the curses? At least I don't turn into a girl in this life. But Nabiki turns into a guy?

More of the memories whirled past his mind's eye, too fast for him to really lock onto anything but the most basic experiences. His other self had labored under a crush on Kodachi here for many years, but she had never returned his interest. Kuno was a friend of his in this life, pursuing Nabiki as a love interest in her female form, but as an enemy in her male form. It was like watching the life of his other analog reflected in a funhouse mirror, people were similar but also different.

Ukyo Kuonji had shown up, and so had Ryoga Hibiki. Ryoga had nursed a crush for Nabiki, and he had ended up as this Ranma's rival, even though he was now interested in Akane. Akane had been his fiancée, but that had been a doomed effort for years. After Nabiki's return, events had followed a path that led him to becoming her fiancé, to carry on the Anything-Goes School together, since Soun Tendo had trained his analog in that half of the School here. Events had spiraled off into a radically different path from there.

One thing stood out in this life that made Ranma feel strangely sad; he was not the center of attention. In that other analog's life, where he was the heir to the School, he was the hero who dealt with all of the problems that arose. Here, he was only a supporting character, and that bothered him a little.

Other images roared through his mind with the speed of thought:

Happosai, the founder of the Anything-Goes School and possibly the most perverted man to have ever lived.

Perfume and Shampoo, Amazons that had pursued Nabiki from China. Shampoo was pregnant with Nabiki-kun's child. Ranma's mind boggled at that one.

The Principal of Furinkan, the Kunos' father, with a fetish for all things Hawaiian.

Ukyo and Perfume became a couple. Ranma blinked, but the memory was gone quickly.

The Road Ronin came to Furinkan-

His vision suddenly grayed out, and scattered all his thoughts across the gulfs of superspace that he had crossed. There was something in that last partial memory, something important to know, but it was gone in the nonexistence of retrieval.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete," intoned the computer voice.

Ranma laid on the couch and let his mind try and sort through the memories. He had hoped for a clue to whoever had used his device, but none had appeared from his counterpart's memories. That other version of him had lived a fairly normal life, until Nabiki had returned. She was the heir, not him, and the world was changed drastically in the wake of that different choice.

Sitting up, he laid the headset on the workbench, his thoughts full of a strange wonder. So many possibilities in the way things could have turned out, he thought with an odd smile on his face. He closed his hand into a fist, feeling the muscles in his forearms tighten up. I just wish I could shake this feeling that the other shoe is about to drop, somewhere.

There was a thought nagging at the back of his mind, penetrating his musings. It was something that he had noticed in the log file for the test run. Shrugging his shoulders, he sat down on the chair in front of the terminal and started typing. He brought up the log file for his just-completed test run. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He saw that the system was running at a little above normal baseline in a few areas, but everything appeared to be fine.

Then he pulled up the log file for the test run that was done during the time he was in his training class. He ran the numbers, watching the graphs of the various system calculations as it made the many minute adjustments that were needed during a run to keep the quantum pulse signal optimized. It was there that he finally saw it, and his eyes widened.

"What the hell?" he muttered in a low tone. He closed down that log file and ran the one from his first test. The same thing was there, to an identical degree of variance from baseline. He quickly ran through the log files to each of his other tests, but there was only one other occurrence of significance.

What he was seeing was a power surge in the quantum flux coil itself. During the retrieval cycle of his first test run, the power levels had fluctuated upwards seven percent over baseline during the retrieval sequence. On the test run that had occurred yesterday afternoon, the exact same thing had occurred. There was only one other instance of a surge taking place during the retrieval cycle over other test runs, during Ranma's visit to Ranko's Earth. But there was also one on the upload cycle as well.

These mysterious surges might explain how I ended up with my martial artist counterpart's skills in my brain, he thought, although he had not noticed anything of Ranko in himself, cupping his chin in his hand as he stared at the graphs on the screen. But who was the subject of the test yesterday?

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Nabiki sat in her class on Imperial History and was rather bored. She had read the material being discussed over two weeks ago, and it had bored her then too. She occupied her time by thinking about how dull her life had been before yesterday, but it had taken a shock to her system like looking at her life through new eyes to see how gray she had let herself become inside. She no longer wanted the life that had been her only option before yesterday, not really.

You and I need to talk, Ranma-kun, she mused, as her ancient fossil of an instructor droned through the lesson. After I show you that I'm as good as you are. No, better.

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Slowly scratching towards consciousness, Akane awoke to find herself in the infirmary awaiting Nabiki's escort home. She had been having the most wonderful dream about Ranma and his fighting skills, one in which she was the founding matriarch of a new and better tribe of Amazons. All its members were women of superb Japanese stock and full of life, similar to the Chinese Amazons who all aspired to marry men of the Empire and become full citizens. She might even let a few of the Chinese elders teach her tribe, at least until they had no more to teach her. She hugged herself gently, feeling a faint quiver of pleasure at the fading memories of that dream, one in which Ranma had finally conquered her as she had long hoped to have a man do, but the pain of her bruised ribs quickly stopped that action.

A few hours of sleep had restored much of her energy, even if it had not healed her injuries. She felt the aches of her bruises and frowned, slightly surprised that they were as deep as they were. Normally her bruises were almost half gone after a few hours. Kodachi is a great fighter. But not as great as I am! she thought with annoyance. Her injuries represented the reasons why she would have to leave off from her pursuit of Ranma for a while. Her frown soon turned into a smile though, as she remembered the glorious fight earlier in the morning and her eventual triumph over her foe. But at least I showed that annoying bitch who the better woman was, she thought happily, as she made a fist with her hand and remembered how good it had felt every time one of her blows had struck home into Kodachi's body.

She put her hands behind her head, linked her fingers together, and gazed upwards at the plain white ceiling. There were several mild pains coming from various points on her upper body at the action, another reminder of the battle with the aristocrat girl. She had long ago trained herself to acknowledge an injury, catalogue its severity, modify her tactics if necessary, and then ignore it while she fought. Slower than many of her better opponents, she had learned how to take a hit and keep fighting as the mainstay of her tactics. It was a good thing that she had too, since she was sure that Kodachi's final strikes would have kayoed her otherwise. Akane tongued the inside of her jaw, feeling the slightly loosened molar.

Such strength Kodachi has, she mused, almost disappointed that she had won. Still, she should have expected to lose when she challenged me. After all, I am a true warrior, tested in battle, like my mother before me, and my own strength has proven itself many times. If that pampered debutante knows what's good for her, then she'll run back to that school full of weakling nobles where she belongs. I've now shown her that Ranma rightfully belongs to me. He deserves a strong woman at his side, someone who can keep up with his martial arts skills.

A curtain surrounded her bed and separated her from the next cot in the infirmary area, but Akane could sense that another occupant was in the room. She reasoned that it was most likely Kodachi. She wasn't sure how she knew of the other girl's presence, but she did. She debated saying something for several moments.

On the other side of the curtain, Kodachi rested uncomfortably. Her body ached a bit from the severe abuse that she had undergone a few hours earlier, but bed rest had helped restore her a great deal. She slowly rolled over onto her side, trying to get more comfortable as she thought about her morning fight with the Tendo girl, and her loss. I'm sorry that I failed you this time, Saotome-kun, she thought, wincing as she tried to find a position that would ease the pressure on her bruises. I let myself be overconfident during the fight, and that was a very costly mistake. It is one I don't intend to make again.

She closed one hand into a compact fist, the muscles of her forearm standing out due to the tightness that she held it. She raised her fist up and held it over her chest as she made a silent and solemn vow to herself. Akane Tendo shall fall by my hand, Saotome-kun, I swear it, and then you and I will be free of her annoying interference. You deserve a loving woman like myself in your life, someone to make a home for you. Leave it to me, and I will take care of that vicious brute.

A pleasant fantasy of the embrace that the pigtailed boy would give her after her eventual triumph over Akane brought a smile to Kodachi's face as she laid her now open hand across her chest. She could see it now in her thoughts.

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The battle had obviously been brutal and savage up to this point, a long, hard struggle from which only one could win in the end. Two mighty female warriors were locked in mortal combat, fists and feet trading punishing blows as the fight between them wound down, blood dripping from several wounds as it mixed with their hot sweat. One warrior, Akane, had a cast to her face and body that was vaguely demonic. And the other warrior maiden, Kodachi, carried an air of noble virtue in her form. With one powerful blow, the fight between them finally came to an end. One warrior fell, her body unable to continue the fight, a look of fear filling her eyes as she gazed upwards at the victor.

"I'm sorry, Kuno-sama!" Akane cried out in terror as she fell to her knees before the other girl. Tears poured from her eyes as she began to grovel for mercy and forgiveness, her heart filled with sorrow for even attempting to rise above her station and claim the handsome figure that stood behind her adversary, knowing that he was above such a lowly wretch as herself. Even her brute strength and animal-like cunning had shown itself to be no match for a true warrior such as Kodachi Kuno.

Ranma stepped forward, his body clothed in fine silk robes, the very image of a noble lord of the Empire. His gaze was cold as he looked down upon the pathetic figure humbling herself before his one, true love. He scornfully turned his back on Akane's weakness, as she continued to cry out and beg for mercy and forgiveness. He gently took Kodachi's hand in his own and helped his lady-love to walk from the place of battle.

The couple walked off a short distance, and as the sun began to rise, they paused and stared into each other's eyes, a true love for the other burning within each. He swept her up in his arms, grateful to her for her efforts at saving him from one who was so unworthy. He brought her eager lips in for a warm and passionate kiss. She felt a maidenly blush upon her cheeks at the depths of his desire for her.

Oh, yes, Saotome-kun, she thought with certainty. For you, I shall defeat any foe that stands between us and our destiny together. No other woman shall have you, for your fate lies with me.

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Kodachi's fantasy faded, and she found herself staring at the curtain around her bed. There was an itch at the back of her brain telling her that an enemy was about, and she was sure that that could only mean one thing, that Akane was nearby. This realization pulled her thoughts away from her fantasy, and her eyes glared at the curtain.

"Are you awake, Kodachi?" Akane called out, her voice neutral in tone. "I can hear you moving around."

"What do you want, Tendo?" grumbled Kodachi. She rolled onto her back once more. It was about the most comfortable of the many positions that she had tried to lie in.

"So, are you going to give up on trying to take Ranma away from me now?" Akane purposely put a taunt into her words, a smirk on her face as she stared at the plain ceiling. "After all, I've shown you that I'm the better woman."

Suddenly, the curtain by the Tendo girl's bed was ripped aside and a furious Kodachi stood there, almost blazing with anger. The dramatic effect was quickly ruined though, when her brief surge of adrenaline faded away, leaving her to slump a little against the curtain frame, her body trembling slightly. The aristocrat girl's eyes glared into her enemy's, and her facial expression spoke volumes.

"You think you've beaten me?" demanded Kodachi, anger resonating in her every tone. Her breathing deepened a little. "That was merely round one, Akane Tendo. Our battle with each other over Ranma has only just begun." She dropped back to sit on her cot, but her eyes remained locked onto the other girl's face. "Besides which, you did not defeat me. It was a draw, neither one of us left the field under our own power is my guess. Otherwise why are you here, and why were you unconscious just a few minutes ago?"

Akane felt an odd sort of joy fill her, mixed with anger at Kodachi's continued willingness to defy her. She smiled in a disturbing fashion as she realized that she had found a new sparring partner, one who would test her fighting skills to the limit over a prize that she knew was worth fighting for all the way to the core of her being. A moment later, her face fell into a deep frown as she sat up on her cot, all of her movements stiff from the pains of her injuries. She glared at the other girl and said, "Oh, yeah? Looks like I didn't hit you hard enough to drive you away. There's more of what I gave you this morning just waiting for you!"

"You are not woman enough to win the war declared between us, Akane Tendo," said Kodachi coldly. "You were simply lucky today, since I underestimated your resilience as an opponent. However, the next time will be different, and it will be I who shall be standing over your beaten body at the end. Savor your assumed victory over me today, as it was your last." Her fists gripped the sheets on the cot as she felt the deep anger rising in her once again, and the need to protect Ranma from the other girl who was matching her glare for glare.

"Better bring friends next time, Kodachi, lots of them," growled Akane angrily, as she quickly swung both of her legs over the edge of the cot. She bunched her right hand into a fist, the muscles in her forearms equal to the ones in Kodachi's own. "It's you who isn't woman enough to beat me. I'm going to have Ranma for myself, and you won't stop me. He's mine!"

The two leaped to their feet. Both of them looked a little unsteady on their legs as they glared into each other's eyes with anger. Akane reached out and took a tight grip on a handful of the material of the other girl's white blouse with her left hand. Kodachi, from her facial expression visibly affronted at such an action, mirrored the move and grabbed a fistful of Akane's blouse as well with her own left hand. They pulled each other nose to nose, their faces separated by only a few inches, each with naked hatred for the other blazing in their eyes. They both tried to stare the other down and failed.

"You'll get Saotome-kun over my dead body, Akane Tendo," thundered the young noblewoman in icy cold tones, her entire body resonating with her outrage. She could feel the adrenaline beginning to rush through her battered and weakened body, and her breathing deepened a little more. "The last thing that he needs is a little savage such as you. A barbarian like you could never give him any of the love and tenderness that a man such as him needs. You probably don't even know the first thing about how to be tender with a man, I would bet." That her statement could be taken a few ways did not appear to concern Kodachi at the moment. She was damned if she was going to let the girl staring her squarely in the eyes have Ranma.

"Oh, yeah?" growled the Tendo girl. "As if a strong man like my Ranma could ever find any use for a soft, pampered, inbred debutante like you." Her voice dripped with heavy sarcasm as she smirked at Kodachi. "I already showed you once that a spoiled, little rich girl such as yourself isn't capable of taking my Ranma away from me. So go back to dating your cousin/brother/father, whichever you prefer to call him! Ranma's mine!" She folded her free hand into a fist, moments away from driving it into Kodachi's face, and the other girl was doing the same, when a voice interrupted them.

"I just can't leave you two alone for long, can I, ladies?" asked a rather sardonic voice from the doorway. Nabiki watched the pair turn to look at her in surprise, and she made a tisking sound in her mouth at the sight of the two girls prepared to beat each other to a pulp again. "I mean, really, couldn't the two of you wait until you both healed up a bit before starting another fight with each other?"

"Your sister started this, Nabiki Tendo," growled out Kodachi, her eyes returning to glare at her adversary once again, the fist that was already gripping Akane's blouse tightening a little more. She felt the other girl doing the same action in response, and they returned to glaring at each other. "She has a very nasty tendency to lay claim to things that do not truly belong to her."

"Who says that Ranma doesn't belong to me?" Akane growled back. Her right fist was cocked back into striking position, and so was her foe's. "I'll fight anyone who tries to take him from me." She briefly smirked at the other girl. "And I'll win, too."

Nabiki's sudden whistle surprised both girls enough to break it up before they could start throwing punches at each other again. She stepped into the infirmary and was grateful that the nurse was out of the room. With a brief smirk, the elder Tendo picked up Akane's jacket from the chair that it was laying on, and then she looked at both girls meaningfully with one eyebrow raised. They reluctantly released their grips on each other's clothes and stepped apart. She tossed her sister her jacket.

"Get dressed, Akane," she said. "I'm here to take you home. You need to rest up if you want to be able to fight again soon, right?" She stood with her foot gently tapping the ground as she watched her sister put on her jacket. Kodachi sat back down on her bed and just glared at the younger Tendo.

Those two really do have a pretty serious hatred going for each other, thought Nabiki with another brief smirk. It's a pretty good thing that I decided to talk to Daddy about getting Akane away from here soon, or I'm afraid they might kill each other. And little sister really will be much happier at Furinkan, since I've heard that the whole student body there loves to fight as much as she does. I'm sure that it won't take her long to find a guy there to take Ranma-kun's place in her heart, since all she really needs is someone strong enough to beat her. Then all I have to worry about is getting rid of Kodachi. While she was considering things, Akane finished fixing up her clothes, except for her uniform tie, which she left off.

"See you around, Kodachi," said Akane with a smug look as she patted the other girl's face. "I won't be so gentle with you the next time." She picked up her bookbag and sauntered out of the room. Nabiki sighed and followed along behind her. The two of them walked down the hallway, leaving the young noblewoman to glare at the half-closed door.

I'll show you the true meaning of pain, the next time that we duel, Akane Tendo, thought Kodachi with a mental snarl. She quickly began straightening up her blouse and getting dressed. Her jacket was lying folded over one of the chairs, and she picked it up.

Out in the hallway, Ranma peeked around the corner once more and was finally rewarded with the sight of Akane and Nabiki walking away down the hall to the main door of the Academy. He breathed a sigh of relief when they went outside. He had been feeling somewhat responsible over Akane's actions against Kodachi all morning, and it had been distracting him from his work. All he had to show for the several hours spent in his lab this morning were a few doodlings in his notebook. It was just not like him to be so easily distracted, but there was so much going on in his life right now. He kept feeling like an explosion or something was imminent, and it was making him jumpy.

I wonder if Kodachi would even be glad to see me? He looked around the corner once again. Akane probably beat her up all because of me, so I wouldn't blame her if she was mad about it. I mean, after all, she went out of her way to make it seem pretty clear that she was my girlfriend or something. Mustering up what little remained of his courage, he casually walked down the hallway to the infirmary room. He peeked in the doorway to see Kodachi putting on her uniform jacket, but her tie was off and a couple of her blouse's buttons were undone. He winced at the sight of the dark bruises on her face. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. He had had a vague notion of walking her home, since he felt responsible for the whole thing.

Kodachi spotted somebody looking in on her through the partly-open door as she dressed, but she wasn't able to make out who it was exactly. She quickly stomped over to the door and flung it wide open, her hand reaching out to grab the pervert who was peeping in on an innocent young maiden such as herself, intent on doing grave bodily harm to that person. Her eyes immediately went wide when she saw that it was Ranma, her hand stopping mere inches away from grabbing him up by the cloth of his jacket. She quickly raised her hand to her mouth as she blushed, embarrassed at her near mistake.

Ranma jumped a bit when Kodachi practically ripped the door off of its hinges when she flung it open. He started to quickly stammer out an apology of some sort, a reflexive protest of his innocence almost being spoken before he managed to swallow it back down. All he did instead was paste a nervous smile on his face and stand there like an idiot.

"S-Saotome-kun," she said, her eyes looking into his eyes with some confusion. She quickly gave him a proper bow of greeting, her heart fluttering with her nervousness and other emotions washing over her. "I-I am happy to see you, Saotome-kun." She could see that he was looking uncomfortable, and she quickly glanced down to make sure that her blouse was buttoned up sufficiently high. Only the topmost two buttons were undone, and she breathed a brief sigh of relief at the preservation of her modesty, her cheeks blushing slightly as a quick thought or two went through her head of another nature.

"I-I came to see how you were doing," said Ranma nervously. He bowed to her quickly, perhaps a little bit lower than she felt was necessary between them given her feelings for him, but it warmed her heart to see his respect for her station in the Empire. "I heard about your fight with Akane."

"The little witch attacked me," she said huffily, before quickly bringing her hand back up to her mouth to laugh nervously. Starting over again in as sweet and gentle a voice that she had, she said while demurely looking at Ranma's belt, "I mean, Tendo-san started the fight, and I defended myself from her. However, I feel that I gave a good accounting of myself in the conflict. And now that I've taken her full measure, if she does it again, I'll knock every tooth from her head." She smiled in an attempt to reassure him of her ability to take care of herself.

"Uh, yeah." He started to open his mouth to say something more, but the words just would not emerge. It was strange to him, but Kodachi's beaten-up form still looked beautiful to him, an almost wildness to it that had not been not present in her oh-so-proper self before. He tried again to speak, and the words just came spilling out in a quick rush, "Ithoughtifyoudidn'tmindthenIcouldwalkyouhome." She blushed across her cheeks once again, her heart filling with warm feelings for the pigtailed boy before her.

He does care about me, she thought, a gentle sigh of happiness escaping from between her lips. She lost herself briefly in a fantasy about the two of them, with him as her husband as she greeted him at the door with proper modesty, as a true lady of nobility would. From between her lips another soft sigh emerged, as her thoughts quickly wandered into areas of quite improper actions for an unmarried young lady of noble birth to think about a young man. She reined in her thoughts as she gazed at him, but her eyes sparkled with desire. Oh, Saotome-kun, I would fight in a thousand battles to be allowed to remain at your side, and ten thousand more to win your love.

Ranma shifted his stance nervously. Kodachi was looking at him in a funny way, a sort of hearts-and-flowers look, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. His memories from his female counterpart, Ranko, were pretty spotty, so he wasn't relying on them yet to interpret the women in his life. She seemed to be happy to see him though, so that made it okay with him. The look that she was giving him still made him feel nervous though, a warmly soft-eyed gaze that made her eyes seem to be even bigger than normal. He cleared his throat nervously, and she came back to herself from her brief fantasy.

"I would be honored to have you accompany me home, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi softly. Her eyes were downcast as she had been taught was proper for a young lady of quality, and she stood there with her arms clasped behind her body, unconsciously straightening and showing her figure off to stunning effect. Ranma frankly goggled at the combined result, and he blinked several times nervously as he gazed at her body being displayed so casually for his viewing pleasure. She held the very demure yet casually seductive pose for several of the longest seconds in Ranma's young life.

"Uh, yeah." The pigtailed boy swallowed down a throat gone dry. It was the second time that she had summoned up such feelings of nervousness in him. He moved out of the doorway as she gathered her things, and she was back at his side shortly. Her face beamed with joy as she looked at him, the few bandages on her jaw and nose somehow not diminishing her beauty. He felt that to be strange, wondering if he was secretly becoming attracted to women who were fighters.

The pair walked down the corridor in silence, Ranma due to his lack of knowledge about how to act in such a situation, and Kodachi due to her happiness at simply being with the man that she cared about so strongly. It was a moment of pure bliss for her, and the pains of her injuries were a very small price to pay for such a thing, as she now had Ranma at her side, and it was good and proper in her mind.

It looks like I won after all, Akane Tendo, thought the aristocrat girl with a smug look crossing her bruised face. Saotome-kun came to see me, not you, and now he is walking me home. Life is good. She heaved a soft sigh of contentment, moving a little closer to him. She thought about taking his arm, but she did not want to appear to be too forward. The last thing that she wanted to do was to scare him off by appearing overeager.

Ranma walked along, feeling the faint tingling that the three girls: Akane, Nabiki, and Kodachi, instilled in him. He focused his mind on other things, such as the mystery that he had discovered in his lab, and the new problem of dealing with Nabiki. He was looking forward to showing her up, but there was also an undeniable attraction that he was feeling for the middle Tendo daughter. He had actually been somewhat aroused by her defiance, and he very quickly changed the course of his thoughts. He focused on the upcoming match that he was going to have with her instead.

You won't stand a chance against me, Nabiki, he thought with a high level of confidence. After all, I have within me all of the skills of an heir to the Anything-Goes School. If Akane isn't able to take me now in a fight, then what chance do you have?

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Nabiki sneezed.

Akane looked over while her sister rubbed lightly at her nose. "It was sure nice of you to do this for me, sis," she said, smiling at her older sister. "I hope that you aren't losing too much of your lunchtime business income because of it. I'll have to make it up to you somehow."

"Yes, you will, Akane," replied Nabiki coolly, before suddenly grinning impishly at her little sister. "Don't worry about it. I'll be able to make up most of it easily enough after classes." She gave Akane a reassuring look. "The money will still be there a few hours from now. I'll just have to shake a few different trees to find it."

"Okay, Nabiki." Akane returned to her own thoughts. She contented herself with recalling the fight between herself and Kodachi, a little smile appearing on her face as she remembered how good it had felt to lay into the other girl like she had. That debutante bitch is going to have to be carried home in pieces after I get done with her the next time, she thought angrily. No way am I going to let her have my Ranma. He's mine to fight with. The thought of losing to him after fighting her hardest against him brought a blush to her cheeks.

Nabiki's thoughts had also drifted to consideration of the subject of the Saotome boy, and she closed her free hand into a tight fist as she recalled his surprising arrogance in Fuyutsuki-sensei's office. In her other hand was her bookbag, and the leather handle squeaked a bit from the squeezing that she was giving it. It wasn't wise of you to dismiss me so casually, Ranma-kun, not at all, she thought with a smirk. This woman is going to show you that I can overcome anything that you can dish out. Just you wait.

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The three catgirls were lounging around the room that Kinnosuke had appropriated in one of the Academy lower sublevels for his headquarters. Tiger was reclining in a chair, her hat resting on one knee as she read through the latest issue of 'Imperial Woman,' trying to see what new advice was being offered for winning the love of that special man. Her cat-like ears were cocked forward, showing her rapt attention for what she was reading. To her left, Lynx was quietly sitting cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed and her ears resting flat to her skull, apparently meditating. And, in the back of the room, the more muscular Panther was working out in a pale blue leotard and green legwarmers, her body covered in a light sheen of perspiration, and her skintight outfit leaving little doubt as to her high level of physical fitness.

"I'm hungry," announced Lynx with a sigh, her eyes remaining closed.

"Kinnosuke-sama will be back shortly," said Tiger, most of her attention still on her magazine. "When he arrives, then we will eat. You have to learn better control over your appetites, Lynx. You don't hear me complaining, do you?" Her stomach suddenly rumbled with hunger, a loud growl. Lynx opened her eyes and giggled, and the redhead looked annoyed.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Kinnosuke walked in. The two seated catgirls sprang up to their feet in an instant, Tiger only taking a single moment to hide her magazine behind her chair. Her cat-like ears pricked up with happiness at his arrival, Panther quickly stopped her exertions and sprinted over to stand with the others.

"Welcome back, Kinnosuke-sama," the three chorused in near-perfect harmony. He merely grunted at them absently and sat down at the table in the room with a look of annoyance. While Panther went to clean herself up quickly and change back into one of her normal outfits, the other two young women brought out the lunch that had been prepared by the Kashuoh Manor's chef and began to serve him. He simply treated it as his due, his eyes more on the food than the two beautiful catgirls serving him. And while they were still serving, Panther returned, her skin a little reddened from the quick sponge bath that she had given herself before dressing.

"I have been thinking about the problem with Nabiki Tendo," he said, beginning to shovel rice and meat into his face. Tiger and Lynx sat attentively, waiting for his approval before they began to eat. He swallowed before speaking again, "And I am very troubled by the unexpected failures of my chosen agents. If Hiei fails me during his upcoming challenge with Saotome, then I have a plan that will require you three to assist me with it." He absently noticed the rather hungry look on Lynx's face and nodded that they could eat.

"We live to serve you, Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger with a sparkle of love in her eye, before she too began to eat quickly. She paused again and swallowed after consuming half the rice in her bowl. "But what is it that you would have us do?"

"Initially, I plan to make my challenge to Nabiki's own organization more open," said the boy with an evil light appearing in his eyes. "The three of you are to begin pressuring her resources and encouraging her agents to defect. I want to squeeze Nabiki hard until she gives in." He chuckled at his own cleverness. "Then, when her organization is crumbled around her, I intend to play my trump card and challenge her personally. Once I have crushed her resistance to me, she will pledge her loyalty to me as my consort, then she and I will rule the Academy together from the shadows."

Lynx finished the last of the rice in her bowl and daintily wiped at her face with a napkin, her expression neutral. To her left, Panther was now working through her second bowl of rice, as well as seeming to enjoy the pieces of fresh salmon that she was eating with it, but a very faint glimmering of tears showed at the corner of one of her eyes. Tiger simply frowned at her rice bowl before she turned her attention back to her master. The food that she had just eaten was now sitting leaden in her stomach after hearing her master's plan for Nabiki.

"As you command, Kinnosuke-sama," said the redhead. She wanted to cry, but she knew that her master did not like to see tears on the faces of his playthings. Instead, a cold rage filled her soul, one that she would someday unleash with full force upon the source of her pain, Nabiki Tendo. Her eyes met Lynx's and Panther's, and the three catgirls shared a moment of understanding.

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Special thanks go out to Jim Bader for his permission to borrow from his work Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) for Earth +4.614, +4.496 (Ranma 1/2 cluster).

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	6. Travelling The Path, Part II

Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. After viewing some other alternate lives and dealing with some unexpected situations, Ranma decided to intensify his workouts to bring himself up to the level of his counterpart on that other Earth. Fuyutsuki mentioned a mysterious plan that involved Ranma and several of the cast. Meanwhile, Soun put the first stage of his plan into play to ensnare Ranma, and Hinako learned something about Ranma's past. Nabiki snuck into Ranma's lab and managed to activate his device, contacting and duplicating the skills from an alternate version of her, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. Forever changed by the experience, Nabiki dealt with two enemies using her new skills and has decided to make Ranma an offer that will prove difficult for the boy scientist to refuse.

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Chapter 6 - Travelling The Path Of A True Martial Artist, Part II

There are no set paths to the future. Your path will only

form after you run forward.

- Tomoe Midoh: Battle Athletes Victory

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Nodoka arrived at Hanna Miller's and looked over the exterior of the building. Earth-toned paint colored the walls, broken up by fancy woodwork on the eaves of the roof, and around the windows, that were painted green. It had the ambiance of a French restaurant, and it was a very popular place to eat among the trendy. She had heard that the service was good, as well as the food.

"Welcome to Hanna Miller's," the maître d' greeted her when she came into the restaurant, a smile on his face as he bowed to her. "Do you have a reservation?" Beyond him, she could see that the eating areas looked quite full.

"Well, I am meeting someone here for lunch. Do you happen to have a reservation in either the name of Mitsuma or Saotome?" She waited as the middle-aged man checked through his list, occupying herself with watching the waitresses efficiently moving around the restaurant.

"Ah, here it is," said the maître d' with another smile, looking back up at Nodoka. "Mitsuma, party of two. Let me summon your waitress to take you to your table." He caught the eye of an attractive brunette with a long ponytail of hair and waved her over. She looked to be in her late teens at the oldest. The girl practically sprinted on her way to the front, and she bowed in a very perky manner to Nodoka after she stopped in front of her.

"Good afternoon. I am Yuka Takeuchi, and I will be your waitress." Nodoka returned the girl's sunny smile. Like the other young women working in the restaurant as waitresses, Yuka wore a snug white blouse with a frill of ruffles that ran down the middle of the front, and she appeared to be extremely well-built for her age. Her long, chestnut colored hair matched the color of her eyes and was tied with a red ribbon that was the same color as her uniform dress and the small bows on each of her short, puffed sleeves. Unlike the other girls, she wore a pair of tan, fingerless gloves that appeared to be weighted above the wrists, and her feet were shod with red and white athletic shoes.

Nodoka followed the girl to the table, one of those next to a window up front, and sat down. She smiled at Yuka when the girl handed her a menu. Such a nice, young lady, she thought. Yuka bowed to her once again before heading off to another of her assigned tables.

After picking up the menu and looking it over, Nodoka tried hard to distract herself from her sudden nervousness. This will be such a big step in my son's life, she thought with a worried smile as she browsed through the various dishes available on the menu. I hope that Ranma appreciates the delicacy of what I'm about to do for him, but I'm sure that he will. After all, such a decision is one of the most important ones that he will ever be involved in. I just have to make sure that I pick a girl for him that will match all of his temperaments. He needs a woman who can provide him with a good home, and also be a good mother for his children.

While waiting for Otsu to arrive, and also trying to decide what to order, she thought a bit about her plans for the rest of the day. She had a session scheduled with her best friend, Achika Masaki, for some sword practice, (actually it could more correctly be called one of their usual duels), and she didn't want to have anything too heavy in her stomach for it. The other woman was an extremely crafty opponent, possibly the best swordfighter that Nodoka had ever faced, and she did not want anything hindering her fighting movements. The two of them had been getting together for such matches three or four times a week since their own school days, so many years past.

Nodoka briefly found herself remembering the history that Achika and she had together, and the other friends and enemies that they had lost touch with over time. So many years have gone by, she realized, wistful over the days of her past youth. She was still amazed at times that she and Achika had ever managed to become as close of friends as they now were. After all, they had been semi-bitter rivals at one time, mainly due to each of them being equal contenders for the topmost slot in the Kendo Club at St. Hebereke Academy. Nodoka was usually the one who seemed to emerge the victor in their fights, but the two women had somehow slowly forged a close friendship where once only a warrior's rivalry had existed. But they still tested each other's skills on a regular basis. The training helped them both keep their figures trim, after all.

Despite her rivalry with Achika, they had both always backed each other up when enemies from outside their school had challenged them. She sometimes found herself wondering whatever happened to some of those fierce, teenaged girls that used to regularly test her and Achika's combat skills in those wonderful days of their youth. But Nodoka's regular opponents were the ones that she still remembered best.

For example, there had been Kenseiko Idomo, the haughty and nasty girl from Blackhall, who had always worn her long hair done up in a single ponytail. She was a strong opponent with her chosen weapons, a pair of warfans. However, Nodoka had always enjoyed humbling the obnoxiously arrogant girl whenever she came around to pester her. It was a great stress reliever, and it was also a lot of fun. The aristocrat girl had always refused to admit that Nodoka was clearly the superior fighter, and she kept coming to bother her with challenges.

Then there had been the soldier girl, Kimiko Nakakami, who hailed from Furinkan Military Academy, perhaps her fiercest rival in martial arts ability in those days, far more than even she and Achika had ever been, although lacking the hatred she and Kenseiko had felt for each other. Her many close-fought duels with Kimiko, their wooden blades flashing as they both gave their all to best the other, had been glorious. She was the one opponent that Nodoka occasionally found herself missing over the years, and she thought that to be strange, since they had been about as far apart from being friends as one could imagine.

However, towards the end of their schoolgirl days, their rivalries with each other had faded away in the face of their oncoming adult lives. In her thoughts, Nodoka had always imagined that, like herself and Achika now were, both other girls were now wives and mothers whose husbands were probably not even aware of their past adventures as delinquent teenagers. She was certainly uncomfortable discussing any of her own hell-raising days with Genma or Ranma, since she did not want to spoil her present image as a gracious lady, especially to their son. While her husband would understand, having encountered her a few times when they were both younger and wilder, to tell their son they had both once run around as juvenile delinquents was unthinkable. Ranma would never understand, so it was a dark secret that she and Genma would take to their graves.

She was so absorbed in the selections available on the menu that she did not immediately notice the woman who was approaching her table, led by the waitress, Yuka.

"Saotome-san?" asked Otsu pleasantly.

Nodoka looked up and bowed in greeting without arising from her seat. A tall woman, with her lustrous black hair worn straight, stood next to her table, dressed fashionably and carrying a small attaché case. She smiled pleasantly as Nodoka looked up and returned the smile.

"Yes, I'm Nodoka Saotome," replied the matriarch of the Saotome family. "It is an honor to meet you in person, Mitsuma-san." She gestured for the new arrival to join her, and the tall, older woman sat with regal grace. Yuka quietly handed her a menu and bowed before she left. Otsu set her attaché case on the table.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Saotome-san." Otsu frowned mildly. "Traffic was more than I was expecting in this region of the city during this time of day." She flipped open the attaché case and removed several thick portfolios from within it. When she had all that she needed, she closed the case and placed it onto the floor under the table. The portfolios were placed onto one of the empty chairs where they would not disturb their meal.

"Do not be concerned, Mitsuma-san. I have been enjoying the ambiance of the restaurant while I examined the menu. They have quite a good selection." Nodoka flipped through the pages of the menu for a moment before looking at the other woman. "I confess that they have so many selections that I never know what to try."

"I am told that the onion soup here is simply the best," said Otsu with a smile. This will be easier than I initially suspected, she thought contentedly behind her fake smile. Her guest was obviously off-balance by being in a restaurant such as this, one that she must not normally be able to afford, so manipulating her into a proper decision would be child's play. Then she could collect her promised bonus and take a long vacation.

"I was extremely pleased that you called me when you did." Nodoka smiled again, looking up from her menu once more. "A very good friend of mine used your agency in the recent past, and they found her son an excellent girl that he is now engaged to. I have high hopes for what you can do for mine."

"I'm sure that one of the three will make a fine match for your boy, Saotome-san," said Otsu cheerfully. She perused the menu in front of her with a smile. Since this was all going onto an expense account to be presented to Soun, she planned trying some of the more expensive foods on the menu.

Both women finally made their choices and Nodoka caught Yuka's eye with her own. She decided to go with a lighter lunch: a bowl of French onion soup and shaved roast beef served with a mushroom sauce over wild rice. The attractive brunette made her way over to their table, her notepad out and a pen in her hand. She smiled at the two women brightly.

"May I take your orders now?"

Nodoka was making light conversation with Otsu when their soup bowls arrived. She picked up her spoon and tasted the thick, brown broth, and she discovered that the other woman had not led her astray at all. The French onion soup was very tasty indeed, and she consumed it with well-mannered gusto. The shaved roast beef and rice that she had ordered went down in the same manner. When she was done with her food, she dabbed at her lips with the cloth napkin while Otsu finished her own meal. She was not long in waiting for that.

"That was simply delicious," said Otsu with a smile after she set her napkin down on the table. "There is nothing like eating a good meal before conducting business, I always say."

"I thank you for inviting me to meet you here." Nodoka smiled gently. "The food here is excellent."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," said Otsu, her smile still firmly in place. She was eager to get her business done, but such could not be seen from her mannerisms. After the dishes had been cleared from their table, they relaxed with some green tea. She pulled the three portfolios nearer to her, and her companion's eyes lit up with happiness.

"I can hardly wait to see what you have to show me from those," Nodoka replied sincerely, an undertone of eagerness in her voice. Each of the portfolios only had a code number on the outside, instead of a name. She supposed that it was how Otsu's agency kept their records.

"So what did your husband think when you told him about your meeting today?" Otsu picked up one of the portfolios with a smile.

"I have not told him yet," said Nodoka slowly, feeling embarrassed by the question. "He and I have discussed the matter of obtaining the services of a matchmaker several times, but he felt it was too soon for Ranma. My husband has said that to engage him now would be foolishly premature, as if a mother does not know what is right and good for her own son." Her voice had risen a bit in volume as she related her irritation with what she obviously felt was a very silly attitude of Genma's, and she quickly lowered it back down as she continued to speak. "He told me that I may do as I wished, but he wouldn't participate in it. Men simply have no understanding of how important a thing this is, so feel free to ask me any questions about my son or my family."

"I'm sure that we'll find your son a fine bride," said Otsu in an attempt to reassure Nodoka, as she picked up the first portfolio. "I believe you already know that many of the very finest families in the Empire are registered with us. When I was researching your family, I was very impressed. From what I saw, the Saotomes have managed to accumulate a very distinguished history. Your husband's father even earned the Imperial Star during the last war, I saw. That was quite an accomplishment."

"Genma's father was a brave and honorable man," agreed Nodoka, smiling with a hint of sadness. "My husband took his loss rather hard. It happened during his second year at the Imperial Academy, where our son Ranma is attending now, and it changed him. Sometimes I think his father's death, while fighting for the honor of the Empire, was what might have finally turned Genma against following the way of the warrior." She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment, as if unsure how much to say on this matter to a stranger.

"That is understandable," said Otsu with false sympathy. "Please go on."

"My husband was once a great martial artist in his youth, taught by his own father," Nodoka continued, after taking a sip of her tea. "He even spent an entire year training and travelling in China before attending the Academy. But when his father died, I think that something died inside Genma as well. He stopped studying the martial arts entirely, but, as his wife, I can tell that he still misses it quite a bit. I keep encouraging him to take it up again for his health, since it is such good exercise for a man of his age, but he hasn't as of yet. However, I'm sure I'll wear down his resistance eventually." Her smile turned a bit conspiratorial.

"I'm sure that you will," agreed Otsu, remembering how she was with her own husband when he proved resistant to her wishes.

"My husband is a good man though, and he raised our son to be a fine scholar." Nodoka spoke with pride showing in her eyes.

"I'm sure you must be proud of him," said Otsu with some genuine emotion. "Your son Ranma seems like he is an outstanding young man indeed. Earning an invitation to study at the Imperial Academy is quite an achievement."

"Ranma is a credit to his generation. As his mother, I just know that he will do great things for the Empire. I only hope that I can find him a bride that will be able to stand at his side as he goes forward to meet that future."

"Well then, on that thought, let us begin to look at some of the fine young ladies that have been selected for your son," said Otsu, flipping open the first of the three thick portfolios with a smile. She settled it before her to use as a reference, and then looked at Nodoka with a smile.

"The first of them comes from a fine family in the Koga Mountain region. Her name is Ukyo Kuonji." A palm-sized photograph of a serious-looking teenaged girl was presented to Nodoka, a head and shoulders shot. In it, Ukyo was dressed in a traditional yukata with her hair worn in a single ponytail that was tied with a white ribbon.

"She's a lovely young woman." Nodoka noted the spirit displayed by the girl in the picture by the set of her jaw and the no-nonsense look in her eyes. Such a one as this does have the clear look of a warrior, at least in manner, she thought approvingly. The girl reminded her of herself at that age, for some reason. I am sure that she would bear strong children to my son and raise them well. She looked up from the picture to focus in again on what Otsu was saying about Ukyo.

"Centuries of traditions are represented by the Kuonji Clan, and many past members have served Emperors," said Otsu. She noted Nodoka nodding approvingly with a sinking feeling in her stomach and continued on, "They are descended of a proud line of warriors, and are reputedly one of the last of the true ninja clans still in existence in the Empire. Her family now takes care of a large Shinto shrine in the mountains near Koga, one that they have held for generations."

"She sounds very spiritual."

"The Kuonjis have apparently devoted their energies to only two things," said Otsu with a somewhat more genuine smile. "Perfecting their shadow warrior arts and maintaining the Kuonji Shrine."

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The trees barely whispered with the light breeze, and the noonday sun kept the day warm. A single figure slowly maneuvered down the walkway, lazily sweeping away the dust and stray leaves from the broad stone path. It was a teenaged girl, dressed in the white and red robes of a Shinto shrine maiden. Her chestnut-colored hair was pulled back into a single loose ponytail that fell to just below her shoulders in the back and was tied with a white ribbon. Behind her, a short distance away, a large shrine building loomed, dominating the background with a sense of ancientness. In front of her was a long series of stone steps that led down to a small mountain lake. It was a tranquil scene as the insects buzzed in the trees around her.

Ukyo paused in her sweeping and closed her eyes, letting the mild breeze dry the sheen of perspiration from her forehead. She took a deep breath and sighed, scratching at her side at a recurring itch. In addition to being hot and rather uncomfortably heavy, her robes were itching her again, and she looked forward to removing them and changing back into her more comfortable boy's clothes for her afternoon martial arts practice. However, for the present, her mother had insisted that she stay clothed in the proper garb for a shrine maiden as she did her chores, in case there were visitors. It was another reason why she missed her time in the back mountain regions with her great-grandfather.

Mother just doesn't understand, she thought disconsolately. She picked at the material of her robe, frowning. This isn't me, some frail and feminine girly-girl. Dressing and acting like a guy is just so much more comfortable to me, but Mother won't even try to understand my feelings. Ukyo sighed once again, recalling her mother's numerous and desperate attempts to find her a husband over the last several months. Things were just so much simpler when it was only me and Grandpa, out training in the mountains. After all, I don't need some dumb guy around complicating my life, and all of them are just a bunch of stupid, hormone-driven perverts anyway. Well, except maybe for one.

Opening her hazel-green eyes, she looked around the temple grounds with a sudden smile as her thoughts turned to happier things. Grandpa Kuonji had promised her that he would come around today to test her skills. She wanted to show him how hard she had been practicing at them. It was then that she noticed a sudden silence; the insects had stopped sounding. Ukyo glanced around, her hand moving to release a hidden catch on the handle of her broom, readying her weapon from its place of concealment.

Her ears heard the faint whisper of cloth against the bark of a tree a moment before a figure came leaping at her from a high branch. She dodged away from several shurikens that came streaking at where she had been standing. The deadly blades buried themselves into the wood bordering the walkway as her body soared over the head of her attacker, her robes rustling. Her acrobatic leap landed her ten feet away from where she had just been standing, facing her assailant. The only sound upon her landing was the soft clopping of her sandals against the stone walkway and a final rustling sound from her robes. Her broom had been transformed into a short naginata in her hands.

"Well done, my young apprentice," said her assailant. She relaxed as her attacker was revealed to be the wizened figure of a man, dressed in the traditional black garb of a ninja but without the mask. He was shorter than she herself was by several centimeters. "Your skills have grown greater, my boy. I actually had to work a little bit to sneak up on you. Your mother must be so proud to see how her son has grown up into such a fine young shadow warrior. Your disguise as a woman almost fooled even me."

I see Grandpa hasn't changed a bit, Ukyo thought with a mental sigh. As much as I love him, the senile old fool just refuses to see that I'm really a girl. She had given up trying to correct the old man as to her gender a long while ago, and she had even taken to binding her breasts for the last few years of her training to keep from upsetting him. It was an act she still retained, mostly out of long habit, especially since she saw how all of the guys at her local school treated any girl, so she just attended school as a boy. It was much easier for her, even though it freaked her mother out a lot, but it made Ukyo a little sad that no guy had penetrated her disguise yet.

However, she was very happy to see the old man.

"Grandpa!" she exclaimed with a smile at the sight of the familiar figure. "Do you really think that I've gotten better? I've been practicing everything that you ever taught me." Her face broke out into an even broader smile.

"I can see that, Ukyo m'boy," the kindly-looking old man agreed with a thin smile. "But now we will test your combat abilities. Prepare yourself."

"We?" asked Ukyo in surprise. She glanced around as fully half a dozen ninja warriors seemed to materialize from out of the trees. They were dressed in the traditional garb of the shinobi, only in camouflage colors. Her eyes narrowed briefly as she quickly studied each of her new opponents. "Oh, I see." Her look turned confident at seeing only six of them.

She shrugged out of her heavy outer robes and sandals in a few moments. Her bare feet did not make even a whisper of sound as she stood in the light underclothes that she had worn under her robes, her breasts held down by her tight chest bindings as was her usual habit. Her build was a bit broad-shouldered and barrel-chested to be called girlish from her many years of martial arts training, and her close resemblance to an attractive boy was more obvious now without the female clothes. She fished a pair of light shoes out of a pocket of her discarded robes and slipped them on. The total time for her quick wardrobe change was under five seconds.

"Ready," Ukyo called out with a grin. She flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder to rest between her shoulder-blades and took a firm grip on her weapon.

The six figures came at her in pairs, attempting to flank her and quickly overwhelm her defenses. She went into a blur of motion as she met the first pair at a dead run. Her naginata whirled into proper position with ease against her attackers' blades, blocking both deadly strikes with great skill. Her right foot slammed hard across the jaw of one ninja, the blow spinning him about to receive the haft of her weapon across his skull a moment later. The shadow warrior went down hard.

One, Ukyo thought to herself.

The first ninja's companion was a female. Like the first, she did not recognize this one from her stance or her movements, but the girl had a high measure of fighting skill, enough to occupy her for several very critical moments. Ukyo dueled with her, naginata against sword blade in a rapid-fire exchange of strikes and blocks, even as the four remaining ninjas raced towards her. Each girl tried to power her way through her opponent's defenses, but Ukyo's far greater skill quickly showed.

The female ninja was a fraction of a second too slow on one block, and Ukyo quickly slashed her across the stomach, twisting her wrists outwards at the last moment. Dark fluid quickly dampened the heavy cloth on her opponent's belly. It was a bloody blow, but Ukyo had pulled it so it was not deep enough to kill. The female ninja fell back, her sword falling from her hands to clatter loudly upon the stones, clutching her stomach in pain as her vital fluids leaked from between her splayed fingers. Ukyo quickly spun around and hit her with a solid backfist blow, knocking the girl unconscious in an instant. Her opponent's body fell to the earth and did not move.

Two, she thought, her body just warming up to the movements of combat. She became even more fluid and swift in her actions.

The third and fourth ninjas both leaped at her from right angles to each other, their deadly blades aimed to spill her brains from her skull. Leaping off the ground to meet them in mid-air, she blocked one with her weapon and the other with her hand. Before any of them began to fall back to earth, her foot buried itself hard into the gut of one of them, in a blow that he felt all the way through to his spine. That ninja warrior went down hard, clutching his stomach helplessly as he slammed into the ground. The other ninja joined him barely a moment later from a quick knee strike up into his groin, followed up by a hard-driving elbow strike up under the jaw as his head came down in reflex.

Three and four, Ukyo thought, a grin on her face now. She alighted on the ground with the grace of a cat and posed briefly with the blade of her weapon flashing from the sunlight. She was in her element now, the intense rush of combat upon her.

The last two warriors didn't throw themselves at her in a mad rush like the first four had. Instead, they moved to opposite sides and began to test her defenses, but she wasn't having any of that. She swiftly feinted at one with her naginata, and then she leaped at the other. Her powerful thighs locked around his neck as she fired two quick punches into his face. Before the one had even begun to fall, she sprang off his now unconscious body to deliver a spinning roundhouse kick into the shoulder of the other one. He immediately dropped his sword as his fingers splayed open in reflex, and Ukyo followed up with a smashing punch to his jaw. She saw the last ninja's eyes roll back into his head behind the mask, and he fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Five and six, she thought triumphantly. She was guessing that the entire fight had taken less than thirty seconds to finish, almost a personal best for her.

An arm suddenly wrapped around her windpipe, and the familiar sounds of her great-grandfather's voice breathed into her ear in serious tones, "Always be aware of any potential new opponents coming up from behind you." She briefly struggled against his grip, knowing that he could snap her neck in an instant if he applied the proper pressure. For several tense moments, neither of them moved.

Then, as quickly as his arm had grasped her around the throat, it withdrew as he let go of her again a few moments later. She whirled to face him with her weapon ready, only to see his kind face smiling at her. She blushed at falling for his attack so easily. It was a stupid thing for her to do, and she frowned at her foolishness.

"Sorry, Grandpa," Ukyo said as she bowed her head to him. "I let my overconfidence get the better of me. I was arrogant." A ninja groaned softly behind her.

"That is a dubious privilege of the young," her elderly great-grandfather replied sagely. "Even a warrior as highly-skilled in the deadly arts of our clan as you are should always remember to watch his back when alone. If I had been a true enemy, then you would be dead, your neck broken like a sapling tree. The Kuonjis can ill afford to lose such a promising warrior as you to arrogant carelessness." He frowned at her slightly. "I taught you better than that, Ukyo."

"Yes, Grandpa." Ukyo bowed her head again. "I swear upon my honor that I will not repeat such a mistake. I will do you and all your teachings proud, and I intend to be the finest shadow warrior that I can."

"You are a dutiful child, Ukyo," said the elderly man. He clapped her on the shoulders. "You make an old man proud that he can soon rest in the earth, leaving the future of our clan to one such as yourself. I have given as much of our lore to you as I have been able to pound into that thick head of yours, Ukyo m'boy." He rapped her hard on her skull. "So don't waste my time by falling for such simple tricks as that in the future."

"I won't, Grandpa," said Ukyo with a grin, only to earn another rap on the head from the old man.

"Remember, m'boy," said her great-grandfather. "After I'm gone, you will be one of the last to have learned the old ways properly. So many of our kind have fallen victim to the lure of serving the wealthy and the powerful, who prize us only as a child would a shiny toy. They are no longer pure. And too few of my peers in these mountains passed on what they knew to the younger ones, and jealously hoarded their lore until it was too late. On the other hand, I have tried my best to educate you in the true way of the shinobi, the Path of Hidden Honor, so do me proud."

"I will, Grandpa," said Ukyo with a serious look. "I will make our clan strong once more."

"The deeper shinobi magics are yours to command, what few that you have managed to master so far." The old man gazed at her face. "I expect you to pass on all that you have learned to your children, and to your children's children." His solemn look promptly changed into a slight grin. "So, when are you going to find a nice girl for yourself and settle down, young one?"

Ukyo coughed.

"Uh," she muttered. "I'm working on it." She blushed at the thought of marriage. A year ago, her great-grandfather had made her study some scrolls brought back from some Korean village named Sinanju by one of her ancestors, on the twenty-seven steps to bring a woman to the heights of sexual ecstasy. She had tested a few of them on herself, just out of curiosity to see if they really did work, but she had found herself unable to concentrate well enough to progress at all beyond step six. She strongly suspected that any man who used all of the twenty-seven listed steps on a woman would reduce even the most frigid one to a quivering, happy, mindless sex slave. Just the thought of having every step that was on those ancient scrolls used on her by a vague future husband made her blush even more intensely.

"You're working on it?" asked the old man, sounding disappointed. "Boy, I expected to hear far more from you than that." He shook his head slowly as he stared at the ground. "Why, when I was your age, I had the women simply flocking to me. There must be at least a couple of dozen pretty girls your age in the regions around this village that would love to be your wife. I think I'll speak to your mother about this."

"NO!" shouted Ukyo, before chuckling nervously. She rubbed at the back of her head with one hand. "I mean, I'd prefer to do this on my own. I need to find the right, uh, girl to be with."

"Do like I did," said the old man with a grin. "Just pick some cute, likely-looking girl that you see and go after her. Your grandmother became my wife that way. There isn't a woman alive that can resist one of us Kuonji men, especially after you use a few steps from those scrolls of secret techniques that I made you study on your fifteenth birthday." The old man nudged her in the ribs with his elbow and grinned lasciviously up at her. Her blushing face somehow grew even brighter.

"Yes, Grandpa," she squeaked, her cheeks a bright red now. I swear that I'm going to die right here of embarrassment if he keeps talking about this, she thought fiercely. She found herself hoping for another fight to take her mind off her thoughts, but none appeared to be forthcoming to her. So she quickly replaced her shrine maiden's robe in an attempt to occupy herself.

Her great-grandfather watched as a few members of the clan emerged from the trees to tend to the several fallen warriors. Ukyo moved up to stand beside him, enjoying the cool breeze from across the valley that had suddenly sprung up. The old man suddenly looked up as he sniffed the wind delicately, and then he slowly turned to her with an enigmatic smile.

"You have been my very finest apprentice, Ukyo," said the elderly man. "But I can sense something coming for our clan, looming on the horizon. I want you to be prepared for it."

"Yes, Grandpa," Ukyo replied solemnly. "I promise."

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"This young lady seems like she would make a fine daughter-in-law to me," said Nodoka with a pleased smile. "Such an illustrious family background that she comes from. I am deeply honored that you feel that my son is worthy to marry a daughter of such a clan." She put the picture of Ukyo away with a smile. The girl seemed to her like she would make an excellent match for her son.

Hmm, thought Otsu, a little bit surprised at the other woman's quite unexpected reaction. That wasn't how it was supposed to go here. She closed the portfolio and placed it on the bottom of the pile. I even played up the warrior aspects of the girl as I was told, and she seemed even more pleased with her. I suspect that Tendo-san may have grossly misread this woman, but I will proceed with the plan as he instructed me. I suppose he is counting on the face-to-face meeting to torpedo the matchmaking, rather than doing so at this time. She picked up the portfolio that contained Kodachi's information next.

"This next young lady comes from one of the minor families of the Imperial nobility," she said, noting that Nodoka's eyes had lit up a little at that one. She passed to the other woman a palm-sized photograph of the Kuno girl. This one showed a smiling Kodachi wearing her best clothes for the picture, and it was a head and shoulders shot as well. "Her name is Kodachi Kuno, the only daughter of House Kuno, and she comes with a sizable dowry. While the Saotome line was ennobled by Imperial decree a century ago in reward for the faithful service given to the Empire for many generations, the Kunos actually have Imperial blood flowing within it from a direct link to the Royal Family some six centuries ago."

A daughter of the nobility, thought Nodoka breathlessly, gazing at the picture with a smile even greater than the one that she gave to the one of Ukyo. Her place in society alone will enable Ranma to start in a position that would normally take years to get into. She paused and contemplated the possibilities. My only son, a lord of the Empire. Of course, he would be expected to take several mistresses and a second or even a third wife, and I'm sure that the other two girls would be thrilled to be ennobled themselves. My son is so manly, he must have them ALL!

She studied the picture more closely. I recognize her! she suddenly realized with surprise, and what she remembered about the girl in the photo only increased her favor in Nodoka's eyes. She won the gold medal in France some months back, at the World Gymnastics Competition. Such a lovely child, and an obvious athlete as well. With her figure, she looks like she will be able to bear many strong children, but there is also something vaguely familiar about her face. It is just on the edge of my memory. I wish that I could put my finger on it. She tapped gently at the top of the table with one fingernail as she listened to Otsu begin to speak about the girl.

"Kodachi Kuno is an accomplished athlete in gymnastics and dance," said Otsu, her professional smile once more firmly on her face. "She comes from a background that has taught her to be a gracious lady for a household. The Kunos have served the Empire for many centuries, and their landholdings extend throughout its length and breadth. They are descended from solid warrior stock, and they are rumored to be raised from birth to respect strength of arms above all else. However, Kodachi is a gentle child from all accounts that I have been given, unwilling to cause harm to anyone."

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I swear that I shall punish that Tendo wench severely for her gross effrontery when it comes to her attempting to claim Saotome-kun for her own property! thought Kodachi fiercely. She walked along slowly at his side as he carried her bookbag; his own he had apparently left in his lab space, or so he had told her when she asked. She calmed herself and smiled as she looked at him once again, another soft sigh escaping her lips. You need a gentle, loving woman to care for your every need, Saotome-kun, not some barbaric savage like that little hussy, Akane. A brief blush crossed her cheeks as she felt another surge of desire for him when she stepped closer, and her thoughts turned to wondering about some of the pigtailed boy's 'needs.'

"Are you sure that you're feeling well enough to walk, Kodachi?" asked Ranma solicitously. "I mean, you took a couple of pretty bad hits from Akane."

"I can walk just fine, Saotome-kun," she said a little stiffly, feeling her pride warring with her desires to have him carry her home, but her family's traditions of martial strength was affecting her mood as it never had before. "My injuries from that altercation with her are not causing me any difficulty." However, after she finished saying that, she stumbled a bit and fell against him. His arms went to hold her up, grabbing her at the waist, and a warm quiver went through her at his touch upon her body.

Oh, thought Kodachi dreamily. She leaned against him, her head angled down away from his view as a bright blush heated her face. It felt so good to her for him to simply hold her that she could hardly believe it. She heard her own blood thundering in her ears as her head lay pressed against his chest. She could hear his heart beating, even over the sound of her own pulse in her ears, as it thudded strongly in his chest. After a mere moment, she felt his whole body stiffen up at her nearness, and he immediately dropped his hands from her waist where he had caught her and prevented her from falling.

Ranma swallowed and kept his eyes locked straight ahead of him. His mind had gone strangely blank, and he felt himself to be frozen in place. His body was giving him all sorts of weird signals that he had never felt before. To deal with it, he just let himself react with his natural impulses, since that seemed to be the logical thing to do. He quickly backed away from Kodachi.

"S-sorry," he said nervously, regaining his voice when he was a few feet away from her. "I was just trying to keep you from falling."

"What?" she blurted out. She cocked her head slightly to one side, very puzzled by his reaction to her being close to him. "It's all right, Saotome-kun. Thank you for helping me. I guess maybe my legs are still a little unsteady." She extended one leg and looked it over, and his eyes tracked down by reflex. She noticed his attentions out of the edge of her eyesight and smiled. She lowered that leg and raised the other, appearing to be looking it over for injuries. She saw him swallow once more, and he seemed to be sweating a little.

"We should get you home then," he said quickly. He broke eye contact with her legs and turned around. He held her bookbag behind his back and began rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, a tuneless whistle coming from his mouth.

"Home isn't far," said Kodachi, starting out once again. The pigtailed boy quietly followed her. She noticed that he continued to remain wary of getting near her, and a delicate frown appeared on her lips. Does he find me unattractive? she thought with a strong note of worry. Am I being too forward with him? Perhaps I should take it a little slower with him. She nodded as she thought about it. Yes, I will let that brutish Tendo wench scare him away from her with her forwardness, the nasty little thug. I, on the other hand, shall play the gracious lady and win his heart with gentleness. After all, that ill-mannered barbarian is no match for me in such things, so Saotome-kun is sure to be mine! A smile of victory crossed her lips.

Unaware of Kodachi's thoughts towards him, Ranma walked along a pace behind her on her right flank. The young noblewoman would have been extremely disappointed to learn that his thoughts had already shifted from her to his appointment with Nabiki. I wish I could figure out what Nabiki's game is, he thought, studying the ground in front of his feet as he walked. I guess I'll just go easy on her until I can figure out what she's up to. After all, it's not like her martial arts skills will be any threat to me. I dealt with Akane pretty well, and I doubt that she'll be as tough.

The duo eventually arrived at the main exterior gate of the Kunos' mansion after another several minutes of walking. At the sight of the immense stone and wood edifice atop the hill, Ranma found himself comparing it with the memories from his counterpart's life and finding the present reality's version to be even more amazing and awe-inspiring in scope and size. The building's surrounding grounds, for example, easily constituted several city blocks in both directions, an almost priceless amount of real estate for the region in which it lay.

Impressive, was his first thought, as he studied the tall, rather forbidding-looking stone walls that surrounded the grounds as he walked alongside Kodachi. He dropped back a pace as she walked up to a smaller side gate and removed a magnetic access card from her bag before quickly sliding it through a reader. The light atop the unit turned green quickly and the door unlocked with a faint buzz and a click. Kodachi opened the heavy metal gate with a smile back in his direction.

"Come on, Saotome-kun," she said, beckoning him to follow her as she held the small gate open. "Let me show you where I live."

With a bemused look, Ranma followed her through the portal, onto the spacious grounds of the Kunos' demesne. On the other side of the gate was a short tunnel that led to a small flight of stairs. He just followed along behind her as they both climbed the stairs that finally emerged in a garden area with a koi pond. A Zen rock garden stood off to one side, the patterns in the gravel and the placement of the stones a rather soothing thing for him to behold. He was tracing out the patterns of the gravel when he felt a tugging on his sleeve.

"Come on, Saotome-kun," implored Kodachi, a smile on her face. He ignored the tingle that briefly raced up his arm at the slight contact of her hand against his as she let go of his sleeve. He smiled at the koi pond, extremely grateful that he had nothing at all to fear from all of that cold water, especially since volumes of it did not seem to seek him out in this life like it did his counterpart. With a swift shrug of his shoulders, he followed her.

She kept up a running description of the places that she took him to see around the mansion area: the tennis courts and enormous swimming pool in the backyard region; the outdoor training area for the household, neatly arranged with wooden practice forms and other such accessories; the flower garden, filled with such a wide variety of botanical splendor that even Ranma found himself hard-pressed to remember the names and scientific designations to the plants neatly arranged and pruned; and finally, the garage area, filled with a large assortment of vehicles, including a collection of motorcycles of all styles, both classic and modern.

Ranma admired the shining chrome and painted steel with wonder visible in his eyes, and Kodachi smiled to see his interest. She quietly watched him running a hand gently along the curves of one of the motorcycles, one of her father's latest acquisitions, a Mendo Motors Katana Class 9000. Her father had once told her in one of his more candid moments that it was reputed to be one of the fastest motorcycles in current production. She smiled gently as she thought about the many hours that her sire spent polishing his small collection of treasures, and it appeared that Ranma might share a little of that interest. That pleased her a great deal, since getting her father to like the pigtailed boy was part of her ultimate plan to win his heart for herself.

"They're magnificent," said Ranma in a soft tone. Despite their glaring inefficiencies as a method of transport, he had long held a love for vehicles using an internal combustion engine, especially motorcycles.

"They're my father's," said Kodachi with a smile. She saw him turn to look at her with an odd smile, as if hearing something that did not quite compute to him.

"Princip- I mean, Kuno-sama rides them?" he asked with a great deal of surprise. He turned to look at the row of both classic and modern motorcycles and whistled. There must be over two dozen bikes here, he thought with amazement. The thought of Kodachi's father on one of them simply wasn't meshing with his preconceptions about the man, based on his memories of the Hawaiian-obsessed man from his counterpart's life. I guess I should watch out for pre-judging others, based on what I think I know about them.

"Oh yes," said Kodachi brightly in answer to his question. "Father has an absolute mania for motorcycles and the mystique surrounding them. Some of the household servants have confessed to me that he was a bit of a rough sort when he was a teenager." She pointed at the wall, and Ranma turned to see a black-and-white photograph in a metal frame there. "That was my father back then. He's the one in the middle."

He peered closely at the old and faded picture and saw in it several rather disreputable-looking young men, a few of them armed with various martial arts weapons, all casually posing around one young man in particular. The specific young tough that she was pointing out looked a little bit like Tatewaki, he noticed. In the weathered picture, the then-young Lord Kuno was wearing a dark leather jacket and casually held a bokken in one hand, resting the other end on his shoulder, as he mugged for the camera. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. Ranma was curious as to whom the others in the picture were, but water damage or something had blurred all of the forms in it, except for that of Kodachi's father.

"I've been told by several of the older servants that my father was quite an interesting sort in his younger days," she said, a smile evident in the sound of her voice. "But I am told that he calmed down a lot after meeting Mother. I look at them now and occasionally wonder what they were like when they were our age. I cannot ever see Father acting as the rough-cut young hell-raiser that the older servants have described him as being like in his youth." She walked up beside Ranma as he stared into the photograph hung on the wall. "Other than Mother, motorcycles are the other major love of his life. I would learn to ride myself, but she does not think it is very ladylike."

"Kodachi-sama," said a voice behind them. Ranma almost levitated into the air from his surprise at recognizing the voice that had spoken up. He turned to see Sasuke standing there, dressed in a dark pair of pants and a gray shirt, rubbing his hands on a dirty cloth. Oil stains were spattered on his clothes. He stepped forward and gave the pigtailed boy a mildly suspicious look before turning to smile at the Kuno girl. His tone with her was gentle and very respectful. "Milady, why aren't you in school?"

"Uh, well," she murmured, looking uncertain. Sasuke took a closer look at her in the dim light and blinked in surprise.

"By the Emperor!" exclaimed Sasuke as he saw the mussed state of her clothes and the several small bandages arrayed on her face and nose. "What happened to you, Milady? It looks like you were in some sort of accident or a fight. You weren't fighting again, were you? Has your mother seen you yet?" The little man began wringing his hands and looking very worried as he noticed that she looked embarrassed. "It was a fight then. The Mistress will be absolutely frantic to see you like this. You know how she feels about you fighting."

"I know, Sasuke-kun," said Kodachi with a pained smile. She well remembered the long lecture that had greeted her on her return home after her first fight with Asuka. Her mother had been absolutely horrified to see her little girl in the shape she had been in after that first combat. She had gone on for over an hour on how a true noble lady does not brawl in the streets like a commoner, and also how 'when she had been Kodachi's age, she had never engaged in such brutal activities.' It was an experience with her mother that she was not looking forward to repeating.

"I ran into a little trouble today," she said quietly. "There is no need to trouble yourself over it."

"T-trouble myself?" choked out Sasuke, looking like she had just kicked him right in his manhood. "Milady, as a loyal servant of House Kuno, it is my sacred duty! Any threat to you must be dealt with immediately and without mercy. Towards that end, I shall assemble a squad of our finest shadow warriors, as soon as you inform me of the perpetrator of this horrific crime against your most noble personage!"

"Take it easy, buddy," said Ranma suddenly, watching the little man working himself into a mild frenzy. "Kodachi's all right. She was just a bit beaten up in a fight, but she gave as good as she got."

Saotome-kun, sighed the girl, sending him a loving look as she felt a new surge of purpose filling her. I must strive to be worthy of you by crushing that Tendo wench utterly in my next combat with her.

"Who are you to dictate to me how I should act in the course of my duties, sir?" asked Sasuke stiffly. He eyed the pigtailed scholar with obvious distaste for a moment, before he turned to Kodachi. "Milady, who is this ill-mannered person with you?"

"This is Ranma Saotome," said Kodachi, amused at Sasuke's little antics. "He is my friend." Her look suddenly turned cross. "I order you to treat him with respect. I expect that you will be seeing much more of him around the grounds in the future."

"B-but, what of Tatewaki-sama?" asked Sasuke nervously, his eyes twitching between Kodachi and Ranma. "He won't like this."

"What my dear brother thinks is no concern of mine, Sasuke-kun," she said, a touch of irritation in her voice. "I am almost a grown woman, and I can be friends with a boy if I so desire."

"Yes, Milady." Sasuke bowed low to her. "My apologies if I have given offense."

"Come along, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi, entwining her arm with his. "I suppose that I could use your support when I go to speak with my mother." With that, the two of them walked off, Ranma caught up in a new wave of tingling from her nearness, and the young noblewoman clamping down on her renewed desires for the pigtailed boy through sheer force of will.

"So you have ninjas running about on the grounds?" asked Ranma with a hint of nervousness. He realized that, other than Sasuke, he had not seen a single servant walking about, not even a gardener for the expansive gardens.

"Oh, yes," Kodachi breathed, smiling. "All of the household staff are from a ninja clan that has served under the Kunos for generations, the Makimachis. Sasuke is the sole exception to this, for reasons that my father has never chosen to explain. Mother has even given me my own personal ninja guardian, although she is more of a companion. I don't use her as a bodyguard."

"Really?" asked Ranma, surprised. He looked around casually.

"Well, many in the nobility have them," she said cheerfully. "It is a sort of status symbol, but I am quite capable of defending myself. I look on that as a point of pride." Her eyes sought out his own, and her expression turned unreadable. "You do not think a woman who can fight is unfeminine, do you?"

"Uh, well, no, of course not!" stammered the pigtailed boy. He laced his fingers behind his head and chuckled softly. "I would never call a girl who can fight unfeminine." He was rewarded with a gentle smile from his companion, her eyes twinkling a little.

"Good," she said, very obviously pleased. "I am gladdened that my fighting ability does not repel you. I would like to be your friend." She turned her face from his, blushing slightly. "I have not really had any friends before I met you." The young noblewoman turned back and gave him another gentle look that left him confused as to what to say or do, so he remained quiet. They continued on their way into the manor house.

Looks like another thing to be aware of that's different, mused Ranma with a smile. The Kunos with a whole ninja clan at their disposal.

A few minutes later, he was within the halls of the main house, removing his shoes at the rear door and slipping on one of the many pairs of house slippers available. He forced himself to look away from admiring Kodachi's trim form once again as she slipped off her school shoes and put on a pair of house slippers as well. He was apparently getting used to her touch upon him, but the smell of her delicate perfume was still mildly intoxicating. It kept filling his mind with strong desires for her, so he kept a very tight rein on his feelings because of it.

"Dachi-chan!" came a female voice calling out to them. Kodachi winced a little and turned to face the oncoming figure of her mother as she swept into the room. Ranma took the opportunity to move a little bit aside from her as she greeted her mother with a wave and an abashed smile.

"Hello, Mother," said Kodachi, but the very attractive older woman had already turned from her and rounded on the pigtailed boy. She was more than a little surprised to hear not a single comment from her mother on her beaten-up appearance, but it seemed that her showing up with a boy in tow was an even more interesting thing for her. She hoped that her mother would not embarrass her, but that hope died quickly.

"Is this your new lover, Dachi-chan?" asked Kenseiko brightly, as she examined Ranma from up close. "My, he does seem to be a very fine specimen of a young stud. I approve of your taste."

Ranma blinked and started to look extremely nervous. Such intense scrutiny as he was now undergoing made him feel like a horse about to be purchased. He even half-expected her to open his mouth and check his teeth, but she never actually touched him. Instead, he put up with feeling as if he was being undressed by her eyes and his manliness judged.

"Mo-ther," said the young aristocrat, drawing out the word a little bit in her embarrassed exasperation with her parent's antics. "Saotome-kun is not my lover. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Well, why not, dear?" said Kenseiko with a smile. She looked Ranma in the eyes and examined his face, then let her gaze trail down his body as she studied him. "Such a handsome young man. I imagine that you have to fend off the young ladies with a stick."

He started to sweat a bit, and his mind was depressingly blank. He was finding Kodachi's mother to be a bit overwhelming to his sensibilities.

"She's not normally like this," said Kodachi softly, as she sidled a bit closer to him. She gave her mother a scathing look, as only a daughter can give to her mother. Her voice had a note of annoyance in it as she spoke through gritted teeth. "I think she is only doing it to try and embarrass me."

"I-it is an honor to meet you, Kuno-sama," said Ranma, grateful to finally get some words out of his mouth. He bowed to Kenseiko very deeply. "I only meant to escort your daughter home, since she was injured fighting, uh-" He looked helplessly at Kodachi, but her eyes had gone wide.

"Fighting?" asked Kenseiko, a moment before she gave Kodachi's bandaged face her full attention and her steel-gray eyes took it all in with a glance. Her tone turned very serious. "Kodachi, have you been fighting again?"

"Uh, maybe I should be going," Ranma ventured to say. He was afraid to find out what the woman would do if she learned that her daughter had been fighting over him. When no one replied to him, he found that he could not bring himself to move. To do otherwise would be to offer possible insult, so he remained at his position and listened to the uncomfortable conversation.

"It wasn't anything that I could not deal with on my own, Mother," said the girl, shuffling her feet a little bit as she refused to meet her mother's gaze.

So much like I was at that age, thought Kenseiko with an internal grimace. She looked at her daughter and found herself remembering some of the times when she herself had come dragging back home to face her own mother's stern reaction at seeing her daughter in such shape. It was only the knowledge that her opponent was injured as badly as her own bruised self that had made it palatable to her. She pulled a fan out of her yukata and waved it absently in front of her face as she considered the girl's injuries, and also the fierce expression on her daughter's face that was so much like her own had been in the same situation. I wonder who she was fighting? She sighed softly.

"Thank you for escorting my daughter home, young man," she finally said, turning to face him. "I presume that your name is Ranma Saotome, he who she has spoken of at the dinner table?" She saw him startle a bit at that question.

"Uh, yes, Kuno-sama," said Ranma nervously. "I mean, my name is Ranma Saotome. I am happy to be of service." He bowed once more to hide his growing uncertainty.

"You will of course have dinner with my family one night," she said solemnly. It was not phrased as a question, but as a command. "I can tell that my daughter favors you, and I find it good to see my little girl spending some time with a responsible young man." Ranma glanced at Kodachi out of the corner of his eyes and bowed once more.

"Yes, Milady. Whenever you desire. I am at your command."

"You may go, Saotome-san," said Kenseiko, gesturing with her fan. "I wish to speak alone with my daughter. Again, you have my thanks for escorting her home. You appear to me to be a most honorable and polite young gentleman." She favored him with a smile.

He practically bolted from the house after slipping his shoes back on. The two Kuno women watched him run across the grounds with differing expressions. Kodachi had a slightly amazed look on her face, and her mother wore an amused expression. The older woman raised one of her eyebrows slightly when she saw Ranma run up the wall in one corner, his feet bouncing from one side to the other as he ascended, before finally vaulting over it, one hand poised on the top as he swung his legs over. A moment later, he was gone.

"Such an interesting, and obviously quite athletic, young man," mused the woman. "He does not strike me as a 'despoiler of an innocent virgin,' as I believe that your older brother accused him of being."

"Saotome-kun is every bit a true gentleman," replied Kodachi with certainty. She looked her mother squarely in the face, a defiant fire burning in her eyes.

So much like me at that age, Kenseiko mused once again. She had tried her best to raise her daughter up to be a very quiet and shy girl, representing what she saw as what was best in noble womanhood, hoping that her own little girl could avoid the violence-filled life that she had lived as a teenager. And yet somehow, that delicate flower of femininity that she had worked so hard to cultivate had very recently grown thorns, but she could not bring herself to be truly angry with the girl. As if from out of nowhere, for the last several weeks she had seen the warrior's fire begin burning inside of Kodachi, the same fire that had once burned so strongly in her own heart at that age. She had thought at first that it was only due to a new boy in her life, but it seemed to be more. She fanned her face slowly, pondering the many changes in her once very shy and retiring daughter.

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Such a fine, young lady for my Ranma, thought Nodoka solemnly as she gazed at the small picture of Kodachi. If he does not find the young ninja girl Ukyo to his liking, as I hope he will, then perhaps this one will be more appealing to him.

"But now we come to the finest of the lot, in my humble opinion," said Otsu with her usual smile, perhaps a little more broad than the previous ones. She flipped open the last remaining portfolio and handed a color picture to Nodoka. She took the photograph with a sense of almost trembling anticipation.

The finest of the lot? wondered Nodoka with amazement. After listening to the impressive qualities of the first two, she was practically ready to engage Ranma to this girl on the spot without even hearing anything further. If Mitsuma-san favors this one, then how could I think to do otherwise?

"The next family is one that is currently in high favor among the Imperial Court. The Tendo family has three daughters, but the middle daughter is the one that I present to you now, a descendant of a very proud military history. The family has served with notable distinction within the Security Directorate and the Empire's armed forces for well over two centuries." Otsu gently tapped her finger on the photo in Nodoka's hand. "Her name is Nabiki Tendo."

"She looks like an attractive and intelligent girl," said Nodoka with definite approval in her voice as she looked over the photograph of Nabiki, dressed in her Imperial Academy cadet uniform. She studied the face of her third prospective daughter-in-law, and her initial reaction was that she seemed like she would be a very fine addition to the Saotome family register. The girl managed to convey an air of grace, intelligence, and feminine strength as she smiled brightly into the camera. Nodoka was also strongly convinced that she had seen this girl somewhere before. Much like when she had looked at Kodachi's picture, there was something in the eyes and the shape of her face that was strangely familiar, possibly the short hair style.

"Nabiki scored second only to your son on the Imperial Academy entrance examinations," said Otsu, a fact that impressed even her. "She is currently attending there, the same as your son, only Nabiki is in the Officer's Training Program for the Security Directorate. Since her admittance, she has quite regularly received the highest marks across the board from all of her instructors. From all accounts, she is a charming young lady, and I am sure that she would be able to give you many fine grandchildren."

Nodoka smiled with great interest at that.

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The walk home with Akane was a quiet one for Nabiki. She spent most of her time thinking about the events of the day since she had awoken this morning. In a few hours I have my first sparring match with Ranma-kun, she mused. Instead of sounding unpleasant to her, there was a feeling of almost breathless anticipation that accompanied that thought, and she found herself studying the ground in front of herself casually. I'm actually looking forward to the challenge a great deal. How very unlike me. Yet for some reason, the oddly pleasant feeling was not going away. She had been challenged, and as the new, even though wholly unofficial, heir to the Anything-Goes School on this Earth, she felt strongly that that challenge must be answered by her.

"What'cha thinking about, Nabiki?" asked Akane suddenly, intruding upon her older sister's train of thought.

"Oh, nothing much." The older Tendo absently closed her hand into a fist, studying the calluses gained over the years, both from training with her mother and her Academy combat classes. "I was just thinking about a private affair that I must deal with later today."

"An affair?" asked Akane, her brow furrowing a little bit. "It almost sounds like a date." She grinned at her older sister and was surprised to see a brief blush cross the other girl's cheeks before her usual cool look was restored.

"No, not a date," said the elder Tendo girl calmly. "I just have to give a demonstration of sorts. There is an individual who needs to be taken down a few pegs in arrogance, and I feel that I'm ideally suited to do it." She smiled a wolf-like smile. "I'm actually rather looking forward to it, and I was just savoring the anticipation." She lowered her fist to her side and relaxed it back open.

"All I'm looking forward to is a long soak in the furo," said Akane with a tired grin. "Fighting with that debutante bitch was quite a workout."

"I noticed that." A rather smug look briefly crossed Nabiki's features. I wonder how long it would have taken me to win against Kodachi? The thought of losing never crossed her mind.

"She's a strong opponent," admitted Akane with a smile. "I really enjoyed the fight with her." Nabiki glanced at her younger sister with a neutral expression.

The sooner I get you away from Ranma, the better, little sister, she thought. I'm a much better match for him than you are, and that goes double now that he and I have gone through the experiences that we have. We have a connection of sorts now, a common bond between us. It will be interesting to see how our skills measure up against each other.

The couple continued walking towards home in silence.

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"Three young ladies to choose from for my son already," said Nodoka with a smile. "A mother should always have such problems."

Otsu nodded. "I am pleased that I was able to meet you today and go over the candidates."

"As am I," agreed Nodoka with a bright smile. "I can hardly wait to show him the choices available to him for his new bride. I plan to do it after dinner tonight."

"You will not make the choice yourself?" Otsu felt a small amount of panic arising. "I thought that you, and possibly your husband, would be making the final selection." She began putting away the three portfolios, leaving Nodoka with only the pictures that she had been given.

"Ranma will be allowed to make the final choice himself. But I will want to meet them all in person myself to judge their fitness to marry my son. However, based on what I have seen and heard of these three candidates so far, any one of them would be acceptable to me for my future daughter-in-law. I suppose I could even engage him to them all, and then let him choose one for himself." Nodoka briefly chuckled at her little joke while Otsu raised a single eyebrow, and then she looked at Otsu with a serious expression. "I do want my son to marry for love though, Mitsuma-san. Genma and I were an arranged marriage in our youth, but we love each other too."

"Well, my personal recommendation is the Tendo girl," said Otsu mildly as she closed up her attaché case. "Based on what I now know of you and your son from talking with you, I feel that Nabiki would be the best choice. I hope that you will keep Chrysanthemum in mind when it comes time to plan the wedding." She resumed her smile as Nodoka put the pictures of the three girls away into her purse.

"Oh, I shall. I know, whichever girl he chooses, that Ranma will make the right choice."

I hope so, thought Otsu with an internal grimace. I sincerely hope so.

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As he tried to leave the Kunos' mansion, Kodachi remembered that Ranma had to go back to the Academy. Unable to think of him being late because of her, she insisted that the family car drive him back. He fought the suggestion until her mother announced that he would ride in the car or her family's hospitality would be dishonored. Because of this, he found himself alone in the changing room a full half-hour before his match with Nabiki.

He was surprised to find an unexpected present inside his locked locker when he first opened it: a large folded-up shopping bag resting within. He still had not yet opened it up, and the humble package had mocked him silently as he undressed. However, while he stood there, dressed only in his boxer shorts and socks, his curiosity could no longer be denied. He set down the T-shirt that he had been about to put on and pulled the bag out from his locker. It was a plain brown in color, of a type that could have come from any one of ten thousand different shops in Tokyo.

I wonder where this came from? He unfolded the bag open. Inside it were several soft objects wrapped in tissue. He reached in, and his questing fingers pulled out a disturbingly familiar item from among one such tissue-wrapped bundle, a silk Chinese-style shirt in red with white cuffs. A small piece of paper fell from within the shirt to softly land on the floor at his feet. He did not move for several moments, his eyes studying the shirt with an oddly fascinated look in them. After a moment, his gaze shifted to look down at the small innocent-looking piece of paper, and he bent down to pick it up.

The kanji was precisely scripted in a feminine style, and he read the short message silently, 'Wear these for our first match - Nabiki.' He held the small piece of paper in his hands with disbelief writ large in his eyes, but a moment later his gaze quickly shifted to the red silk shirt held in his other hand. A mirthless smile slowly came across his face, and he mentally slapped himself for not putting things together even sooner and figuring out who his unexpected visitor was already.

So it was you, eh, Nabiki? he thought, with that same, odd smile still on his face. This is going to be interesting, after all. His few retained memories of that life, where it was Nabiki who was heir to the Anything-Goes School instead of him were not as clear to him as the imprinted ones from his first test. However, he suspected that he was in for a true challenge of his newly-gained martial arts skills. His smile grew broader.

A short time later, Ranma emerged from the locker room, dressed in an outfit that felt like a second skin on him, not something that he wore for the very first time: a red, Chinese-style silk shirt with wooden ties holding the front together and broad white cuffs folded back, a pair of black gi pants with the cuffs tied tightly at the ankles, a thin black belt around his waist, and a pair of black slippers on his feet. The feel of the clothes on his body was both new and also equally all-too-familiar to him at the same time. However, it felt oddly right to be dressed this way, and that feeling brought a hint of genuine amusement to his eyes.

Nabiki looked up when the pigtailed boy walked around the corner of the building, and she had a smile on her face that was very similar to the one he wore. It looks like I figured correctly, she thought, noting how easily he moved in his new clothes. He now looked identical to the image she had from her new memories, and her expression changed to a pleased smirk at the sight. Red suits him, she finally decided, nodding her head to him for a moment as she continued to stretch out her long legs in front of herself and limber up. When her gaze briefly locked with his, she noted the light of battle that appeared in his eyes upon sight of her, one she was sure was also within her own.

A few seconds before meeting her gaze, Ranma had eyed her sparring outfit with a smirk, showing not a whit of surprise on his face, as if he had simply confirmed something for himself that he had already known to be true. Her clothing was nearly identical to his own, except for her wearing a light blue shirt instead of a red one like he was. He met her gaze with a cocky look on his face, still confident in himself. Their eyes locked for a moment, and he took note of the confident look she wore as well. The desire to test himself against her grew a little stronger, and from the look on her face, he was sure that she felt similar desires. A breeze arose briefly, blowing a few scattered leaves and a small whirl of cherry blossoms between them.

Then the moment was gone, and their gazes broke from each other. Her eyes slowly moved up and down his body, studying him in an appraising fashion, as he shook his head briefly to clear it. What had been the most jarring thing to him in that moment though was the incredible feeling of rightness at being in her presence, being dressed as he was, and seeing her dressed as she was.

Besides, Ranma thought, studying the Chinese-style clothed girl, she actually looks pretty cute dressed like that. After he thought that, he shook his head worriedly once again and tried hard to put a neutral expression onto his face.

"Looking good, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki with quite genuine appreciation when she finally lifted her gaze back up to look him in the eyes once more, catching him right in the middle of admiring her and causing him to look uncertain once again. Feeling playful, she sat back, resting her hands palms-down on the ground behind her, the artful pose emphasizing the sizable swell of her breasts beneath the silken shirt and bringing a large lump to his throat. Apparently quite satisfied with the effect that she had had on him from the look on his face, she smirked at him very confidently and seductively asked, "So, are you ready to test your might against me today?"

Before he could make any sort of response to that, she shifted her position forward, her hands reaching down her legs to grasp both of her slippered feet as she lowered her head down, another intentionally artful pose on her part that earned her a faint sort of groaning sound from the pigtailed teen. As she went back to stretching out her leg muscles some more, she heard him settle himself nearby with some soft grumbles. His proximity to her was once again evoking the same mildly pleasant tingling within her that it had always done before, but they were now given a new depth, colored by her new awareness of him as a rival in combat skill. The Tendo girl found herself grinning, and her sense of anticipation for the match was increasing.

"Just be ready to lose, Nabiki," grumbled Ranma, a little sullenly, as he began to do his own stretching routine. He sat a little ways away from her to give them both plenty of room to warm up, and he tried to ignore her presence as best he could, focusing all of his mental faculties on his own body and preparing himself for the match. However, his eyes kept drifting back to look at her during random moments, and he found himself admiring the clean lines of her body. He was just studying her for possible weaknesses, or at least that was what he kept telling himself that he was doing. And, much as it had been before his match with Akane, he felt his pulse gradually quickening, his breathing deepening, and the same competitive fire that had filled his soul then began burning within him once more. It helped him focus his thoughts on his current purpose for being, to fight with all of his skill and all of his strength.

Nabiki had her legs spread wide apart, straining slightly against the resistance of the muscles in her inner thighs as she found her eyes once again drawn to Ranma, flustering her concentration a little bit. Other than her confrontation with him in Fuyutsuki's office, this was the first time that she had seen him since her experiences the night before, and her new awareness of him as a person, as an equal, left her feeling oddly agitated. She forced herself to ignore the feelings that he was evoking within her merely by his nearness through sheer force of will, and her thoughts finally calmed. She continued to limber herself up for the match, feeling her body almost instinctively readying itself for combat, her mind clearing of all other thoughts but for a single, driving purpose, to unleash the warrior soul now within her. She sensed her heart rate speeding up, the blood within her body beginning to flow more strongly as her muscles loosened up, and her breathing deepening.

The two coaches, Takami and Fujinami, watched the young couple from a short distance away. Takami had casually pulled the other man away when Nabiki emerged in her unexpected choice for workout garb. The pair consulted with each other quietly, both feeling something in the air was about to happen. Shortly after Ranma walked out in a similar outfit to hers, Fuyutsuki had emerged from the main building to stand with them.

"I see that I'm not too late for the show," he noted with a mild smile.

"No, you're right on time," said Takami. "They should be ready to begin in a little while. I was planning on having them get the sparring match out of the way first, before I put them through their paces."

"They make an intriguing pair," rumbled Fujinami, eyeing the two similarly-garbed youths. He was a rather large-framed man, almost six feet in height, and his heavily-muscled build showed very few signs of deterioration, despite the bright streaks of gray stretching back from his temples. "They both show surprisingly great internal strength to my eyes, despite their youth."

Fuyutsuki turned to face him. "Indeed? Fascinating." He turned to look at the two teenagers, a broader smile appearing on his face, and he felt an almost paternal pride now that he was about to see them in action. He set down the small video camera and data recorder where they would be able to capture all of the action, or so he hoped. I can hardly wait to see them begin, he mused. This is so thrilling.

"Watching them fight each other will prove instructive for me, so that I may better gauge their abilities," said Fujinami after a moment. "I feel that today's match will be most enlightening." A very rare smile crossed the man's craggy face.

Fuyutsuki nodded at that, but most of his attention was on activating the small pieces of equipment near him. He eyed the small video monitor in his hand, and then he activated the miniaturized data recorder unit. A stream of very tiny numerals began scrolling on the screen as the small computer began its task of gathering data on the two youths. It would not be until after the end of the match, when he was able to analyze the data using the more powerful system in his office, that he would be able to obtain a rough estimate on their current combat capabilities.

After their initial warm-up drills were over, the two teenagers moved back onto the large, padded mat that had been laid out on the concrete for their match. They knelt across from each other, only a scant few feet of mat separating them now, and then Ranma once again smiled confidently across at Nabiki, his cool, blue eyes level with her own gaze. She returned the smile with an equally confident, perhaps a trifle smug one of her own as they both studied each other carefully, and, as if by mutual consent, they each eventually found themselves held by the other's gaze. There was almost gentleness in their regard for each other, a calm sensuality in the attraction that they both felt, so unlike the raw sexual need that Ranma had experienced with Akane at a similar time.

"Think you can take me, Ranma-kun?" asked Nabiki suddenly, a soft husk in her voice as she spoke, briefly breaking the subtle spell between them for a moment. Her body felt ready for combat. Her focus was now exclusively on the pigtailed boy, her chosen opponent. However, other unexplored feelings for him hovered in the back of her mind as an almost comforting presence.

"That sounds much more like a question I should be asking you, Nabiki," he replied with a steady look into her unwavering gaze. "It looks as if we'll soon see who takes who though." He felt very much aware of himself and his surroundings, especially of the quite attractive and intelligent-looking girl now kneeling before him. He felt oddly intimate with her, but also very much aware of the subtle cues that her body was giving off that told him that she was a capable opponent, and one to be respected. It was a strange mixture of desire and challenge, and the moment of truth between them was very near now.

"Yes, we will, Ranma-kun." Nabiki spoke almost absently. Her lips parted slightly as she felt her passions kindling and building within her, mixing into her awareness of Ranma as an opponent and as a man. It was like a primal instinct was awakening and flickering into life within her. Her gaze did not waver at all as she noticed the faint aura that suddenly emerged around him, a bluish light that aroused an almost carnal awareness of him from somewhere very deep within. She continued to hold fast to his gaze, while wearing her now vaguely predatory smile, one that matched his. She felt a deep longing growing within her, as if she burned with a desire to fulfill the purpose to which she was born to, one which she had been unaware of until she saw it reflected from his eyes.

To Ranma's view, there suddenly seemed to be an odd halo of dim bluish light that rose up around Nabiki's body, an almost unnoticeable nimbus of energy. At perhaps that same moment, he felt himself being surrounded by one as well, clothing his body like an intangible and invisible veil. It was as if something within him had apparently answered to, or perhaps had given, an unspoken challenge as the result of a previously unknown instinct. It was as if he and the girl before him had each triggered something in the other, something new to both of them, a mere hint of a previously unsuspected and untapped power within each of them. The odd effect only lasted for a few moments though, dissipating almost as rapidly as it arose. His eyes remained firmly locked onto hers, as her gaze was still riveted to his own.

"Fascinating," murmured Fujinami. The energy, invisible to the average eye, had been quite clear to his trained senses, and he again marveled at the sight of the two youths. That they appeared to have done it only by reflex, rather than by conscious intention, made it even more astonishing to him. As he studied the two youths closely, he was oddly reminded of two powerful predators suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with each other, especially from the odd smiles that they were giving to each other. He slowly walked over to them to act as the referee, and he sensed them become aware of him without taking their gazes from each other.

"This is only sparring, you two," said Fujinami in his very deep voice. "So keep the damage levels down to a low roar, but show me what each of you is capable of. This is to be a test of skill, not an Arena death match. I assume that that is acceptable?" Both of them nodded with a jerk of their heads as they stood up, eager to begin, their attentions still mainly on the opponent who stood opposite them.

Unlike when he had faced Akane, Ranma did not feel possessed of the almost animalistic desire to assert his male dominance over Nabiki, not quite. There did exist an oddly intense awareness of the girl before him, but he also felt a strong sense of camaraderie with her as well. He wanted to win against her, but he didn't exactly want to bend her to his will as he had felt himself desiring to do with Akane. Instead, he felt an eagerness to challenge himself against an equal, one whom he subconsciously recognized as somehow being both a rival and a friend at the same time. They were both accidentally-adopted heirs of the Anything-Goes School, and that created a subtle bond between them that was undeniable, both within the ring of combat and outside of it.

As the last few moments before the sparring match was to begin ticked away, Nabiki experienced a multitude of sensations and feelings filling her that were both new and exciting, yet they also felt as familiar to her as her own breath. She felt the muscles in her body almost humming with the desire to begin, and her nerves and reflexes felt sharp as she studied her opponent. Her lungs filled and emptied of air in a deep, regular pattern, and the blood almost seemed to sing in her veins. She flipped Ranma a quick thumbs-up and a coy smile before raising her hands up into a guard position, feeling ready for anything.

Coach Fujinami moved off to one side. He was reasonably certain that they understood the instructions, and neither of them looked like they intended to kill the other. He slowly raised his hand and then dropped it swiftly.

"BEGIN!"

The pair came together in a rush, and they met each other in the exact middle of the space between them. Their initial exchange of blows was almost cautious, despite their mutual eagerness for what they were now doing. Still, each of them held nothing back of their martial arts skills, as Fujinami watched them carefully, analyzing their abilities with care. The two young fighters began testing each other, both of them quickly becoming caught up in the thrill of the struggle going on between them, as they drove each other to the limits of what they were capable of.

Nabiki quickly found herself to have a modest edge in speed over Ranma, despite his many recent weeks of intensive physical training. However, she was now undergoing her second year of the Academy's physical training program, and she was at the very top of her class in ability, even if she hadn't really been pushing herself to her body's full limits. It was also quite clear to her that her martial arts skills, so newly-gained from her counterpart, were at parity to the pigtailed boy's own (and likely better), but it was difficult for her to judge since neither of them had managed to land a solid blow on the other yet. However, she did know that she was enjoying this test of her new skills a very great deal, finding an intensely powerful sense of satisfaction in challenging herself against a very worthy opponent, like Ranma was quickly proving himself to be.

As he struggled to overcome the Tendo girl's surprisingly equal level of skill, Ranma quickly discovered that he was not feeling the absolute certainty of victory now that he had against Akane, and yet that very same uncertainty filled him with an excited thrill. He was even now pushing his speed, power and skills to their present limits, and he was finding that she was able to match him every step of the way. As their struggle against each other continued, the balance between them quickly swung back and forth, never seeming to move too far from equilibrium. He was finding that it was only his slightly greater physical strength and reach that enabled him to offset her marginally faster speed and possibly greater skill.

Coach Fujinami analyzed the patterns of their attacks and defenses as both young fighters moved at an astonishing level of speed against each other. What intrigued him most was that they were both using a common central style to their movements, but it was one that he had never seen before in his entire life. This mysterious central style was very difficult to pick out as they moved against each other, yet it was undeniably present. To his added amazement, he also counted no less than three dozen different martial arts styles being utilized in the two young warriors' individual combat repertoires. Bits and pieces of each form's best elements were all being overlaid on top of this unknown, central style.

Amazing, thought Fujinami with a solemn look. Their skills are most impressive indeed. I look forward to training them to reach the limits of their capabilities, if they even have any. Never before have I seen two fighters with such high levels of potential. He remained standing at his position, his impassive, stone-gray eyes calmly watching the events proceeding before him as the two adolescents fought hard against each other. It was appearing as if Nabiki was gaining the upper hand ever so slowly, but it was difficult to say for certain.

You're good, Ranma-kun, thought Nabiki with a wolfish grin as she ducked under his fist. You're very good indeed. Her lightning-fast counterstrike narrowly missed his jaw as he parried it with a forearm. Her knee blocked a kick, and one of his quick evasions kept her foot from slamming into his gut on her next counterstrike. However, after over ten minutes of heavy sparring, she was starting to feel the first hints of exhaustion beginning to slow her limbs, but she just forced her body to maintain its present, full-speed fury.

It was now, during their current jockeying for dominance in their sparring match, that she finally realized something interesting to her. On her counterpart's world, that version of herself was clearly the best by far to any of the other young fighters in her peer group, and she presumed that it was the same on that other world where Ranma had gained his own, equally impressive skills from. But here, neither of them could claim to be the clear and absolute best, and that fact intrigued her a great deal. So they continued to duel against each other, their full skills unleashed, both battling intensely for control of the course of the fight, and each refusing to yield the smallest amount to the other.

"We seem to be even on the ground," admitted Ranma as he eyed Nabiki momentarily during a brief lull. They had broken apart from each other to circle warily, each of them mustering their strength back up before engaging the other once again. "So let's see how you deal with this." He gathered his legs beneath him and sprang into the air to attack her from above, or at least that was his plan.

"Nice try, Ranma-kun." Nabiki grinned wolfishly, her reflexes already triggering her legs to leap up to meet him in mid-air, before she had even begun to consciously think about it. "But aerial combat is a specialty of the Anything-Goes School. You should know that." The two of them came together in a furious display of talent, fists and feet flashing against each other for the brief time that they almost seemed to hang suspended in the air.

Such skill they both have, such wondrous martial arts skill, thought Fuyutsuki, gazing with unabashed admiration as he watched the two adolescents battling hard against each other, a sort of paternal smile upon his face.

For several long minutes, the two struggling martial artists managed to achieve a rough stalemate with each other, but it could not last forever. They landed only a few feet apart, but each was now filled with a fierce desire for victory that would not be denied, both caught up in the passions that were swirling between them. A single moment later, they each launched into the sky once again, unleashing another rapid-fire exchange against each other, neither one quite able to penetrate the defenses of their opponent.

Until the final moment.

Time seemed to stand still as there was the distinctive sound of two fists striking solidly against flesh and bone. The two young martial artists seemed to hang suspended in the air for a moment, as the three onlookers finally saw what had just happened. Nabiki's left fist had caught Ranma squarely across the jaw, a powerful blow backed by her whole shoulder behind it that had kayoed him almost instantly upon impact. However, his right fist had slammed into her cheek at exactly the same moment with equal strength, driving it through the small hole in her defenses and achieving a double knockout. Both fighters wore very surprised looks on their faces in the moment before they each fell unconscious and plummeted down to land sprawled out upon the mat. The pigtailed boy ended up landing face-down, his jaw already purpling, and the Tendo girl fell to land face-up, her face also bearing a large bruise on her left cheek.

"Hmm," murmured Fujinami. "A cross-counterstrike punch to end their first match. Interesting." He slowly settled himself next to Nabiki, bending his knees deeply as he reached out one hand to turn her head from side to side. He looked up at Fuyutsuki. "She appears to be simply stunned and should awaken shortly." He moved over to Ranma and gently flipped him over onto his back, before his fingers moved to lightly touch the unconscious boy's jaw. He grunted when he was satisfied that there was no permanent damage done to either of them.

Fuyutsuki moved nearer, his thoughts unreadable behind a mask of professional calm as he looked down at the girl, her face slack-jawed and bruised. You did very well, my dear, even though it was a tie. I now know that you will be able to obtain your five victories against young Saotome, which will stifle his protests as to your physical capabilities. After what I have just witnessed, I don't see that as being any sort of difficulty now.

"They were fighting using the same style," noted Fujinami, looking over at Fuyutsuki, who was now squatting down to study Nabiki's unconscious form more closely. "It was a Kempo style, of that much I'm sure, but it was nothing like I have ever seen before. I heard the girl call it the Anything-Goes School during the match. I have to confess that I've never heard of any such school of martial arts."

"Indeed?" asked Fuyutsuki, his eyes studying the fallen couple. Where could they have gained such skills? It did not make any sense. He paused in his thoughts and smiled slightly. Still, it didn't really matter. They have them now, and I intend to see how far they are able to drive each other. Now, more than ever before, I am certain that the two of them will make an excellent pairing.

After several minutes, Nabiki groaned and blinked her eyes open, her hand moving up to touch her cheek and wincing at the pain. I guess I lost, she thought, sitting up slowly only to see that Ranma was returning to consciousness now as well. Perhaps not.

Owww, was Ranma's first conscious thought, his jaw feeling like someone had hit it with a sledgehammer. He blinked his eyes open to see Nabiki sitting there near him on the mat, her knees pulled up in front of her as she smirked at him. I lost? To Nabiki? He stared at the Chinese-style clothed girl for a moment.

"Welcome back to the living, Ranma-kun," she said, a more normal smile now on her face. She noticed his attention being drawn to the bruise on her cheek, and smirked at him again. "You hit pretty hard. Trying to break my face?"

"Not especially." Ranma sat up. He felt the pain of his jaw pulsing in intensity, but it was ignorable. "You hit pretty hard, too." He paused, a half-smile on his lips as he continued, "for a cute girl, that is."

"You got that right, Ranma-kun," she said, staring him right in the eyes, her smile turning almost coy. "Don't you ever forget it either." She lowered her knees slightly and rested her palms on the ground behind her once again. She saw his eyes drifting down her front reflexively before he pulled them away. She felt surprisingly pleased at his attention.

"Ah, I see that my two new pupils are now awake," said Fujinami in calm tones, interrupting the scene, his deep voice rumbling. "You two youngsters show a lot of promise as martial artists." He walked over from where he had been talking with Takami. Fuyutsuki was no longer present.

More than you know, thought both youths at almost the same time. They looked at each other briefly, appraisingly.

"But now that you're both recovered, it's now time to train," said the large man. "So get off your butts and hit the track. I want each of you to finish ten kilometers. You have thirty minutes." He frowned when they did not immediately get up, and he roared at them with a truly astonishing amount of presence, "I said, GET GOING! And because of your laziness, whoever comes in last will also give me a hundred sit-ups and push-ups after we finish the rest of your workout today!"

The two of them leaped to their feet and took off at a run, the dust of their departure scarcely settling before they were both halfway to the track. Fujinami stared after them with a neutral look on his craggy face, but inside he was smiling.

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Fuyutsuki took the small disk from inside the recorder unit that he had taken with him and inserted it into the computer on his desk. He hummed softly as he waited for the software to download the data and images that he had recorded of his two special students. A nameless technician had developed this particular program a few years earlier for use in the Arena, to evaluate the combat potentials of the various fighters for odds-setting purposes, but it was also ideally suited for his current needs. He made a mental note to get a record of the Kuno girl's data, in addition to a video of one of her fights for his analysis of her progress.

After several minutes, the system finally beeped that it had finished processing the data and video images, and he leaned forward to see the results on the monitor. He punched up Ranma's information first and watched as the screen cleared and a video sample taken from the fight was displayed in one window. In another box, the computer began running down its preliminary calculations for the teenaged martial artist's vital statistics.

Name: Ranma Saotome

Age: 16

Sex: Male

Height: 1.71 meters

Mass: 67 kilograms

Physical Capabilities:

Structural Integrity: 82.51

Muscle Strength: 85.78

Lung Capacity: 83.24

Eyesight: 82.96

Auditon: 94.98

Dynamic Eyesight: 94.63

Metabolism: 95.19

Neuroreflex: 93.99

Offensive Capability: 80.75

Defensive Capability: 83.94

Recoverability: 88.92

Speed: 86.45

Perseverance: 87.89

Objectivity: 82.38

Perception: 90.12

Judgment: 87.44

Adaptability: 89.65

Estimated Current Fighting Capacity: 1490.82

"A most excellent beginning, Ranma," he said, smiling. "I have very high hopes indeed that you will only grow stronger still. As it is, your abilities would stand up against some of the best Arena fighters of around your same age. Now, let us see how Nabiki is rated." He punched a few more keys and the view on the screen quickly changed to a few highlights of her movements and a new list of calculated statistics appeared.

Name: Nabiki Tendo

Age: 17

Sex: Female

Height: 1.68 meters

Mass: 52 kilograms

Physical Capabilities:

Structural Integrity: 80.27

Muscle Strength: 80.29

Lung Capacity: 81.99

Eyesight: 83.22

Auditon: 96.05

Dynamic Eyesight: 95.11

Metabolism: 95.37

Neuroreflex: 94.82

Offensive Capability: 81.39

Defensive Capability: 84.25

Recoverability: 88.14

Speed: 88.72

Perseverance: 88.06

Objectivity: 85.11

Perception: 91.25

Judgment: 89.86

Adaptability: 87.41

Estimated Current Fighting Capacity: 1491.31

"Marginally better than the boy's, but so close as to be almost the same," he noted with mild surprise. A difference of fifty basis points or less was considered to be roughly an equal match. "It will be quite interesting to see how they do, now that they will be competing against each other. I must make a point of monitoring their training more closely now." With the tap of a few keystrokes, he quickly saved all of the files, and then he closed down the software with a somewhat bemused look on his face.

Fuyutsuki steepled his fingers together and turned his chair to face out the window in his office, watching the shadows lengthening around the building as the sun lowered in the sky. He was mildly troubled by such an unexpected, overnight improvement of the two as fighters, but it had put him ahead of his timetable so he did not question his good fortune. I am sure that I will learn the reason why in time, he mused. He smiled, content for the moment at the course of events.

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Ranma hung his head wearily as he stood beneath the blast of hot water that was sluicing down on him from the shower nozzle. He and Nabiki had hardly spoken during class, both of them concentrating on outdoing each other, and the extra push-ups and sit-ups that he had to do for coming in a single pace behind her had pretty much drained the last of his reserves. The ache in his jaw had finally stopped a while ago, and he rubbed the back of one hand gently against it. To find out that he had tied her had been a surprise to him, but he was looking forward to their rematch tomorrow. He planned on practicing some more before classes in the backyard, to try and give himself some sort of an edge that he could use against the girl he now had to contend with.

Nabiki beat me, he thought, feeling a little irritated at that. Well, actually she tied me, but the principle is the same since I didn't win. He lifted his face up and let the hot water spray him in the face. It feels rather strange to meet a girl who is my equal in fighting skill, especially with it being her. I wonder how the other Ranma would handle this?

His tired mind was not giving him the answer though, and it was perhaps just as well. He shut the water off and let himself drip dry for a few moments before grabbing his towel and drying off briskly. He sauntered out to the locker area and opened up his locker. He pulled the dirty workout clothes from within and placed them back into the paper bag, taking a moment to examine the red silk shirt with a slight smile. He then stuffed the bag into his bookbag.

He quickly changed clothes, and put his uniform back on. He slung his bag up onto his shoulder and walked out of the locker room. It had been a very long, odd day today, and he simply wanted to go home, eat, and not have to think about girls, martial arts, or the very chaotic confusion that his life seemed to be quickly becoming.

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At the main gate, the setting sun illuminated the waiting figures of Kuno and Mikado. They had been standing, solemnly waiting, for the better part of an hour after the last cadets had filed out past them, but the target of their wrath had not made an appearance yet. It looked like he had already left, and Kuno was feeling more than a little put out by that. Mikado was simply bored.

"I don't think that he's coming," observed Mikado. He tapped the tip of his wooden weapon against the ground.

"That wretch, Saotome!" grumbled the other boy, his hand gripping the handle of his bokken more tightly. "He probably saw me waiting for him and has fled like a coward from my awesome prowess!" His stomach suddenly rumbled loudly, and he grimaced. "Perhaps I shall pursue my vengeance anon, but my wrath shall be even greater for the delay."

"I should be getting home to dinner as well," noted the other boy. "I have to face my prospective fiancée once again." He sighed at the thought of having to marry a ditzy, little airhead like Azusa Shiratori, but the girl's family was gaining in prominence in the Empire and his father thought it would make a good match. Of course, now that Kuno-kun is so concerned about his sister spending time with this Saotome fellow, perhaps now might be a good time to try and persuade my father to pursue a match between me and sweet Kodachi-chan, he thought with a calculating look towards his friend.

"I will have my driver drop you off on my way home," said Kuno.

"I thank you," replied Mikado. "Perhaps we can try this again tomorrow morning? We can catch Saotome when he arrives."

"An excellent plan! The morning sun shall bear witness to the fall of Ranma Saotome at my hand!"

The two young noblemen turned around and entered the limousine that had remained waiting by the curb for them to finish their duel with Ranma. The long vehicle sped away from the front gate, back towards their respective manors.

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Less than two minutes later, Ranma walked around the corner of the main building, rubbing his neck with one hand to relieve a stiff muscle in it. He headed out from the campus through the main gate area, his left foot stepping right where Kuno had just been standing, and then continuing past to continue on his way home.

When he arrived at the Saotome household, he was very tired and hungry. He slipped off his shoes and left his bookbag by the door. He could smell dinner waiting, and he was powerless to resist its siren call. His stomach was sending urgent messages to his brain.

Nodoka heard the front door open and close, and the distinctive sounds of someone fumbling around in the entryway area, as she was putting the finishing touches on dinner. She turned down the heat on the stove and checked the rice cooker, and then stepped into the hallway. "Ranma? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Mom," Ranma replied as he pulled his shoes off. "It's me."

He called me Mom? She then noticed a bandage on his face and frowned. Since when does my son take to using slang talk? What sort of uncouth people has he been spending time with? She took a closer look at her son. "What happened to your face, young man?" Her tone of voice was one that mothers have used since the dawn of time.

"Just something that happened to me during my training class," he replied, not meeting her stern gaze. "It's only a bruise, really. See?" He quickly peeled the bandage away from it, revealing a purple and yellow contusion on his jaw to her view.

He's been in a fight again, she noted as she narrowed her eyes a little at the sight, since it clearly looked like a fist strike to her eyes. He looks awful. First there were all those bruises and injuries on him yesterday, and again he looks hurt today. What is going on with him? Has he joined some sort of gang? She was more than a little concerned that her only son was coming home looking like he'd been in a fight once again like some kind of delinquent, but she decided to refrain from commenting now. So she put a smile on her face and welcomed him home.

"Welcome home, son. Your father said he'd be working late at the Ministry tonight, so dinner will just be you and me. Take your place at the table after you wash up, and I will serve dinner." She turned around, walked back into the kitchen, and busied herself at scooping food into serving bowls.

"That sounds great, Mom," said Ranma, a little tiredly, after her retreating back. After washing his hands, he walked over to his usual place at the table and slumped down there. He noticed his mother looking over at him with concern. Maybe before I go to sleep, I'll do a little research on the datanet tonight, he thought with a slight yawn. I'll see if I can find listings for some of the others. If I'm here, and the Tendos are here, then maybe Ukyo and Shampoo are too. He settled back to wait as he softly tapped his chopsticks against the table.

Nodoka came out of the kitchen with a serving tray. She started to set bowls of food down on the dining room table. Ranma felt his mouth begin watering. His appetite had been going up with all of the added exercise that had been getting, and the urge to consume everything on the table was becoming almost overpowering.

"Tough day, son?" she asked. Perhaps engaging him to Ukyo would be prudent, she thought seriously. I'm sure that she could protect Ranma from whoever keeps beating him up.

"It wasn't one of my better ones," replied the pigtailed boy, a little sullenly.

Nodoka set out the last item, a large serving bowl of rice. She finished serving her son and herself, and he immediately began eating at a rapid pace. She watched in stunned silence, her chopsticks halfway to her mouth with a piece of chicken, as Ranma consumed all of the food in his bowl in seconds. Didn't he eat at all today? She saw that he was almost ready to hand over his bowl for another serving of rice when she set her bowl down and just stared at him, even as he continued to eat at his manic pace. She coughed politely into her fist, but he didn't appear to notice her as he scooped up the last bits of rice. She coughed again, a little louder as she looked at him.

Ranma paused, suddenly realizing what he was doing. Uh oh, he thought worriedly. Mom hates poor table manners. He set his bowl down, and smiled innocently as he swallowed the food in his mouth. She continued to look at him with a slight frown on her face.

"My goodness, son. I haven't ever seen you so hungry before. Did you skip lunch or something?" She hurriedly dealt him out another generous helping of rice and chicken, but she still frowned deeply at him.

"Uhm, sorry," he said. He had been so hungry that the other Ranma's instincts had just seemed to take over. "I guess I wasn't thinking too clearly."

"Yes, well, you clearly have had a rough day, but that does not entitle you to display such atrocious manners at the dinner table," said Nodoka sternly. "I would hope that all my weeks of coaching you in the proper etiquette would be showing more results by now. Is this how you expect to eat when in polite company?" She sighed. She did not want to spoil her good news by upsetting her only son, so she smiled before speaking once again. "But it's all right, Ranma. Just don't make a habit of eating like this. After all, how do you expect to win a girl's heart if you eat like some kind of wild animal? I shudder to think how you may act when we have visitors next week."

"Visitors?" he inquired of her as he picked up his bowl and began to eat at a more acceptable pace to his mother. She smiled and set out a few photos in front of him. Ranma glanced down in mild curiosity. He almost swallowed his chopsticks when he saw the three faces that stared back at him from the photos. The mouthful of rice he'd just swallowed seemed to be lodged in his throat.

"Well, I had wanted to wait until after dinner to show you my little surprise," said Nodoka with a bright smile. "But now is as good a time as any for it. I took the liberty of visiting with a matchmaker this afternoon." Ranma suddenly looked like he was having some trouble breathing. "These are the three girls that she showed me as potential brides for you. All of them are fine ladies from very good families. I'm in the process of making arrangements for you to spend time with each of them next week."

Ranma pounded his chest to get the rice he swallowed to go down. He coughed for a moment, and then he gulped down some of his tea. Nodoka looked on in concern. I certainly never expected this sort of reaction, she thought in surprise. He almost looks scared.

He finally got himself back under control, blinking several times as he stared at the faces in the photos, as he already knew two of them. At least Akane wasn't one of them, he thought with a measure of relief. That would have been too much for him to handle at this time, what with the youngest Tendo recently developing some sort of potentially violent fixation on him. The third photo was actually a pleasant surprise in comparison, but the thought of Ukyo suddenly dropped into his life was worth a fear reaction all its own.

"M-m-marriage?" Ranma finally managed to stutter out.

"Why, yes," said Nodoka with a smile, puzzled by his strange reaction to the sight of the pictures. "The nice lady that I met from the matchmaking service told me that all three come from fine families in the Empire. You already know the Tendo girl, I think. The middle one, Kodachi Kuno, lives not very far from here. And the third girl, Ukyo Kuonji, comes from a very well-respected family in the Koga mountain area, one of the last of the ninja clans. But her family has managed a large shrine in the area for several hundred years."

Ninjas? thought Ranma, getting a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach for a moment. When did the Kuonjis practice Ninjutsu? But I guess that might explain how such a silly thing like a fighting style based around okonomiyaki could arise. At least she's not going to be walking around dressed like a boy. Then he realized that he was probably being silly over nothing. What are the odds of anything strange happening? Kodachi is normal, Ukyo looks normal enough, and as for Nabiki, well, she did look awfully cute in that outfit. His mother had gone back to looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Nodoka, noticing him holding Nabiki's picture the longest of the three of them.

"I guess I should meet them then," he said, somewhat grudgingly, after a moment. "Since you're going to all this trouble of arranging things, that is." He tapped one of his chopsticks on the table as he thought. "I'm curious as to something though."

"What is that?" Nodoka took a sip of her tea.

"Well, why did you feel the need to arrange for a bride for me so soon?" Ranma picked up his cup of tea, and noticed that his hand was trembling slightly. He drank it down quickly.

"Well, you don't have a girlfriend. I wasn't ever sure if you would be able to tear yourself away from your studies long enough to find a girl to marry, so I decided, as your mother, who only has your very best interests at heart, to arrange for you to meet someone suitable. I'm having the matchmaker arrange for each girl and her parents to visit us over the next week." She set down her teacup, and gave him a reassuring smile.

Ranma wasn't feeling reassured at all. When did I lose control of my own life? His stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly again, still not satisfied with what he had consumed so far, so he decided to leave off such worrisome thoughts until later. His thoughts kept drifting to two particular girls though, each of them attractive to him for different reasons. While he still felt a little like the walls were starting to close in on his life, he also felt a vague attraction to the thought of marriage to one of the two.

Finally, after four bowls of rice and a sizable amount of chicken and vegetables had crossed his lips, he sat back and sighed, his hunger now satiated. He got up from the table, thanked his mother for such a delicious meal, and headed up to his room with the intention of doing some research.

When Ranma got into his room, he eyed the Navi sitting on his desk, eyed the futon laid out and ready for him, and sighed. It can wait until tomorrow, he decided. He peeled off the bandage, grateful to see that the bruise was much better than it was a few hours earlier, and by morning he was sure that it would be gone. He undressed, laid down on his futon, and he was asleep within moments.

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Ranma found himself in the Tendo Dojo. His twin sat just opposite him. They were dressed nearly the same, except the other boy was in a blue shirt instead of wearing a red one like himself. He wasn't quite sure, but he seemed to be wearing the ghost of a smirk on his face. He looked around while he opened his eyes slowly.

"Welcome back," said the other Ranma. "It looks like you've had a busy day." He smirked more obviously.

"Tell me something I don't know," replied Ranma. "Now I have my mother looking at Nabiki, Kodachi, or Ukyo to be my future fiancée."

Martial-Ranma dropped his feet flat to the floor and suddenly bent over as if in extreme pain, hugging his knees. His body began to convulse, and strange, muffled sounds were coming out of him. While Ranma kept looking at his twin, the other boy suddenly reared back and laughed deeply. "Y-you-" The rest went unsaid as he just continued to laugh and laugh.

Ranma didn't sleep well that whole night.

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"I told Ranma about my meeting with the marriage broker during dinner, Genma dear," said Nodoka happily as she sat next to him in bed. He was reading a book, and just grunted acknowledgment. "I think that this will work out well for him. Any one of these three girls seems like she would make a good bride for our son."

Genma just grunted again. It had been a long day at the Ministry, and he simply wasn't interested in what he viewed as Nodoka's foolish chattering. His wife, more than a little irritated at his inattention to her, grabbed the book away from him, and he blinked his eyes owlishly at her.

"Genma Saotome!" she thundered. "You will listen to me when I'm talking about our son's future!"

"Yes, Nodoka-chan," he replied. He put on his most attentive look. "I still think that Ranma's too young to get tied down with a wife."

"Tied down?" Nodoka blinked. "Genma Saotome, are you going to sit there and tell me that you've felt trapped and tied down by being married to me?" She folded her arms, looking wrathful. Genma sighed.

"Of course not, Nodoka-chan," he said in soothing tones. I'm not that stupid, he thought quickly. "I just think that you may be a little premature in trying to find Ranma a bride right now. The boy still has some growing up to do."

"Marriage will do that for him," she said confidently. "Our son needs a strong woman to give him guidance."

"You're probably right, dear. Can I have my book back now?"

Nodoka narrowed her eyes even more angrily at him. Genma gulped, and he started to sweat a little. As much as he loved her, Nodoka had always intimidated him a little, and she had ever since they were married. If you know what's good for you, my son, you'll prolong the decision as long as you possibly can, he thought sincerely. He began placating her, and by the time the lights were turned out they were both occupied with something other than arguing.

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Special thanks go out to Jim Bader for his permission to borrow from his work Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) for Earth +4.614, +4.496 (Ranma 1/2 cluster).

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	7. Variations On A Life

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Soun Tendo sat at the dining table in his home and lit up another cigarette, while he absently stared out at the pre-dawn morning light. Next to his right elbow, an ashtray held over a dozen butts already within it. He slowly inhaled a long drag of smoke from his current cigarette and contemplated his life, and the changes in it since Kimiko had died. The manner of her death still disturbed him, and also the lingering effect it had on their children. It had been several years, but the pain of losing her still sometimes kept him awake nights, as it had last night. Luckily, his high position afforded him the luxury of missing a few days of work here and there.

If only I had talked her out of going on that mission, he mused grimly, taking another drag on his cigarette. She might still be alive today. But she was a soldier, an officer, and the Empire needed her skills one last time. He closed his eyes and a sigh escaped his lips. The twin burdens of duty and honor are a heavy one at times, but they are worth the effort of carrying if our lives are to have any meaning. He opened his eyes and stared out at the fading night. You taught me that lesson, Kimiko-chan. It is something I have never forgotten, as much pain as those words have caused me, but I still miss having you by my side at night. No other woman has ever replaced you in my heart, and no woman ever will. I would sacrifice almost anything to be able to see you one more time, my little warrior. He smiled as he recalled how she had blushed and smiled when he had first called her that, and he took another puff on his cigarette.

As he sat and contemplated, he heard footsteps on the stairs. A moment later there was a very surprised inhalation from the person who came around the corner and saw him sitting there in the dim light of the approaching dawn.

"Oh!" exclaimed Kyoko Otonashi, startled by the unexpected, brooding presence at the dining area table. She bowed graciously to him, still a little nervous around her unusually solemn, new employer. She smoothed her long, brown skirt and said, "Tendo-san. I did not realize that you were already awake this morning. I was just going to start breakfast, but could I fix you some tea first?"

"Tea would be lovely, Otonashi-san," he said calmly, a wisp of smoke accompanying his words as he spoke. "I apologize for startling you, but I could not sleep."

"I understand. I will get your tea now." The attractive woman bowed once more and retreated to the kitchen. She busied herself with boiling water for tea and preparing the kitchen for cooking breakfast for the family.

Soun blew out another long stream of smoke from his nose and returned to his thoughts. It had been several months since his last bout with insomnia. He had arrived home late last night, as he usually did, but he was unable to fall asleep. When midnight had arrived with no sign of slumber claiming him, he had gotten up from his bed and gone downstairs, to sit and think about the past, the present, and the future. Brooding about might-have-beens was a waste of effort, but it was also comforting in a way.

His wife was in his thoughts, as the ghost of her presence seemed to abide with him during these times. The memory of the last time he had beheld her alive. The memory of the last time he had made love to her. The memory of the last time she had held her daughters. Each of them had been affected by her death so much. He himself had come so close to breaking, but her last words to him had prevented that.

"Be strong for our children, Soun," she had told him, on that last day they had been together. She had been standing there in her combat fatigues in their bedroom, looking so very beautiful, and so very tough, all at the same time. "This one is going to be bad, and I'm- I might not return, so I want your word of honor that you will be strong for our daughters." Her eyes had been dry, but he knew that the thought of leaving her children without a mother had hurt her deeply. But she was a proud soldier of the Empire, and her devotion to duty left no room for acting on personal fears or desires. He had agreed and given his word, to be strong, for her.

Her words had proven to be prophetic. His wife, Captain Kimiko Tendo was reported dead in the line of duty three weeks later, in noble service to the Emperor as the telegram had described it, and something inside him had been mortally wounded at that time as well. She had become his world since that day that they first met, overcoming so many obstacles in their courtship and marriage, and he had not even had a body left to bury at the end. The explosion that claimed her life and the lives of many other soldiers under her command had robbed him of that closure.

After that, all Soun felt he had left were his duties to his children and to the Empire, and he did his best by them both to the limits of his abilities. The wound to his heart eventually healed, scarring his soul in the process, changing him into the man that he now was, someone he occasionally found hard to recognize in the mirror. At times he felt certain he was now a man that Kimiko would have hated. He knew that he hated himself sometimes, for becoming what he now was, but it had been necessary for him to be able to continue on. He had been strong, but had it been the right sort of strength?

In many ways, his three daughters had changed even more than he had. Thirteen-year old Kasumi found a powerful new enemy to fight, one that no skill in martial arts could ever hope to overcome: death. She began studying medicine as diligently as she applied herself to her martial arts training. Ten-year old Akane withdrew into herself for a time, coming to terms with her mother's death. Within six months, her spirit bounced back to its former self. She redoubled her efforts at training her body and improving her skills, intent on forging herself anew into a duplicate of the last image that she held of her mother, that of the perfect warrior.

Lastly, and most regretfully, there was his middle daughter, Nabiki. Seeking an approval and show of love from him that he no longer allowed himself to express, the eleven-year old girl looked to him as her example, not knowing how he was losing his soul by hiding his grief from his children. Perhaps because of the connection to her lost mother, she allowed her training in the martial arts to trail off. Though her skills deteriorated, her school's physical regimen maintained her body in a high state of physical fitness. She sharpened her already keen intellect to a razor-sharp edge and, over time, turned herself into what she must have thought of as the only remaining option to her for parental approval, to be the quintessentially perfect espionage operative: brutally efficient, cold, remorseless, and ruthless. All of these were apt descriptions of the new Nabiki Tendo, as they were oftentimes used to describe Soun Tendo as well. She had become his daughter in all ways, and he was proud of her in his own fashion. But, late at night, alone with his innermost thoughts, he sometimes worried if he had somehow betrayed Kimiko's memory by letting things change as they had.

Things might have continued on like this, until that day almost four years ago, when he had finally been able to bring himself to read Kimiko's journals. In them he discovered the secret she had kept from him while she was alive. Reading her words had been like an epiphany of sorts, a revelation of what he must do. It concerned a boy named Ranma Saotome, and what Kimiko had done to Akane and Nabiki, involving them in something called Project Phoenix without her own husband's knowledge.

Two hundred or so young citizen boys and girls had been selected for a genetic experiment. Among that group had been Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki, chosen from among thousands of Imperial children. Kasumi would have also been deemed acceptable, but she was already too old to undergo the treatments at the time. Apparently, it caused extensive and permanent genetic damage if done to a child beyond the age of five. There had been exceptions in the previous, non-citizen test subjects, but the risk was considered too great for a citizen child to bear.

Project Phoenix had been established with a single purpose: to create a new breed of humans, Homo Sapiens Newtype, beings genetically enhanced and improved in every aspect of human potential, from the mental to the physical. It was an attempt to create a new and better race of humanity from the ashes and dross that made up the majority of modern man. If these Children of the Phoenix (or Newtypes, as they were also called) bred true with each other, then enhancement would be made available for all pure-bred children of Japanese descent. Within a generation, these new ranks of citizens would take their place in the Empire and lead it forward to a glorious tomorrow.

Soun wondered how she had kept it from him, but it didn't really matter anymore. His wife had chosen Ranma to be Nabiki or Akane's husband, his genetic profile an almost perfect match for either of them. As he read through her journals, the idea of pairing his middle daughter to Ranma seemed to possess him. The boy would be perfect for Nabiki, and so he had begun working behind the scenes to bring about that pairing.

It had been a long, slow process, following Ranma's progress, becoming more and more certain that he was right in his plans. Aside from his desire to honor Kimiko's wishes, the boy's sharp mind would be an equal for Nabiki's own, and his future opportunities seemed to be limitless. If he did not end up in one of the Science Ministry's top laboratory facilities, then one of the many zaibatsus, the great industrial and financial combinations of the Empire, would surely offer him a great deal of money to have his skills and talents working for them.

He had finally told Nabiki about Ranma six months ago, to prepare her for his arrival, swearing her to complete secrecy on the matter. She had been understandably startled, but she hid it well. She seemed to be most intrigued by his money-earning potential, and his future chances of success in the Empire. She kept him up-to-date on the boy's weekly activities, and at time he thought he detected in her a more than merely mercenary interest in him, but he could not say for certain. His middle daughter had become quite difficult even for him to read since she had started at the Academy.

Otsu had reported back immediately after her lunchtime meeting with Nodoka. She was evasive at first, until he had pressed her on the matter, but she finally told him the whole story, and of her failure to obtain a firm decision from the Saotome woman. He had apparently misread Nodoka somewhat, taking her at face value, but it was of no matter. He was still certain of Nabiki's superiority in being able to deal with any challenges over the matter of Ranma, even those that he himself might have inadvertently set into motion. She deserved to have the best, and he would use every resource he had at his disposal to get it for her.

He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard the gentle clatter of a tea service touching down on the table next to him, and he stubbed out the remains of his cigarette. He nodded to Kyoko, and she poured out some tea for him and handed him the cup. He took it with a slight nod of his head and then waved her away. She bowed briefly while kneeling, before standing and withdrawing.

Taking a sip of his tea and enjoying its warming feel within him, he smiled out at the rising sun and raised his cup slightly in salute. It is good to have such a dutiful child as Nabiki to follow after me in the Directorate, he thought proudly. Her skills at subterfuge are already impressive. I am sure that she will be able to yoke down that boy Ranma in no time, just as I will deal with the boy's father. He and I have so much catching up to do, since our own long-past days of youth together at the Imperial Academy. I wonder if he even remembers me? A cold smile crossed his face.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. After viewing some other alternate lives and dealing with some unexpected situations, Ranma decided to intensify his workouts to bring himself up to the level of his counterpart. Fuyutsuki and Soun took steps that will have an effect on Ranma and several of the cast, and Hinako learned something that surprised her about Ranma's past. Meanwhile, Nabiki snuck into Ranma's lab and used his device, not knowing what it was, contacting and duplicating the skills from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. Forever changed by the experience, Nabiki is now at an equivalent level of skill to Ranma as a martial artist. Akane and Kodachi fought over Ranma in a vicious battle, leaving both injured, and Akane is to be transferring to a new school. Nabiki learned that she will now be in Ranma's special training class and the two challenged each other in an Anything-Goes duel of skill which ended in a tie. However, they each experienced a new attraction for the other which surprised them both.

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Chapter 7 - Variations On A Life

When we realize that the actual outcome did not have to be,

that any alteration in any step along the way would have

unleashed a cascade down a different channel, we grasp the

causal power of individual events. Contingency is the

affirmation of control by immediate events over destiny, the

kingdom lost for want of a horseshoe nail.

- Stephen Jay Gould

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The world seemed to be running in slow motion. Distorted human figures sprang at Nabiki from the shadows, her fists and feet moving to defend herself from the onslaught. The roar of engines sounded, as if from a very great distance away, along with the occasional sharp crack of gunfire. She did not know where she was, only that she had to keep fighting. When she spared a glance at herself, she sucked in a breath at seeing herself suddenly in her counterpart's male form.

A single figure moved to engage him, and Nabiki-kun grabbed him in a martial hold, feeling an odd sense of deja vu, as this all seemed to be so very familiar. He suddenly sensed danger behind himself and turned around to see, dragging the struggling figure of the man he held around as well, and everything seemed to be moving even slower now. There were more sharp sounds of gunfire, words shouted at him that he could not quite make out due to the distortion from the slowing of time. The body held in his arms jerked as he instinctively used it as a living shield from the hail of gunfire, the eyes of his enemy widening in surprise as he died.

Then all was quiet. He looked down into sightless, accusing eyes. Blood was everywhere, on the ground, on his clothes, and on his hands. The body slipped out of his grip, disappearing into the blackness now surrounding him. But the blood clinging to his hands was so brightly crimson, and he could only stare at it in horror. She hardly noticed when the warm liquid transformed her back into a girl. Time seemed to stop.

There was so much blood.

So much blood on her hands.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

A scream ripped its way up from the depths of her soul.

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Nabiki rolled over with a gasp and eyed her alarm clock, uncertain where she was at first, her heart beating like a trip-hammer. Her dream shredded into oblivion, not even the faintest memory of its actual contents remaining, only a fear of something horrible. She lay on her side for several minutes, panting, feeling her breathing gradually slowing back to normal. Not since those first few months after her mother died, had she been disturbed by any nightmare. She had learned how to deal with them.

Shutting off her feelings had been the secret. Feel nothing, and the world could not harm you. Emotions were a weakness, a frailty, and she had locked away the ones that made her feel weakest behind a mask of cool indifference. Compassion, empathy, and love were all forgotten, and Nabiki allowed herself to be reborn into her new role as the Iron Bitch. Her father became her role model, and she emulated his ways of dealing with people around him: always acting from a solid position of strength, never showing weakness, and finding a certain grim enjoyment in making someone caught in one of her webs squirm. The steel barriers that she constructed around her soul had been strong, reinforced by several years of denial, until the day that a certain young man had walked into her life and made her feel again.

The barriers had cracked, the shields around her emotions exposing an intolerable weakness whenever she was around him, her own body betraying her by feeling such strong desires for him. She hated him for making her feel so weak, yet she desired him at the same time. He didn't seem to notice or care, which strangely irritated her a great deal. She had tried her best to keep him away from her, maintaining her distance as she studied him from afar, knowing that her father wanted them together. Her mask of cool disdain for him acted as a refuge for her, and her usual sardonic wit acted as a weapon to draw blood whenever she had to speak with him. It had worked, for a time.

Until her experience in Ranma's lab, only a few days ago, when she saw another way that things might have been for her, and the many barriers so carefully built up around her emotions had been broken. She was now in a slow process of rediscovering herself, finding odd changes taking place deep inside, unexpected and sometimes rather disturbing ones. They confused her and left her feeling uncertain who she was anymore, but one thing was quite clear to her now. She was a fighter, a warrior who never gave up, no matter what the odds were against her, and she would win this battle to reforge herself anew. Her old self may have been slowly dying inside, being eaten away by a cancer of the soul that she had never acknowledged, but the new one held the promise of great things yet to come.

Nabiki looked once more at her radio alarm clock with a little, sleepy frown on her face, her hand tapping the button atop it a few minutes before it would have gone off on its own. Now that she was awake, her newfound need to begin her morning training was pushing her out of bed once more. She touched her cheek where she had been bruised by his fist yesterday and felt no pain, and she grunted contentedly at that. Today she would have another try at testing her skills against him, and even perhaps besting him during their training time together. She was confident that she would win today against the pigtailed boy, and she was looking forward to seeing his reactions when she did so.

Her thoughts paused as she suddenly felt warmth in her cheeks at the thought of him.

Ranma Saotome.

She shook her head with irritation. She was determined that she would not allow herself to be swayed by a copy of feelings for another Ranma in another life, but it was so tempting. That other Ranma loved that other Nabiki, perhaps as much as she loved him, but neither of them had ever said the words. It would have been so easy for her to let herself feel the same way for this world's version of him, but she refused to live her life as a copy of another. She was Nabiki Tendo, daughter of Soun and Kimiko Tendo, and her life was her own.

Still, Ranma was going to be her husband someday, if her father had any say in her life. Regardless, Nabiki intended to deal with the pigtailed boy on her own terms, walking her own path and not simply relying on the inherited feelings of some other woman. She was a warrior, like her mother before her, and she was Ranma's better, no matter what he may have thought on the matter.

She suddenly smiled an impish, little smile.

Like her counterpart, she would teach him that he should follow her lead in this life, like his counterpart loyally followed hers in that other life. After yesterday, she knew that her fighting skills were better than his. Perhaps only fractionally better due to her physical limits when compared to her analog, but her body was in marginally better shape than his. Despite her physical limits holding back her analog's skills from fully manifesting, she was still just enough better than he was that she should have an edge over him in their conflicts with each other.

She even suspected that this would force someone with such a strong desire to be the absolute best, like Ranma apparently now was, to work even harder to try and surpass her. She would then have to work equally hard to maintain her edge, or at least not fall behind him as their respective levels of ability went up, a surprisingly attractive prospect that should keep both of them motivated to try and outdo the other in their training. She even knew how to encourage him to do so, not that she was looking at it from quite that perspective at the moment. She was going to rub his nose in the fact that she had the edge on him.

Springing out of bed with a graceful movement, Nabiki once again found pleasure in the new agility gained from her counterpart. The lithe muscles in her body twinged slightly at such activities so early in the morning, but they responded easily, almost fully recovered despite the heavy efforts that she had put herself through yesterday. She softly landed on the floor of her room, her arms easily holding her up in a brief handstand, the muscles in her body flexing, and her posture as poised and graceful as that of a gold medal gymnast performing on a balance beam. After a few moments of posing like that, she pushed off with her hands and flipped back to land on her bare feet, making only a very slight thumping sound when they contacted the floor. She stood briefly in front of the mirror, turning her face to one side to see how much of the bruise on her cheek was left.

The contusion was completely gone, to her relief. She was not a vain person, but the idea of a livid bruise on the face was an unappealing concept for any girl. As she posed a bit in front of the mirror, she studied her short hair in back and considered the thought of letting it grow out longer and possibly putting it into a braid. It was strangely appealing to her. Wrinkling her nose a little at the unexpected thought, she briefly smirked at her reflection and turned away from it to get dressed.

Nabiki opened up her closet door and began rummaging around inside her closet for several moments, before finally pulling out one of the sets of her newly-bought training clothes to use for her morning activities. Today she decided to go once more with a blue Chinese-style shirt. Filling up one end of the closet, there were now a half-dozen similar silk shirts, all in blue, green, or red, each one paired off with an identical pair of black gi pants. She slipped off the plain, silken nightwear that she usually wore to sleep, briefly standing naked save for only a pair of pink panties. She pulled a white sports bra out of another drawer and slipped it on, adjusting it deftly to support her breasts comfortably. The rest of the outfit went on rapidly, and she flashed her reflection a victory sign as she headed out into the hallway.

Soun looked up as his middle daughter came bounding down the stairs. He blinked as he took in what she was wearing, the grace that she moved with, and the look on her face. The girl before him wore the face of his daughter, but the mannerisms she now had were very unfamiliar to him. Their eyes met, and she smiled at him with the same sort of smile that she used to wear as a child. It jarred him a bit to see it on her once again. She had not smiled like that since before her mother's death.

"Good morning, Daddy." Nabiki snapped a quick and jaunty bow in his direction. "Isn't it a lovely morning?"

"You're up early, Nabiki-chan," observed Soun calmly, his eyes once again studying her odd mode of dress. She looks like one of those Arena fighters Akane is so fond of, he thought with surprise. "Have you taken up your old morning training routine again?" He briefly remembered when Kimiko was still alive, her getting all of the girls up at dawn to train for two hours a day before school.

"Oh, I'm back in full training, Daddy," she said casually. "I'll be outside in the training hall if you need me for anything this morning." She jogged out, leaving her father behind to stare after her in further surprise.

He reached out and picked up another cigarette from the pack, lighting it up with a smooth motion, and contemplated this unexpected change to his life. He did not think it would affect his plans, but he would keep a closer eye on his middle daughter until they saw fruition.

As she entered the training hall for the second time in as many days, Nabiki paused once again to take in the feel of the place. Even more so than yesterday, she could feel her mother's lingering presence here, a reminder of happier times in the past. Before the dark times. Before her death.

Shaking her head, she went about setting up the area for her morning practice. When she was done, she flopped down onto the mat and began to stretch. She felt tightness in the muscles in her back and shoulders from her heavy exertions yesterday, and she slowly worked them out and loosened them, feeling the blood warming up her body for her morning training. Despite the heavy workout she went through yesterday, she felt great. Her mind was clear and razor-sharp, and even the dream from this morning was already forgotten. She told herself that it must have simply been a nightmare, and she was not going to let it ruin her day.

When her body was finally limbered up, Nabiki hopped back up to her feet and went over to the heavy bag. She began driving solid punches into it, putting as much power into each strike as she could. The thick chain holding the heavy leather bag suspended in midair jingled as she unleashed punch after punch into the bag. A hundred punches from each fist became two hundred, and then three hundred. Her shoulders and arms were burning from her efforts, sweat soaking her frame and dripping down her face as she breathed deeply. Her hands, toughened by her Academy training and the training that she had done with her mother as a child, were only a little bit pained from the numerous impacts.

"That felt pretty good," she murmured, rolling her head around on her neck, hearing the bones cracking and popping slightly as her vertebrae realigned. She eyed the bag, feeling her strength returning, her lungs no longer heaving, and smiled at it.

Her right leg lashed upwards in a kick, putting her hips behind her efforts as she proceeded to work the muscle groups in her lower body as hard as she had worked the upper ones. Minutes passed as her feet smashed into the heavy bag with incredible force, rocking it back on the chain with louder jingles. Solid sidekicks alternated with spin kicks and leaping kicks, her legs demonstrating much more endurance than her arms and shoulders had. When she finished three hundred strikes with each of her legs, she felt less winded than she had after her punching workout.

She finished her morning exercises with practicing a kata, feeling her body flowing through the motions as she mixed Karate, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, and a multitude of other styles into a graceful combination of forms. Muscles she had not worked with simple punching and kicking practice made themselves felt to her, small twinges of discomfort as she maneuvered around the mat. She ignored the minor pains, even as she marveled at how much more aware of her body and her surroundings she was today, even more so than she had been yesterday.

Finally, she was finished, and she mopped the sweat from her face with a clean towel from a small stack by the door. She quickly cleaned up the training hall, and then she went back inside the house to take a quick wash and soak before leaving for the Academy.

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Ranma eyed his opponent, half hidden in the darkness. Sweat dripped down his body, droplets silently falling from his face to the soft mulch of the forest floor, and his breathing was deep as he waited. The night was quiet around them, not even the cicadas sounding. The only noises reaching him were those of his opponent breathing, in soft gasps like his own breath now came, a sign of the intense efforts that they had made against each other before now. He had still not seen her face clearly. Even when they had engaged each other from up close, it had remained cloaked in shadow, but he knew that he had to overcome her.

The girl sprang at him, one of her hands lashing out at him in a quick punching attack. He blocked the strike and grabbed the arm, using her own momentum to lock the hold into place before she could halt herself. He pulled her close to him as they struggled intensely, warm bodies meshed together into a tight embrace as they tried to get leverage against each other, their strength evenly matched. He felt his opponent's lithe muscles moving underneath her soft skin as he held her, her body straining against his grip, while he maneuvered his free hand to strengthen his hold upon her. She was strong, almost as strong as he was, and that was oddly exciting to him.

They were nearly the same height, he noticed, as he struggled as hard as he could to capture her other arm and finally win the battle between them. Their hot sweat mingled together as he felt her body gathering itself for an escape. A scent tickled his nose while he was so close to her, redolent of musk and wildflowers. The elbow of her free arm suddenly slammed into his gut, but he did not ease up. As he quested to capture her other limb, his free hand grasped something soft and yet firm around her front, somehow warmer than the rest of her body was. He heard a soft gasp of surprise from his opponent, and he felt her body suddenly quivering slightly in reaction to his touch, the powerful and sleek muscles moving beneath her very womanly curves, like soft velvet overlaid on steel.

The next thing that he knew, they were both down on the ground, her body pinned securely beneath him, their lips locked together in a passionate, openmouthed kiss. They still struggled, wrestling with each other, but each now desired something other than defeat for their opponent. Her tongue probed into his mouth, setting off a firestorm of desires within him as he returned the kiss with equal fervor. He still could not see her face clearly, only a hint of a profile, a flash of eyes filled with passions to equal his own. Her hair color and length even seemed to shift from moment to moment in a random fashion, from purple to red to brown to black and then back through the colors.

The deep kiss finally ended, and his lips moved down to her jaw and then to her throat, as he felt the girl gasp and sigh softly and lustily underneath him. Warm breath touched one of his ears as her voice whispered gently to him. The words were familiar, and the voices, but they all seemed mixed together to form a single female voice speaking.

"Wo ai ni, Ranma-kun," she passionately whispered. "Ranma-sama, wo da airen. Ohhhh, Ranchan." Her lips nibbled at his earlobe. One of her hands was held fast by one of his, their fingers interlaced together, her palm warm against his own. His stroking thumb and littlest finger felt the calluses on the edges of her hand, a clear sign of a trained martial artist. His free arm stroked down her side, enjoying the athletic feel of her body. He felt the fingers of her other hand running through his hair as her lips kissed his throat. Her legs were loosely wrapped around his hips.

Ranma lifted his head, enjoying the soft feel of the girl's lips on his neck, eliciting a groan of pleasure from him. When he glanced up for a moment, he noticed another figure standing nearby, and their eyes met.

"Interesting dreams you have, Ranma," said Ranko dryly.

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Ranma jerked awake.

Wh-what was that all about? The memory of the martial artist girl held in his arms in his dream began to quickly fade, and he wondered why his mind had conjured up such an odd amalgam of the girls he knew without coming up with an answer. He could not say for sure, uncertain if he wished to explore the meanings behind the odd dream right now.

Peering at his clock slightly bleary-eyed, he grimaced at the displayed time. Dawn was just occurring, and he was awakening even earlier today than he had yesterday. He stumbled out of bed in the dim light, and the only thought on his sleepy mind that he could seem to focus on was that he had to get ready to train. In a mental daze, he dressed himself in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, before he quietly crept downstairs to the yard. The morning air was still.

When Ranma got down to the yard, his thoughts cleared a bit and focused. He picked out a large, open area in the yard and sat down to begin stretching and warming up, the concrete slab cold against his buttocks as he stretched his legs out in front of himself. The brutally rigorous physical training at the Academy had added significant amounts of muscle to his frame and given him a solid core of physical excellence. While he had enjoyed physical fitness activities like gymnastics, he had never really cared about striving for excellence with his body, until his experiences with that other Ranma, so this realization was quite a shift for him in his personal paradigm.

His body's limits were an unknown to him, but with each day of training he seemed to grow just a little bit faster and stronger. Testing himself against an opponent like Nabiki on a regular basis should propel him along even more quickly in his development, with her skills seeming to be roughly equal to his own. He was looking forward to wiping the smug smirk from her face when they sparred again. He was confident that he had taken her measure yesterday as a fighter. Today he was going to beat her.

Dwelling within him now was a sort of hunger, a deep-seated desire to grow stronger as a fighter, to surpass his current levels of ability, and also those of his unexpected, new rival. Although, when he allowed himself to be totally honest, before putting up a fresh wall of denial, his surprising new feelings for Nabiki were not those for someone who was only a rival. She had always been coolly distant to him in the past, whenever she was not being sardonic in addressing him, so the new Nabiki was somewhat unsettling but also strangely alluring. Her mental abilities were equally intriguing; the spark of mental combat with her affected him just as strongly as engaging her physically did.

Still, the thought of a girl matching him in martial arts ability, even knocking him out in sparring (though he had also knocked her out as well), was a definite spur to improve himself. He knew that within his body were the burgeoning seeds of the fighting skills from that other Ranma, through a quirk of fate imprinted deeply within his own brain, nerves, and reflexes, and he now knew that she had also received the same sort of 'download' from her own counterpart. They kept clamoring at him to be allowed to awaken, to bring those skills to full bloom within himself, so he intended to do just that. His limit was his body lacking the physical conditioning of ten years of training with that other Genma. That would take time to deal with, but he was still young enough to remake his body with enough effort.

After several minutes of rigorous stretching, feeling the warming blood beginning to flow into his limbs as he loosened up, he felt himself waking up more and more. He rolled over on the ground and began doing pushups, taking it slow for maximum muscle tension and strain. He felt the muscles in his shoulders and arms complaining slightly, but he kept at it, forcing himself to perform. Sweat began to drip from his face as he pushed himself.

When he was done with that, he shifted to other calisthenics, his mind focusing on each muscle group that he could work without weights. As he diligently exercised his body, his thoughts drifted to some of his more intellectual pursuits, ones he had begun neglecting as he explored his newfound physical skills. The power surge problem in the resonator was a concern, but he was planning on testing the circuitry to see if he could figure out where the power spike was coming from. If he could not track it down, then he might have to consider just running the risk of another one occurring. He rested for a moment as he weighed his options on the matter.

Standing back up, Ranma brought to mind a long and difficult kata that he wanted to perform, one that should help him begin shoring up some of the weaknesses in his defenses that he had noticed in himself during his sparring against Nabiki. He slowly stood up and stretched himself from side to side, much more aware of the state of his muscles and physical conditioning than he had been even as recently as a week ago.

I'm not going to be second best to a girl, ever, he decided firmly, as his fists and feet began weaving their way through a pattern that was already ancient when a carpenter's son from Galilee had walked the Earth. I just have to work harder, discipline my body better, embrace the warrior skills now within me, and I can become the best. No girl is going to be better than I am. After all, I'm Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. He smiled at that thought, his arms still varying between attack and defense patterns, feeling a little bit more confidence and speed in his movements. However, his face did grow slightly troubled as the memories of Ranko and his Jusenkyo-cursed analog's female form briefly demanded his attention.

When Nodoka came downstairs a little while later to fix breakfast for the household, as well as planning what she would pack her husband and son for their lunches, she heard strange sounds coming into the house from the backyard. Curious, she looked out the kitchen window and saw her son doing the most amazing performance in the backyard. She watched in surprise as he did flips and tumbles like an acrobat, as his body flowed through what she recognized as a complex kata of some sort, one that brought back a number of memories for her of some of her own martial arts training as a young girl. His movements had an almost unconscious grace to them, but there was also the occasional brief hesitation, like he was practicing skills that had grown rusty.

What did Genma teach Ranma while they were gone? Her hands absently began working at filling and pouring cups of water into the household rice cooker. She studied her son's style and noted it appeared to be a form of Kempo of some sort, and it looked very effective. He moves well, but, as far as I know, Genma hasn't practiced since he was a young man. Did he teach Ranma how to move like that? I would say that my son has been in training for years to have such a level of skill. She had never taught another person, still considering herself to be a student of the martial arts, but she could discern one of great skill when she saw it. She continued her usual routines for cooking breakfast, but her eyes were never far from watching him. She kept wondering why he was putting himself through such a level of effort.

Genma came into the kitchen area a little earlier than was his wont, coming up behind his wife. He saw that she was engrossed in watching something in the back yard. Genma gently cleared his throat behind her. "What are you looking at, dear?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, Genma dearest, come and look at our son," she replied, her eyes bright, entranced by Ranma's demonstrated abilities. "He looks so manly."

"Eh?" I wonder what Ranma is up to now? Genma moved up next to her and stared out the window, blinking in surprise at what he saw, as Ranma put his body through its paces. He's quite good, he noted, watching the movements of fist and foot that his son was doing. I guess that the Academy must have changed their training since I attended there as a young man. He certainly never had time to pick up anything like that when we were travelling. Seeing his son practicing fighting movements with such obvious skill ignited a measure of paternal pride in Genma, but it was tinged with worry as well.

"Isn't he skillful?" Nodoka smiled, turning back to look at her husband. "Our little boy has the makings of a great martial artist." She reached out and squeezed his hand gently. "Dearest, why ever did you keep such a thing secret from me? I didn't know that you let Ranma learn how to fight."

"But I didn't," said Genma, almost sounding defensive. "I never even knew he was interested in learning." He watched his son some more, a smile appearing on his face. The boy honors his ancestors with his fighting skills, he thought, feeling proud. But the nagging memories of his own days of violent youth, and the enemies that his own martial arts skills had once earned him, troubled him. They were part of the reason why he had turned his back on fighting as a way of life so many years ago. I hope that Ranma can avoid the mistakes that I did not. The last thing that he needs in his life is to have a bunch of silly adolescents who can only think with their fists fighting with him all the time. He was going to have a better life than that.

"Well, he obviously picked it up somewhere." Nodoka's eyes glimmered slightly with tears of pride. Dearest raised him well, she thought as she looked back at Genma. On impulse, she kissed him on the lips.

"What was that for?"

"For raising our son so well," she replied. "He is a scholar and a warrior. His prospective wives will love him." She hugged him for a moment and then went back to her cooking efforts and watching her son bound around the back yard.

Genma looked at Nodoka's rapt attention on Ranma's activities and smiled again. He was puzzled by his son's sudden show of skill, but pleased as well. And it was nice to see his wife so happy, looking at her warmly. I guess I'll just have a talk with the boy and find out how he knows what he knows. It looks like Kempo, but I'm not sure. The style is strange.

Meanwhile, the pigtailed boy finished his morning training and slumped to the ground into a seated position, his lungs gasping for air after the heavy exertions that he had just put himself through for the last hour. What felt like rivers of sweat were now running down his face and neck. That's enough for this morning, he thought, panting. I don't want to wipe myself out before this afternoon's sparring with Nabiki. He stood up and wandered over to the garden hose, pulling it free and quickly turning on the faucet. A stream of cold water spewed forth from the end of the hose, causing a brief hesitancy to wash over him, which he quickly shrugged off. He held the end of the hose to his mouth and drank until his thirst was finally satisfied before turning the water off.

"Son?" asked a voice behind him, as Ranma replaced the hose. "What are you doing?" He turned around to see his father standing behind him, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Hey, Pop." Ranma waved a hand at his father in greeting. "I was just practicing."

Genma nodded, as if that explained it. "I thought that you and I needed to have a talk." He sat down on a chair on the back porch and tossed Ranma a towel. "You haven't been yourself lately. I am curious as to why."

Ranma blinked as he caught the towel, but he had been expecting such a question for some time now.

"I guess I have been acting rather strange the last few days, Pop," he said quietly, as he quickly dried his face and laid the towel across the back of his neck. He saw his father watching him with a thoughtful expression, before briefly gesturing at him to join him in the chair next to him.

"The sudden change in your manner of speech is one of the things that has your mother concerned," observed Genma pointedly, before turning his gaze to watch a flock of birds that suddenly flew overhead. "I confess that it concerns me too. I raised you better than that."

"My speech?" Ranma paused as he went over what he had just said. "Oh," he murmured quietly. He sat down in the chair and rubbed the towel against the back of his neck. "There's actually a very good explanation for that, as well as the other changes." He looked at his father.

"Go on." He removed his glasses and cleaned the lenses absently with a small handkerchief. "I'm listening."

"I want to start off by telling you the good news, Father," Ranma said with a grin. As Genma replaced his glasses, the boy's grin got even bigger. "I did it."

"Did what?" He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his index finger until their position suited him and frowned in confusion.

"I've proven your theory of parallel worlds," said the pigtailed boy excitedly. "I've seen them! Pop, you were right."

Genma looked very surprised. Whatever he had expected to hear, it was not that.

"Slow down, Ranma," he said calmly, startled at the way that his usually thoughtful son was acting. "Do you mean that resonator device you were working on? You finished it? You tested it?" Genma sat back in his seat and wondered. He had always prided himself on his ability to know people. The mannerisms of the boy before him kept shifting back and forth from the son that he knew to someone that he did not.

"Yes." Ranma nodded happily. "I was finally able to work out the last bugs in the system a week ago, but it's still pretty crude. I'm not sure how deeply across the parallel timelines that I can reach, or how long I can sustain a synchronization lock, but it worked. I saw other worlds, Pop, other timelines." He smiled broadly. "I'm not sure, but I think I can only tune into the most probable worlds out of all the potential worlds that exist." Genma sat there in stunned silence as Ranma began chuckling. "Don't you see, Pop? I proved you right. The parallel worlds do exist."

"You're telling the truth," said Genma in an amazed tone. He began to chuckle softly as he got up and gathered the boy into a hug. "My son, your father is proud of you." He felt a tear at the corner of each eye as he hugged him. "Your father is so very proud."

"But there were some unexpected, uh, side effects," said Ranma in a muffled voice, his face buried in his father's robe. Genma did not hear him at first. The elder Saotome's mind was filled with visions of the honors that he and his son would earn in the Ministry of Science for this accomplishment. Ranma began struggling, and Genma let him go with a smile.

"Pop!" shouted Ranma, irritated at the older man. "I said that there were some unexpected side effects." He backed up a couple of steps as Genma blinked. Geez! The old man never listens to me!

"Side effects? What sort of side effects, son?" His voice was filled with concern.

"I was a little overconfident in my first full-power experiment," said Ranma more quietly. "There was some kind of a power surge during the retrieval sequence. It left me changed."

"In what way, Ranma?" Genma sat back down. His expression spoke only of worry for the boy.

"I gained some of his personality, and I also absorbed most, maybe all of his skills in the martial arts," Ranma replied, and then he began doing a kata to demonstrate. Genma sat stunned as the boy went through the complex sequences of motions flawlessly. Ranma's body was tired, but the movements were almost second nature to him.

"So you got into a fight the other day to test your new abilities?" asked Genma quietly. His eyes studied the ground. I hope that he isn't following in that phase of my life, he thought, remembering all the troubles he had fallen into then. It was a part of his life that he was not proud of, remembering the tough-talking delinquent he had once been, the arrogant boy he was when he first encountered Nodoka. They had both changed so much since those days, and she prided herself on being a true lady now, wanting to put that violent, troubled part of her life behind her, just as he had long ago ceased being a brawling young punk. Still, there were a few moments when it was not so bad of a life. The images of several girls that he had known at the time crossed his mind.

Ranma blinked, and stopped what he was doing. "No, Pop, it wasn't like that at all." He waved his hands in the air in front of him. "The fight was sort of an accident. I was doing better at sparring in physical education, and Ak- one of my fellow classmates decided to challenge me after school."

"I see," said Genma, nodding. And so it begins, he thought with an internal sigh. "That would also explain the changes in your speech patterns, your manners at meals that your mother has told me about, and even the way that you're standing now." He kept nodding as his brain processed the possibilities. His son had become a martial artist, and he imagined that he could sense trouble looming on the horizon because of this. Fighters attract other fighters, he thought contemplatively as he sat there, with another gentle, mental sigh. Still, I can offer the boy the benefit of my hard-won wisdom before matters get too far out of hand. He paused and remembered some of his friends and enemies from that time in his life, so many memories.

Ranma suddenly seemed to realize that his posture was one of relaxed readiness. He put his hands behind his head and laced the fingers together while he chuckled nervously. "Sorry, Father," he said, slightly distressed to discover that it was actually taking a minor amount of effort to control his speech. "I wasn't anticipating anything like this happening. I was caught unprepared."

"That was foolish, Ranma. You should have set up safeguards for that. I thought I taught you better than to make such mistakes." Genma stood up and began to pace a bit.

"I was prepared for a power failure, but the surge came from within the system itself," said Ranma quietly. "I don't know what might have gone wrong. The surge itself was minor, but it's the only thing that I could think of to explain the results." He stared miserably at the ground. His father had always been a careful man, and Ranma could feel his sire's disappointment. I don't think I'll tell him about Nabiki just yet, he thought. One disappointment in a day is enough. I think I should just deal with her myself anyway.

"Well," said Genma slowly after he thought about things for several moments. "The damage doesn't appear to be as serious as I thought, and I think you might have even come out ahead in the deal. I want to look over your equipment for myself. That is, unless you think your old man can't offer you any pointers anymore?" He smiled as his son looked up in surprise.

"Sure, Pop! I'd love your help!"

"Does your counterpart have a Genma Saotome for a father?" he asked, feeling a sudden curiosity.

"Yes," replied the boy, his expression shifting into a grin. "I think you might find him to be, uh, interesting." Ranma eyed his father. At least you haven't caused me any trouble in my life like that fat bastard did to my counterpart, he thought with relief.

"Hmm, I think I will have to see what you've accomplished for myself," said Genma with a paternal smile. "Perhaps my experience will be able to offer you a new view on how to proceed from here."

"Well, I still need to check over the circuitry. I want to try and find the bug before it gets used again."

"Tomorrow is Sunday." Genma nodded in thought. "I will have the whole day free to assist you." He got up and walked with his son into the house. "I confess that you've awakened an unexpected curiosity in me, Son." He clapped the boy on the shoulder proudly as they walked. A chance to see how my life could have been if circumstances had been different, thought Genma with a smile. I wonder if I'm a good father in this other world that Ranma received his new skills from?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane felt the bright light of the morning sun slide across her face through her window. She twitched her nose, grumbled for a moment, and then woke up with a dainty yawn. She had been having a pleasant dream about Ranma, one that brought a faint blush to her cheeks as she thought about it. The yawn turned into a full-body stretch that brought mild twinges from a few areas on her torso, but they were only the feelings of a slight stiffness in her muscles rather than pain. She yawned a third time, not used to sleeping in like this, and she pushed back the covers on her bed.

Rolling into a sitting position, she smiled at the morning sun and stretched her arms back, letting the cloth of her cotton pajama top pull tight to her breasts. Her stomach rumbled gently with hunger as she gathered a change of underwear from her dresser and headed for the bathroom.

"Mornin', sis," muttered Nabiki rather lazily when Akane entered the bathroom. The middle Tendo sister rested in the furo, faint wisps of steam curling around her as she let her muscles relax. The hot water felt heavenly after her intense morning workout.

"Morning, Nabiki," chirped Akane as she made her way to the sink. She slipped off her pajamas and tossed them into the hamper. She eyed the fading remnants of the bruises on her body with a critical eye. She could tell that she wasn't going to be back into full fighting shape until Monday. She curled a hand into a tight fist. Damn that rich bitch, she thought sullenly as she looked herself over.

"Nice bruises, Akane," said her older sister in a mildly sarcastic tone. "It looks like Kuno-hime worked you over pretty good."

"Hmph," grunted Akane dismissively. "She just got lucky against me. I'll take her apart for sure the next time. She's just a pampered debutante after all."

"If you say so, Akane." Nabiki stood up reluctantly from the hot water and stepped up and out of the tub, picking up a towel to dry herself and rubbing it briskly over her body. "I think you may have met your match."

The youngest Tendo made another dismissive sound at the thought of the other girl being her equal in a fight.

"Remember to take it easy today," said Nabiki. "No working out in the training hall." She headed for the door, the towel wrapped around her body. "I'll see you downstairs at breakfast."

"Okay. I'll be down shortly." Akane sat down on the bathing stool, filled the bucket sitting next to it with water from the tap, and then dumped it over her head with a faint shiver. Nabiki just watched her younger sister with a slight smile.

A little later, the three members of the Tendo family in residence sat around the dining table eating breakfast.

"What happened to you, Akane-chan?" asked Soun, looking at her as she ate her breakfast hungrily. She grimaced a little for a moment before answering, and her sister spoke first.

"Oh, Akane got into a fight at school yesterday with another girl, a new cadet at the Academy, Daddy," said Nabiki. "She's going to be staying home for a day or so to let herself heal up. Isn't that right, Akane?"

"Yeah." Akane looked disgruntled.

"I see," said Soun, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He shook one loose and slowly pulled it free from the pack with his lips, his other hand reaching into his shirt pocket for his lighter. He stuffed the pack back into a coat pocket and pulled the cigarette from between his lips with one hand. He quickly lit his cigarette and then took a puff from it. Nabiki moved a little bit out of the line of drifting smoke and kept eating. He studied the beaten up condition of his youngest daughter. "Akane-chan, are you sure that you're all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Daddy," said Akane, waving her hand negligently in the air for a moment. She moved with a certain amount of care in her actions, apparently favoring her ribs. "I just got into a scuffle with a new cadet at the Academy, an annoying b- girl named Kodachi Kuno."

"Kodachi Kuno, you say?" Soun took another puff on his cigarette and blew it out through his nose. Nabiki could tell that he was surprised from the subtle changes in his posture.

"Yeah, she lost though," said Akane very proudly, her battered and bruised face beaming with pride. "She was trying to take my Ranma away from me." Their father blinked again, suddenly wishing that he had been coming home more nights before this.

"Your Ranma?" Soun was unable to keep the surprise out of his voice at this latest revelation. "Is this the same Ranma Saotome I've been hearing about you beating up for the last month or so?"

"Oh, Ranma isn't a wimp anymore, Daddy," said Akane, her face glowing a little with passion. "A few days ago he finally gave me a taste of what he's really capable of, and I want more." She broke out into a rather disturbing smile, desire igniting within her eyes as she licked her lips briefly. "He's stronger than any boy I've ever met. Very strong."

"I see," said Soun, even though he did not, puffing on his cigarette in thought for several long moments. This is quite a surprising change, he thought, looking over at Nabiki briefly and considering the change in his middle daughter this morning. Was that because of Ranma somehow as well? Could I have been wrong about the boy? He then shook his head almost imperceptibly. It doesn't matter. He is still going to wed my little girl, Nabiki. I will see to that. This new development in him changes nothing.

"Well, I'm sure that he was just lucky against you, Akane-chan," he said with a smile. "Your father knows how strong a fighter that you are. You do your mother proud." Akane beamed with another smile, and Nabiki looked briefly amused.

"Ranma is a capable opponent, Daddy," said Nabiki casually, her eyes looking to her father's face. "He gave me this, didn't he?" She gestured at the almost unnoticeable bruise on her face, causing Akane to suddenly look at her sister in surprise.

"W-what?" cried the youngest Tendo, a deep frown appearing on her face, and a surge of anger suddenly filling her. "When did you fight with Ranma, Nabiki?"

"Yesterday afternoon," said the other girl casually. "He and I are now taking a special training class together. We did some sparring."

"Huh?" exclaimed Akane, blinking in surprise. She looked at her sister suspiciously, but could not detect anything through Nabiki's sudden poker face. "So, why wasn't I put in this class?"

"Oh, that's probably because I put through a transfer to a new school for you recently," said Soun absently, gesturing at her with his lit cigarette, perhaps hoping to defuse through his words the quickly growing tension between his two youngest daughters. It did take Akane's building wrath away from Nabiki, but it only transferred it to himself instead.

"WHAT?" screamed Akane at her father, apparently startling Kyoko in the kitchen, as there was a brief clatter of falling dishes. "How could you do this to me, Daddy? A transfer? Where are you sending me to?"

"I managed to get you a position at Furinkan Military Academy," replied Soun calmly, but within he was annoyed at being screamed at in his own home. "As soon as you are able to attend, then that shall be your new school from now on."

Akane abruptly deflated in surprise. "Furinkan," she said softly, as if tasting the word. "That was where Mother went to school, right?" She looked at her father, and he simply nodded once, taking another puff of his cigarette. She very rapidly calmed down as she considered the matter for a moment, her brief explosion of temper dissipating as quickly as it had erupted. On the one hand, she felt a flicker of excitement at the thought of walking the same halls that her mother had walked when she was her age.

However, it would also mean leaving Ranma alone with the debutante, an unpleasant prospect. She knew that young men were all driven by their lusts and hormones, and the sleazy Kuno girl looked like the type to try and seduce him away from his destined place by Akane's side with her feminine wiles, no doubt just waiting for a chance to wrap her long legs around the pigtailed boy and consummate her foul lusts with him. She had heard many sordid stories about how casually hedonistic the nobility were, all of them pursuing casual pleasures with whoever fell into their debauched clutches. But there was also the opportunity to attend a school filled practically to the rafters with some of the toughest young warriors in the Empire for her to fight with. Akane looked up to see her father watching her with a distant sort of expression on his face.

"It sounds like a wonderful opportunity for you, Akane," said Nabiki with a supportive smile, genuinely pleased at this surprising turn of events, knowing how much her younger sister loved fighting. This action would neatly separate the girl from Ranma. Her father was a step or two ahead of her again, it seemed, since she had been planning to talk with him soon about this very subject. "Just think of all of those strong male opponents for you to challenge. After all, Furinkan's cadet population is easily well over eighty percent male. Perhaps even closer to ninety."

Akane blinked and looked at her sister as a very familiar light slowly appeared in her eyes, an anticipation of battles to come.

"O-over eighty percent?" she asked, her lower lip briefly pulled up between her teeth as she considered the matter. Under the table, her right hand tightened into a fist as she felt an almost pleasurable sense of anticipation at the thought of facing each and every one of those strong, young, warriors-in-training in turn. But then her thoughts popped back to remembering her wonderful new feelings from when she had fought with Ranma, and the intense excitement that she felt when facing off against him.

"The best warrior-trainees in the Empire attend Furinkan," said Nabiki softly, her voice almost coaxing now. "Each of them fast, strong, and tough. All well-trained in combat and the martial arts." Most of them aren't too bright, but then neither is Akane at times, mused Nabiki with an internal chuckle. This is for the best, my little sister. Ranma's potentials would just be wasted on you, I'm afraid. He is so much more than a mere brawling jock. She felt a little bad at tricking the girl like this, but she mollified her unexpected appearance of conscience with the thought that it truly was for the best. Sensing her sister's resistance weakening, she went for the kill and said, "Not to mention the fact that you would be following in Mother's footsteps."

Akane felt caught on the horns of a dilemma. Choose to stay with Ranma, or take a chance on finding an even better fighter at Furinkan Academy. She weighed the choices in her mind, an image of Ranma in a fighting stance on one side of a scale, and a small army of tough young men offering new challenges to her on the other. She blinked. When she considered it in those terms, it was an easy choice. Plus she would be training to become an officer in one of the armed forces of the Empire. She would then be able to fight the Empire's enemies directly, not scurry around in the dark like her sister Nabiki liked to.

Besides, I know that Nabiki isn't interested in him, remembering her sister's long-standing, cool disdain for the pigtailed boy. So I could have her keep an eye on him for me, until I can see for myself if there are any decent fighters at Furinkan. I'm sure that she wouldn't mind keeping that sleazy debutante bitch away from him for me, if I asked her for help.

"Well, Akane?" asked Soun, blowing a long stream of smoke up into the air from his mouth. "The transfer paperwork has already gone through. Will you do this for your family honor?"

"I'll do it on one condition," said Akane, turning to look at Nabiki. "Big sister, would you keep an eye on Ranma for me? I don't trust that little debutante to be left unwatched around him." She put a pleading look onto her face. "I just need you to do it until I can see if there are any decent fighters at my new school."

"Of course Nabiki-chan will do such a thing," said Soun quickly. Akane had just given him a wonderful idea. He turned to a mildly surprised Nabiki. "Daughter, please do as Akane asks and stay close to Ranma."

"Uh, sure thing, Daddy," said Nabiki slowly, feeling a little weirded out by this particular change of fortune. Akane came around the table and gave her a hug.

"Thanks, Nabiki!" said Akane loudly. However, more softly she whispered into Nabiki's ear, "Don't let that sleazy, pampered bitch near my Ranma, okay? I don't trust her at all, but I'm glad that I can count on you to watch out for my interests with him. But will you be all right without having me around as your enforcer?" She let go of her sister and knelt next to her with a smile.

"I'll manage," said Nabiki with a sardonic smile. She flexed one hand and considered what it would be like to act as her own enforcer for a while. The thought didn't hold quite as much appeal as it once would have, but there was a potential for more money to be made with her new abilities.

"Excellent. Then it's all settled," said Soun calmly, grateful to his clever daughter Nabiki. He gave his two younger daughters a brief smile, and then called Kyoko to bring them the rest of breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At Kuno Manor, Kodachi sleepily opened her eyes and smiled, a soft languor fading as her body woke, a feeling almost like decadence washing over her for having slept in like this. The sheer silk nightgown that she wore moved across her skin feather-light as she sat up and slowly stretched. Her muscles were still a little tender in places from the fight yesterday, but she felt satisfied at the outcome.

Ranma had walked her home. He had chosen to spend time with her, and that made her feel happy. Even the lingering stiffness and remnants of pain in her body were a small price to pay for that shining time. She hugged herself, the treasured memory of his all-too-brief time with her making her feel joyous. She would face a thousand fights with the brutish Tendo girl to have more time with him, to have him walk home with her again.

After getting out of bed and padding over to the window, she opened it to feel the morning breeze wafting in. She inhaled deeply, smelling the sweet scent of her mother's special strain of black roses coming from the garden two stories below. It was strangely appropriate for her mood. I am like a newly-budded rose, she thought, inhaling the fragrant scent of the flowers once again. I have awakened to a new life, and it is a wonderful one, filled with endless possibilities.

As she leaned on the windowsill, Kodachi heard the family car departing from the front of the house, taking her brother to classes. She briefly looked at the clock on the wall of her room and wondered why he was leaving so early. Perhaps my brother has a morning meeting with the members of that silly Duelists Club of his, she thought with a smile. She felt a little guilty for having the day to herself to relax like this, but it would allow her time to plan her strategy for next week.

"Now, whatever shall I wear today?" she asked to the air, opening the door to her walk-in closet, itself the size of a typical Tokyo studio apartment. She hummed lightly to herself as she considered some of her more casual clothing. Her gaze passed by several silk and lace outfits in one area, and she blushed lightly at the thought of modeling such things for Ranma, astonished at herself for thinking such brazen things about him. She felt rather naughty but also happy to imagine the look on his face to see her dressed in such nightwear, her only desire to please him.

She finally pulled out a soft green kimono to wear, her thoughts now filling with thoughts of the pigtailed boy, and a brief fantasy of the heinous beating that she fully intended to bestow upon the brutish Tendo wench when next they met. Both were a source of contentment to her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kuno stood outside the walls of the Imperial Academy, dressed in the traditional style of his warrior ancestors instead of his uniform from Whitehall Academy. Resting comfortably in his hand was the haft of a wooden sword, though he was now of an age where he could carry steel if he so chose, and his father had gifted him with a well-crafted set of daisho (katana and wakizashi) for his sixteenth birthday. The truth of the matter was that he was not actually seeking to kill Ranma, only defeat him utterly (perhaps breaking a few bones in his declared enemy's body in the process), and then he would display the battered remains to his beloved sister.

Ah, Dachi-chan, my sister, he thought. Such a fragile and delicate flower art thou. The duty of defending thy honor thus falls to me, as thy elder brother, to smite the ignoble cur who would seek thy hand so unworthily. The wretched Ranma Saotome shall know both humility and pain when I am done with him. It is inconceivable that it should be otherwise.

At his side, dressed in his Whitehall uniform, a silken scarf of the snowiest white added for effect, stood Mikado. Held in one of his hands were his own weapons, twin Jo sticks, as he stood within easy talking distance of his best friend. As his bokken-wielding companion had fallen into a thoughtful mode, he amused himself by eyeing a few of the young lovelies entering the grounds of the Academy. He was actually rather impressed with the selection available and was making note of some faces that he desired to know the names and phone numbers of later. As most of them were only lowly commoners, they would not help him reach his goal, but they could be good for an evening's romp of pleasure. Unfortunately, since he was acting as Kuno's second, he was forced to remain by his friend's side. Seducing women could wait until a more appropriate time, but he was sure that the sight of two young lords of the Empire was making an impression upon their passionate hearts.

Kuno spied Nabiki walking down the street and hailed her with a wave of his hand, his eagerness to see if she had any photos of her sister overcoming his usual stoicism. "Tendo-san," he greeted her formally. "I do not see your lovely sister with you this fine day. I trust that she is well and hale?"

"Kuno-dono," the girl answered, bowing politely to him, a touch of amusement in her voice. "My sister is well, but she has other concerns occupying her today." She eyed Mikado with a neutral sort of look, brief memories of his counterpart filling her mind's eye, and her own thoughts of him were quite the opposite of the ones that she was the subject of from the aristocrat in question. She decided to have a little fun at Mikado's expense and gave a polite bow in his direction. "Sanzenin-san, I presume?"

"Sanzenin-sama," corrected Mikado gently, and her opinion of him dropped several points, not that it had started all that highly placed to begin with. He was amazed that the beautiful girl before him already knew his name, but he reasoned that she was doubtless an admirer of his, perhaps having seen his photograph in one of the newspapers or tabloids that reported on the doings of the nobility. "You are indeed a lovely creature, Tendo-san." He took hold of her hand, an act that caused her to blink at the breach in social protocol, and he smiled warmly at her, with a hint of seductiveness rising in his tones. "Perhaps after my companion and I are finished with our business, you might do me the honor of giving me your phone number, so that I might call upon you for a date?"

What a pompous ass, decided Nabiki, her thoughts about the young nobleman darkening. His arrogant attitude rendered his touch mildly revolting to her, as well as his lecherous appraisal she had noticed him giving her. She firmly withdrew her hand from his grasp, casually tapping one of the pressure points on his wrist with her other hand when he refused to let go at first, causing his hand to spasm open with a rather painful muscle cramp. "I'm afraid that will not be possible, Sanzenin-san," she said coolly. "My social calendar is quite full."

"A pity," said Mikado through gritted teeth at the sudden pain in his hand, rubbing it casually to ease the intense cramp in it, not realizing that the girl's innocent-looking caress from her other hand had caused it. He could not seem to get his hand to close for several moments as a few more waves of spasms went through it before finally subsiding away. The pain also distracted him enough that he had not noticed her refusal to use the '-sama' honorific with his name. "It would have been very," he paused for a moment as he searched for just the appropriate word, "gratifying to allow my humble self the great honor of showing you the many great pleasures that I have to offer." He allowed his gaze to pointedly linger on her chest before bringing it reluctantly back up to her face. With an ingratiating smile, he finished, "Many great pleasures indeed."

Ick! thought Nabiki with disgust, suddenly feeling an intense urge to flatten the lecherous nobleman on general principles. If Ranma-kun doesn't kick your ass, then I will.

"Have you had a chance to obtain any of the small tokens of my lady love for me that I requested of you yet, Tendo-san?" asked Kuno, interrupting Mikado's ill-fated attempt at seduction.

She turned to face him, in her mind calculating just how many different ways that she could put Mikado down using only one major muscle group area to attack with. She only came up with twelve. That number just wasn't high enough to suit her, so she expanded her search to include two areas and was more gratified at the result.

"I have managed to obtain a few photos of my little sister to tide you over for now, Kuno-dono," she said with a sardonic grin. She held them up in her hand casually, five photos from her scrapbook, of Akane training. "I have not yet been able to get you a lock of her hair though. That may take a while."

Kuno actually began to tremble a bit at the sight of the photos of the youngest Tendo. His expression spoke volumes for the depths of his desires.

"I think two thousand yen each will be sufficient for my expenses on the matter," said Nabiki smoothly. She felt a little odd for doing this, even though it was the exact same sort of act that she would normally have given little reaction to only a few days before. It was somewhat distracting to her, and also more than a little annoying. The pictures in her hand weren't even very risqué. She had several female cadets she knew certain things about, things that they did not want known publicly, and she had traded on that information to get them to pose for pictures in lingerie, hiding their faces with masks to ensure that they would continue to cooperate in this. The pictures of just one or two of the five cadets in question made up the bulk of that little side business for her. Nabiki spied Mikado eyeing her with another speculative look, and she was reasonably certain where his thoughts might now be going as to what else he thought she might do for money. I hope you bust this jerk up really bad, Ranma-kun, she quickly amended to her earlier thoughts about the aristocrat.

"The gods themselves would weep at such a price, but I shall pay it," said Kuno loftily, his eyes fixated on the small photos of Akane in various poses. He pulled out his wallet from his robes and quickly counted out ten thousand-yen notes into her outstretched palm. He took the photos from her and gazed at them with adoration. Ah, my beautiful tigress, he thought with a smile. How I love you so.

"I will see what I can have for you next week, Milord," said Nabiki, pocketing the money with another quiver of conscience. "You might also be interested in learning that my sister is transferring to a new school on Monday."

Kuno's head snapped up. "She will finally be away from that vile cur, Saotome?" A gleam filled his eyes. "Truly the gods have answered my prayers then! Hah!" He struck a majestic pose. "Then all that remains is to smite the fiend and rescue my sister from his lustful predation."

At that moment, Ranma came walking around the corner and spotted the waiting Kuno and company. Oh, damn, thought the pigtailed boy, noting that the aristocrat was armed and dressed in the same sort of archaic outfit that his counterpart usually wore. He also saw the Sanzenin boy standing with Kuno and was mildly puzzled at that. Finally, he saw Nabiki with them, but she had apparently just concluded some business with Kuno as she was standing to one side. Shrugging his shoulders at what he felt was inevitable somehow, he continued walking towards them.

Kuno's eyes looked down from gazing upwards at the sky in a pose that he thought made him look virtuous, when he caught sight of his enemy. He felt a savage hatred possess him. Now I shall finally smite the villainous Saotome and show him to be the lowly and unworthy peon that he truly is, he thought, beginning to smile nastily. The point of his weapon moved slightly.

Mikado reluctantly tore his eyes away from his admiration of Nabiki's not inconsiderable charms to see what his friend was now looking at. This feeble peasant is the man who stole Kodachi-chan's heart from me? A grin crossed his face. Kuno-kun will take him apart in seconds. He stepped back a pace to give his friend some fighting room, certain that this would all be over quickly.

Nabiki spotted Ranma and gave an inward smile. She headed over to her usual area for doing business and rounded up her assistants. The setup for a betting pool began, and she set the odds to encourage bets against the pigtailed boy, who was becoming seen as the local champion to many of the cadets.

"Ranma Saotome," intoned Kuno solemnly, feeling the desire to smite the pigtailed scholar growing as the other boy walked towards him. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tatewaki Kuno, of the most noble House of Kuno, undefeated champion of Whitehall Academy, and I am here this day to forcibly prevent you from taking advantage of my naive little sister, as well as stopping thy lecherous advances against the beauteous Akane Tendo." He raised his weapon to point it at his target.

"I see," Ranma replied, again feeling an odd sort of inevitability about the whole encounter. He set down his bag very casually, not taking his eyes off of Kuno, and then stood up straight and looked him squarely in the eyes. "I am Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts." His eyes flickered to Nabiki while keeping Kuno on the edge of his vision, as she watched the spectacle taking place while she accepted bets, and he pitched his voice loudly enough for her to hear. "And I accept your challenge."

Nabiki briefly locked stares with the pigtailed boy across the short distance separating them. Oh, you really think so, do you, Ranma-kun? She looked at him with a flat gaze. You and I have something to discuss, it sounds like. She broke the duel of stares after a few moments and went back to accepting bets on the outcome.

After sniffing disdainfully, Kuno attacked, and Ranma leaped over his head, lashing out with a kick to the aristocrat's skull. He hoped to end this quickly, but the other boy took the strike much better than he had expected him to. They went into a blur of motion for several seconds, engaging each other at a speed that only Nabiki and Mikado could really follow with clarity. Ranma found himself hindered by his uniform, cutting into his skill and agility advantage a bit, but he was still more than Kuno could deal with, even with his present limits due to his physical condition. He heard a faint rip from one of the seams of his jacket as he fought, but he did not let it distract him from dealing with the young nobleman.

Within moments, it was over. The young nobleman took the full brunt from one of Ranma's kicks, hitting him squarely across his jaw and slamming him back into the wall behind him. Kuno actually left a series of faint cracks in the stonework from the impact of his body against it. When he didn't do the sensible thing and collapse unconscious right away, Ranma punched him across the face a few times until he did, taking care not to do Kuno any serious damage. When the young aristocrat finally slumped to the ground unconscious, he turned his gaze coolly to the other young nobleman.

"Ready to try your luck, Mikado?" he asked with a glimmer of humor in his eyes.

"You will address me as Sanzenin-sama, you peasant," the other boy said coldly. He had been more surprised than the rest to see Kuno taken down so easily by Ranma, knowing how skilled his fellow aristocrat was with a weapon, but he was not afraid to face the pigtailed boy. "I challenge your claim to Kodachi Kuno."

"Kodachi's just a friend," Ranma replied, pausing a moment to study the other boy. "I've got no real interest in her beyond that, so there's no need for violence."

"Liar!" accused Mikado, glaring at his enemy. "How could any man resist such a woman? The sight of her eyes gazing with love at you. The feel of her soft lips parted in a passionate kiss. The thought of those long, silken-skinned legs and that athletic yet nubile body wrapped around you. How could any man resist the thought of that?"

"Well, when you put it that way," murmured the pigtailed boy, pitched low enough that only the Sanzenin youth could hear it. His attempt at humor seemed to drive the other boy into an almost frothing rage.

Ranma was really trying hard to be reasonable about all of this, but nobody seemed to want to listen to him. He moved closer to Mikado, and immediately had to dodge a blurring strike from one of the Jo sticks in the other boy's hand. There had not even been a blink or a flickering of the eyes to warn him that an attack was coming, so it would have come very close to breaking a rib if he had not dodged it.

Dodging and ducking under and around Mikado's two wooden weapons, he was taken by surprise when the taller boy's foot also lashed out and caught him in the thigh in a glancing blow. That's what you get for being cocky, Ranma scolded himself. He studied his foe's movements. He's using Escrima, Ranma realized after a few moments, both armed and unarmed styles. Moderately interesting, but this won't even be a challenge. The pigtailed boy leaped up into the air and lashed out with three quick kicks that Mikado was unable to block or dodge, each one whipping his face into the next strike that came in. He landed back on his feet and noted that the other boy wasn't moving any more, only standing there with a blank look on his face.

"You awake in there?" he asked, waving his hand in front of Mikado's sightless eyes. He calmly tapped his finger against the other boy's forehead, and the aristocrat fell like an uprooted tree. "I thought not." Ranma went over and picked up his bag and quickly dusted it off, before walking past the entire student body and into the main building.

Nabiki smiled after he passed her. Nicely done, Ranma-kun, she thought, sparing the fallen Mikado a cold look. Hardly anyone had bet on him with the odds she had given, so she had just cleared quite a lot of money. It made her feel a bit more charitable towards the pigtailed boy, even though she also felt that she was obviously the better choice to lay claim to being the rightful heir to the Anything-Goes School between the two of them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Upstairs, in his office, Fuyutsuki studied the commotion that had just occurred down at the main gate with interest. After recently learning that Kodachi Kuno would now be attending the Imperial Academy, he had taken a little time to re-familiarize himself with her file and that of her brother. He suspected that it was most likely the girl's brother who had just accosted Ranma, based on what he had seen of the aristocrat's most recent psychological profile, but the distance was too great for him to be sure. He had been unable to see most of the fight due to the wall blocking his view, but Ranma had emerged utterly unscathed from the altercation. That pleased him. The boy is proving to be a fascinating case study, he thought with a faint smile, sitting back down behind his desk and folding his hands in thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma gently touched another spot on the circuit board with the voltage meter, noting the level of power running through the wiring. He checked it against his notes, finding it to match his specifications exactly. Moving to the last connection, he found another match to his notes, and he then set the meter down. That's it, he thought, a little puzzled at finding nothing. All of the components were working at their stated specs, so there was no way for the power surge to have even reached the coil, unless it had somehow been generated from within the coil itself. But that made no sense.

Leaning back, he stretched out his arms and legs, feeling them loosen from the cramped position he had been in for the last several hours. It was getting to be late in the afternoon, and he still wanted to test the system with a couple of runs now that he had checked out all of the components. There is no way that the surge could have occurred in the coil, but it did, he thought with a frown, hating having a mystery like that. He had checked every circuit pathway three times to be sure of that, and none of them were the source of the mysterious surge. The energy to do so would have had to come in from along the signal pulse itself somehow, and the probability of such an occurrence happening was so low as to be beyond imagining. Yet it had happened three times in only a few days. It left him puzzled.

A fluke event, he finally decided. He had checked every other one of the possibilities that he could think of and eliminated them, leaving only two remaining. One, it was a feedback problem of some sort, perhaps caused by his linking with certain quantum frequencies and resulting in an energy surge pulled from the quantum foam itself, the vast energy field where the different timelines were suspended like stations on a radio dial. However, the problem with that one was that no such surge had taken place when he visited the same timeline Nabiki had. The other choice was that it was an act of God, which he could not bring himself to believe. Either way, he was left with a single choice, to abandon the research or continue to use the device.

Ranma wasn't sure what to do.

He had come so far, devoted so much time and effort to this experiment that he could not bring himself to simply stop. He sat and stared at the device. The resonator was his life's great work.

I'll just run a few more tests, he finally decided, picking up the headset and flipping the power on. I'll try a few of the coordinates that I've already recorded. He took a few minutes and modified the software code to compensate faster for signal strength variances on the upload and download sequences. It was a change of dubious value, but he felt confident it should provide him with a greater modicum of safety for his remaining tests.

He tapped away at the keyboard, taking his time as he set up for the next test run. He checked the clock on his wall and noted that he still had a couple of hours until his training class. He pulled up one of the remaining files and waited for it to load.

* QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000004 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

* PLEASE STAND BY...

* MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000004. DETAILS? YES

* FILE #0000004 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

758 YEARS

3 MONTHS

0 DAYS

5 HOURS

57 MINUTES

59 SECONDS AGO.

The last recorded, yet still unexplored, world I have, he mused, looking at the breakdown of the file. But this one seems to be close to my world, at least. He felt sweat on his palms and rubbed them against the cloth of his pants. He settled back onto the couch and put the headset on, listening to the computer speak softly in the background.

"Initiating upload cycle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +3.002, -3.002

Ranma was staring up at the ceiling of his room, lying on his futon. This familiar thing surprised him due to the time of day. It was only the middle of the afternoon, and he was lying in bed but he did not feel sick at all. In fact, his body seemed to have a lethargic feeling of satisfaction running through it. He blinked his eyes and waited for his mind to awaken and clear a bit, since he had apparently entered his counterpart while he was just waking up from a nap or something, so his thoughts felt a little fuzzy. What's going on?

That was about when he noticed that there was an arm lying across his chest, and a warm body cuddled comfortably against his side, completely hidden beneath the covers. To say that he was surprised by this would be putting it mildly, but he blamed it on the sleepy state he had found himself in. This body was in such a relaxed and comfortable state that it took a little motion from the person lying next to him to call his attention to it. Not even the top of her head was visible, so all he had to go on for identification purposes was that: a) the body was quite obviously female, and b) she had an athletic build. A warm gust of breath wafted against his shoulder. A female voice mumbled softly against his side, but the words spoken were totally unintelligible.

His eyes darted around the room, and he was uncertain what to do. Posters of several martial arts action movies were tacked up on a few locations around the walls, a severe contrast to his own rather bare walls at home. He blinked when he noticed that three of them even had himself pictured prominently on them, with action movie titles such as: "Young Master: The Legend Begins"; "Young Master II: The Legend Continues"; and (this title was the one that was most amusing to him, apparently a comedy of some sort) "Big Trouble In Nekonron, China."

He stared at them, feeling a chuckle threatening to bubble up from inside him, distracting him briefly from trying to figure out who it was lying next to him. He focused his mind on this more important matter. Who is lying next to me? Who is lying next to me? He repeated this one mental question like a mantra, hoping to stir up his fragmented memories to make themselves available quicker. He blinked his eyes again as the name finally came to him, along with a brief rush of memories.

Shampoo? He gently lifted up the covers with his free hand and took a quick look downwards, seeing her head of long, tousled, violet hair confirming it. He moved a little bit to one side, trying to ease away from her in order to get out of bed. The Amazon firmly held on to his arm in her sleep, a pleased-looking smile curling her lips. She muttered something softly in Mandarin and then sighed as she slowly relaxed her hold on his arm. He decided to just lie back and see if any more new memories would unfold.

As expected, the kaleidoscope of memories filled his mind, scenes from an alternate life. He was Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, the only school of martial arts descended from the Founding School, and for the last three years he had been one of the biggest box office hits in the martial arts action movie genre. The "Young Master" series alone had already made him wealthy by the time he was fifteen, and his latest film, the comedy that he was looking at the poster of, was even now earning yen by the truckload across Asia. It was a surprising life to discover, but the surprises did not end there.

The other unexpected (but not unwelcome) change was the girl at his side, his wife. Apparently, right around the time of his sixteenth birthday, he had gone to China to film on location in a remote region. While there, he had run across Shampoo while scouting out the local scenery for filming. The purple-haired Amazon, recently acclaimed the Village Champion, had been obviously unimpressed at their first meeting, which had irritated the young star a lot, used to having girls her age flocking to him. A misunderstanding had turned into an argument, and before too long the two young warriors were fighting. It took the better part of an hour before he finally managed to overcome her skills and knock her out. He did not even really remember their wedding night, and he suspected it was due to some sort of special alcoholic drink he had been given at the victory celebration.

When he had awoken the next morning, Shampoo was sleeping at his side, murmuring words of love in her sleep in Mandarin. She had not left his side for a single night since then, and his nose had a drop of blood emerge from it at the memories of what had gone on every night since his marriage to her. I had no idea that Shampoo was so, er, eager in bed, he thought with some amazement, or that she was so limber and experimental. A second drop of blood then joined the first, and he backed away from looking at more such memories to examine what this version of him knew of the history of this timeline.

For someone who had always before expressed great disdain about the importance of history, he was now getting quite a first-hand education on the significance of changes to it. In this timeline, the Empire did not exist, and in its place Japan and China were peaceful democracies who traded with each other as part of an alliance of some kind called the Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. The discovery of a small tribe of very special people, the Joketsuzoku Amazons of China, had happened only a few decades ago.

Since that day, it had become a sign of martial arts skill to visit the village and defeat a Joketsuzoku woman. Because of various treaties between China and Japan, any man winning an Amazon bride was able to remain there in the village, or he could return to Japan with her. Ranma had been the first of his family to visit there. The result of his trip, and a mark of great honor for the Saotome family, was the lovely girl who was sleeping beside him. She had been his wife for less than three months.

Shampoo shifted her position and casually draped one long leg across his body as she snuggled happily against him. He felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead and swallowed nervously. I'm just going to lie here and pretend to be still asleep, he decided, fervently trying to ignore the odd sensations awakening in his body from the feel of her leg gently moving sensuously against his body. It just wouldn't be right to take advantage of this, uh, situation. The softness of her skin, and the delicate play of her athletic musculature running beneath it, was not helping his concentration at all. He tried to remember how much time he had left before the retrieval cycle was supposed to kick in. Thirty minutes? Twenty?

He heard the Amazon's breathing suddenly change as she woke up and peeked her head up above the covers. She moved her free arm and gave him a hug, as he tried very hard to not look at her full breasts, currently naked to his gaze as she slid up his body. He attempted to draw his mind away from staring at the tempting sight by reciting the periodic table of the elements, but he lost count somewhere around Argon three times. The feel of her body against his was awakening the most intriguing sensations.

"Good afternoon, Husband," said Shampoo in her singsong way of speaking Japanese. She sat up and smiled warmly at him, her eyes bright with affection, and then her tone of voice became a little bit husky with her passions. "Shampoo so happy with beloved husband. Ranma make Shampoo feel so good this morning. Ranma ready try again? Shampoo ready." That last declared with certainty, she pulled herself up for an openmouthed kiss, and nibbled at his lower lip very gently.

I suppose I could use this time as a, uh, learning experience, he reasoned, feeling his thoughts becoming more confused as his desires for her awoke further. As they kissed and her hands wandered over him, his resistance to her advances crumbled away quickly. It's like my dream. He pulled her closer to him and felt a warmth and closeness for the Amazon that he had never felt before for any girl, the intense emotions of his counterpart coloring and mixing with his thoughts as he tasted her kiss.

"Oh, Ranma," murmured the Amazon, enjoying the feel of his lips against her jawline after the long kiss finally broke. "Shampoo love Ranma so, so much," she cooed softly.

He felt her supple muscles moving under her skin, the body of the Amazon warrior reacting to his touch as if it had been a musical instrument made to be played by him alone. His hands rested on her sides as they kissed once again, and that was when he absently noticed that he was naked beneath the covers, a startling realization that brought a third little drop of blood from his nose.

He sighed as she began kissing his neck, and his thoughts briefly cleared as his alternate's memories informed him of what that would lead to. He could not seem to summon up the will to protest her actions, and a distant thought sounded in his head, a hope that he had enough time left. His ears picked up the faint sounds of Shampoo softly giggling and cooing as she shifted her position, her lips kissing down to his chest area. He was now fully aroused, and it was an effort to relax as he felt his breathing quickening like he was about to enter into combat.

To call what happened next a completely new experience for him would have been putting it extremely mildly. The Amazon apparently took her 'duties' as a wife very seriously, and she was putting every possible effort into giving him maximum pleasure. As things moved into more intimate activities, he heard more sighs of pleasure from her, and an occasional cooing sound as well. A pleasurable tension slowly began building within him from their efforts.

I can't believe that this is happening, he thought, kissing deeply with Shampoo as the feelings of pleasure continued building in intensity. It felt so good hearing her gasp and pant as she rolled on top of him, the heat between them still increasing. He groaned when he finally allowed himself to surrender to the many sensations assailing him, and brief images of the women from his own life rose up in his mind unbidden as the feelings grew closer and closer to peaking.

Then the pleasurable tension finally reached the point of no return, and his body and mind were both overcome by the waves of orgasmic sensations now flooding through him. A name forced its way through his lips as he yielded himself up to the pleasure, lost in the bliss of the moment. An unknown number of moments later, the gray void of nothingness claimed him, and the world faded away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma became aware of himself as his body shuddered powerfully with the last vestiges of orgasm, his beautiful wife working her usual magic upon him. He guessed she had decided to awaken him in this most pleasant of ways, thinking he had just been asleep until now. When it was finally done, he let out a soft sigh of contentment. He felt her pause in what she was doing. Shampoo was looking down at him, a very deep frown on her face that puzzled him even as she glared at him. A light blue aura seemed to surround her.

"Ranma say other woman's name!" she accused him. "Shampoo no know other name, but know it not Shampoo's!"

"Huh?" He was confused by what was going on. "No, I didn't." While there had been a number of girls he had bedded before marrying Shampoo, he did not think about them much anymore.

Well, sometimes he did still fantasize about Mai Shiranui, an older girl of nineteen with a liking for younger men who had helped him celebrate his fifteenth birthday by making him a man. She had taught him quite a bit about being with a woman over the following couple of weeks before she moved on to her next youthful conquest.

Or it could have been his former action movie co-star, Sakura Kasugano, their on-screen romance sizzling into a brief but intense off-screen one after their movie together finished filming. She was quite the wildcat in bed but a little too clingy for his tastes.

Or maybe it was that fashion model, Madoka Ayukawa, who he once dated for a few weeks before finally dropping her. She was a passionate lover but too volatile and high maintenance.

"Yes, Ranma did!" Shampoo declared once more.

"No, I did not!"

"Did!"

"Did not!"

"Did!" yelled the Amazon one final time. To punctuate her argument, her fist then lashed out and impacted into his face, propelling him from the bed on a ballistic course to slam into the wall, leaving quite a deep impression in it as he rested partially embedded into it. "Now Ranma learn why it not nice to play with loving Amazon wife's tender feelings."

"Help," he murmured, as the naked Amazon loomed up before him and cracked her knuckles, her eyes narrowed in that most feared of looks by men: righteous female fury.

Sounds of carnage began to ensue.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete."

Ranma opened his eyes and sighed as the hum of the headset faded into the background. "Wow!" he muttered, feeling quite pleased with himself. "I never realized I could be such a stud with the ladies." He stretched his arms up over his head and grinned happily. "I must try and remember that file in particular." He found himself very tempted to link back to that reality immediately.

"No," he finally decided, sitting up to examine the data from the test run. A lingering feeling of well-being filled him as he watched the graphs of the power levels. While the coil's power levels had surged, he didn't feel any different. It was possible that the memories of the analog he had just linked with would remain dormant until the right mnemonic trigger activated them, which would explain his martial arts skills suddenly emerging during a fight.

He looked at the clock on the wall. "It looks like I have time for one more test run before I need to quit for the day."

He pulled the keyboard down to his lap and started typing. The system hummed as it initiated its scanning mode. Ranma adjusted the headset to rest comfortably on his skull, relaxed back onto the couch, and closed his eyes.

"Quantum signature match found. Initiating upload cycle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +3.184,-3.223

Ranma stumbled for a moment before quickly regaining his balance as he walked along with his father. He adjusted the sunglasses that he found himself wearing, blinking his eyes at the afternoon sunlight when they slipped down. He had noticed a tendency for his eyes to dilate for a few moments after he possessed an alternate version of himself, rendering him sensitive to bright light. This time was no exception and the bright sunlight was exacerbating the problem as he felt his eyes water for a moment. He took a guess that he was somewhere in the central market district of Tokyo as he looked around.

"Are you all right, Ranma?" asked Genma, pausing for a moment to look back at his son. He looked impatient at the delay, apparently with a strong desire to get to the place he seemed to be heading to. "We need to hurry up, or we're going to be late for the auction."

"I just tripped, Father," he replied, deciding that a little bit more formality was easier to fake. Auction? Are we going to buy a car or something? He let himself trail along behind his father, and they soon arrived at an area filled with people who all seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

Genma turned to him with a smile. He was wearing a fine silk suit in charcoal gray, and looked quite prosperous. Ranma had noticed that he was also wearing fairly fine clothes himself, instead of a school uniform of some sort. I guess I don't need to go to school here, or it's some sort of holiday, he decided.

"Are you excited, son?" Genma looked at him expectantly.

"Uh, yeah," Ranma replied, trying to look eager, seeing his father smile back at him in reply.

"That's the spirit, m'boy!" said the older man exultantly, clapping him on the back as they walked over to one side of the crowd. They pushed their way to the front of the crowd, Ranma trailing along a little bit behind Genma like a satellite. "I hear that they even have several samples of the legendary Chinese Amazons in the latest batch," he said as they reached a point near the stage.

Chinese Amazons? Ranma suddenly realized where he was, and what they were here to buy. Oh no. No. At that very moment, the memories of his counterpart washed over him. He let them settle into place, ignoring them as he listened to the older man speaking.

"It's a proud day in a young man's life when he buys his first female slave," Genma said jovially, looking at his son with a paternal smile. "The Empire knows how to take care of its citizens. Why, I remember when I was a boy, the day I was able to purchase my first, Rina. She was fresh from the newly conquered territories in Russia, those the Empire first acquired during the Unification War, you know. She was a beauty."

Ranma tuned out Genma's words, focusing his thoughts on piecing together his life in this timeline, one where the Empire now controlled the entire globe in an iron fist. The Unification War was the name for the final efforts by the Western European powers twenty-five years ago to hold back the Empire from claiming them by right of conquest, but they failed. The entire population of the planet was now divided up under the control of the various Prefectural Governors, each of them under the direct control of the Emperor. To be an Imperial citizen, especially to be a noble, was to be a prince of the Earth, but to be anything else was to be some degree of slave.

The Saotomes were considered poor by most standards of the nobility to which they belonged, but his father ran a very successful dojo that earned him some respect and an adequate income for his family. The Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts was alive and well on this world, and Ranma was the designated heir. However, they were not the only School that claimed descent from the Founding School under Master Happosai (dead for over fifteen years now from some sort of training accident).

Ranma rubbed at the spot on his face where a bruise had been only yesterday, a phantom pain, a reminder of his counterpart's less than excellent performance in one of his frequent disagreements with the youngest of the three daughters of the Master of the Tendo School, Akane, on the relative strengths of their competing schools. As usual, their disagreement had become very heated, and this analog had ended up receiving her fist into his face, distracted at a critical moment by one of her seductive smiles, preventing him from dodging. She hadn't pressed her advantage, instead standing back and lowering her fists, a smirk on her face and a gleam in her eyes as she watched him picking himself up off the ground. She had patted him on the cheek and calmly sauntered off. Luckily no one else had been around to see his dismal performance.

Against a male opponent, he still remained undefeated, even with the likes of Tatewaki Kuno and Ryoga Hibiki attacking him all the time, each accusing him of trying to steal their girlfriends. Ranma blinked at the reoccurrence of the same people being involved in this life, but he was amused at this analog's problems. In this world, each of the three Tendo sisters was very well-versed in the fighting skills of the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. Both schools were famed across the Empire for the capabilities of its few students, but the training was more rigorous than most would-be disciples of it were willing to put up with.

Of them all, this Ranma preferred to fight with Kasumi. She was the heir to her family's school, as he was to his, but she was also the only one that would fight him fairly and not use any sort of feminine wiles to distract him during a fight, his one weakness, like Akane and Nabiki would do with glee. Kasumi had recently returned from an exhibition tour around the Empire, demonstrating her family's style in the various Arenas around the globe. She had even added a few new tricks to her arsenal since last time. Her increased skills were a fun challenge for him, and he was working up counters for her new techniques.

Nabiki was the ultimate seductress in a fight, using her innate beauty to distract him before unleashing her considerable skills at fighting to pummel him unconscious. She had even once worn a breakaway shirt to one of their duels, which he discovered when it came off in his hands as they were grappling with each other. He had been totally mesmerized by the unexpected sight of her bare breasts bouncing before his eyes, surprised that she was not wearing a bra, a moment before she had kicked him unconscious. His father had not been pleased to hear that he had fallen for such a cheap shot.

Lastly, there was Akane, and she was the worst, at least in the eyes of this Ranma. Very strong for a girl, her frame well-muscled on top of a solid skeletal structure, she was also nicely padded in all of the right places. While she was not as fast as her two older sisters, she made up for it with enormous power in her strikes, sufficient to shatter bone if her fists or feet made solid contact. Akane was not as well-built as Kasumi or Nabiki, but she had a compact beauty all her own. She just had to smile at him with a certain look in her eyes, and his reactions would hesitate just enough for her to unload upon him with powerful strikes.

Genma and Soun had once been the best of friends, back when they were training with the revered Master Happosai, who in this timeline was one of the most well-respected martial arts masters that had ever been seen in the Empire, but there had been some sort of a severe falling out towards the end of their training. Each of them had desired to be the one to officially carry on the Anything-Goes School under their name, and only under their name, the beginnings of a rivalry that continued to this day. Each of them had passed on that rivalry to their children, and this Ranma was outnumbered three to one.

The three Tendo girls never attacked him all at once, but each of them seemed to fight with him at least once a week. His fighting skills had experienced marked improvement from having regular sparring partners for the last two years, ever since he and his parents had returned from wandering the globe. Kasumi he could fight to a standstill, and she seemed to enjoy their encounters as a chance to polish her skills with an equal-level opponent. Nabiki and Akane he generally lost to, only due to their preying upon his weakness. They alternated in their challenges against him, and each seemed to enjoy the duels with him much more than he did with either of them.

That brought events to their current place in time. Genma had finally had enough of this weakness in his son and had decided to do something about it, so they were here to purchase a girl who would be his sparring partner as well as a bedroom playmate, in order to get him more used to fighting a girl. Inside his counterpart's mind, Ranma mentally blinked at the notion.

The curtain opened and he beheld a dozen young girls near his age, each of them strikingly beautiful. Only two girls had hair that differed from brown or black in color, and one of those framed a very familiar face, with long, violet locks of hair that he had last seen in a very different life: Shampoo. To her right was the other girl, a pink-haired beauty who occasionally glanced at Shampoo with hate-filled glares, and her features rivaled the other Amazon's. Both of them appeared to be martial artists, muscular and graceful in appearance, even weighted down by the chains holding them.

Ranma only had eyes for Shampoo. He saw her standing tall and proud, her posture unbowed by the chains and manacles on her wrists and ankles, as she looked out defiantly at the crowd of men. Like the other girls with her, she was dressed in a simple, white silk outfit composed of a long sleeveless tunic with a short skirt that barely reached to her thighs and was cut low in front, exposing her cleavage to easy viewing by prospective buyers.

The pink-haired girl near Shampoo caught sight of him in the front of the crowd, the only person less than thirty years of age, and she smiled at him sexily. He shifted his gaze to look at her in surprise, and she adjusted her posture to thrust out her nicely-endowed chest in his direction. There was a promise contained in those eyes that was quite captivating, and her athletic figure was very tempting to him. She even licked her lips seductively as she looked down at him, and frowned murderously at Shampoo when his eyes went back to look at her and stayed there.

He was grateful for this chance to offer the Amazon a good home. He could see in the mind of his counterpart that this Ranma was a very honorable sort, and he would never mistreat her. He tugged on Genma's sleeve and whispered the identity of his selection to him. He felt a fatherly slap on his shoulders, and saw the man nodding in agreement with his choice.

"An excellent choice, boy. She looks to have a good amount of fighting spirit in her, and that body looks built for being made love to by the right man. Consider her yours."

"Thank you, Father," said Ranma with genuine sincerity.

Luckily for him, Shampoo was one of the very first girls placed up on auction, so he had time to watch. She went up for sale right behind the pink-haired girl named Perfume, who turned out to be another Amazon. The violet-haired girl earned a fair amount of bidding, but her cool, defiant look limited the height that it climbed to from most of the potential buyers. Finally, it came down to Ranma and a representative from one of the zaibatsus, apparently recruiting for the Arena. The other Amazon, Perfume, was one of his purchases, and it looked close for a time when it came time to bid on Shampoo. However, he finally dropped out, and she became his property for the sum of a little over five million yen, a full million yen over what the other Amazon had gone for in price.

When the gray void of recall finally pulled him away, he wished the Ranma of this life good luck with his new slave.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete."

Ranma blinked up at the ceiling of his lab and smiled. He felt that he had just done a little bit of good on one world, and it made him feel pretty happy. Shampoo, he thought with a smile. In so many different lives she was part of it, like they were destined to be together. A brief fantasy about the purple-haired Amazon filled his mind as he relaxed on the couch, but he shook his head free of it a minute or so later. He took a quick look at the statistics for that world.

* FILE #0000007 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

421 YEARS

9 MONTHS

29 DAYS

14 HOURS

32 MINUTES

17 SECONDS AGO.

He reached over and pulled the keyboard into his lap, his fingers beginning to tap away, calling up the diagnostic software. He eyed the clock on the table, seeing that he only had a few minutes left until his training class was to begin. How time flies, he thought with a smile. In one day he had managed to: deal with the annoyance of Kuno and Mikado without taking a scratch; determine that his device design seemed safe for his father's use tomorrow; meet Shampoo in one counterpart's life who was his wife; and purchase another one as a slave for yet another analog.

All in all, it seemed to have been a pretty full day so far. Now he just had to finish up in his lab, and then he could go out and show Nabiki that he was the better martial artist. No ties for him today. He was certain that he was going to win.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short time later, he found himself facing off against the middle Tendo daughter, both of them seated across from each other while they finished stretching. He noticed that she seemed quite angry with him, and he imagined that he could feel it rolling off her like waves of heat. It was more than a little disconcerting.

Unlike yesterday, he was now wearing the standard Academy uniform for physical education: a pair of blue shorts and a gray T-shirt emblazoned with the words, "Property of the Imperial Academy Athletics Department." He was wearing the black slipper shoes that Nabiki had gifted him with, as they just felt more comfortable for this sort of training. He made a mental note to obtain a few more outfits like the first one to expand his wardrobe. It felt vaguely 'wrong' to dress as he was now clothed to train in martial arts.

Across from him, Nabiki was dressed in the same sort of outfit that she had on yesterday, with another blue Chinese-style shirt on. She saw Ranma looking at her appraisingly with a slight smile on his face, and she continued to glare at him but said nothing. I'll show _you_ who the true heir to the Anything-Goes School is, Ranma-kun, she thought with irritation, her expression becoming one of her usual cool smirks. Just you wait.

Finally, it was time for their daily sparring match. Only the two coaches were present this time, and Coach Fujinami acted as their referee once again.

As before, neither of them held anything back from this match, even though it was nominally sparring. Things proceeded much as they had yesterday, each of them weaving in and out of the defenses of the other, and both proving themselves to be equally as adept fighting on the ground as in the air. However, today there was something subtly different, an air of much greater intensity in the efforts that Nabiki was putting forward, and the upper hand began to fall away from Ranma to her, to his great surprise.

Almost desperately, he struggled to regain the initiative, but he became more and more pressed into a defensive posture. As minutes passed, he briefly managed to regain the upper hand for short periods of time, but they were not to last. Her edge in skill and her superior levels of conditioning were both acting to force the upper hand away from him each time that he thought it was finally his. Finally, he was driven into a defensive posture one last time, and then it was over, less than fifteen minutes after they had begun. He stared up at her in shock, his inner thoughts matching his outer expression.

He had lost.

"Looks like I win, Ranma-kun," she purred teasingly. "Perhaps I should be the one to call myself heir, hmm?" She smiled at him in an almost seductive fashion.

His reply was interrupted by the coach yelling at them. He did not have an opportunity to talk with her for the remainder of class, so he occupied his thoughts with reviewing the fight in his memories as his body went through the usual training regimen. Over the day off from classes, he planned on doubling his training efforts. He was now determined to best her. He was confident that it was only a matter of time.

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In one of the upper windows of the Academy, Fuyutsuki was smiling downwards at the practice field. It had been a fairly close contest in his eyes. He nodded to himself as he watched one of the coaches spur them out to the field to begin running. Even at this distance, the pigtailed boy looked shell-shocked.

Now their real exertions against each other will begin, he thought with a smile. Ranma will have to learn to treat Nabiki with some respect, it seems.

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Ranma collapsed back onto his futon and stared at the ceiling. He felt drained. The loss today against Nabiki rankled a bit, and he resolved himself to training harder to defeat her. He felt twitchy about the loss, as if part of him did not even want to admit that it happened, but he knew that he would win in the end. This was not a loss, just a setback. He always won in the end, and he would keep trying until he did. To add further misery to his day, all throughout dinner he was forced to listen to his mother chattering on about the good qualities of each of the girls that he was going to meet next week, including a certain Nabiki Tendo. Each of the glowing descriptions and subtle demands about marrying a proper girl just made him feel more and more anxious, as if the walls were starting to close in.

How quickly life can change, he thought as he laid his arm across his eyes.

For several minutes he just laid there, his mind processing the events of the day. He still had some nagging questions to deal with from his jaunts to the other Earths that he had been to, ones that he had put off getting the answers to long enough. He rolled to a sitting position and eyed the Navi that sat on his desk. Now is as good a time as any to start looking for some answers, he decided with a firm nod of the head.

He powered on his Navi and waited as it booted up. He settled himself comfortably in his chair and began typing, calling up a number of programs that he had specially written for such information searches in the past, those that he did not care to have traced. Just in case he ran into any problems with Security Directorate monitoring, he started by logging into the data relays at Tokyo University through a secure and secret backdoor that a friend had once told him about. He then began bouncing his communications signal around the planet by means of several non-Imperial nodes first before he re-entered into the Imperial Datanet by means of one of the Science Ministry's hookups.

With all of the high-security protocols set up to prevent such a thing from happening, it was a bit of a challenge even for his abilities, but Ranma had cut his teeth on computers many years ago and had only kept perfecting his skills ever since. His fingers danced across the keys as he navigated around the dangerous areas of the Datanet. Over the past several years such efforts as this had been one of his hobbies, a way of thumbing his nose at the system. Finally, after he finished setting it up so that he could not be traced without at least his awareness, he hacked into the first server he encountered and began punching in his first information request.

* PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED: ANYTHING-GOES SCHOOL OF MARTIAL

* ARTS, ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION

* The Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts was founded by an individual

* known as Happosai in 1896. The School ceased existence in 1901 when

* Happosai was convicted and executed for molesting the Empress. No

* other practitioners existed at the time. END OF FILE.

"Huh," Ranma grunted, surprised that the old pervert was dead. Since Happosai left no disciples, the School simply died with him. An odd feeling washed over the pigtailed boy. It was partially relief at not having the little troll to deal with, and partially a kind of regret. Perhaps he could officially restore the School someday.

* PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED: CHINESE AMAZONS, ALL AVAILABLE

* INFORMATION

* The Amazons of Joketsuzoku, China were first discovered by the Fourth * Imperial Army in the year 1841 (see entries for Mount Phoenix, and

* Musk Dynasty). The Supreme Matriarch of the Amazons willingly entered

* into a treaty with the Emperor in the year 1849, recognizing his

* divine sovereignty over all people. A primitive, agrarian society

* following a simple, matriarchal-based system of local government, they

* have been consistently labeled by the Security Directorate as a very

* low-risk group for rebellion. END OF FILE.

"That's it?" he asked, expecting to see reams of data, instead of a single paragraph. "That's not much." He wasn't sure if a search for Shampoo or any other specific names would even turn up anything, what with the information on the Amazons being as sketchy as it was. If the Empire followed its usual patterns for how they maintained the census on the conquered peoples under its control, then Shampoo would only be identified by a serial number, not her name. He decided to investigate some of the other groups mentioned to see if he could learn more from a different angle.

* PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED: MUSK DYNASTY, ALL AVAILABLE

* INFORMATION

* The Musk Dynasty was first discovered by the Fourth Imperial Army in

* the year 1841 (see entries for Joketsuzoku Amazons, and Mount

* Phoenix). This group was determined by the Security Directorate to be

* a clear and present danger to stable Imperial rule of the region, and

* a pogrom was declared against them by special order of Director Shikei

* Kashuoh in 1845. Extermination measures were carried out under the

* direction of Colonel Hisato Tendo in 1846 with the final elimination

* of last members of the Musk Dynasty confirmed in 1848. END OF FILE.

Hmm, what could a group of primitives in the backwoods of China have done to warrant an extermination order? He frowned. Local ethnic groups had resisted the Empire before without such a level of reprisal, let alone genocide. That seemed to be a surprisingly harsh reaction by the Empire. I wonder what it was that frightened them so much about the Musk Dynasty? The Amazons were left alone, and they have some pretty powerful abilities at their disposal. I wonder why the Musk weren't?

He sat back in his chair and thought about this, idly tapping his fingertips together as he rested his elbows on the arms of his chair. I don't seem to have any memories from that other Ranma about any past encounters with them, so I suppose they might not exist in his timeline as well, he mused. Still, if there are any members of the Musk Dynasty somehow still managing to survive, then they aren't going to be too happy with any of the existing descendants of Colonel Hisato Tendo. I wonder if Nabiki even knows what her illustrious ancestor did? Perhaps not.

He eyed the indicators for his countermeasures software, all of them running in the background. None of them had been triggered yet, so he was still safe. He moved onto his next data search.

* PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED: MOUNT PHOENIX, ALL AVAILABLE

* INFORMATION

* The inhabitants of the region known as Mount Phoenix in southern China * were determined to be only a rumor by the Security Directorate in

* 1842 (see entries for Joketsuzoku Amazons, and Musk Dynasty).

* END OF FILE.

That's the shortest one yet, he mused with a smile. If they haven't been spotted by anyone since then, then they must be a myth. Ah well, now for the big one.

* PLEASE INPUT INFORMATION DESIRED: JUSENKYO, ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION

The system seemed to hiccup and paused for several long moments while the system conducted a search for any files related to his request. Ranma nervously eyed his countermeasure indicators, but they had not yet been tripped. After a time, the screen cleared and came back with:

* ALL INFORMATION ON JUSENKYO IS CLASSIFIED BY MOBIUS INSTITUTE EDICT.

Hmm, now that's interesting. He sensed a genuine challenge to his abilities now, and he cracked his knuckles and grinned. However, it's not about to stop me. He began to call up some of his best hacking algorithms, ones that not even his father or any of his other teachers even knew that he had. He had crafted them all on his own over the years away from Japan, testing their effectiveness and refining them further during his travels with his father. Once he went so far as to penetrate into the Security Directorate's payroll files for fun. A few moments after he activated them, he was rewarded with success.

* STAND BY FOR FILE TRANSFER FROM SECURE SERVER.

Ha! The Anything-Goes School of Data Hacking strikes! He grinned at the screen as the files involved began a complex sequence of transfers around the globe, hidden among the regular data traffic by one of his algorithms. He was a little astonished at the amount of data available. His grin faded as he studied the historical summary on Jusenkyo.

* Jusenkyo Valley and its many springs were first discovered by the

* Fourth Imperial Army in the year 1841 (see entries on Joketsuzoku

* Amazons, Mount Phoenix, and Musk Dynasty). The local tales of the

* springs' reported magical ability to transform living creatures into

* duplicates of the first creature drowned in a particular spring was

* initially thought to be a myth. Preliminary gathering of evidence was

* delayed due to several pacification efforts needed in nearby regions.

* Confirmation of springs' magical ability to transform living creatures

* obtained through direct experimentation in 1847. The Mobius Institute

* (see entry) has classified Jusenkyo Valley as an Alpha Class mystical

* nexus and maintains a representative to monitor the site.

* The Musk Dynasty was discovered to use the so-called 'Spring of

* Drowned Girl' in order to breed with local animal life in 1845. The

* Security Directorate determined that members of the Musk Dynasty were

* thus to be re-classified as a sub-human species, and were to be

* considered as a clear and present danger to the future security of the

* Empire. The necessary purification efforts were carried out under the

* direction of Colonel Hisato Tendo in 1846. The final pogrom was

* completed in 1848, save for ten subjects reserved for use in eugenic

* experimentation (see current entries for Human Enhancement Projects).

* Current status of Jusenkyo Valley: Maximum Security Biological

* Research Facility. END OF FILE.

Ranma's countermeasures software picked up a trace attempt at that time, and he immediately aborted the remaining file transfers, routing those currently in transit to several previously-established secure sites he could hopefully retrieve from more safely later. The link died quickly, the attempted trace frustrated by the numerous cutouts and blind alleys that he had set up in advance. He breathed a quick sigh of relief, and then he saved what he had managed to retrieve of his captured data. He would examine it all in more detail at a later time.

So that's the real story, he thought, considering what he had just seen, amazed at the implications and tantalized by the references that were given. He had answered some questions, only raising even more in the process. No wonder it was classified, but at least the Amazons still exist. Since the Empire has practiced a relatively light approach with them, they may even be much as they are in that other Ranma's timeline. He wandered back to his futon, undressed quickly, and stretched out. Despite the earliness of the hour, he was exhausted.

I wonder if Shampoo even exists in this timeline? Is she back at her village, the champion of her people? Is she married to some guy? She's the only one I haven't encountered. Not that I've really tried to find her.

He laid his arm over his eyes.

I wonder where she is now?

His thoughts faded off to sleep.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	8. Sins Of The Fathers, Part I

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Even though he normally allowed himself the luxury of sleeping late on Sundays, Genma awoke early on this particular morning. As was usual, he discovered Nodoka snuggled up against him, her head resting heavily on his shoulder and one of his arms half-numb underneath her. Turning his head to the side, he smiled as he looked upon his wife's sleeping face, only inches from his own and close enough for him to clearly see it even without wearing his glasses. Not wishing to wake her, he closed his eyes and relaxed, thinking himself to be one of the luckiest of men.

Today Ranma shows me the capabilities of his device, he thought proudly, feeling Nodoka shift slightly against him in her sleep. He rolled onto his side facing her, and she quieted with a soft sigh of contentment without even waking up as he encircled her body with his free arm around her shoulder. He watched her face as he thought about the day's upcoming experiment. Today I will see another world with my own two eyes. He briefly paused as he thought a moment about the inherent illogic of that statement. So to speak, he amended. Another world, where the choices of history flowed differently, and all the people I know, or knew in the past, are different, if they even exist at all. Such a very curious thing to finally have an opportunity to see.

He felt Nodoka's breathing change as she slowly woke up, and he smiled and gazed fondly at her face, watching as she opened her eyes. Even after all the years they had been married, even the ones spent apart during Ranma's education, he still thought her to be the most beautiful of women. His arm slid down to her waist, and he saw her lips quirk into a soft smile when she noticed that he was already awake.

"Good morning, Dearest," she said sleepily. "You are awake early." She snuggled up more closely against him, sighing with contentment. "Are you looking forward to spending the day with your son?"

"Quite a bit," he replied with a smile of his own. He felt her warm breath against his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder. As he felt his arm continuing to slowly go numb from the loss of circulation, he found that he could not bring himself to move her from the position he had spent years yearning for her to be in. "He and I have not spent very much time together since our return. It will be good to renew the bonds between father and son that we have."

"It is so wonderful having you both back." Her body shifted a bit, relieving the burden on his arm. "I was so lonely while you were away, but you brought our son back a man." She kissed him on the neck and caressed his face with her hand. "For that you have my thanks. It partially makes up for the many nights alone that I endured while you were off gallivanting around to strange, foreign lands with him."

"Gallivanting?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "You make it sound like we were playing. I'll have you know that we were involved in nothing but serious, scholarly pursuits." His voice sounded very stuffy and dignified at that moment.

"Well." She drew out the sound. "Despite all of my initial doubts at you taking him away from me at such a young age, it did all turn out for the best." She made a slight choking sound for a moment, a muffled sob. "I know that the Ministry asked you to do it, but it was still hard living without my family." Her voice firmed, and she said with pride, "You promised to bring him back to me, and you have, and I'm happy. I'm still amazed that you were able to train him in the martial arts as well as scholarship. That was a pleasant surprise."

"I'm glad that you're pleased. I never wished to make you unhappy. It wasn't easy for me to be away from you either, dear."

She kissed him a little bit more insistently on the neck, her breathing getting a little heavier. "Would my lord and husband care to see how grateful his loving wife is for all of his efforts?"

"I really should think about getting out of bed and getting ready," he said half-seriously. "Ranma has planned out a full day for the two of us." Any further statements along these lines were silenced as Nodoka moved up and kissed him warmly, but firmly, on the mouth. Not having the willpower to resist her relentless advances, he eventually yielded to the inevitable. She is going to kill me at this rate, he thought jokingly, amazed that he had actually forgotten about this particular side of her. Practically every day since I got back. Ah well, time for me to do my husbandly duties once again. Ranma can wait for an hour or so.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +3.184, -3.223 - The world of Slave-Shampoo (Unification cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. The Nabiki of this timeline later snuck into Ranma's lab and used his device, not knowing what it was, accidentally copying the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. Now at an equivalent level of skill to Ranma as a martial artist, she has achieved her first victory over Ranma in sparring. Ranma also learned some startling things about Jusenkyo in this world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 8 - Sins Of The Fathers, Part I

The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving

iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the

guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the

children unto the third and fourth generation.

King James Bible

Numbers 14:18

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the sun cleared the horizon, its first rays found Ranma practicing his martial arts skills in the Saotome yard. The swift defeat suffered at the hands of the Tendo girl filled his thoughts as he drove himself through his workout. I lost to Nabiki, he thought, a little angrily, throwing a series of kicks and punches around his body. He still could not bring himself to believe it, or how quickly he had lost. She had just been a little faster than he was, maybe a little better in her skills. Shaking his head a bit to clear it, he concentrated on what he was doing and pushed himself. Speed was the answer for the next time he matched himself against her, so he had to get his body to move faster.

"Come on," he grunted. "Faster, you slowpoke." His arms and legs moved through the air with precision and swiftness, but he was still quite a bit slower than his memories told him that the other Ranma could move. He felt his level of irritation rising once again, remembering his desire to wipe Nabiki's smirk from her face when she had looked down on him smugly after her victory. But there had not been any time to talk afterwards, the coaches keeping them too busy for that, and she had gone straight to the locker rooms immediately afterwards. He had decided against a confrontation at that time, so he had not tried to speak to her after cleaning up and changing.

However, he had to admit that he was more irritated with himself than with her. He had been so confident in his own capabilities, so arrogant in his skills. I can't let myself think like that other Ranma, bulling my way through every obstacle, he thought with a grimace as his fists drove through imaginary targets. I need to refine my strategy against her, concentrate on my strengths and exploit her weaknesses. He let his emotions give him the motivation to work even harder, as the morning grew older little by little.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Across the city, far from the familiar sights of the Saotome household was a plain, gray, stone building, four stories tall. It covered an area aboveground sufficient to provide offices and facilities for some nine hundred men and women. However, it was still less than a quarter of the size of the Security Directorate, at least above the ground. Beneath the surface of the earth were the true facilities where the majority of the efforts performed here were actually carried out. Here at this facility, matters of day or night did not affect the level of activity. It was the home of the Mobius Institute, or as it was more commonly and simply known, the Institute.

The vast majority of the citizenry of the Empire were unaware of what went on here and especially what activities that the Institute was involved in, due to a clever combination of governmental denial and outright control of the news that the public saw through the eyes of the Ministry of Public Information. All psychic and mystic matters were monitored and dealt with by this facility and its special agents on a daily basis, all of them nominally under the direction of the Security Directorate.

Two men stood next to a one-way glass in a darkened chamber, both observing a woman, perhaps barely out of her teens, who was drawing in the next room. She appeared lethargic to them, perhaps drugged, as she used a black pen to fill the white space of the paper with images. One of the men lit up a cigarette as he looked through the glass, and the bright glow of the flame from his cigarette lighter illuminated the rather tired-looking face of Soun Tendo.

"You don't look so well, old friend," observed the elderly man with him, a balding, shorter figure. A pair of horn-rimmed glasses gave him a somewhat dignified appearance, one that was complemented by the Shinto priest robes that he wore. He turned to face Soun with a smile.

"I dislike this place, Kasuga-san," said Soun politely, taking another puff of his cigarette. "When I think of some of the things you have contained within here, sometimes, let us say that it does not do very good things for my constitution. May I know why you have requested my presence here at this early hour?" His attitude bordered on insolent, but the two men had known each other for many years, and they had developed a certain rapport with each other. He had been awakened from a sound sleep a few hours before dawn by a simple telephone call from the elderly man with him, and he was only informed that there was something he needed to see here. He had done so without question, for when the Director of the Mobius Institute called, it was a wise man who obeyed.

"Do not be concerned about that," said Kasuga. "You should be much more concerned about what I have brought you here to see. It is really quite interesting."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" Soun inhaled briefly from the cigarette held loosely in his hand. "All I see is a young woman drawing pictures. Not exactly what I would classify as a threat to the Empire." He felt a headache coming on, a result of too much stress in his life and not enough sleep. It made him edgy.

The elderly man removed his glasses with a sigh and cleaned them with a handkerchief pulled from a pocket of his robes. He replaced them and pushed them up into proper place with two fingers before saying, "That young woman is Setsuna Meioh, one of our best precognitives. She can reach farther and more clearly into the future than any other Esper that we have here at the Institute. There is something unexpected brewing on the horizon of the future." He paused and his voice lowered ominously as he continued. "A great disturbance in the Pattern."

"So?" asked Soun mildly, watching the older man as a student watches a professor. He concealed the irritation he felt at getting dragged out of bed to hear stories of some madwoman and her pictures. "And please don't phrase things using that mystical nonsense that you love so very much, Kasuga-san." He waved his arms grandly in the air as he said, "There is no such thing as some overriding Pattern that controls everything. Men decide their own fates."

"Very well then," said Kasuga, nodding his head. It was an old argument between them, one that he would sally forth to fight another time, but not now. Removing a folded picture from his robes, he said, "An hour before I called you, she drew this." He handed it to Soun and waited, watching the woman, as Soun unfolded the picture.

Soun blinked and stared at the picture in his hands. The picture was done in the style of a manga, and the artwork was very distinctive, and quite good, in his opinion. In the drawing was an image of a collection of pathways of some sort, all of them braided together in a manner that made it difficult to tell where one ended and another one began. Most of them simply faded off in the confused mess, slowly merging and dwindling in number; others led to branchings that created more and more paths, but most of those then led to darkness with a scant few headed to light. Yet, perhaps most disturbing, almost all of the pathways simply ended after a short distance, cut off sharply as if by a blade.

Every one of these pathways met at a sort of crossroads in the lower center of the picture; standing there were seven indistinct figures, five of them shadows only. Two other figures stood in the center that were drawn more distinctly in aspect and form, yet still indeterminate as to their age and identity. Both of them were facing away from the artist and looking out towards the pathways ahead of them as if they were preparing to choose one, a woman and a man.

"One of our telepaths who can handle the whirling chaos and constant motion of the images in her mind monitors her on a regular basis," said Kasuga, his eyes focused on the woman who was still drawing. "From the time she was brought to us as a child, a sad failure of the Ministry of Science's misguided attempt to tinker with the genetics of an Esper, up until two years ago, her abilities consistently predicted the onset of some sort of apocalyptic nightmare that would take place in the not-too-distant future, without any apparent hope of escape. In those days, she had to be kept sedated around the clock, and the few telepaths who dared to probe into her visions all came away muttering something about some darkness that was going to engulf the world." He watched the woman with great sadness in his eyes as he spoke.

"She seems much better now." Soun was unsure what else to say in the face of such a revelation. "What changed?"

"I am uncertain," admitted the elderly man. "I have kept the Emperor informed, of course, but I do not know if he ever did anything at all that might have altered events. Or if he even believed me. Like his predecessors, he was more concerned with the visions of our primary precognitives, those who see nothing in their inner Sight but the signs that the shape of the future being crafted by the plans of the Emperor's Advisory Committee was still on course. However, about two years ago, something changed," he paused and now looked almost fondly at the woman who was still drawing slowly but fiercely, "as if the tiniest grain of sand was dropped into the immensity of the Pattern from an unknown source, a minute change that went totally unnoticed by any here at the Institute, except by her." He pointed at the woman with a gleam in his eyes.

"You've never mentioned any of this in our previous talks." Soun was unable to completely hide the surprise in his voice. "So, have you been able to identify the change?"

"No," replied Kasuga simply and then sighed briefly. "It was too small, whatever it was, too minute and delicate of an alteration to the course of events. I had one of my best and most trusted operatives peer into the depths of her visions to try and see what had happened, but he was only able to discern a very little bit. Where before there had only been an immense darkness, a void of immense nothingness that yawned across all possible pathways of the future, now there were paths beginning to open up that go beyond it. There were so very few of them though." He leaned against the glass and suddenly looked every year of his age.

"So, what happened next, Kasuga-san?" Soun took a fresh puff on his cigarette.

"To my eternal shame, I had my man link with her more deeply to try and determine more detail." The elderly man briefly paused as if pained by the memory. "He almost went mad. His mind was simply unable to deal with the details in the swirling chaos of all of those possible futures revealed to him at once through her visions. Until he recovered three weeks later, his mind apparently tried to interpret the images he saw, and he just kept babbling out a single, cryptic phrase in his waking moments: 'When the new moon rises, look to the East, for the two halves of Tao shall unite.' And that was all he could say. Later, he remembered nothing of this, or of what he had seen, and he refused to probe her mind again. I have not dared to have anyone else link so deeply with her since then."

"It simply sounds to me like the ravings of a disturbed mind," said Soun, perhaps a bit more coldly than he intended. "The words of a madman, it seems to me." He looked down at the picture once more. "So why call me now, so urgently?"

"Because something new has been added once again to the Pattern in the last few days," said Kasuga, peering upwards at the other man with a frown. "A fundamental change has altered future possibilities in ways that none of the precognitives here are able to determine, and it is slowly growing worse. A few days ago, the future went into temporal flux, and I am certain that we are now approaching a nexus, some sort of crux point of events, if we are not already within it. Until we finally pass through it, the future is effectively hidden to us."

"Again, why tell me?" asked Soun, perhaps a faint plaintiveness creeping into his voice, but it was difficult to pick out of his usual solemn tones.

The wizened old man looked at his younger companion pointedly, a frown on his face. "Whatever this crux event is, according to my sources it seems to be forming within the vicinity of the Nerima region, and it is slowly building in power and strength. Some of our other precognitives have caught glimpses of events that might be linked to this, and we've identified them as occurring in that area. So I have placed one of my very best agents on the scene to monitor the situation and provide help if any odd situations develop as a result of the event, and I will be putting more of my agents into harm's way soon. But I wished you to be aware of what was happening, out of common courtesy. After all, you live in the region, and so does your family."

"What, exactly, is happening?" asked Soun, inhaling deeply from his cigarette. His headache had turned into an icepick behind one eye.

"Well, in simple terms, a sort of karmic singularity has begun gathering energy there," said Kasuga, now resting his hands behind his back and looking at Soun with a calm expression. "It has started drawing in people and altering local events, which it will continue to do until it finally reaches a form of critical mass. Then, it will explode, for lack of a better term to describe the results, and forge a new Pattern of possibilities, or what could be called a crux point in time. When, not if, that event happens, future pathways that have previously been open will close forever, and new pathways, ones as yet unseen, will then be revealed to us. It will undoubtedly change the future of the Empire, and I have no idea how His Majesty will react to that."

Soun pondered on that, finding that thought to be most disturbing, especially when the plans for the New Imperial Order, set in motion by the Emperor, were less than two years away from coming to fruition. Not very long after the conclusion of the Global War, the Empire had begun quiet preparations for the eventual and final conflict with the other major powers in the world. The already rapid pace of technological advancement had accelerated ten-fold since then, with massive amounts of funding pouring into a myriad of projects. The result of these intensive efforts was an Empire now at least twenty years ahead of the rest of the world in many areas of achievement, such as biotechnology and weapons development.

However, there were whispered rumors that an unknown source had been the actual provider of many of these advances in technology that the Empire now enjoyed. But, if so, to what end? Soun took another quiet puff on his cigarette, as he decided to redirect the conversation away from such disturbing things. Could that somehow be the cause of this event?

"I suppose it was a coincidence then, that your own grandson is at the Academy now?" he wondered out loud, his gaze trying to pick details out of the picture. The way it was drawn was odd, as if the images were able to somehow slightly shift around, depending on how the light was hitting the paper, a curious effect of artwork. Just staring at it was making his headache feel worse, so he looked up and met the eyes of his companion. "I recall that it was you who pushed the pilot project of integrating some of the Institute's cadets into the regular Academy."

"Kyosuke is there for another reason," replied Kasuga, a little curtly. "Though I am pleased that he has taken such a liking for his current assignment, and the Mano girl is quite comely. Such long legs..." The elderly man trailed off, and then he cleared his throat after a moment of embarrassment.

"Ah, you speak of the Devil Hunter girl." Soun grinned slightly. "It all makes perfect sense now." He was rewarded with seeing his elderly companion blink in surprise before regaining his balance.

"I had forgotten that your daughter Nabiki keeps you well-informed as to things going on there at the campus," said the older man, a very slight chuckle in his voice. "Yes, his assignment has to do with the young Mano girl. The Imperial Writ that the Devil Hunter line possesses, the one allowing them to operate beyond Institute control, has a loophole that I intend to exploit, one that should increase the powers available to the next generation of Devil Hunters if I utilize it. She and my grandson are getting along fairly well, so I have high hopes for their eventual union. Anyway, it will make things much easier to have him near this crux point now, as it is forming." He smiled a bit thinly and said, "It is a slight drawback to being an Esper. Odd things tend to happen around you."

"A Devil Hunter with Esper powers." Soun raised a single eyebrow, making the connection immediately. "An interesting notion, since all Espers are under the charter of the Institute," he finished, letting his voice trail off with unspoken meaning.

"Precisely," agreed the other man. "The martial skills of a Devil Hunter, enhanced by Esper abilities. It should prove to be a most formidable combination, and one that will finally bring the Mano line under the benevolent control of the Institute." The elderly man smiled, apparently quite pleased with himself. His gaze then turned to look at Soun craftily. "Not that you aren't trying to forge your own powerful combination with your own daughter and the Saotome lad."

Is everyone aware of what I am up to? Soun's face held the faintest of grimaces. First that annoying witch Hinako, and now him.

"No need to answer, Tendo-kun. I can see it in your face, even one as well-schooled as yours is at hiding emotional outbursts." He paused, his telepathic abilities scanning the surface thoughts in Soun's mind. Ah, Soun, if only I was permitted to tell you what Project Phoenix did to those children, beyond what you think you already know. There is far more at stake here than you realize.

A brief memory surfaced in the older man's mind, of the delicate and rather detailed subliminal programming that each and every one of the Project's children had received here at the Institute, buried deeply into their young psyches. Ten years ago, he had been responsible for overseeing the process for the imprinting of the subliminals, among which was one that would allow them control over some of their special enhancements. If the Mark-I subjects were any indication, then these abilities should be awakening within Ranma and some of the others soon. That is, if it hasn't already done so, he thought during the momentary pause in their conversation. Could Soun know that Ranma and Nabiki were among the dozen or so who tested highest in possibility for having those abilities emerge? Is that why he is planning to breed them together? Perhaps, when their abilities do emerge, then I will be able to tell him more.

Soun grunted. His cigarette had burned down, so he put it out in the nearby ashtray and lit up another one.

"Please keep an eye on things from your end, would you?" asked the elderly man. "I promise to keep you informed of anything new that I come across."

"Very well," Sound replied, nodding. He looked at the woman drawing a new picture and wondered about the future.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was a firm knock at the front door of the Tendo household. Kyoko paused in preparing breakfast and went to answer it. Standing outside the house was a young woman with long, brown hair, worn in a simple ponytail and tied with a white ribbon. She was dressed in a fashionable yellow dress, and she had a smile on her face as she bowed in greeting.

"Good day to you, Otonashi-san," said Kasumi. "Are my father or my sisters at home?"

"Ono-san," said Kyoko, bowing in reply. "It is a pleasant surprise to see you here. Your father is out on business, but your sisters are at home. Both of them are out in the training hall."

Kasumi blinked. Both of them? She bowed to Kyoko once again. "May I come in?"

"Of course, Ono-san," said Kyoko, bowing as she moved aside in the doorway. She watched as the other woman came in with flowing grace, and then she closed the door while Kasumi removed her shoes. "I will be in the kitchen fixing breakfast, if you have need of me."

Kasumi nodded and went out the back pathway into the training hall. She saw Akane sitting off to one side doing stretching and light limbering exercises. Nabiki was working out with one of the heavy bags, currently laying into it with a barrage of punches. She took a moment to study her younger sister's form and nodded, pleased. It appeared to her that the girl had not only completely regained her old level of performance, but she had improved a great deal beyond it since Kasumi had last seen her train so intensely, several years ago. Each one of her strikes was swift, powerful, and delivered with an absence of wasted motion.

Akane looked up at that time and noticed her eldest sister standing in the doorway. She leaped up to her feet and ran over to the older girl, while crying out happily, "Kasumi-neesan!" She hugged her older sister warmly.

Nabiki paused in what she was doing and came walking over to greet their older sister as well. She absently wiped at the sweat running down her forehead with a towel she had kept near her while she worked out. She smirked at Kasumi, currently looking a little uncomfortable in Akane's grasp and said, "Hey, sis. So, how's married life treating you lately?"

"Well enough," replied Kasumi, smiling. "I miss you both though. You never come to visit, so I decided to surprise you two, and Father."

"Daddy left real early this morning," said Nabiki, studying Kasumi. "He could be back anytime."

"I missed you, Kasumi-neesan," said Akane, smiling happily. She gave the older girl another spine-cracking hug for good measure. "But now that Nabiki is back in training, I have someone that I can spar with in the mornings again. Isn't that great?"

"Yes, it is," said Kasumi calmly, appearing completely unfazed by such a surprising change in her younger sister. When Akane finally let go, Kasumi turned to Nabiki. "Perhaps you might honor me with a match today, while I'm here? I would be interested in appraising your skills."

"As you wish," said Nabiki, a flash of something passing between the two older Tendo sisters. "How about right now? There should still be one of your old gis in one of the closets in the house. Then, after breakfast, we can take care of catching up with each other. You can tell us all about your new husband and anything that married life has taught you about men. Right?" She smiled in a teasing fashion, and Kasumi blushed lightly.

"Very well, Nabiki," said the eldest Tendo daughter, after a moment of hesitation.

"Oh, big sister!" said Akane, interrupting the conversation. "I've finally found myself a great guy! He's a terrific fighter." A large grin was on her face.

"Oh, really?" asked Kasumi, looking at Akane, whose bruises were now all healed. She recalled one of her little sister's secret dreams. She thought it was silly, but it made the girl happy. "Did he defeat you?"

"We were interrupted," said Akane, looking downcast as she dug at the floor with a bare toe. "And then he wouldn't fight me when I met him on his way home." She looked very sad for a moment, but then she looked up, a fire blazing in her eyes. "But tomorrow, I'm going to fight him for sure, even if I have to follow him to his home. I would have done it on Friday, but I got sidetracked dealing with an annoying aristocrat b- uh- girl and got hurt. But come tomorrow, he and I will fight for real."

Nabiki said nothing at hearing that, but there was a ghost of a frown on her face.

"That sounds nice, Akane-chan," said Kasumi pleasantly. Her little sister and her violent tendencies, she mused, sighing internally even as she kept the smile on her face. She certainly is eager to test her strength against this boy. I hope she doesn't hurt him very badly if she defeats him.

"I just know he'll show me what he's made of," said Akane with a glow of eagerness in her eyes. "Then I'll talk Daddy into arranging a marriage, and then I'll have a husband of my own." She blushed as she remembered the level of skill Ranma had demonstrated lately, such as when he put down Hiei Yuukyuuzan so easily during her fight with the Wolf Pack.

Nabiki watched her little sister babbling on about Ranma and wondered what her counterpart's version of the pigtailed boy would think of the way she was acting. A glint of amusement sparked in her eyes as she imagined his reaction to an Akane who acted like this. She shifted her gaze over to Kasumi and studied her older sister as Akane continued to chatter on about her plans. Nabiki was looking forward to finally being able to show her up in martial arts ability. When their mother was still alive, her older sister had always seemed like an insurmountable mountain, a challenge impossible to overcome.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ten-year old Nabiki grunted slightly as she struggled fiercely against twelve-year old Kasumi. The two sisters kept shifting their grips on each other, searching for leverage as their mother watched them both, a grim smile on her face. Out on the mat, both girls were trying hard to plant the other into the floor, a sisterly rivalry that their mother had always encouraged as a means of getting the best out of her daughters.

"Give it up, Nabiki," whispered Kasumi, her voice only loud enough for her sister to hear. "There's no way that you'll ever beat me." She shifted her grip as they leaned into each other.

"We'll see about that," Nabiki growled back, thankful that she was finally as tall as Kasumi. She strained against her older sister, but the other girl wasn't budging.

It was grappling practice today as both girls were coming up on an official test of skill. Kasumi was testing for her second-dan black belt in Jujitsu and Nabiki was testing for first-dan. They were much better in other styles, but their mother believed in a well-rounded approach to barehanded combat. So, today they were forbidden to use anything but Jujitsu techniques against each other.

Off to one side, nine-year old Akane gazed intently at her two older sisters, her eyes studying every movement that they made. She smiled as Kasumi finally made her move, her pride in her big sister obvious.

Nabiki went flying to land face-first into the mat. Again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Now, seven years later, the two sisters faced each other once again. Nabiki was dressed in one of her Chinese-style shirts and black gi pants, and Kasumi was dressed in one of her old white gis. It looked a little snug on her, something Nabiki had commented on with a mocking grin. Kasumi had simply smiled pleasantly, but there was a glimmering in her eyes that left the middle Tendo daughter wondering if she might have pushed her unusually calm, older sister too far.

"Ready?" asked Akane to the two, acting as referee for this match.

Both sisters nodded, their eyes on each other.

"Begin!"

The two girls circled each other at first, studying each other for weaknesses for several moments, and then they attacked. Like in so many matches before, Kasumi quickly gained the upper hand, her skill and technique as near flawless as Nabiki remembered. However, that was before she had gained some ten years of intensive combat experience, skills layered on top of the well-defined physique that the Academy's physical regimen had given her. They battered at each other's defenses with punches and kicks, each sister remembering the fun that they had once had doing this under the stern but loving gaze of their mother, their sensei, so many years ago.

"You've gotten better, Nabiki." Kasumi was pleasantly surprised at how skilled her younger sister was now. "I can't believe how much you've improved."

"You'll find I'm full of surprises, sis," said Nabiki with a grin, her leg lashing out in a kick, only to be blocked away at the last instant by the other girl's arm.

With that thought in mind, Nabiki suddenly went on the offensive even more, her fists and feet pummeling away hard at Kasumi's defenses in a dazzling display of martial arts skill. She managed to take back the initiative from Kasumi and began to exploit her control of the fight with a vengeance. She wasn't striking at her full power, as she had come near to doing when she and Ranma sparred, but her sister was going to have some colorful bruises to remember this match by. However, she was going to have a few bruises herself; her sister was no pushover in a fight.

Where did Nabiki get so skilled? Kasumi wondered, surprised. She deftly blocked the other girl's arm, swiftly sidestepped a kick, and managed to backhand her younger sister across the face with a fist, all in a single flowing movement. It was taking her to the limits of her skills to hold her own against the girl, but she was still slowly losing ground. In a regular fight, a lucky blow could have shifted the balance back in her favor if it disabled her opponent, but they weren't hitting each other with full power strikes, sparring like this. However, even though she was losing the match, Kasumi found herself relishing the struggle, and it surprised her a little that she enjoyed the challenge so much. I'm acting just like Akane, she chided herself.

On the sidelines, the youngest Tendo watched, alternating equally between wonder and amazement at the level of skill her older sisters were demonstrating as they methodically pounded away at each other, and outright jealousy at how well Nabiki was doing. She wasn't this good a week ago, Akane decided, her eyes narrowing a bit as she analyzed her older sister's combat style. There was something very familiar about it, but she was unable to say why. It was some form of Kempo, as her sister had told her, but it was like no style that she had ever seen before. I have to find out where she learned this.

Meanwhile, Kasumi continued her struggles against Nabiki, but she could not seem to completely counter the large variety of techniques in the arsenal that her younger sister was bringing out against her. She gave her little sister a few rather solid hits that 'accidentally' slipped a bit out of her control, ones that would leave some serious bruises. It was a sign that she was growing increasingly irritated at losing to one of her younger siblings, a reaction that again surprised her. I guess I'm feeling much more stressed than I realized, she thought sadly, the problems in her personal life distracting her and causing her to miss a block.

Nabiki's fist thumped into Kasumi's chin, only striking at half-power, but it was a solid blow that was sure to leave a bruise. She paused for a single second in surprise, and Kasumi hit back without a single moment of hesitation, a combination of a hard right-handed punch to Nabiki's face and a quick kick to the hip that broke through her defenses and staggered her. When her older sister did not back off but kept pressing her, Nabiki very quickly went on the offensive again, regaining the initiative with a speed that amazed the other two girls.

Her younger sister's level of mastery was simply staggering, noted Kasumi with great amazement, blocking Nabiki's punches and kicks more raggedly now, her growing levels of exhaustion beginning to show even as her sister seemed to remain unflagged. She wasn't getting any more blows in past the other girl's defenses, but at least her own were still holding firm against her sister's attacks. The eldest Tendo daughter began to look tired, unlike her opponent; they had been fighting non-stop for a little over twenty minutes.

As more minutes passed, Kasumi briefly managed to regain the initiative a few times, but Nabiki kept forcing it away from her. Both of them were tiring from the intense efforts that they were putting forth, but Kasumi seemed to be tiring much more quickly, perhaps due to the greater number of hits she had taken, sapping away at her reserves of energy. Finally, Nabiki managed to crack through her defenses and began hitting her with blow after blow, almost with impunity. Then, a final legsweep combined with a solid punch to the ribcage knocked Kasumi off her feet, and she yielded.

Nabiki smiled tiredly with pride at her victory as her lungs heaved, scavenging oxygen from the air; it was the first time she had ever won against her older sister. She offered her hand to the fallen Kasumi, the look on her face without guile for the first time in a long while. With one of her usual smiles, slightly pained-looking though it was, the eldest Tendo daughter took the hand and let Nabiki haul her back up to her feet.

"Good match, Nabiki-chan," said Kasumi, beginning to feel some of the bruises now from Nabiki's pulled blows, as her adrenaline high finally faded. She felt embarrassed to see the bruises that her younger sister now sported. However, the sheer intensity of the match had given her a cleansing feeling, and she was grateful to the other girl for helping her work off so much stress. She studied her sister and finally said, "You've been studying Kempo."

"Yes," replied Nabiki. "I recently discovered a new sensei. He's helped me to improve a lot." Repeating the lie made it easier to say, but she still felt a little odd for speaking a falsehood to her sister.

"You've never beaten me before." Kasumi was not speaking critically, but simply noting it as a statement of fact. "I think I would like to meet your new sensei." She smiled.

"He swore me to secrecy," lied Nabiki facilely, the falsehood coming easily to her lips, and yet again it was one that bothered her. Still, it gave her pause to wonder for a moment. If, on another world, she had gone out to train in the Anything-Goes style, with Genma Saotome of all people, then perhaps there were other worlds where it was Kasumi who had gone, or perhaps even Akane. It was a sobering realization to think about. She thought she was perhaps being selfish to hide the truth of the origin of her new skills, but Akane was already a dangerous enough fighter without them, not to mention how good Kasumi was. It was nice to finally be the best combatant in their family.

"Very well," said Kasumi, deciding to not press the issue. She then picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from her face.

"Nabiki, you beat Kasumi-neesan," whispered Akane, too softly for either of her sisters to hear, rather stunned at this development. You've never beaten her, ever, she thought, her eyes studying the other girl with growing suspicion. Her own loss had been surprising, but it had given her a new sparring partner to overcome, so she had not looked too deeply at the matter. This was another thing entirely. To Akane, Kasumi was her idol, and to have her lose to their sister was sobering. How did you get so good, Nabiki? I have to find out. Just think how strong I could be if I learned what you know. That last thought brought a pleasant, quivery feeling, and an enjoyable fantasy of crushing all other girls who might oppose her goal of claiming Ranma filled her mind.

"Now let us go clean up, have breakfast, and I'll tell you what you want to hear about men and marriage." Kasumi smiled, draping an arm around Nabiki's shoulders.

"Okay," said Nabiki, feeling on top of the world, as if a great weight had lifted from her, one that she had not really been aware of before.

The three Tendo sisters cleaned up the training hall and went in to wash up for breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Breakfast at the Kuno household was a somewhat solemn affair. As was their usual custom for meals, the entire family ate together, the household servants watching from a convenient distance, ready to pour tea or serve additional rice as needed. The mood was even quieter today.

Kodachi looked up from her food and hid a smile at the sight of the fading bruises on Kuno's face. She had heard from one of the family ninja, the one that she had assigned to watch Ranma for her. He had challenged the teenaged scholar and lost. She was secretly thrilled at the thought of her beloved standing up to her older brother and having the strength to defeat him, and she wished that she could have seen the fight herself. He is a warrior as well as a scholar, she thought, a very soft sigh escaping her lips and a pleasant warmth coming to her face. Her musings drifted away into one of her usual fantasies about having Ranma as her husband. They made her feel less lonely.

That cur Saotome shall pay for this indignity he hath done me! was the thought currently resounding in Kuno's mind. He had woken up in the Academy's infirmary, bandages on his face from the beating that the pigtailed boy had given him. He had forced himself up out of bed and gone to Whitehall, despite the pains of his body, and his anger at Ranma had continued unabated throughout the remainder of the day. He had carried Mikado's unconscious body to the car, the other boy awakening during the short passage over to the grounds of Whitehall. They had made a solemn vow together, to defeat the villain Saotome no matter how many attempts were required.

He looked up to see the expression on his sister's face, the half-smile on her lips, and his rage increased to a level that left him almost trembling with emotion. Saotome, that Svengali, has cast some sort of spell over my sister with his honeyed words, he decided. I am certain that he is a seducer of the worst sort, a vile cad. I must show her that the wretched animal is not at all worthy of a fragile flower such as herself, despite what my father now has planned.

The memory of that meeting with his father last night still rankled him, and it only served to inflame the strength of his desires to crush the pigtailed boy. His father had been recently approached by a matchmaker about arranging a marriage for Kodachi to Ranma, and the Saotomes would be having dinner with his family this week. His noble sire was even considering transferring the villain's name to the registry of their noble House if he wed Kodachi. When he had heard that, Kuno simply could not believe it. Ranma Saotome as my brother-in-law? he thundered in his mind, careful not to speak aloud at the table. Nay, worse than that, as a Kuno? As a lord of the Empire? I must defeat him. That trumped-up commoner must not mix his baseborn blood with the purity of the Kuno line. I forbid it!

His chopsticks snapped in half, earning him a very severe look from his mother for disturbing the peace and quiet of the meal, one that quickly chilled even his temper. One of the servants quietly replaced his chopsticks with fresh ones, and the heir to the Kuno family name began eating once again in silence, his fury barely withheld.

At the head of the table, Daisho studied his only son out of the corner of his eye. Oh, Tachi-kun, my son, you make your father so proud, he thought, smiling slightly as he ate. Your failed efforts at besting Saotome-kun's son have proven that he is truly worthy of becoming a Kuno. Any warrior capable of defeating you so soundly will be a proud addition to this family. He looked over at his daughter, and felt his heart fill with paternal love for her. Dachi-chan, my child, you have no idea how pleasing it will be to me to wed you to the Saotome boy, and I am happy that you have fallen so obviously in love with him. The future offspring that he will father upon you will serve to strengthen our House immeasurably, not to mention the value of having another Newtype under my control. It will make things so much easier for me and my plans for improving our lot in the Empire.

He scooped up the last of his rice and held his bowl out for a refill. As a servant quickly refilled it, Lord Kuno allowed himself to recall the past, and a stray thought suddenly occurred to him. He studied his son for a moment, remembering the agreement with his old friend from his delinquent youth. I wonder if Saotome-kun even remembers that promise he once made me so long ago? he thought with a smile. If things went as planned, then he would have yet another Newtype under his control, a pleasant prospect for the Kuno patriarch indeed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After breakfast was over, Genma watched Nodoka cleaning up the dishes and remnants of breakfast from the dining area table as he sipped the last of his tea. It was looking to be a beautiful day, and he was eager to be off and to see Ranma's laboratory and his invention. He continued to watch her work with a pleasant smile on his face. He heard the boy upstairs, gathering up some things for their planned day together.

"How did your talk with Ranma go, Dearest?" asked Nodoka with a rather contented smile. She now stood in the doorway to the kitchen, a pair of lunches made up and resting in her hands.

"Quite well," he replied with a smile, standing up from the table and taking the prepared meals from her. His thoughts were on the few schematics that his son had shown him over the last several months. "Ranma is just going through a phase of sorts. Nothing for you to be concerned about. He'll be fine. If you need me today, just call my cellular number. I should be with our son all day."

Ranma came bounding down the stairs with his bookbag. "I'm ready," he said, coming to a halt in the front hallway.

"Don't be late for dinner tonight," said Nodoka with a happy smile, watching them putting on their shoes. She kissed her husband gently on the cheek, before the two most important men in her life headed out the door. It sounds as if Dearest has the situation under control, she thought with contentment. I guess I was worried over nothing. She waved at them, bidding her husband and son farewell as they went down the street.

When they were gone, Nodoka went back into the house and closed the front door. She busied herself with the beginnings of her chores for the day. She wanted to be done early so that she could get in some time for target practice at the archery range, as well as a bout with Achika. Ranma's workout that morning had reminded her that she had promised to get together with her friend today. I must remember to show Achika the new reverse disarming stroke I came across, she thought while she began cleaning up the kitchen. An impish smile crossed her lips. After I defeat her with it, of course.

The telephone rang as she was finishing up washing the breakfast dishes. She placed the last of them in the drying rack, wiped her hands with the towel she held, and picked up the phone. She said cheerfully, "Hello? Saotome residence."

"Good morning, Saotome-san," said a female voice over the phone. "This is Otsu Mitsuma calling."

"Good morning, Mitsuma-san." A smile broke out on Nodoka's face. "I assume you have some good news for me?"

"Yes, I do," Otsu replied. "I have been in contact with the families of each of the girls, and they are all eager to have their daughters meet Ranma. I have a tentative schedule made up for you and your family to meet the girls. To start, the Kuonji family was simply overjoyed at the prospect of their daughter meeting him. I sent them all the information on your family, and Kuonji-san was on the phone to me within the hour to schedule a date for the first meeting. So, would tomorrow evening be too soon?"

Tomorrow? Nodoka thought, pausing to consider it for a moment. She could not think of any reason to delay. She was sure that Ranma would be thrilled. His initial reaction she attributed to nervousness.

"I suppose that will be all right," said Nodoka finally. "My son is a little nervous about this, but he's agreed to meet all of the girls. What time should I expect Kuonji-san and his family?"

"He and his wife will be bringing Ukyo by bullet train tomorrow," said the other woman, briefly checking her notes as she spoke. "So you should expect them to arrive at your home by five for dinner followed by the preliminary discussions on the matter." She paused and checked her notes once again. "Kuno-sama and his family will be available on Wednesday for a meeting between the families. Is that all right with you?"

"That would be fine," said Nodoka, a growing eagerness filling her at seeing each of her prospective daughters-in-law in person. "What time should I expect the Kunos?"

"Oh, His Lordship has extended a personal invitation for you and your family to join him and his family at their ancestral estate at six in the evening that night."

"I-I would be honored to accept this invitation on behalf of my son and husband," said Nodoka with only a moment of hesitation. To dine at a Lord's estate, she mused happily. I am sure that it will be a most memorable night. I wonder if I have anything suitable to wear? Oh my! I have to take Ranma shopping for new clothes! I know he doesn't have anything suitable for such an occasion.

"I shall inform His Lordship of your acceptance." There was another brief pause. "Lastly, Tendo-san has also asked me to invite you and your family to have dinner at his home. He wished me to express his eagerness to have you meet his daughter, Nabiki. What day would be acceptable for you this week?"

"Oh, well, let me think," stammered Nodoka a bit, caught off-guard by the suddenness with which everything was happening. It sounded as if all three fathers were eager to engage Ranma to their daughters, and it brought a surge of pride within her. My son is so manly, she sighed with pleasure, grateful to have so many women seeking his favor. She smiled at the thought of the grandchildren that he would provide her after he married. "Friday evening at six would be a good time for my family." Two days spacing between the meetings gave them a sort of symmetry that appealed to her. That would leave an evening free for the boy between each meeting, to spend time with one or more of the girls and perhaps even take them on dates.

"I will inform Tendo-san of your acceptance and the date he should expect your family, Saotome-san," said Otsu pleasantly. "That is all that I have for you now. Have a pleasant evening. Goodbye now."

"Goodbye, Mitsuma-san." Nodoka hung up the phone, feeling happy inside. I had better telephone Achika and get ready to go now if I'm going to get any practice in at all today, she thought as she began heading for the bedroom. I have so much to get ready for tomorrow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma and Ranma walked along at a brisk pace, both of them lost in their own thoughts as they approached the quiet grounds of the Academy. The elder man was pondering the fulfillment of seeing his life's work at long last. The younger one was hoping that nothing bad happened today.

As the main gates to the Academy came into sight, they saw that the school was quiet. Genma followed Ranma, walking onto the grounds, a sense of nostalgia filling him. It was still as he remembered it, looking around with a smile. He paused at the sight of his favorite shade tree to study under, pleased that it was still there exactly as had been when he was younger. He briefly recalled some of the many fights he had gotten into on or near these grounds and some of the rambunctious adventures of his youth. It was truly a marvelous time.

"P- Father?" asked Ranma, turning to face him. "Are you all right?"

"Quite well," Genma answered, smiling with a twinkle in his eye. "I was just caught up in memories of my own days of youth spent here. I had an interesting adventure or two when I was your age. Forgive your old father for the lapse."

"Sure, Pop," laughed Ranma, amused to see his father like this. "I think I might like to hear about some of those 'adventures' of yours."

"Someday, son." Genma smiled back. "Someday. You might be surprised to hear about some of the things I did when I was your age."

"Oh?"

The older man merely chuckled in reply, and said nothing more.

After shrugging his shoulders, Ranma led his father downstairs to his private lab space, and they stopped outside the door. He searched around in his pockets for his key for a moment while his father looked around the hallway idly. He finally found the key in one of his jacket pockets and unlocked the door, before reaching around the corner and flipping the light switches on.

"Your lab space is rather out of the way, Ranma," commented Genma as he walked inside. His gaze lighted upon the tarp sitting next to a couch on the far side of the room. He pointed at the mysterious pile. "Is that it?"

"It is." The pigtailed boy smiled as he uncovered the equipment, flipping the tarp over by the wall. He saw his father eyeing the small stack of devices after they were revealed. Next to the main computer case was a second smaller casing roughly half its size, with a series of switches and a line of small red and green lights arranged across the front.

Genma recognized a neural induction headset plugged into the front of the case. The workmanship was clean and simple, and he nodded his approval.

"How does it work?" he asked, sitting down on the couch and looking over the equipment more closely.

"Well," said Ranma, as he sat down on the chair by the couch and began to describe how it all worked, "inside the small case is a series of sensors that take a detailed reading on the brain hooked up by the neural induction headset at a quantum level of resolution. That scan provides an electromagnetic signature that is used as a comparison model for the system to conduct a search for a match along the various paratemporal frequencies. Since every timeline has a unique frequency associated with it, the flux coil at the core of the system allows the operator to synchronize his mind with the mind of a counterpart on an alternate frequency. The system is then able to link the personality of the person scanned into their quantum counterpart, and it feels like you are really there. A continuous stream of pulses maintains the link, and the system adjusts the tachyon transmission to compensate for any phase drift between the two realities. When a reverse pulse is sent at the end of the run, the transmission and synchronization link terminates and the personality is disconnected and pulled back."

Genma sat there in surprised amazement. "You used a device like this while you were alone?" he asked, after contemplating what the boy had said for a moment. "That was very careless, son. Something far worse could have happened to you than what did happen." Genma picked up the headset and examined it. "Still, it's unquestionably a stunning achievement."

"Would you like to try it, Father? I went over every circuit yesterday, and I can assure you that all of the components are working within specifications. I even added in new lines of code into the control software that should dampen the signal variances if the feedback gets too bad during the recall sequence. I'm almost positive that's what caused the power surge which copied my counterpart's memories into me."

Genma thought seriously for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of trying it out, then nodded.

The pigtailed boy began powering up his system, idly watching the system's checklist information as it scrolled by. I think for safety's sake, I'll use one of the ones that I have already examined, he thought, tapping away at the keys to call up one of the files from the memory matrix. I have several that Pop could try, after all.

Genma occupied himself during that time by picking up his son's notebook and flipping through it. The applications of his theories that the boy had used were nothing less than astounding. He's even more brilliant than I dared hope. He lost himself in reading.

"It's ready, Father," said Ranma after a few minutes. "I have the system set up to use one of the files I've used myself. I think you might find this world interesting. It's a rather unusual set of divergences, at least as far as our family is concerned. It will give you a feel for the potentials, but the differences shouldn't overwhelm you. I'm only going to set it up for ten minutes of time for this demonstration."

"Very well." Genma sat back on the couch and Ranma put the headset on his skull.

"Just close your eyes and relax, Father," said the boy, sitting back down and activating the software. "You'll feel some odd sensations, but they're nothing to worry about. Here you go."

For a moment, it felt as if the universe had just dropped away from Genma. Or, perhaps a more accurate description of the sensation, as if the universe had dropped him into the spaces between worlds.

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*** Earth +3.184, -3.223

Genma blinked and discovered himself seated on the back porch of the Saotome household. A warm cup of tea was resting in a tray next to his leg, along with the pot. He was dressed in a set of plain blue robes, the only ornamentation the symbol of his family crest stitched on one breast in golden thread.

The backyard was larger, and his neighbor's house was absent in this timeline. Instead, now located behind the Saotome ancestral home were some new additions: a large koi pond, a Zen rock garden, and a modest-sized dojo. The building was the home of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, a stray memory that popped up into his mind as he looked at the structure in curiosity.

There was a sudden, loud cry of outrage, definitely female in origin, something that sounded like, "Aiyah! Stupid boy!" Then a body came hurtling out past him, having been thrown through the kitchen window with a loud crash of glass. Genma blinked, unsure what to do. The body in question, clothed in a green, sleeveless, Chinese-style shirt with wooden ties holding the front closed, and a pair of black gi pants, managed to make a graceless landing next to the koi pond by slamming hard into the turf face-first. He blinked again, seeing that it was Ranma.

The boy rolled over onto his back with a growl, not even stunned from the powerful throw that had just propelled him right through the kitchen window a moment ago. He flipped back up to his feet in a graceful move and quickly charged past Genma back into the house with an extremely determined look. Still, there was the hint of a smile on Ranma's face that surprised Genma, who was uncertain as to whether or not he should interfere.

The sounds of a brutal combat taking place were heard a moment later. More cries drifted out of the house, both male and female, mainly kiai shouts, but mixed in with those were the occasional snarled remark in broken Japanese (female voice) and slurs against Chinese Amazons in general but especially "purple-haired, psycho Chinese Amazons" in particular (male voice). That last was usually followed by a briefly more intense-sounding round of combat and the distinctive noises of furniture breaking, most likely over the head of the comment maker who had just cast aspersions upon Chinese Amazons, purple-haired or otherwise.

While Genma sat there, a wave of memories suddenly cascaded into his awareness, a bewildering rush of thoughts not his own. The very nature of the experience left him transfixed for a moment, as his mind frantically sorted through the memories now engulfing him like a tide coming in. He shakily picked up the cup of tea next to him and let his mind process the new input. Last night after dinner had been particularly exciting.

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Genma relaxed at the dinner table, watching the nightly news as he usually did, when he noticed his son strolling into the kitchen. He paid it no mind, although he noticed Nodoka look up from her sewing with a smile in his direction. He saw her lean over to him.

"Ranma is so manly," she whispered with an approving smile.

Meanwhile, the pigtailed boy peeked into the kitchen and grinned broadly. Shampoo was cleaning up the last of the dinner dishes, softly humming a tune that he did not recognize. He took a moment to admire her figure from the rear, studying the gentle movements of her swaying hips as she worked. He still couldn't believe how lucky he was in owning a beauty like her. She was wearing a silk peasant outfit in light purple, composed of snug pants and long-sleeved blouse. It's hard to believe it was only earlier today that I first saw her for sale in the slave auction, he thought with a smile.

His brief blackout before and during the slave auction he attributed to his excitement. A few subtle questions had revealed that his father had not noticed anything wrong, and he had apparently responded to the man normally, including picking one of the two Chinese Amazons available for sale. His first conscious memory was almost right after the bidding had concluded, when he had seen his newly-purchased slave girl. Even with her hands and ankles manacled together, her body weighted down with chains, she had looked every inch a princess, even out-shining the pink-haired beauty that had stood right next to her in the line-up. Of course, the very revealing white silk outfit that was worn by all prospective slave girls wore had only enhanced his newly-awakened desires for her.

The fact that she was a Chinese Amazon somehow made her even more desirable to him in some exotic way. He had heard all of the stories about the women of her tribe, that they were all expert fighters trained in martial arts. He had hoped that she was pretty good. It would be nice to have a live-in sparring partner to practice with, he had thought with a smile. Of course, I'll have to go easy on her though, since she's just a girl.

He was the first of his circle of friends to own a female slave, and he had enjoyed the envying looks of many of his peers attending Furinkan Military Academy. His best friend, Ryu Kumon, was already making plans to purchase one of his own, using money given to him from his parents and relatives for his birthday. He had shown Ranma quite a number of photos from one of his catalogs, mostly of the types of slave girls available from the Western American Prefectures. The other boy had long been extremely fascinated by foreign women of all kinds, finding them far more enticing and exciting than Japanese girls. While the girls in outfits of fringed buckskin were sort of interesting and exotic-looking, Ranma was sure that Shampoo would be able to satisfy him for a very long time.

There had been an unexpected problem with Akane. As she was a student of the rival Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, he had been fighting with her for years. While he had never even thought about her in any sort of romantic terms, she had apparently seen things quite differently. So when he had been showing pictures of Shampoo around school earlier that afternoon, she had suddenly gotten extremely angry at him, beaten him up with far more vigor than normal, and then stormed off in a huff.

Forget about that un-cute tomboy, the pigtailed boy thought with a rather lecherous grin. Just look at the incredible body that Shampoo has. Immediately taking his own advice on the matter, he went back to ogling her callipygian derriere from his position standing in the doorway. It truly was a magnificent sight, especially encased in snug silk.

He had originally decided to let the Chinese girl adjust to the house for a day or so before he made his move, but after dinner he found that he couldn't wait any longer. After all, she was his slave now, and he was allowed to use her in any way he saw fit under Imperial law. He found he couldn't keep his eyes off of her lithely muscular build, and her pidgin way of speaking Japanese was incredibly sexy to him. He was looking forward to the next few hours so much that he hadn't even been able to concentrate on his dinner. Tonight was going to be the night he became a man.

Earlier that day, after Ranma and his father had first brought home a very solemn Shampoo, she was presented unchained to Nodoka for approval, still dressed in the wispy bit of white silk and nothing else. His mother had immediately assumed that the Chinese Amazon had no practical skills and had only been bought for her looks, but the girl had very quickly proven her wrong by fixing an incredibly tasty lunch. She had warmed to her quite a bit by that point, almost treating her like a daughter. She was pleased to have someone to help her around the house with the chores, and the purple-haired Amazon had done any chore that she was asked to do. She also seemed to like Ranma's mother, especially after Nodoka had taken her out shopping for some second-hand but nice clothes that would be appropriate for the new addition to the Saotome household.

They had given Shampoo her own small but comfortable bedroom, and she had smiled at seeing it. Seeing that smile appear on her face was like watching the sun coming out from behind a cloud for Ranma, and he had taken it upon himself to show her around the house. He noticed that she had seemed rather fascinated by the family dojo out back, so he had shown off some of his better martial arts moves, honed through many hours of training. She had watched him with an interested expression, and he felt that things were progressing nicely between them.

His parents were in the next room, but that didn't matter to him at that moment. While he could have continued to watch her for a long time, his desires for her were becoming too difficult to ignore. He cleared his throat.

Shampoo turned around with a smile. "Yes, Ranma?" she asked pleasantly, pausing in wiping one of the dishes dry with a white towel. "Shampoo almost done. Ranma want Shampoo do something?"

"Yes," said the boy softly, studying her with a slight smile on his face.

Shampoo noticed him watching her and gave a very slight smile in return. When he said nothing more, she shrugged her shoulders, an action that did marvelous things for her chest, and turned her attention back to finishing up the dishes in the sink.

Swallowing slightly in sudden nervousness, Ranma closed the door to the other room and approached her from behind. He put his arms gently around her, and Shampoo's posture suddenly stiffened.

"What Ranma doing?" she asked in a serious tone.

"Shh," he whispered into her ear from behind. "I just want to show you how attracted I am to you." He moved his mouth down to kiss her on the neck when he felt her body suddenly shift in front of him, and her elbow slammed back into his solar plexus with surprising force. His breath whooshed out of his lungs, and his body forgot how to breathe for a brief time.

Shampoo pivoted around gracefully, and her fist drove hard across his face, powered by the lithe muscles he had been admiring earlier. Her body rested lightly on the balls of her bare feet as she watched him fall before her. The towel that had been in her hands dropped onto the countertop.

Ranma's body hit the floor of the kitchen, and he was stunned for a moment at the unexpected violence. He had never expected her to attack him like that, and he could only look up in shock as the Amazon glared down at him angrily. She decked me! Surprise was evident on his face.

"Read contract!" Shampoo commanded him while he was lying on the ground. "Shampoo no allow kiss unless Ranma defeat Shampoo in single combat! Shampoo Amazon warrior! Ranma read contract!" After saying that, she stomped off, muttering something darkly in Mandarin.

He picked himself up off the floor. Shampoo hit me! His mind was still not quite grasping the fact. I can't believe that she actually hit me! He watched her as she went out to the dojo and began performing katas, an angry look on her face.

What did she mean by reading her contract? He frowned. Isn't it just a standard slave ownership contract? He ignored the puzzled look on his mother's face as he went up to his room to get the contract on his ownership of the girl. He was surprised, to say the least, as he read through one of the sub-clauses in it, and he read that section twice to make sure that he understood it correctly.

It read, "Be it known that an Amazon of the Joketsuzoku Village is only required to give herself to a man who has defeated her in single combat. Be it also known that resistance against such advances is protected under Imperial law pursuant to the Treaty of Surrender signed between the Empire of Japan and the Joketsuzoku."

Father is not going to be happy that I got beaten up again by a girl, he thought, staring out the window of his bedroom and seeing Shampoo now driving punches and kicks into one of the heavy workout bags in the dojo. He gingerly touched the bruise on his cheek for a moment as he held the paper in his hand. I could have bought some docile Korean girl, but no, I had to buy myself an Amazon.

He hadn't read the fine print on her ownership contract when he had bought her. How was he supposed to know that the Empire would ever leave such a clause in a slave contract? The Joketsuzoku Amazons, under the terms of their treaty with the Empire, allowed a modest number of their unmarried girls to serve five-year terms of slavery, in exchange for money paid to the village treasury. One of the few limitations in their contracts was the iron-clad condition that they would only have to give themselves to a man who had defeated them in combat, so Shampoo was fully within her rights under Imperial law to resist any of his romantic advances. He also couldn't even sell her for a full year, another clause he discovered while reading through the document.

When he admitted to his parents what had happened and told them the whole story, reactions had been mixed. Nodoka actually found it amusing and had gone out to talk with the girl. While his mother was out with Shampoo, his father had told him how ashamed he was to have his only son beaten up by a girl again, even if she was a Chinese Amazon. To have his son and heir lose so easily to a teenaged girl was more than Genma could handle, so he had ordered the boy to do three extra hours of training each and every day until he could defeat Shampoo.

Ranma was never told that everything was actually going according to Genma's plan. When he finally defeated the girl, as Genma knew the boy eventually would if he just trained hard enough, then the Amazon would be a most formidable mother for the next generation of Saotomes. They would be strong heirs to its proud martial arts traditions.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma heard more angry shouting, distracting him from his thoughts, and two bodies suddenly flew out of one of the upper windows, the pair locked together in mortal combat. Before they had even touched ground, Genma counted about twenty-odd blows given and countered on each side of the furious melee. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the struggle they were having. They appeared to be stopping just short of outright trying to kill each other, but both were giving their all to the fight otherwise.

The fierce battle raged around the yard, as much an aerial duel as one taking place on the ground. Cuts and bruises mounted on both young fighters, a fairly even match going on between them, and Genma was impressed at the level of skill the duo was demonstrating. He was joined at his seated position by Nodoka.

"Isn't young love wonderful?" she said with a wistful sigh, watching the two teenagers apparently trying to maim each other.

"Are we watching the same two people here?" he asked, a bit surprised to hear her say such a thing. He wondered how his own Nodoka would react in the same situation. She was such a refined and gracious lady in his eyes. However, she had once been quite rambunctious when they had first met, so maybe it wasn't so dramatic a difference, he mused with a smile.

"Don't you remember how we once were?" she said, taking an empty teacup and filling it from the pot.

A sudden rush of memories assailed Genma at those words, and he recalled the many fights his counterpart had with her when they were both much younger. This life is so different from my own, he mused, his mind now filled with clear memories of his analog's younger self mercilessly teasing her. Of course, the then-teenaged Nodoka would often quickly proceed to brain him with her ever-present bokken if he wasn't wary. Much like in his own life, she had been promised to be his wife by their parents, but this version of her was much more fiery-tempered a person. He may have upset his own Nodoka a few times when they were younger, but hardly ever seriously enough to warrant her physically attacking him. But these analogs had fought intensely with each other, both verbally and physically, for nearly two solid years before finally declaring a truce and admitting that they cared for each other.

"Well, she's also Chinese," noted Genma, watching the boy take a couple of solid punches to the gut from Shampoo and then deftly dodge the kick that immediately followed them. He then saw the boy counter with a swift combination elbow strike and knee strike that knocked the wind out of the Amazon for a moment.

"If Ranma defeats her, then she becomes eligible for citizenship by marriage." Nodoka leaned against him. "I think she'd make him a fine wife. The Empress is a Chinese Amazon, after all."

Before Genma could phrase any sort of reply to that most surprising statement, his vision grayed out and the nothingness between realities briefly claimed him.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"How do you feel, Father?" asked Ranma, noting that the system had achieved successful recall. There hadn't been a significant level of feedback, so he was encouraged by that.

Genma blinked. "That was simply incredible, son," he breathed, his eyes staring up at the ceiling with an amused expression. He turned his head to look at Ranma and suddenly started to chuckle. He saw the look on the pigtailed boy's face turn from concern to consternation and began to laugh.

"What's so funny, old man?" growled Ranma, before shaking his head for a moment. "I mean, what are you laughing at, Father?"

"Your counterpart and that pretty Amazon girl. You should have seen it. The two of you," he broke off into chuckles again.

"Shampoo? What happened?"

"Oh, your mother's analog was making plans to wed the two together," said Genma with a last chuckle, taking his glasses off for a moment to wipe a tear of mirth from his eye. "When I last saw your double and her, the two of them were locked in combat, and I would say having the time of their lives."

Ranma blinked and looked very surprised.

"It seems that a citizen wedding an Amazon is an acceptable sort of practice in that timeline." Genma replaced his glasses. "Even the young Emperor, a practicing martial artist of quite some skill, has a bride of his own. A woman named Silk, of all things."

Ranma blinked again, trying to picture the current Emperor fighting and couldn't. The man seated on the Imperial Throne was not the image of a warrior due to his extreme age, being in his nineties.

"There was a different person on the throne in that world," said Genma, suddenly having a puzzled expression on his face. "The name suddenly escapes me. Curious."

"I guess the memories from your counterpart didn't carry well. Some of the worlds I've visited are vague to me as well."

"The disjunction between realities is a disturbing sensation." Genma shuddered briefly at the memory of not existing for a moment or two.

"It took me a few tries to get used to it, too," agreed Ranma. "So, now you've tried one of my pre-tested worlds. Do you want to try for a scan of a new world?"

"Why not?" A sudden smile lit the older man's face. "Why don't I try that same region you keep connecting with, son?" He casually adjusted his glasses.

Ranma looked at him in surprise. "Uh, are you sure about that, Father? It's a rather significant divergence from our world and a fair distance across superspace. The changes are going to be far more dramatic than the one you just visited. This is centuries of alternate history that we're talking about, after all."

"I'm curious to see what sort of father I would have been in this region of tangents," said Genma with a smile. "Indulge my curiosity."

"All right. Don't say I didn't warn you though." He grinned. He saw the man settle back with the headset resting on his skull and then turned back to type away at the keyboard.

* SELECT QUANTUM REGION FOR SCAN: +4.6, +4.5

* SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES

* SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:

"How long do you want to try it?" asked Ranma. "I wouldn't recommend as long as I did, but it's your decision."

"Set it for thirty minutes this time. That should be long enough to get a feel for my other self's life."

"Okay." Ranma began typing away.

* SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST: 30.00 MINUTES

* RECEIVING SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET

"You're all set, Pop," said Ranma, watching the software begin to scan the timelines. "All you have to do is lie back and relax." Ranma briefly looked down at his father with concern. "Be careful, Father. You should know that some of your other lives aren't pretty."

"I'll be fine, Ranma. Let me see what sort of man Genma Saotome could have been." He rested his body back on the couch and closed his eyes.

"Good luck, Pop," said Ranma quietly, watching the screen as a second sine wave suddenly appeared.

In the background, the soft computer-generated voice suddenly spoke. "Quantum signature match found. Initiating upload cycle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Genma became aware of himself as he was about to put some food into his mouth. He paused and set the morsel down, not really feeling hungry. He only had a limited amount of time in this life, and stuffing his face was not how he wanted to spend it. It was a humid day, and he appeared to be seated in a park somewhere. He looked down at the dish of food and was disturbed at the oddly wrong smell emanating from it as it warmed in the sun.

How curious, he thought. To be on the safe side, he scooted down the bench a little ways away from the objects in the dish. A vague feeling of wrongness filled him as he eyed them, and he scooted a little bit further away from them. He noticed one of the digital clocks in the park out of the corner of one eye and made a quick note of the time. It was 9:43.

He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. Even the air smelled different from his world, more tainted with smog. I guess the last one was too much like home to notice something as relatively minor as that. Still, it seems like a peaceful life. He idly watched some of the children in the park playing on the swing-set off in the distance. He noted the well-worn, white gi that he was wearing, and was a little distressed that he seemed to be about twenty kilograms heavier in this body, even more overweight than his own, even though it also seemed to be in good shape underneath the thick layer of fat. I guess I'm some sort of martial arts teacher here as well. That's two lives in which that happened now. I wonder if giving up on martial arts in my own life might be some sort of statistical anomaly?

All of a sudden, a torrent of memories from a life so very different from his own surged through him. The memories were much more jarring and different than the first alternate had been. It was both intriguing and more than a little bit frightening. This analog had traveled for over ten years with his son, teaching him martial arts. He bore witness to the memories of the places that they had been, and he felt the deep pride for this Ranma's achievements. Then he began to frown at the stupid mistakes made by this Genma revealed to him, more of them than he would have believed possible. There were so frighteningly many of them.

This life is not as I pictured myself as ever being like, he thought sadly. He cringed when he witnessed in his mind's eye how the Nekoken training was inflicted on the boy, again and again. The feelings of sheer determination to make Ranma the best washed over him with that memory, and they had apparently drowned out any semblance of common sense in his counterpart. The sheer terror engendered from his promise to Nodoka to make Ranma 'a man among men' followed, and he witnessed the tragic fate of his son at Jusenkyo, cursed to turn into a girl.

They had gained a companion in their travels at that time, and he was surprised to see that it was Shampoo. She had been cursed like his son, only she turned male when cold water was applied. The Amazon had been good for the boy, helping him to adjust by providing a sort of mirror for his own Jusenkyo-induced gender difficulties, but this Genma had not looked at it that way.

Father and son returned to Japan with the Chinese girl in tow, and then the real troubles had begun. This Genma had an agreement with the Soun Tendo of this world, to unite their schools of martial arts through a marriage between Ranma and a Tendo daughter. In a comedy of errors, Shampoo had been initially mistaken for the boy when they had arrived, as both children had shown up in their cursed forms, and by the time that misunderstanding was finally corrected the damage had already been done. Akane Tendo was the one named as Ranma's fiancée, but the two got along very poorly. And this Genma did nothing while his son suffered, only played innumerable games of Shogi with Soun.

From that point onwards, the problems began snowballing in number, many of them the fault of his counterpart. One of the worst offenses was that he had sold Ranma to an incredible number of stupid fathers, under the guise of engaging the boy to their daughters, for as little as some food or money. The sheer short-sightedness possessed by this version of himself honestly stunned him, and he felt ill at remembering the empty mouthings of honor that fell so easily from the lips of his counterpart. This life was his worst nightmare given form, and he could hardly wait to leave it.

Genma looked into the heart of his analog here, and he was seized with remorse. This version of himself had been so abysmally stupid, so narrowly focused on forging Ranma into a supreme martial artist that he had lost his honor, if he had ever had any to begin with. The boy had been the one good thing he had ever done with his misbegotten life, and he had almost destroyed it. Cowardice, selfishness, stupidity, and many other weaknesses to which man is subject; so many of them were present in his counterpart, and it made him feel an ache that went to the core of his soul.

Oh, my quantum brother, he thought mournfully. What have you done?

As he was sitting on a bench in the middle of the park, the dish with the odd-smelling food beside him, his ponderings left him open to an unexpected attack. A giant spatula slammed down against the top of his head, and the bench splintered underneath him from the sheer force. He blearily turned around, a headache like none he had ever felt before splitting his skull.

Standing there, her battle spatula raised like a samurai warrior of old holding a katana, the sun shining behind her back, was Ukyo Kuonji.

Oh damn, thought Genma. One of those very same girls wronged was now standing there, armed and dangerous, right behind him. He blinked at the weapon in her hands. A spatula? He studied it for another long moment. Correction: a giant spatula. Somehow, laughing at the sight of the girl and her enlarged cooking implement did not feel very prudent at this time.

"Well, well, well," purred Ukyo in dangerous tones. "If it isn't the old man who made my life a living hell. And here, I was just thinking how I never got a chance to properly thank you for that." The smile on the young girl's face did not bode well for the displaced scientist.

"I can see you're angry," he ventured, hoping to defuse the situation with some properly chosen words. Unfortunately, he could not think of anything to say, this experience having left him out of his depth. "Perhaps there's something we could work out?"

She grinned even wider. "I already have something in mind for that. Just hold still. I'm going to enjoy this." As her righteous anger was meted out to Genma, albeit the wrong one, only a few squirrels in the park witnessed the sight.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma looked up from his book when the system beeped. Recall was about to commence. He studied the two merged sine waves, but everything seemed normal. He set his book down and watched the last seconds tick down to zero.

There was a puff of smoke from somewhere within the casing containing the resonator, and the system flashed an alert.

* WARNING! SYSTEM OVERLOAD. HARDWARE FAILURE. RETRIEVAL CYCLE ERROR.

"WHAT?" He hurriedly pried the top off of the case, releasing a large puff of acrid smoke and setting off a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked at the recumbent figure of his father, and he did not appear to be breathing. While his attention was distracted, the sine waves on the screen began moving apart.

"Retrieval cycle complete," said the computer's soft voice.

Genma coughed, his breathing returning to normal after pausing for several of the longest seconds in the pigtailed boy's life. He blinked his eyes and looked upwards, seeing an unfamiliar ceiling. Wh-where am I?

"Father!" shouted Ranma, relieved to see the man awake. "I was afraid that I'd lost you."

Genma stared up at his son, at the different clothes that the boy was wearing, and at the equipment in this strange room that he suddenly found himself in. His body felt odd, off balance, and he slowly sat up, shaking his head in confusion. He looked at his hand, and it looked different from how he remembered it.

That sight seemed to trigger a surge of memories, filling his mind with a myriad of images that he had never before seen, of experiences that he had never lived, terrifying him far more than anything that Happosai had ever done to him. What has happened to me? he cried out in his mind, his terror and confusion growing greater. He suddenly realized that the boy leaning over him was somehow not his son, and he lashed out with one fist, almost blindly.

Genma's blow caught Ranma flat-footed, slamming up hard under his jaw and knocking him unconscious almost instantly. His body flew across the room, impacting into the bricks of the far wall and falling down in a heap. A few pieces of paper, disturbed by the passage of his body, fluttered to the ground.

Genma stared at the unconscious body of the boy who was his son, yet was somehow not his son. More memories assailed him, confusing him even further as to where he was. He stumbled to his feet, a need to flee filling him as he headed towards the door, his balance still off, his body feeling weaker than he remembered it as being. He pulled open the door and stumbled out into the hallway. Within moments, he was gone.

Behind him, Ranma remained unconscious, and the smoke from the resonator slowly faded.

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Genma opened his eyes, finding himself half laying on the remnants of a park bench. What the hell happened to me? He grimaced, feeling painful bruises all over his body and a dribbling of blood from his face. The answer suddenly came back to him in a flash. Oh, yes. That Kuonji girl is a menace. He felt his scalp and his hand didn't come away bloody, so he was reasonably sure that he was not too badly hurt.

He then looked at the digital clock on a nearby tower in the park.

It now read 10:51.

Over an hour had passed since his initial arrival, so something had gone grievously wrong. As he clambered to his feet, his vision wobbled as he felt the aches from his beating at Ukyo's hands, and there was a slight sinking feeling in his stomach. He had to get back home. The question was, how? Knowing panic would do him no good, he decided to find a nice, quiet place to think and plan. If Ranma couldn't bring him back, then this life, with all of its many mistakes, would become his. It was not a comforting thought.

Wishing that the world would stop wavering, he slowly stumbled off in the direction of the Tendo Dojo.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma groaned from the severe ache in his jaw as he blinked an eye open. He found himself staring at a cockroach, eye to compound eye. The insect quickly scurried away as he jerked up off of the floor in surprise, and the rapid motion made his vision swim for a moment. It steadied down immediately, and he took in several sights at once.

The door to his lab now stood wide open.

The resonator showed a last few wisps of smoke still coiling up from the case.

His father was gone, or at least the man he thought was his father. He suddenly wasn't sure.

Stumbling to his feet, Ranma quickly checked the corridor to see if anyone was still there, but the hallway stood empty. After checking the outside of the building and finding no signs of his father anywhere, Ranma returned to his laboratory.

"This is bad," he muttered. "This is very bad."

He glared at the resonator as he slumped down on the couch. Unsure as to what he should do next, he checked his equipment, looking for the fault. He quickly found the problem, yet the answer left him feeling even more depressed. The main capacitor had blown. In fact, it blew during the exact moment of retrieval initiation. In the process, it had scrambled his father's mind somehow.

Or had it?

He wasn't sure why he suddenly had that thought, but it refused to leave him alone. He ran through probability calculations and power feedback computations quickly in his mind and kept coming up with the exact same answers each and every time. It was very possible that his father's mind wasn't scrambled. If that was true, then something far worse might have happened.

His father might not be the man he appeared to be any longer.

There was a way to determine the truth, but he was extremely loath to attempt it because it meant that he would have to use the untrustworthy machine again. Eyeing the resonator, he pulled a replacement capacitor from his supplies and began installing it. This is one of the stupidest ideas that I have ever had, he castigated himself. But I have to know for sure. I have to find the other Genma and make sure.

He ran through every one of the circuits, strangely unsurprised to find that everything else checked out fine. The capacitor discharge had done absolutely no damage to any of the other circuits, not a single one. He checked every component a second time, very carefully, and then closed the case up.

"If I'm right, then what am I going to tell my mother?" Ranma asked the empty air. When no answer was forthcoming, he sighed and began setting up for the test. He programmed the machine for an hour, hoping that it was enough time to make sure that what he now feared had happened, hadn't. He lay back on the couch with a faint groan and hoped that his instincts were right about this. Unfortunately, they were all he had. He settled the headset onto his skull and waited.

"Initiating upload cycle," said the computer voice.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

As Ranma became aware of his surroundings once again, he saw a brick wall seemingly careening towards him. Reflexively holding his arms in front of himself, he hit the wall with the realization that it wasn't moving but that instead he was on roller skates. Stunned by the impact, he heard the brickwork cracking in a hairline pattern around his body as he stood spread-eagled against it, his face planted into it. As it gave way beneath him, he fell in a heap to the ground.

"Ow," he muttered, already feeling that this was not a very promising beginning to his reconnaissance efforts. He slumped down, shaking his head, as he heard someone come skating up behind him.

"Ranma, you okay?" asked a concerned-sounding female voice. It was very familiar, yet his brain's current state of confusion barely left him able to remember his own name. So he could not quite place it.

His host's instincts guiding him, he suddenly sprang to his feet in a macho gesture of bravado. Smiling with bemusement, he amazed himself that he stayed there. Spinning around, he saw Shampoo standing behind him. He blinked his eyes, unsure what to make of this situation. Are we on a date? Why am I skating with Shampoo?

"Ranma?" she asked again, concern for him on her face.

"Uh, I'm fine." He smiled to reassure her. He was still waiting for his new memories to kick in and clue him in as to what the situation was in this particular timeline. He relied on the natural balance that this body had as he glided back away from the wall that he had come very close to becoming one with, especially at the speed that he had impacted into it.

"Ranma scared Shampoo when you hit the wall going so fast," said the purple-haired girl. "You showing off again?"

"I just got distracted by something." He eyed the clock on a building nearby and saw that it was after noon. He turned back to face the Amazon. "It's lunchtime." He was rewarded with her looking at him with an amused smile, so he was apparently acting in normal character for his counterpart. He just acted much as the other Jusenkyo-cursed martial artist Ranma would; he imagined that it was the same as this one was.

At that moment, his new memories finally leaped up and grabbed him by the throat, leaving him appearing dazed for a moment or two. With an ease born of a growing familiarity with the phenomenon, his mind quickly sorted through the chaotic blizzard of images and memories to pick out all of the most important points. One of the things that he noticed immediately was that, in this particular timeline, things had gone almost identically to his other counterpart up until the training at Jusenkyo, and then things had taken a radical turn.

Shampoo had been dueling with Mousse over the cursed pools when he and his father had arrived at Jusenkyo valley. Instead of Genma knocking him into a pool, he had accidentally collided with Shampoo, both of them leaping backwards for the same pole, neither of them seeing the other, and they had both fallen into two separate springs. She had landed in Nannichuan, the Spring of Drowned Man, and he had once again fallen into Nyannichuan, the Spring of Drowned Girl. Mousse, not that it really mattered to the pigtailed boy in the slightest way, had ended up getting knocked into Shonmaoniichuan, the Spring of Drowned Panda, instead of his father, who had managed to escape uncursed in this version of events.

In this life, the Amazon had accompanied him back to Japan, unable to return to her people due to the nature of her curse. The vagabond trio had arrived at the Tendo Dojo, and she was mistaken for Ranma, both of them being in their cursed forms at the time. For a brief period, Shampoo was engaged to Kasumi, but then things had been explained and this Ranma ended up engaged to Akane. The poor bastard, he thought as he examined that sequence of events in this particular version of the comedy of errors. Here, the Amazon was his good friend, and maybe even a little more than that. She was certainly the one girl he knew longest and trusted the most, which was a strangely comforting thought.

However, he had to find his father now, and he only had a limited amount of time to do it in before retrieval kicked in. If that happened, then he would have to come back again, but that also increased the risk of something bad happening. The worst case scenario might be him switching places with the Ranma of this life, if what he feared had happened to his father turned out to be true. With that thought in mind, he skated over towards the exit to the park, the girl following along behind him.

"Sorry to cut this short like that, Shampoo," he said, briefly skating backwards. She gave him a friendly smile, and he smiled in return.

"It all right, Ranma. Shampoo no mind."

"We'll just have to go skating again soon. After all, there's nothing better than spending time with a cute girl." That last just sort of slipped out, and he saw her blush.

"R-Ranma think Shampoo cute?" said the Amazon softly, looking a bit surprised.

"Sure, Shampoo," he answered absently, his thoughts more on the problem of locating Genma than the presence of the girl next to him. "I think you're very cute. Beautiful even." He ran through the possible places in his mind. Now where would my father go if he thought he was trapped? The Tendo Dojo? Well, it is the most likely place.

The Amazon got an astonished look on her face, but it was very quickly replaced by a warm smile. She felt giddy and bubbly inside, like she had just been carbonated. She hurriedly followed his example and took off her skates. Tonight, she would go to Kasumi and ask to make everyone's lunches for tomorrow. That way, she could help out and at the same time make a very special lunch to show the pigtailed boy just how much she appreciated his compliments.

The pair headed off from the skating park, and she took hold of his arm as they walked. Ranma smiled at her and patted her hand on his arm. He liked the feeling of having her at his side, not really considering how things might look to others. Arm-in-arm, they began walking back to the Tendo Dojo. Unfortunately, Akane found them before they arrived at their destination.

The Tendo girl saw the two walking down the street in front of her, both of them looking happy. She had been searching for them for quite some time, and her mood had deteriorated in that time. She wanted their help to rescue a kidnapped Minami, taken by Mousse that morning, who had confused the Ghost Sweeper for Akane. If that was not bad enough, he had then proceeded to mistake the horrible-looking statue in the middle of Nerima for her as well, which only made Akane all the more irritable. Now that her hours-long search had finally turned up the missing duo, she found them strolling along arm-in-arm, looking like they were a couple or something. What did that jerk think he was doing?

Meanwhile, Ranma was still thinking over the problem of how to correct the situation with his father, both he and Shampoo carrying their roller skates slung over their backs. He was not paying particular attention to the fact that he had the young Amazon's arm linked with his. However, suddenly sensing danger, he glanced up and saw Akane, and she was clearly in one of her 'This is all Ranma's fault' moods.

"Ranma," snarled the Tendo girl, noting that he was making no efforts to withdraw his arm from Shampoo's hold. She narrowed her eyes at the sight, a dim blue glow beginning to burn around her. "What were you two doing roller skating?"

Great, thought Ranma sarcastically, frowning. She's angry with me. Seems just like back home. He sighed mentally. I don't have time to deal with this. He looked at Shampoo, finding that to be a far more pleasant sight than a fuming Akane. He saw the Amazon looking back at him, an unspoken communication passing between them, and then he turned back to face Akane, the words just seeming to flow from his mouth. He made no efforts to correct the grammar, just letting the personality of the Ranma of this timeline temporarily guide his actions.

"Well, after that little brawl with 'The Golden Pair,' Shampoo and I discovered we liked skating. It ain't no big deal. Why you gettin' mad?" He looked Akane squarely in the eyes, leaving his arm linked with the Amazon's. With the much bigger problem of his father facing him, appeasing an alternate quantum's Akane was not a priority. Even if it was, he had no desire to try.

"I am not angry!" shouted Akane, but neither Ranma nor Shampoo bought it since she was still glowing a dull blue.

"Whatever," said the pigtailed boy, shrugging his shoulders. "Come on, Shampoo. Let's go. I wanna get back home." He walked past an astonished Akane leading the Chinese girl, tugging on her arm. He let his mind drift back to examining the power surge problem, wondering what might have caused it. The Tendo girl and whatever she wanted from him were already forgotten issues.

Blinking for a moment at being disregarded so casually, Akane felt her fury grow. The fact that her fiancé was still walking arm in arm with the Amazon was not lost on her either. Her anger increased as she ran to catch up with the departing couple.

"Don't ignore me!" she growled at him. "I need your stupid help to rescue Minami, since it's all your fault that she was kidnapped in the first place!" She saw him stand there for a moment before turning around to look back at her, releasing Shampoo's arm in the process. Akane ignored the glare that the Amazon leveled at her.

"How is that my fault?" asked Ranma coolly. Every moment he wasted in this little exchange was one moment less he was able to devote to the problem facing him. He waited for Akane to answer.

"Well, it was that stupid Chinese guy, Mousse, who did it," she snapped. "He probably wants revenge on you is my guess." She folded her arms and glared at him. Not that I care if anything happens to you, you flirting jerk! she thought, intensifying her glare. To her surprise, Ranma broke eye contact with a last, neutral look and headed back down the street.

"Then I guess we'll have to plan a rescue," said the pigtailed boy. To show his displeasure with Akane's general attitude, he purposely offered his arm again to the bewildered Amazon. He smiled at her when she took it. "Let's go back home first though. There's something I need to do first." Without another word, or a single backwards glance to see if she was following, he walked away from the astonished Tendo girl.

"Why Ranma do that?" asked Shampoo, both confused at his actions and yet feeling happy to walk with him like this as well. She looked back at a still stunned Akane, no longer glowing blue.

"Because it was worth it to imagine the look on her face," he said in only slightly accented Mandarin. A frown briefly crossed his features. That was stupid, he chastised himself. Why do I keep showing off like that? Oh well, I have to think of a cover story now. Maybe I can fool her.

"When did you learn how to speak Chinese?" asked the now even more bewildered girl. She felt irritated with him hiding such a thing from her, knowing how poor her own ability with Japanese still was. However, the thrill of walking arm-in-arm with Ranma was too great to let that damper her spirits. Being with him like this, she felt as if they were on a real date. She was too happy to be angry with him, so she decided to hold back her irritation at his unexpected language skills until later.

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something," he replied with an enigmatic smile.

"You quote Sun Tzu too?" said the girl with puzzlement in her voice. Her great-grandmother had made her learn the lore of war from many sources, martial arts being only one of them. She saw Ranma's smile turn into one of his more playful grins.

"Did ya think I was just some dumb jock martial artist?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye. "This is our little secret, okay? If you tell anyone, I'll pretend ignorance." He patted her hand on his arm once more. There, he thought with a smirk, that should cover up my little blunder, and make my counterpart seem to have a bit more to him than meets the eye.

The Amazon was more bewildered than ever now. She was surprised to see him showing off a deeper learning than she suspected that he possessed, but it was a pleasant surprise. She snuggled a bit against his arm, acting on a sudden whim. When he did not react negatively in any way, she assumed that he approved of her actions.

Behind the pair, Akane trudged along. The angry glare she directed towards the pair had intensified since Ranma had dismissed her. An uncomfortable feeling washed over her as she watched the two. It was dejection over being rejected for another, that she was not able to hold onto his arm like a certain Chinese girl was doing. That fueled her rage and kept it burning at a moderate level. After they rescued Minami, she planned to show him her displeasure with his actions. If anyone had suggested that she was showing signs of jealousy at this point, she would have denied it vehemently.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Inside Ranma's lab, next to his comatose form, the video monitor briefly flickered when the power suddenly died. The fluorescent lights went dark, and the room became lit only by the dim light of the computer monitor. The screen cleared suddenly.

* MAIN POWER FAILURE. INITIATING EMERGENCY RETRIEVAL.

* RETRIEVAL ATTEMPT: FAILED.

* ALERT! PRIMARY CAPACITOR LACKING SUFFICIENT CHARGE FOR RETRIEVAL.

* SWITCH TO EMERGENCY FUEL CELL BACKUPS: SUCCESSFUL.

* SIGNATURE LOCK MAINTAINED ON TEST SUBJECT.

* FUEL CELLS CURRENT POWER OUTPUT INSUFFICIENT TO ACTIVATE RETRIEVAL.

* CAPACITOR TRICKLE CHARGER ACTIVATED.

* TIME REMAINING FOR SUFFICIENT CHARGE: 09 HOURS, 59 MINUTES.

* POWER FAILURE NOTED IN SYSTEM LOG.

* POWERING DOWN MONITOR TO CONSERVE ENERGY.

The screen abruptly went dark.

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

The trio entered the house and immediately felt that something was wrong. Ranma and Shampoo left their skates by the front door along with their shoes. He was feeling a little disappointed and also worried that his father wasn't there. After a disturbing lack of replies to their shouts that they were home, they began a search of the house. Shortly after it had begun, a much battered-looking Genma entered the house. Shampoo noticed him first.

"What happen, Pop?"

Genma blinked at the sight of the trio that quickly surrounded him. It was still strange being called Pop, but his memories were allowing him to adjust. Thinking quickly for a moment, he decided that for now he would answer as his counterpart would have, "Oh, I'm just suffering a little bit from a bludgeoning by a spatula-wielding maniac."

Ranma blinked as he noticed the much beaten upon condition of his father, if this was his father. He still wasn't sure. He was down to less than half an hour until retrieval occurred for him, and the sight of the elder Saotome was a welcome relief. The pigtailed boy had been afraid that he wouldn't find him before his time was up. He restrained the sudden urge filling him, to hit the older man for his comments, and he was surprised that he felt so strongly about the remarks about Ukyo. Quickly swallowing the initial impulsive words, he began to speak more calmly, tempering his speech a little.

"Don't call Ucchan a maniac, Pop," he said with a little irritation, studying the fat martial artist's eyes for any trace of the other Genma. "You hurt her pretty bad, and I still haven't forgiven you for stabbing her in the back like that. I'm just lucky she realizes I didn't know what was goin' on and forgives me." When he saw the older man wince at the words alone, he relaxed a little bit. Time to put my theory to the test, he thought.

"Can you understand me, Father?" Ranma said in Russian, and this prompted some mixed reactions in the people around him. He saw Genma suddenly look surprised. Behind the pigtailed boy, the two girls looked at him with puzzlement, both of them unsure what to make out of the unknown language that he was speaking.

"Son? Is that you?" said Genma, his Russian quite a bit more heavily accented than Ranma's, but still quite understandable. "What went wrong?"

Ranma almost cried with relief at the words, but his pride refused to let him show such weakness. He stepped closer to his father. "There was some sort of power surge in the system, and the main capacitor blew during the retrieval sequence. 'You' woke up and knocked me out with a blow from your fist. When I came to a little while ago, 'you' were gone. Based on what happened, there was a strong probability that either a severe imprinting of memories or even a total switch in personalities might have occurred, but I had to make sure. So I took a gamble and transited to this reality after fixing my device, to check. I am so glad that I found you. Now I just have to figure out how to fix it."

"Ranma?" interrupted the Amazon, stepping near him. "What you and Pop talking about? Shampoo no understand words. What you say?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing for you to worry about, Shampoo," said the pigtailed boy in a nervous tone.

"Well, I think it's just plain rude to speak in a foreign language like that when there are other people in the room," huffed Akane, still feeling angry over Ranma's recent actions. Not only had he just been blatantly flirting with the cursed Chinese girl right in front of her, he didn't even have the decency to act repentant about it.

"I don't recall asking you for your opinion on the matter, Akane," said the pigtailed boy stiffly. He turned back to face his father, and a small end table collided hard with the back of his head. He fell to the ground, stunned.

"Jerk!" muttered Akane, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at the prone form of her fiancé. That casual dismissal, combined with his previous treatment of her and the stress of having her family abducted, was the final straw. He had no right to act that way. She ignored the glare Shampoo shot her through long practice.

Genma frowned deeply for a moment at the sight of the violence done so casually to the boy. He turned a cool gaze to study the Tendo girl, his hand adjusting his glasses slightly as memories of previous abuses done to Ranma at her hands now surfaced in his mind, and extreme shame at his counterpart's inaction accompanied them. Especially since he seemed to think there was nothing wrong with it, instead blaming the boy for not treating Akane better. They had been a frequent occurrence since the three of them arrived at the Tendo household. The girl has no restraint at all for her anger, thought Genma with annoyance. He bent down to check on the pigtailed boy and was relieved to see his son was already shaking off the blow. He stood back up and studied the fuming Akane idly.

After levering himself up off the floor, Ranma felt a cold anger filling him at the attack that blindsided him, courtesy of Akane. He was really tempted to knock her on her rear end for that cheap shot, but he also did not wish to disturb things for his counterpart more than he needed to. Still, he was not going to let himself be a punching bag while he was in this body either.

That was your only free shot against me, Akane, he thought darkly.

He rose to his feet slowly, noting her watching him with an angry gaze. He stood up to his full height, his eyes like chips of ice, a chill in them that even dimmed the Tendo girl's level of fury a bit. Even the Amazon was somewhat taken aback at his reaction. He started to head over towards her when a hand fell on his shoulder, and he turned to see his father slowly shaking his head.

"This is not the time for that, Ranma," said Genma calmly in his accented Russian, but a note of sympathy was in his voice. "There are more important things to deal with." He removed his hand from the boy's shoulder, smiling gently at seeing the anger ebbing from his son's body.

"Very well, Father." The pigtailed boy rubbed the sore spot on the back of his neck and glared coldly at Akane. His eyes caught sight of a note on the floor, and he picked it up and scanned it quickly. He cocked his head slightly to one side in amazement and read it quickly a second time.

The note was relatively simple. It read, "Dear Ranma and Akane. Kasumi and Nabiki have been kidnapped. Do not call the police. Bring Shampoo and come to 'The Black Rose's Floral Shoppe.' If these demands are not met, something terribly not nice will happen to them. Bring three thousand yen for the ransom. Love, Kasumi."

"Huh?" the pigtailed boy blurted out, a puzzled look on his face.

Akane became concerned and asked, "What is it?

"It says your family has been kidnapped by," said Ranma, an amused look appearing on his face as he concluded, "Kasumi."

"What are you talking about?"

Ranma read it over again, the vaguely amused look remaining on his face as he said, "Well, it appears to be a ransom note, but it's also signed 'Love, Kasumi.'" He handed Akane the note and watched her read through it.

"Those jerks!" she cried out. "They must have made Kasumi write the note. When I get my hands on them..." her threat trailed off as she clenched her fist and started glowing bright blue.

Wonderful, thought Ranma wryly, grateful that silly things like this didn't happen to him in his real life. A kidnapping intended to force my counterpart into a challenge, pretty obviously. It looks like somebody is going to get a very big surprise. He found himself actually looking forward to dealing with this little problem. It would allow him an excellent opportunity to work off some of his frustrations by pounding on the kidnappers a little bit, since he still had no answer to the bigger problem facing him.

"You know what this means?" Ranma asked suddenly, looking his three compatriots over.

Genma stared him in the eye, surprise evident on his face as he could somehow tell what the boy had in mind and said, "You're not seriously going to go along with this farce, are you?"

Akane and Shampoo hit Genma.

"No! We go rescue Kasumi, Tendo-san, and Stupid Mercenary Girl," Shampoo corrected him, and she would have added another blow for good measure but her hand was held back by a frowning Ranma solidly gripping her forearm. He quickly released it when she ceased trying to hit Genma.

Akane wasn't going to let the reference to her older sister pass and shouted at the Chinese girl, "Don't call Nabiki stupid!"

"She not responsible for you get attacked everyday by girls that try get date with you. Shampoo call Mercenary Girl whatever she want!"

Ranma, not wanting to waste time with needless argument between the two girls, decided to step in and play peacemaker. He addressed them both seriously, "Look, why don't we rescue them first, then you two can argue." With a slight smirk on his face, an image of the Nabiki from his own world briefly appeared in his mind as he then addressed the Amazon directly, "Besides, Stupid Extortionist Girl is a much more accurate description than Stupid Mercenary Girl."

"Ranma, you jerk!" shouted Akane. She had specifically said not to call Nabiki stupid, but he had dismissed her once again by doing exactly what she had said not to do. She quickly hefted another heavy object and swung it at him, but the blow never connected.

That's it, raced the thought through the pigtailed boy's mind as he noticed the aggressive move out of the corner of his eye. I am tired of being her personal punching bag.

Ranma pivoted on one foot, and he knocked the weapon from her hands with a well-placed kick. He followed up his disarming strike with a precise blow to one of Akane's undefended nerve clusters, and she sank to her knees when the strength gave out in her legs for a few moments.

Shampoo stood there in a state of complete surprise. Ranma was acting differently for some reason. She was secretly a little pleased to see him standing up for himself like that though.

Blinking at the numbness that was already fading from her legs, Akane was doubly shocked when her fiancé hauled her back up to her feet with his hand tightly gripping the front of her outfit. Wh-what just happened? She looked bewildered.

"I've had enough of you hitting me, Akane!" growled Ranma, his concerns for disturbing the life of his counterpart vanishing in the face of his anger at her abusiveness towards him. For a brief moment, it was the Akane from his own life that he was speaking to, and his anger surged even greater. But he quickly forced himself to calm down, and his voice calmed as well. "Try to hit me just one more time, and I'll knock you unconscious before you can even get close to touching me. Do you understand me?" His eyes were cold as he stared into her shocked gaze.

"L-let go of me, Ranma," growled Akane, her voice quickly firming as her astonishment faded. The numbness had almost completely faded from her legs already. "I'm warning you." Her growl at him faded off when he pulled her in close, a look in his eyes that she had never seen before stealing her voice.

"Don't ever try and hit me again," said Ranma coldly and simply.

"Son," Genma interrupted, uncertain if he should interfere, but feeling the need to say something before things got too far out of hand. He relaxed when he saw Ranma release his grip on the Tendo girl and stand back, but the cold look remained in the boy's eyes.

"Ranma?" asked Shampoo, greatly surprised at the sudden change in him. She saw him look at her and was relieved when the hard look faded from his gaze. She glanced at Akane, who seemed reluctant to begin hostilities again.

"I'm all right, Shampoo." Ranma smiled at her. "We should be thinking up a plan to rescue the others." Pausing, he thought for a moment. "I think I have an idea or two, but I want to get a look at the area first. Now, let's go." He headed for the door, and the others followed his lead. I don't have much time to stay in control of this situation, he thought, a little worriedly, as the four companions set off for the Black Rose's Floral Shoppe.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Genma signaled the waitress for another bottle of sake, his hand pulling out his wallet once again. It was still fairly full, a welcome sight to his eyes. The bar that he had finally found himself in was a dimly-lit establishment that appealed to his needs at the time. It was a welcome port in a storm of confusion, a familiar sight that was much needed. He had thought he was in some weird hell at first, confused by a city he did not recognize and assailed by the memories of a stranger who wore his face.

After the first bottle of sake had gone down his throat, paid for by some of the money in the fat wallet he found on himself, he had calmed down enough to deal with things a little better. The new memories had settled down into his awareness, and he had spent most of the last few hours doing something almost all would have thought to be extremely uncharacteristic of him: thinking. A smile lit his face as he thanked the kami once again for the unexpected blessing that he had been given, all of his past actions wiped away.

It was a very good day to be Genma Saotome.

This is a wonderful life, he thought, letting the bar girl pour more sake into his cup, until it was almost filled to the brim. He waved her away and quickly downed it, spilling only a few drops, enjoying the feeling of the burning sensation running down his throat. He was well on his way to becoming drunk, and he was happy. However, instead of dulling his mind, the alcohol was simply giving everything a rather pleasant haze. He let his thoughts drift.

In this life, he was Professor Genma Saotome, a respected member of the Ministry of Science and one of the undisputed experts on the planet in the fields of Cosmology and Ontology (words that, for the first time in his life, he could now understand), and a pioneer in the theory of quantum mechanics applied to the possibility of the existence of multiple worlds. He had recently returned home from a ten-year long 'training mission' with his son, Ranma, who had been educated at Ministry expense at the finest institutes of learning around the globe, in dozens of areas of scholarly study. That is all well and good, he supposed, but the boy spent no time studying what was truly important in life: martial arts.

However, recently the boy had created a device that let him visit the worlds of alternate timelines, what this Genma called tangents, and from one of those he had absorbed knowledge of the Anything-Goes School that seemed to equal that of the son he had left behind. Apparently, they were somehow imprinted into this boy from his counterpart. The memories of this Ranma's performance that morning surfaced in his mind, and they made it abundantly clear of that. The movements were clearly those of Anything-Goes style, but his 'son' here lacked the conditioning his own son had. But this one doesn't turn into a girl either, he thought, swallowing another cup of sake with glee. He was very confident that he could train this Ranma to be a true heir to the School, especially when he suddenly remembered what had been done to the boy while he was a child through Project Phoenix.

Plans began to fill Genma's mind to take full advantage of his new life, and chief among them he would forge this Ranma into the ultimate martial artist. When he thought about it, this boy was as much his son as the one he had left behind, at least in the ways that mattered. Perhaps he had not raised him, but this 'new' son was similar to the old. Both were children born of Genma and Nodoka Saotome, so they were essentially the same. Already, thoughts of ever returning to his home across time were forgotten, but he would miss his best friend Soun a little.

Here's to the new Genma Saotome, he thought, raising his cup of sake up with a smile. May his new life be a very long and prosperous one. He swallowed the liquid in the cup and sighed contentedly.

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The cellular phone buzzed as Soun walked towards his office to deal with some minor paperwork before returning home. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and flipped it open.

"Tendo here."

"Sir?" said a male voice on the other end. "This is Hikashi. I think there's something going on that you should know about."

"Tell me."

Soun stopped in the hallway and listened to the voice speaking on the other end of the phone, nodding as a cold smile blossomed on his face. When the report he was receiving was over, he quickly snapped the phone closed and replaced it back in his jacket pocket. He turned from the direction he had been walking and immediately headed to the garage area to requisition a car and a driver.

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Special thanks goes out to DB Sommer for his kind permission to borrow from "Shampoo 1/2" for Earth +4.612, +4.509 (Ranma 1/2 cluster). For the original way that events played out on that alternate world, this took place in chapter nine of that story. The switch in Genmas that has taken place has caused a crux event, splitting off a new tangent with a new destiny that will play out differently from the path of the original timeline.

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	9. Sins Of The Fathers, Part II

Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. The Nabiki of this timeline later snuck into Ranma's lab and used his device, not knowing what it was, accidentally copying the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. An unexpected accident switched the mind of Professor Genma Saotome with that of his counterpart from one of the many 'Ranma 1/2' timelines. Ranma went across to try and find his real father, only problems occurred.

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Chapter 9 - Sins Of The Fathers, Part II

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso

confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

King James Bible

Proverbs 28:13

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

The trek to their destination took up the remainder of Ranma's time, but he had already made the decision to return as soon as he could reset his equipment. A digital clock on a nearby bank indicated he had only one minute remaining. He turned to eye the large greenhouse that sat behind the shop. Akane and Shampoo had simply wanted to charge right in, and the part of Ranma's mind that belonged in this world had wanted to follow their lead. But he suppressed the urge and managed to convince them to wait for a few minutes. He turned to his father.

"Pop?" Ranma said in Russian. "I'm going to go away for a few minutes, and you will have the other Ranma until I can get back. It should only take a couple of minutes to reset the system."

"All right, son. I should be able to control things here for a few minutes."

Ranma is acting very strange, thought Shampoo, very casually eyeing the pigtailed boy as she pretended to study their objective. She followed his example and simply ignored Akane, finding a vague enjoyment in the act.

What are we waiting for? Akane thought with a glare at Ranma and the others. She simmered with anger at his treatment of her, but she would wait until after her family was rescued to 'discuss' matters with him.

Ranma watched the two clocks within sight, both the one on the bank and another one a little further down the street. They were digital, so it was easy to see the time from where he was standing. They both clicked over to the same minute at the same moment, and he closed his eyes in preparation for retrieval.

Nothing happened.

He waited another minute, hoping that the clocks were wrong, and still nothing happened.

"Ranma?" finally asked Genma, wondering how he would be able to tell when the change had taken place.

"It's still me, Father," said Ranma, too surprised to bother hiding their conversation in Russian this time. "Something is wrong." He blinked and suddenly looked a bit miserable, wondering if perhaps the Ranma of this world was even now waking up in his body, far across the parallel timestreams. A sudden fear that he was now trapped in this life gripped him for a moment, but he forced the fear down with some breathing exercises.

"Are we through waiting?" asked Akane impatiently. "What have we been waiting for?"

"Please be quiet, Akane," said Ranma politely, his outward form hiding the panic he felt from the possibility of being trapped in this world. "I am considering the situation." He turned to look at the building across the street. An urge to just charge in and start beating people up was hovering in the back of his mind, but he ignored it for now.

Shampoo blinked. That had not sounded like Ranma at all. His voice had none of its normal cockiness and impulsive speech. It reminded her of one of the Elders of her tribe.

"I will not be quiet!" shouted Akane. "What gives you the right to tell me what to do?"

Ranma blinked, and the ice-cold gaze was back in his eyes as he turned to look at Akane. His voice was measured, but polite, as he spoke and said, "I am looking at all the possible entrances and exits from the building. Our enemies obviously expect us to just walk in through the front door, but I am weighing other options. If you want to help your family, you will let me finish thinking about this. If you want to just charge in there and risk getting captured yourself, then go right ahead. I will not attempt to stop you." Stupid tomboy, came the thought, why can't she just be quiet and let me take care of this? He shook his head at the odd thought.

"People in glass houses," murmured Genma.

"What you say, Pop?" asked Shampoo.

"Well, the greenhouse area is all glass," noted the older man, his head turned to observe the building that was their objective. "Why not simply stroll over and take a peek through the glass, Ranma?"

The pigtailed boy considered that one, before finally nodding his head and saying, "Yeah, it sounds good. It would certainly be easier than going inside and tromping around. I'll be back in a minute or so." Without a single backwards glance, he was gone, a quick run and one bounding leap carrying him across the street to one of the neighboring buildings.

"What now?" asked Akane, still impatient to rescue her family.

"Now, we wait," answered Genma, watching the small figure of his son on the far roof. Amazement coursed through his body as he did a quick mental calculation of the force necessary to complete the leap that his son had so easily performed. I wonder if the physical laws are the same here?

Ranma eyed the glass of the greenhouse, but he could see nothing from his current vantage point. He hopped down to the alley between the buildings and looked through the glass at several locations, but it was so fogged up on the inside that he could not see very much, only a vast jungle of various flora inside. So much for an easy recon job, he thought with a soft sigh. He bounded back to the others after trying to look inside at a few more places without very much luck.

"What I wouldn't give for a good defoliant right about now," he said as he came near the others. "I can't see a thing through any of that glass. It's too fogged up. Looks like we'll just have to do this one the old-fashioned way, go in and bust heads." He cracked his knuckles and looked almost pleased at the prospect. He saw Shampoo nod, the Amazon seeming eager to get to the action part of the rescue, and Akane looked eager to go in as well. Ranma glanced at his father, receiving a curt nod of approval in return.

With the other three forming up on his flanks, the pigtailed boy and his little posse strolled across the street, grim looks of purpose on all four faces. It was only a few moments to arrive beneath the slightly gaudy sign over the front door. They paused there, and then Ranma led the way into the building. Upon entering the structure, they saw the vast rain forest spread out before them, filling the glass-enclosed region from wall to wall save for a few small paths.

Ranma quickly realized that their enemies and the other Tendos could be anywhere in this vast jungle under glass. He shook his head at the sight of the heavy growth, somehow looking much larger on the inside than he had imagined. "It's going to take forever to find them, if we all stay together. Maybe we should split up. Father, why don't you and Akane take the right half? Shampoo and I will take the left. I don't think anyone should be on their own."

Akane appeared displeased as she said, "Why do I have to go with your father? I can take the middle path by myself." She gave every indication of being stubborn about this, so Ranma decided to try something unexpected.

"Because I don't think my father, being injured, should be out there on his own," said Ranma, earning a surprised look from Shampoo. "I also don't like the idea of you being on your own." But you are really tempting me to let you wander off and get stomped on, he finished the sentence in his thoughts.

"Oh," said Akane, looking at him with growing anger. "So you don't think I can handle myself?" She put her hands flat against her hips and glared at him.

"Honestly, yes," admitted Ranma slowly, getting tired of having to argue with the girl every step of the way whenever he made any sort of a decision. He saw her blink in surprise at his statement, then frown.

"Last time I checked," she said smugly, "I was the only one who managed to conquer their fear, and confront the Sanslaygh. Isn't that right, Ranma?" She gave a smirk in his direction.

Ranma's memory suddenly filled with images dredged up from that recent little adventure of his counterpart. A flood of fear from his new memories surged forward, about being trapped as a girl and everyone else treating a doppelganger as the real him, affecting him for a moment. He blinked and frowned, personally not caring in the slightest way for the cheap shot against his counterpart's pride, and he was very strongly tempted to tell her off. But he said nothing.

Akane apparently took his brief silence as an endorsement of her actions, and she snorted. "Fine, then you go with Shampoo. I'll take the left by myself." With that bit of defiance declared, the complete opposite of his initial suggestion, she tromped off into the jungle.

Ranma muttered something under his breath as he watched her stomp off.

Shampoo turned to the pigtailed boy and said, "It quicker if we all split up. You no mind, Ranma?"

Ranma blinked. Didn't anyone listen to a thing I just said? So it takes a little longer to explore this place. Why divide our forces and risk getting picked off one by one? That's just idiotic. He frowned and shook his head.

"Yeah, I do mind, actually," he said, looking seriously at the Amazon. "I don't think it's very good strategy to divide up and risk getting picked off one by one, if we have the option of pairing up. We can cover the same amount of ground almost as fast that way." He saw Shampoo frown at him.

"You let Akane go by self," said the Chinese girl a little gruffly. "You no think Shampoo able take care of self?"

"I didn't say that at all!" shouted Ranma, frustrated with this whole situation now. He lowered his voice, sarcasm undertoning it. "I told Akane not to go by herself, but does she listen? Of course not. Now you want to do the same and get mad at me for caring if you get hurt."

Shampoo blinked. He cares more for me than he does for Akane? she thought with surprise, feeling a sudden warmth deep in her heart. However, her warrior pride was still aroused, and she looked at him neutrally. She saw his resistance fade a little.

"Fine. I guess you can handle yourself," Ranma decided, relenting. He saw her smile at him and then start to run off. He grabbed her by one shoulder before she could take a single step and turned her to face him. "Be careful out there, okay?"

Shampoo gave him a confident grin, a little wink, and then rushed off into the verdant greenery.

Ranma turned to his father and said, "This place is starting to give me a headache. I don't know if I could handle a lifetime of this." He turned to look at the remaining paths. "I suppose we could just listen for Akane's scream when she gets in trouble and find one of the enemy that way. What do you think, Pop?" He grinned at his father.

"An interesting notion," admitted Genma with a faint smile as he studied the miniature jungle. "We should get moving though. I think I will be fine on my own though. We really could cover more ground singly."

Ranma looked scandalized as he cried out, "Pop! Not you, too!" He frowned at the older man.

"All right," relented Genma. "We'll go together." The two Saotome men moved off together into the greenery, Genma taking point. Now that the shock and dismay at his counterpart's life had finally begun to fade, he was finding that he felt far more alive than he remembered feeling since he was a teenager. Must be something in the air, he mused with a smile as he plodded along.

Now that the two were alone, Ranma stopped and fully considered the idea that he might be stuck in this world forever. It would take months, maybe years, if it was at all possible, to build a new resonator. Some of the technology he needed might not even be available here, and the costs involved could be prohibitive.

"Pop?" asked Ranma from a short ways behind him. "What are we going to do if we can't ever get back home? I don't know if I'll even be able to build a new resonator, especially with the way things are now." He frowned at the unpleasant predicaments this life offered him and said with great conviction, "And there is just no way that I am ever going to marry Akane!"

"Not to worry, my boy," said the older man, adopting the other Genma's mannerisms so well that it spooked Ranma a bit. "When we get back to the Tendos', expect to see some changes made. I am certainly not going to force any son of mine into an arranged marriage, especially not at your age. Leave everything to me." He adjusted his glasses. He might have allowed Nodoka to bully him into accepting it in his world, not resisting her efforts at making Ranma get married long before he was ready, but he would be damned if it would happen again. This time Ranma would be allowed to choose when he wanted to get married, and to whom, and without any interference from anyone.

While Ranma was thinking about his father's statement, they came around a corner and discovered one of their opponents, Mousse. The pair saw the white-robed warrior standing in the middle of the path, his hands concealed in his voluminous sleeves. Ranma saw the Chinese boy's thick glasses catch the light in an almost sinister way.

Mousse started to say something when Genma felt a breeze pass him, his son going by him in a blur of motion as he shot forward at full speed.

Ranma had been feeling edgy, frustrated, and generally annoyed with this whole situation, and the other boy gave him a perfect outlet for all of his wrath. He was not about to waste time with needless posturing when he felt he would have the advantage of surprise by going all out while the Chinese boy was just making his opening statement. He gathered his chi before his feet even left the ground, called out a loud "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" while still in mid-leap as he bounced off of a tree to increase his momentum, and then he hit Mousse without the slightest mercy at the end of the final arc of his leap.

Mousse was inundated by a hailstorm of blows from Ranma's fists, caught completely by surprise at the sheer audacity of the other boy's actions. He lost consciousness somewhere between the two hundredth and three hundredth blow from Ranma's fist repeatedly hitting him in the face. The Chinese boy slumped to the ground in a heap, a few of his hidden weapons falling from his sleeves, unused.

"Take that, you jerk," muttered Ranma as he got up off his foe, catching his breath from the level of exertion. He grinned at an almost gaping Genma and took a quick bow. "Great technique, but it's kind of tiring. I guess he wasn't expecting to deal with an attack without first going through the usual exchange of manly threats."

"Impressive, Ranma." Genma smiled at him and nodded his head. "Most impressive."

"Yeah," said the pigtailed boy, a sudden grin on his face. Things seemed to be finally looking up. He stripped the robe off of Mousse and quickly tore it into long strips to tie him up with them, binding the other boy's arms together tightly, running a loop around the Chinese boy's neck and a second one to bind his ankles. At the end, Mousse looked to be in a rather uncomfortable position, and the length of silk around his neck would choke him if he struggled. Ranma looked satisfied at the result.

"I see you still remember the knot-tying techniques I had you learn as a boy," said Genma approvingly. That had been part of the wilderness survival training that the Science Ministry had instructed him to ensure that Ranma knew. He nodded at the trussed up Chinese boy, seeing that Mousse would have to be an escape artist to get out of such bindings.

"Yeah," said Ranma, hitting his downed foe almost casually with his fist when it looked like the other boy might have been stirring. He used the remaining strip of silken cloth to gag the Chinese boy and stood up to survey their surroundings. "Now, let's go."

The two of them continued on their trek through the greenery.

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Elsewhere in the jungle, Akane was walking through a more heavily forested area of the greenhouse.

"Just how big is this thing?" she wondered out loud.

Her reverie was interrupted when a small piece of ribbon flew out from a tree and wrapped itself around her wrists like a pair of handcuffs. She tried to break free, but the harder she attempted to tear the ribbon the tighter it got.

"OHHOHOHOHO!" came a chilling laugh from above Akane. She gazed upward to see Kodachi standing on a tree branch above and grinning down at her. "You have fallen into my trap, Akane Tendo. No substitutes can save you this time. Just come along quietly."

"Yeah, right," sneered the Tendo girl. And with that, Akane jumped up, kicked the branch Kodachi was standing on, and shattered it beneath the gymnast.

The Black Rose prevented her fall by using her ribbon to lash onto another branch and gracefully land several meters away. She gave an almost predatory grin at Akane. "You are only making this harder on yourself," she said with a manic undertone.

Kodachi began hurling pins at Akane. The first struck the Tendo girl in the knee, and the second in the head. Deciding she wasn't going to play the pigeon in a shooting gallery, Akane raced forward at full speed, managing to avoid two more pins thrown at her. She then executed a leaping tuck and roll and came up standing right next to the gymnast. She very quickly grabbed the Black Rose by the throat and started choking.

"Where is my family?" Akane growled, lifting Kodachi off of her feet slightly and tightening her grip slightly. "What have you done with them?"

The gasping Black Rose didn't try to answer. Instead, she pulled a compact out of her leotard and held it in front of Akane's face. The other girl made the mistake of loosening her grip on Kodachi's throat in surprise, providing the Black Rose enough breath to let out a puff and blow the powder into Akane's face. A moment later, the Tendo girl hit the ground, unconscious.

Kodachi stood there clutching her throat, a grim look replacing the usual manic smile, as she murmured, "You are fortunate indeed that I need you intact, else something... terrible would happen to you." The evil glint in her eye made one certain she meant every word she said. She wrapped her ribbon around Akane and dragged her off, making sure to hit every bump and rock on the way back.

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As Ranma and his father were walking along, one of the sprinkler systems suddenly came on and splashed Ranma with a blast of cold water, his body quickly shrinking into its female form. The boy turned girl sighed as the change concluded in a moment. The elder Saotome blinked at the sight, somehow being just missed by the water as if it had been specifically targeted at his son who was now his daughter.

"I hate this life," said Ranma-chan sullenly. It was an odd sensation to have his body shift like this into its alternate form, almost a faint tingling occurring, but it passed in less than a moment. She squeezed water out of her shirt, the cold, damp cloth raising goosebumps on her skin. It was the work of a moment to adjust the clothes to ride a little better on her shortened frame.

"Fascinating," muttered Genma as he studied the result of the curse. While he had all of the memories of previous changes his counterpart had witnessed, first-hand experience was something else. "It's a complete morphological reconstruction of your physical form. It appears even your mass changes."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to make out of that one," said a still sullen Ranma-chan, squeezing a few more drops of water from her clothes. "I know it's called magic, but there has to be some rational explanation for how it works. I just haven't figured it out yet."

"I have some theories on how it might be occurring, but now is not really the time to explore them," said Genma. His scientific curiosity was intrigued by what he had just seen, but his practical nature was also well aware that the middle of a potential battleground was not the place to discuss the nature of reality with his son, er, daughter. Perhaps it was a naturally occurring quantum shift that specifically modified the body without affecting the mind? Or swapped the body, not the mind?

"Let's just get this rescue over with," said the pigtailed girl sullenly.

"Agreed."

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Elsewhere in the greenhouse, Shampoo was carefully making her way through the brush, when she heard familiar, insane laughter. She spotted Kodachi standing in front of a tree, a manic grin on her face.

"OH HOHOHOHO!" chortled the gymnast, like a demented, female Santa Claus. "If it isn't the little philistine."

"Shampoo not philistine! Shampoo Chinese!" snarled the Amazon cutely.

The other girl sighed, "I forgot, you're intellectually impaired. We'll just go with bimbo from now on."

"What you want with Kasumi, Crazy Gymnast Girl?"

Kodachi smiled as she sneered a bit at the Amazon, "I wanted to lead Ranma and yourself to your doom. And it looks like I have succeeded."

The Black Rose pulled a hoop from her leotard and threw it high above the Amazon's head. Shampoo remembered the boomerang pin from her previous encounters with Kodachi and tracked the hoop's progress, not completely taking her attention off of the gymnast. It traveled high up into the tree Shampoo was standing next to and severed a bunch of bananas, which struck the Amazon in the head, causing quite a mess. She looked back down just in time to have a pineapple, thrown by Kodachi, impact and burst all over her face.

"I haven't made fruit salad in years," laughed the other girl gleefully.

Shampoo wiped the majority of the fruit off her face, and looked above Kodachi. A playful smile crossed her features as an idea came to her.

"You forget coconut."

Shampoo drew her sword quickly and threw it, like a spear, high up into the tree behind Kodachi. It sailed up into the branches and briefly disappeared. The gymnast did not look impressed.

"Your aim is off you purple-" but the rest of Kodachi's statement was interrupted when a large coconut fell from the tree above and hit her solidly in the head. Her hands went to her skull as she grimaced in pain, and her expression turned villainous. "You wicked, wicked girl! I was going easy on you because I knew Mousse-sama would not approve of my harming you. But I see you leave me no choice."

Kodachi pushed in a knot of wood on the tree that the coconut fell from.

Part of the ground Shampoo stood on raised itself up and hurled her into a covered pit. She rolled, her body absorbing the impact without injury as it came to rest on the densely-packed earth. As she stood up in the pit, she noticed two eyes glaring at her. From out of the shadows, the orbs revealed themselves to be attached to a hungry tiger that was waiting for its next meal.

"You have a fun time, dear," said Kodachi as she skipped away, laughing her insane cackle, leaving the girl with the tiger.

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Ranma-chan and Genma finally arrived where the Tendos were being held. They saw Kodachi waiting for them on some sort of gigantic plant stem. On a balcony nearby were held the majority of the Tendos, minus Nabiki, and the girl she now recognized as Minami, the Ghost Sweeper. The boy turned girl spotted Akane wrapped up tightly in some chains and suspended from the ceiling. Ranma-chan watched Kasumi wave happily to her as the cursed boy considered the best way to bring about a rescue.

"Get me down from here!" Akane yelled at Ranma-chan, a cry that was ignored by the cursed boy. Having the troublesome, headstrong girl out of her hair suited her just fine.

"Where is my beloved Mousse-sama?" asked Kodachi, puzzled to see Ranma-chan and her father looking so well.

"He's a little, er, tied up right now," said the pigtailed girl with a smirk as she spoke to Kodachi. "Tell you what. I'll make a deal with you. You give me back Kasumi, Tendo-san, and Minami, and I'll tell you where we left Mousse. Refuse, and I'll have to hurt you." It was very odd for Ranma-chan right now; this Kodachi was like a warped reflection of the rather sweet noblewoman who she was only now just getting to know from her home timeline. She was actually bluffing, for the most part, uncertain if she could really attack the gymnast but deciding to brazen it out.

"What about me?" Akane grumbled.

"I thought you could handle yourself," Ranma-chan taunted as she looked up at the Tendo girl. She turned back to look at Kodachi and said with a smirk, "I'll let you keep Akane."

Akane's battle aura began to glow a dull blue, and the chains started to bulge as she shouted at the top of her lungs, "RANMA! YOU'D BETTER HOPE THEY DON'T RELEASE ME!"

"I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation," said Kodachi. "You aren't in a position to make demands."

"Oh?" asked the pigtailed girl, suddenly curious to see what Kodachi had up her sleeve. Out of the corner of her mouth, she softly whispered to Genma, "Try and make your way to the others and get them loose. I'll keep her busy."

"You see," said Kodachi, her maniacal glee back in full force, "you have fallen into my ultimate trap. Behold!"

Kodachi held her arms out grandly, and a huge plant she was standing next to began to move, slowly at first but becoming more animated by the moment, as Ranma-chan gaped at the sight. Surrounded by several broad leaves, a massive nest of roots secured it to the ground, providing a solid base for a thick, heavily-veined stem. A huge, oval-shaped bulb on the end of the stem opened up, revealing a mouth with a rather large number of sharply-pointed teeth inside. A thin stream of greenish drool lazily dripped from one side of the plant's mouth, and that only added to the unreality of the situation for the pigtailed girl.

Her arms held wide in an act of showmanship, Kodachi smiled in ecstasy as she gazed at her revealed secret weapon. "Witness the awesome power of a genuine South American man-eating plant, or in this case, a Ranma-Eating Plant. Mousse-sama and I found him while on our extended vacation. He was shipped here just last week and is very hungry. Aren't you, precious?" She made little kissing noises in the plant's direction, then spoke to it, "Now, sic her!"

What I wouldn't give for a good defoliant, thought the pigtailed girl for the second time that day. She noticed her father making his way to the others, so the cursed boy knew that she had to keep everyone's attention on her. Plans of attack began to sprint through her mind.

The plant roared its power to the skies and then moved its head to attack. It was much faster than Ranma-chan had thought, the head whipping out like a striking cobra to try and engulf her.

Kodachi remained on her plant, closely watching the Ranma-Eater try to devour its prey. Kill her, my pet, thought the girl gleefully, her eyes focused on the life-and-death struggle taking place before her. She watched the battle with glittering eyes.

Ranma-chan evaded the first two attempts by the plant to devour her, the second one missing by inches and then started looking for a way out. She almost slapped herself at how long it took her to realize the most obvious one. "The damn thing's got roots," she said, dodging a third strike. "All I have to do is get out of its reach."

Dodging and leaping to one side, Ranma-chan tried to run out of the plant's reach, but that tactic had been anticipated by Kodachi. She let out a shrill whistle, and huge strands of what appeared to be some sort of webbing extended themselves from the trees and interlocked, many of the strands shooting up into the ceiling. Once complete, a huge spider web now extended from tree to tree, as well as the ceiling, effectively sealing off the portion of the greenhouse the pigtailed girl and the plant were in.

Examining the new barrier quickly, Ranma-chan looked extremely unimpressed. She grinned up at Kodachi and said, "Like this is really going to stop me." She reached out to pull away part of the webbing, a rather confident smirk on her face. She touched it and then quickly drew back, gasping in pain as a surprised look appeared on her face. A small trickle of blood dripped from a thin cut that had formed where she touched the web.

"That's no mere spider web," Kodachi informed her opponent with a cold smile, "It is formed with razor wire. Touch it, and be sliced to ribbons. Now, remain where you are and prepare to be devoured."

Ranma-chan's thoughts were filled with dire imprecations for a few brief moments.

The plant continued with its relentless assault, which the pigtailed girl continued to nimbly evade. However, after many leaps and bounds, she eventually got backed into a tree with nowhere to run. The giant plant reached forward, mouth opened wide to engulf her small form, then stopped, no more than a foot away from her. It then curled back and looked at Kodachi, quickly muttering something unintelligible to everyone but its mistress.

The Kuno girl sounded annoyed as she said, "What do you mean, 'Is she white meat or dark meat?'" The plant muttered again, and the Black Rose answered once more, "I don't care what you are in the mood for. Just eat her!"

The plant looked at Ranma-chan, then turned back to Kodachi and muttered something yet again.

"I know she doesn't look like much," growled the Kuno girl, sounding very annoyed now. She calmed herself and said, "I'll tell you what. I'll get you an entire cow afterwards if you are still hungry, is that all right?"

The plant considered and then nodded its assent.

I can't believe this is happening, thought Ranma-chan. I never thought I'd go out this way, killed and eaten by a piece of ambulatory greenery with an attitude. I hope you choke and die, you damn thing!

"Good! Now devour her!"

Just as the plant moved forward once again, a loud noise was heard from the other side of the web. A sword suddenly cut through some of the razor wire and Shampoo rushed quickly through the newly made opening.

A huge and still hungry tiger rushed through the opening hot on the tail of the Chinese girl. Kodachi looked displeased at the interruption. "Why hasn't Meow-san eaten that damned Amazon yet?" she muttered. At least her beloved Mousse-sama wasn't here to witness this.

Ranma-chan's attention locked onto the tiger, and she felt the first wave of fear brush against her thoughts. C-c-cat, she thought, as she felt raw terror begin to grip her. The pigtailed girl normally liked cats, though. S-so why d-do I feel afraid? She stared at the tiger with a sense of mounting horror. C-c-c-cat, the boy turned girl thought stupidly, as her eyes remained locked onto one thing, and one thing only, Meow-san. The fear struggled to grip her mind as she clutched her head, frowning in concentration. There is n-nothing to fear. There is nothing to fear! The vivid memories of the Nekoken training washed over her mind like an incoming tide, and tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as she struggled to keep control. F-fear is j-just an a-animal reaction. I am a human being of intelligence and w-will. I will not feel fear. I will not feel fear!

However, the terror, combined with the high stress of the situation she was already in, was quickly overwhelming the pigtailed girl's frantic attempts to regain control. The fear was ripping at her very sanity, shredding through the young scientist's mental disciplines. F-fear can b-be controlled. There is n-nothing to fear. Memories of claws ripping away at a little boy's flesh exploded across her mind. I c-can control this. Ranma-chan struggled with the fear, but she was losing.

"G-get back," she muttered, eyes still locked on the tiger nearby. "I w-won't be defeated by a stupid fear. I refuse to s-submit to fear. My will is stronger than this f-fear." Ranma-chan was calling up all of the self-control exercises that she had been taught as a child, but it was too little, too late.

"C-C-C-C-C-C-CAT!"

With that declaration of supreme terror given voice, the pigtailed girl ran up the tree and clutched onto a branch for dear life, looking down in absolute terror at the tiger. Sensing the fear in the newcomer, Meow-san ran under the tree, trying to climb up it and roaring with all his might. Everyone paused to watch the bizarre display of girl and cat.

Genma had managed to make it up to the others while this was occurring. He stared in horror at his cursed son, the guilt of the Nekoken training hitting him anew. He muttered, "Oh no. Not now."

Akane turned far enough to look at the old man as she said, "Not now what?"

"Ranma is afraid of one thing and one thing only," said Genma, staring at the failure of his cursed son's valiant attempt to master the fear. "Cats."

Shampoo appeared confused and asked, "How come?"

Genma sighed, his attention more on Ranma-chan as he said, "It has to do with the Nekoken training he received as a youth." He quickly described the process of wrapping young Ranma up in various fish products and throwing him into pits with hundreds of hungry cats. He explained how he did it day in and day out until the boy snapped and came out meowing like a cat himself.

Akane's eyes were open wide in shock as she asked, "What kind of a father are you?"

"Pop. We gonna have long talk about this later," declared Shampoo as she waved her sword menacingly at Genma.

Even Kodachi was sickened as she said, "That is beyond demented, even by my standards. You are truly a warped individual."

"I have much to make up to Ranma," said Genma sincerely. While he had not been the one to make the mistakes his son was now paying for, not exactly, he was determined to help his only child as much as he was able. He went back to staring at the results of another Genma's tragic stupidity.

Meanwhile, Ranma-chan had finally snapped, the brilliant intellect of a genius scientist thrown back into the darkness of her own mind. She curled up and started hissing like a cat, and her eyes fixated on the enemy below. Through narrowed eyes she saw Meow-san, bewildered by the turn of events, suddenly stop roaring and begin to slink away rather than be confronted by the bizarre human. He didn't move fast enough, as the pigtailed girl hissed and leaped after the tiger. Just as she was about to hit the tiger, her body was snatched from midair by the Ranma-Eating Plant and swallowed whole.

The plant turned and looked expectantly at Kodachi, who patted him on the head.

"Good plant," said the Kuno girl pleasantly.

Shampoo and Akane together shouted, "RANMA!"

Son, thought Genma, eyes closed as a tear or two began to trickle down his cheeks. He vowed to the heavens to make everything right in this life, if only Ranma was somehow spared. Perhaps his heartfelt prayer was answered.

The huge plant remained where it was, a broad grin on its mouth. Suddenly, the smile disappeared as the plant's jaws started to move violently, as though something was trying to get out. The level of violence increased, causing the head to shift and turn until, finally, a figure burst through the side of the mouth, making a huge, gaping hole in it. The plant recoiled in pain as Ranma-chan savagely tore through it using the Nekoken, sending ragged shreds of plant flesh flying.

Kodachi looked on, horrified, as she called out, "My poor, poor, Ranma-Eating Plant!" and began to cry.

While the gymnast was distracted, Shampoo jumped up and severed the chains binding Akane. She then cut one of the chains loose and threw it to Soun and Kasumi. With Genma's help, Soun lowered his daughter down to the ground safely, before both of them climbed down as well. Shampoo quickly turned her attention to the still feline-like pigtailed girl, who had now backed Meow-san into a corner. Ranma-chan continued hissing at the tiger until Shampoo slowly walked over, bent down, and held out her hand, trying to calm the pigtailed girl and get her to walk over to the Amazon.

Genma wasn't sure if enough of his own son's mind was present in the now catlike Ranma-chan to risk approaching closer, so he let Shampoo try and calm her down.

After much cajoling, the pigtailed girl calmed down and walked over to the purple-haired Amazon. Shampoo began to pet her on the head, murmuring soft words of comfort, and both of these actions helped relax the girl enough to sit on the Chinese girl's lap and curl up into a ball. Shampoo smiled at the rapidly relaxing form in her lap, but the peace didn't last. Ranma-chan was resting peacefully on the Amazon's lap one moment, and the next got punted out of Shampoo's lap and through the skylight of the greenhouse.

"MMMMMMEEEEEEOOOOOOWWWWWW!" came a catlike, female scream, followed by a loud crash of glass.

Genma glanced at Akane with a cold gaze, secure in the knowledge of what he must now do. He shifted his attention to the Amazon to see what her reaction would be, somehow certain that she would deal with the irate, youngest Tendo daughter.

"I told you to hope they didn't let me go!" Akane shouted upwards at Ranma-chan's rapidly departing form. Upon hearing about the training of the Nekoken, the anger Akane had felt at her fiancé's threat of leaving her chained up died down. However, the sympathy she had begun to feel was quickly drowned out by the affection Ranma-chan had shown Shampoo. Even when she thought she was a cat, she still flirted openly with the Chinese girl.

Shampoo spun on Akane, "Why Akane do that?"

"He was being a jerk!" screamed Akane.

"You hear what Pop say," said Shampoo, getting angry. "Ranma think he cat, not boy." She moved closer, getting right in Akane's face, and looked her in the eye. "You no hit Ranma again."

Akane stared at her, incredulous, and asked, "Are you trying to tell me what to do?"

Shampoo dropped her voice and took on a more threatening tone, "Shampoo say no hit Ranma again."

Akane didn't back off, shouting, "I don't believe it! Where do you get off telling me what to do?"

Ranma told you the same thing, noted Genma, watching how the Amazon was acting as Ranma's champion in his absence. He saw both girls beginning to glow with an azure light.

The tension between the two almost managed to ignite the forest. Fortunately, it was defused when Kasumi stepped between the duo.

"Now, now," said the eldest Tendo girl. "We mustn't fight."

Kasumi's peaceful aura worked a near-miracle as the two girls simultaneously broke the deadlock building between them.

"Shampoo go find Ranma," declared the Amazon. "Make sure he okay." She gave one last, rather pointedly intense glance at Akane, then jumped up onto a tree, using it as a springboard to go through the hole in the skylight.

A rather severely battered-looking, half-naked Mousse stumbled into the scene, lacking even his usual glasses, and Kodachi paused in the binding of her plant's wounds. After confirming that it would pull through, she rushed over to assist him.

"Mousse-sama," said Kodachi, checking him over for injuries. His face was the worst of it; a broken nose, multiple contusions, and a split lip among the injuries.

"Where's Saotome?" muttered Mousse, lisping slightly from the loss of an incisor from his upper jaw. He was intensely determined to have his revenge on the pigtailed boy, as soon as the room stopped going through the gyrations it was now doing, that is.

"He's gone," said Kodachi, turning her attention to the remaining people. They were in the process of leaving the building, a grimly thoughtful-looking Genma in the lead. "I do believe we have been forgotten, Mousse-sama."

A fireball hit the pair and engulfed them in flames for a moment or two.

As the smoke cleared, the duo appeared singed, but very much alive. A coldly furious-looking Minami stood alone at the top of the balcony, having finally been untied by Genma before the others left. She casually discarded a gold scepter and began to form a brilliant ball of electricity between her palms.

"Let me assure you," said Minami in a conversational tone of voice, "The two of you will soon be gone, but definitely not forgotten." A moment later, she released a brilliant lightning bolt at the duo, who barely got out of the way of the arc of energy. The two took off, with the Ghost Sweeper following in hot pursuit, firing off spells of destruction as she ran after them.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ukyo sat at her usual place at the dining table in shock. Currently, she was dressed in the traditional disguise used by the Kuonjis: tight black leggings and a heavy, short-sleeved shirt in blue with the sleeves rolled up a bit, the classic outfit of an okonomiyaki seller. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail with a white ribbon. Her breasts were bound down, to her mother's displeasure, and she now looked like an attractive boy.

Resting against the wall behind her was a rather large spatula, a polearm-like weapon that Ukyo had discovered in her youth she had a particular talent for. Her great-grandfather had encouraged her in this skill, training her to mastery with it. Since the days of her young childhood, she very diligently and rigorously trained in all of the weapons and the fighting techniques of the Kuonjis, but she enjoyed the feel of the large spatula in her hands, moving it about like it was an extension of her body.

Akira Kuonji, her father, had managed to surprise her with about the very last thing that she would have expected from him. Ukyo's lunch now sat all but unnoticed before her, and she sullenly eyed her mother and father as they sat there before her, calmly drinking tea. They were allowing her some time to absorb the news, very shocking news as far as she was concerned.

When she finally spoke, her tone of voice was one of quiet disbelief. "You want me to what?"

"You're going with your father and I tomorrow morning to meet a potential husband for you," said Yukiyo Kuonji, her mother, quite calmly. The older woman's hazel-green eyes, identical to Ukyo's own, studied her daughter for several moments before speaking once more. "We've received word from one of the matchmaking services that we subscribed you to. They tell me that they've found a nice boy in Tokyo who comes from an excellent family background. We're going to meet him and his parents tomorrow."

Ukyo just sat there blinking, taking it in. She finally asked, "Don't I have any say in this?"

"Listen to your mother, Ukyo-chan," said her father in a solemn voice. "It's high time that you started thinking about your future. You are to be the next leader of our clan, and you should be grateful that we found you a husband. You've already rejected all of the local boys."

"They're all perverts or weaklings," grumbled the girl. "I'm more of a man than any of the boys I go to school with."

"That's another thing, daughter," said Yukiyo, velvet covering steel in her voice as she reproved Ukyo, her eyes staring at the male disguise that her daughter wore so disturbingly well. "This continuing tendency of yours to disguise yourself as a boy is becoming alarming to me for a girl your age. I know you did it because of your great-grandfather, but you are really a girl. Why do you persist in doing it?" A strong note of desperation entered her voice.

"It's good practice for my disguise skills, and it lets me see the boys as they really are," replied Ukyo evenly, taking a sip of her tea. "If they think I'm a boy, then they talk to me like an equal. The girls my age that I've seen are all simple, flighty creatures, without any warrior spirit within them. If I have to choose between that, I'll act as a guy. However, so far, I've found all boys are perverts. There isn't a real gentleman in the entire lot."

"Promise me that you won't pretend to be male around the Saotome boy at least until after you meet him," commanded Yukiyo, her tone grim. "He comes highly recommended by the matchmaker. He has a bright future in the Science Ministry. Such connections would do our clan well."

"Feh," murmured the girl, making a slight look of distaste. He sounded like another pervert or weakling. This is so stupid. I doubt that this Ranma Saotome can possibly be any different from any of the local boys.

"Ukyo-chan," warned her father, his expression darkening.

"Yes, Papa," Ukyo sighed. "I promise that I won't disguise myself as a boy before I meet him." Afterwards, on the other hand...

"That's better," said her father with a smile. "You know that your mother and I have only your best interests at heart. Besides, this is only a preliminary meeting between the families. If things go well, then I'll find you a place to stay with one of our relatives in the area where he lives. That way the two of you can get to know each other better."

"Yes, Papa." Ukyo felt her heart sinking. This doesn't sound like it's going to be any fun at all. She slowly got up and picked up her harness and battle spatula from their resting place against the wall. A dozen sharpened mini-spatulas sat in sheaths across the front. With the ease of long hours of practice, she slipped the harness around her chest and slid the battle spatula into its sheath. She headed out the door with a heavy tread, simply saying, "I'm going to go train now."

Behind Ukyo, her mother watched the departure of her daughter with sad eyes. Yukiyo got up from the table and went over to her husband. She softly asked, "Husband? Do you really think Ukyo will like this Saotome boy?"

"Perhaps," said Akira, watching his daughter walk off into the woods to one of her usual training areas. "I sincerely hope that she does, but our daughter must get married and someday bear children to carry on the bloodline. This clan needs her to do so if it is to continue, and this boy may be our last, best hope for the Kuonji legacy to continue on. Until I had received word from Mitsuma-san, I confess I had almost given up on her. After what she did to that Moroboshi boy," he trailed off, shaking his head at the memory.

"I hope this all works out," said Yukiyo, laying her head against her husband's shoulder. She felt his arm go around her body and give her a warm hug.

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Near the edge of the Kuonjis' territory, a lone figure stood next to a tree, his hand resting lightly on a rope that ran far back into the thick woods, tied at irregular intervals to various trees. He was dressed in heavily travel-worn garb consisting of a long-sleeved brown tunic, black pants laced up the shins with yellow lacings, and a pair of comfortable, black, slip-on shoes. His unruly black hair was held back out of his eyes with a black-spotted, yellow bandana. He wore a large backpack, the straps resting comfortably on his shoulders, and there was a red and black umbrella secured to the top of the backpack.

He was Ryoga Hibiki, and he was a man with a mission.

Just let go of the guide rope, Ryoga, he thought as he stared out past the edge of the woods that marked the border of the Kuonjis' territory. He had been here for over an hour, hoping that his quarry might pass by this way and make things easier on him. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he lifted his hand from the rope that he had followed to reach this point. It was one of several that allowed the Hibikis to function relatively normally in their high mountain valley. The first of them had been strung by the grateful villagers of Kikaitani when one of Ryoga's direct ancestors had stumbled into their valley centuries ago and helped the village deal with some bandits.

Since that day, the villagers had maintained the tradition of stringing the ropes to assist their guardian and his descendants find their way around without getting lost and leaving them defenseless. Using the guide ropes was second nature to one born of Hibiki blood and raised in Kikaitani. Ryoga was one of the few who ever went this far out of the valley, but several years ago he had gotten the assistance of one of the villagers to help him string a rope to this point. Now all he had to do was walk forward.

Ryoga took one step, glancing back to see that the guide rope was still where he had left it. He breathed a sigh of relief and then growled at himself for being so childish about this little fear of his. The worst thing that could happen would be that he got lost, and he knew that he would find his way back, eventually. However, he also knew he would never be able to fulfill his vow of vengeance unless he kept on moving forward, and so he took a second step, and then a third. A grim smile lit his face as he began to walk towards his ultimate goal, to finally prove his superiority in martial arts to the boy who had defeated him time and again over the years, ever since they were both young children.

Ukyo Kuonji.

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Nodoka moved through her kata with grace and speed, but her thoughts were troubled as her bokken slashed through the air. Her skillful strikes alternated between decapitating and eviscerating the imaginary foes that surrounded her. She hoped that this first meeting tomorrow went well. Ranma only seemed to be doing it for her sake.

She picked up the pace of her sword kata, trying to find her center in the purity of her movements, but her thoughts remained very troubled. Ranma hasn't shown very much interest in girls, only in his studies. Could I have rushed him before he was ready? She paused at the end of her kata as she took deep breaths. Her arms were steady as they held her weapon in place.

"What troubles you today, Nodoka?" asked a pleasant female voice behind her. "Your moves lack their usual sureness."

Nodoka turned around. Her friend, Achika Masaki, stood behind her with a worried look on her face. Nodoka relaxed her stance and swiftly lowered her wooden blade. She paused to wipe a line of sweat that had escaped the boundaries of her headband, and she sighed a little bit.

"Has Genma done something?" asked the other woman with a smile. She began to do stretching exercises as she talked, limbering herself up for today's match against her friend.

"No." Nodoka smiled. "It's not Genma. Ranma has his first meeting with a potential bride and her family tomorrow. I'm just feeling a little worried."

"It's nothing to be worried about," said Achika with a smile. "I've been through it with Tenchi, and everything worked out fine. If the first potential bride doesn't work out, then move on to another that does. My Tenchi and the Hino girl make a lovely couple. She dotes on him quite a bit," she said proudly.

"I only hope that I can find a girl to make Ranma so happy." Nodoka looked troubled. "The three prospects I was given all come from fine families. One is even of high nobility."

"Just let events take their natural course, my friend. Ranma is a fine young man, almost as good a catch as my own son. I'm sure that the women will be clamoring around him before you realize it." She mused about her own children briefly.

"I just worry about him so." Nodoka frowned, her thoughts already on the meeting tomorrow. She wanted it to be perfect.

"I really don't think you have a thing to worry about," said Achika as she continued her warm-up exercises. She gave her friend a sly look. "Are you ready for a defeat today?"

"That is a question I should be asking you, old friend," replied Nodoka with a smile, her troubles forgotten. For a time, she could pretend she was a teenaged girl again, when testing her skills in battle was all that had really mattered to her.

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Ukyo finished her exercises with a proud flourish. Her battle spatula was returned to its sheath on her back, and she plucked several of her miniature throwing spatulas from their sheaths, studying the nearby target. With a kiai yell she leaped into the air, flipping and tumbling about, both hands flashing out in precision throws. From one hand she buried the thrown weapons into the neck and head of the wooden practice dummy, and from her other hand the remainder flew to strike it in the chest and vital organs. She landed with a fluid grace, drawing her battle spatula once more. The forest clearing around her was soothing to her as she went through fighting movements that were centuries old.

However, she was not so engrossed in her practice that she failed to sense the presence in the woods behind her. Pretending not to notice, she continued slashing and thrusting with the spatula, allowing the presence to draw ever closer. There was only one person other than her great-grandfather who ever came to this particular section of the woods. She let the intruder approach within striking distance.

She smiled when she heard the distinctive sound of air rustling against cloth rising behind her, and a distinctive battle cry.

"UKYO KUONJI! PREPARE TO DIE!"

The intruder had taken to the air in a long bound at her supposedly unprotected back. Her ponytail bobbed around as she hopped to the left and whirled about. Her spatula came up into a perfect block as the intruder's weapon slammed hard against it. The two figures then remained locked in that pose for a moment.

The intruder was revealed to be Ryoga Hibiki, his black-spotted bandanna holding back his mop of unruly hair. His large backpack still rested on his back, but it did not seem to hinder him in the slightest. His determined expression was matched by one on Ukyo's face. His heavy umbrella and the shaft of her spatula pressed against each other as he slowly began to force her to give ground through sheer strength.

"Ryoga-kun," said Ukyo with a strained nod. "It's been a while." Her tone was pleasant, but the very determined look on her face did not go away. The soles of her shoes were leaving shallow furrows as the boy muscled her back. She felt a faint tingling running along her nerves at his presence, an odd excitement filling her body at testing herself against him. They were sensations she had begun feeling during their last few years of fighting against each other.

"Ukyo," growled Ryoga with a nod of his own, his expression darkening up even more as he also felt a similar tingling sensation running through his body. These feelings only made him angrier. Damn you, Kuonji! He was confused as to why he would feel this way about another boy, but anger consumed the confusion. "It looks like I get to settle things with you sooner than I hoped. Prepare for a beating."

"Heh. You're welcome to try, Ryoga-kun," snarled the girl with a cocky look, whipping the shaft of her spatula free. He attacked again with his umbrella, and she blocked him once more. The stillness of the forest was only broken by the loud clash of their weapons resounding against each other. Her somewhat longer weapon was proving to be a slight disadvantage at such close range, and she managed to avoid getting hit by his umbrella by the slimmest of margins. She backed away from him a half pace as they circled around each other.

She leaped backwards in a smooth somersault to put some more range between her and her adversary. He's gotten a lot better in the last several months, she thought as she eyed him. However, I've gotten a lot better too. She forced Ryoga to stay at range as the blade of her weapon slashed at him.

Ryoga came leaping in as Ukyo took to the air as well, her jump carrying her a little higher than his own. She blocked his strikes in mid-air with the spatula and managed to land a hard blow with the flat of it onto the top of his head and making a resounding clanging sound. He plummeted face-first into the soft mulch of the forest floor as she landed gracefully on her feet about ten feet away from him. She stuck her tongue out at him playfully when he pulled his head up to see her.

"Why, you-" growled Ryoga softly as he charged her once more. His umbrella strikes blurred by her head and body as she dodged and blocked deftly with her spatula. Ukyo was supple grace and strength combined into one as she evaded his attacks like water. He grew frustrated. "Stand still and fight like a man!"

"What was that?" she asked, somewhat angrily, in the middle of another leap. The amused look on her face had grown irritated. She began going on the offensive. Ryoga ducked under one of the swings of her spatula, but a lock of his hair didn't quite make it. It fell to the ground, unnoticed by both combatants. "Big talk from someone I keep beating up every time he manages to wander into my life."

"You dance around like some kind of girl," said Ryoga tauntingly. "If you're going to dress like a man, then you should at least fight like one." His fist managed to find a chink in her defenses and impacted into her gut, forcing Ukyo back. He smirked and pressed his attack.

Her spatula, backed by the full power of her shoulder muscles, slammed into his face in reply. Her following strike was a kick to his chest. She saw Ryoga blinking at the pain, but he didn't seem much affected otherwise.

"Did I touch a nerve?" taunted the boy with another smirk.

Ukyo growled and redoubled her efforts to attack. Now it was Ryoga who was doing most of the blocking and dodging as edged steel slashed and thrust at him. He managed to slow up her assault a bit with a couple of strikes that managed to connect, but they were off-center. She shrugged off the pain. The nerve of this jackass! Making fun of my femininity like that.

Ryoga managed to disarm her of her weapon with a very powerful strike from his umbrella. It flew off and embedded itself deeply into a nearby tree. He smirked at her again, and Ukyo leaped up and kicked him hard in the face for the smirk. He stumbled back, and his eyes crossed for a moment. She knocked the umbrella out of his hand with another kick.

He backed off, and Ukyo eyed him for a moment with a cool smile. She stepped gracefully over his umbrella and blocked his path to it. Now it was her turn to smirk, eyeing her spatula for a moment.

"I don't need a weapon to beat you," she said with a grin.

"Come on and try it." Ryoga gave her a serious look. He gestured for her to come forward with one hand.

They leaped at each other in a blur of fists and feet. His superior strength was nullified by her greater speed and ability to dodge. He shrugged off most of her blows, but very few of his strikes managed to even touch her. Her punches slipped by his guard more often, but she had to settle for trying to wear him down rather than a single knockout punch.

The sound of a pair of hands loudly clapping stopped both young warriors in mid-struggle. They were both so startled to find that they had an audience that neither of them took advantage of the other's distraction. Ryoga noticed that he had the collar of Ukyo's tunic held tightly in his fist, the draw he was experiencing at such nearness to his rival feeling so very pleasant. He quickly let go and backed off, angry once again that he felt such feelings for his long-time sparring partner. A brief blush was on his face, but Ukyo didn't appear to notice.

"That was a magnificent display, children," said the elderly man that seemed to materialize from out of the nearby edge of the forest. It was Genji Kuonji, the eldest of the Kuonjis and Ukyo's great-grandfather. His monk's robes whispered as he stepped closer and a faint twinkle was in his ancient eyes. "I see that you have done some improving since I last saw you, Ryoga-kun. You do your family proud."

"Grandpa," said Ukyo with some surprise. "What brings you out this far into the forest?"

"Just enjoying a walk among the wonders of nature," replied the elderly man with a smile. He looked at Ryoga. "And what brings one of the wandering Hibikis to this area of the mountains? I think it's been a couple of months since your last visit, Ryoga-kun."

"My guess is that the idiot has been practicing again and wanted another rematch, when he should know that he won't ever beat me," said Ukyo with a playful smile. She chuckled at her foe when he looked at her with a growl. "Am I wrong?"

The elderly Kuonji stepped between then before it got violent again. "Don't tease the boy, Ukyo," he said reprovingly. "The Hibikis have been our allies for over two centuries. You two should try to get along better."

"Yes, Grandpa." The girl stood with her head bowed, but a moment later snapped it back up. "He started it though. He jumped at me from the trees."

"You're the one that's always bragging about what a great ninja warrior you are," growled Ryoga. He pointed his thumb at his chest. "I know for a fact that I'm more than a match for you, Ukyo. I just thought I'd prove it to you. If you're so great, then how did I manage to sneak up on you?"

"What was that, you jackass?" she snarled right back. "I can take you in a fight any day of the week!" She poked her finger hard against Ryoga's chest, her anger letting her ignore the pleasant feelings she got from being near him. "For your information, I let you get that close to me. The way that you stomp around, I'm surprised that you can sneak up on anybody. Some great martial artist you are."

"Children," said Genji sternly. They both looked at him guiltily. He eyed them both, and the pair wouldn't meet his eyes. He sighed gently. I wish I knew why these two felt it to be so necessary to antagonize each other. Still, it reminded him a bit of some of the many glorious fights between him and Shiro, Ryoga's great-grandfather.

"You should be getting back to the house soon, Ukyo-kun," said the old man. "Your parents are probably wondering where you are. You have to get packed, after all."

"Ack!" Ukyo exclaimed. "That's right! I have to get going." In a blur of motion, she gathered up all of her weapons and re-sheathed them, and then she sprinted across the woods in the direction of the shrine. Ryoga watched the ninja go with a surprised look on his face. Genji studied the boy with a slight smile.

"Walk with me, Ryoga-kun?" asked the elderly Kuonji with a gentle smile. The Hibiki boy shrugged and picked up his umbrella. They walked out into the forest on one of the small trails. It was quite peaceful.

"Where's he off to in such a hurry?" asked Ryoga, a little gruffly.

"Ukyo's going to the capital," Genji replied. "I don't know all of the specifics, but I imagine that the boy will be gone for a long time." He turned away to watch the wind blowing gently through the tree branches above.

"He's- He's what? Why?" stuttered Ryoga. He stopped walking and looked surprised.

"He's going to the capital, I think to study the finer skills of our clan's cooking arts with an aunt," said the elderly man. A very loud crashing sound started behind him and immediately began receding into the distance. He turned around to find that Ryoga wasn't there behind him anymore. A meandering line of broken trees went off into the distance. It looked like it was curving in the opposite direction from the Kuonji shrine.

"Such a strange boy," he muttered to no one in particular. The old man smiled as he looked once more up into the trees. I wonder how long it will take him to get to the capital?

Damn you, Kuonji! Ryoga ran in what he hoped was the right direction. If I have to follow you to the very ends of the Earth to finally defeat you, then I will!

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Before the accident in Ranma's laboratory, Professor Genma Saotome was normally not a man for drinking. While he had been known to enjoy such things in his reckless youth, dulling the mental faculties with the poison of alcohol had always seemed to him to be a silly thing for a grown man to do. His colleagues all thought him a dull sort, devoted to his work and his family. However, for the new Genma Saotome, drinking was a wonderful way to pass the time.

The boy has a fine life ahead of him, Genma thought as he took a sip of sake. It burned like sweet fire down his throat. I'll see to it that he becomes a great martial artist. Ah, to have a chance to forget the mistakes of the past. This time I'll do it right. No more mistakes, no sir. He grinned happily at his good fortune.

He swallowed the sake remaining in his cup and then waved off the barmaid when she stopped by his table to pour another cup for him. He picked up the small bottle and served himself, leaving the girl to shrug and go on to the next customer. Genma took another sip of sake and grimaced at the burning taste. It seemed to taste differently than he remembered, but it was becoming more tolerable with each cup he poured down his throat.

Still, I need some way to derail Nodoka-chan's plans for a little while. A wife is one of the last things that Ranma needs right now. The boy here has the potential to be an even greater fighter than that ungrateful son of mine back home. A wife would only distract him from his training, all that constant yammering. Genma sighed.

You were, and still are, the only woman for me, Nodoka-chan, he thought with a smile, the memories of the two versions of the woman blurring together in his mind as he thought about her. A tear formed in one eye as he remembered his wedding day. You were so beautiful that day, Nodoka-chan. Married life was a difficult adjustment at first, but it was so nice to have someone at my side, to warm my bed at night on a regular basis. A rather lecherous grin appeared on his face at the thought of his wedding night.

Perhaps I could honor the agreement with Tendo-kun in spirit in this life, using this more obedient Ranma, thought Genma, staring into the rippling liquid in his cup. Heh. I'm sure that I can get the boy to obey me. After all, I'm his father now. Of course he'll listen to me. I'll just tell him I was confused when I woke up on that couch, but I'm better now. Yeah, that should work. I'll have to talk to Fuyutsuki in the morning though.

An evil grin appeared on his face as he thought, Such a shame that the boy's experiments will have to end, but he's going to carry on the Anything-Goes School now if I have any say in his life. He can forget all about science. He took another deep sip of sake. The taste was definitely becoming more palatable. He waved the barmaid over and told her to bring him another bottle.

Perhaps I can use Nodoka-chan's desires to engage Ranma to my own benefit, he thought with a chuckle. After all, it's perfectly legal in the Empire to have more than one wife. Think of all the dowries I could collect that way, and playing them off against each other would keep the issue of marriage in the distance- Genma blinked. Maybe it was the effects of the sake on his brain, but that idea didn't seem to be totally without merit.

At that moment, someone sat down at his table.

Genma Saotome was doing something totally out of the range of his normal character when Soun finally confronted the man. Deciding that there was too much of a risk of failure if he did not take a much more active role in arranging Nabiki's future life with Ranma, Soun had decided to try a more direct approach with the Saotome family patriarch. Towards that end, he had detailed a small number of his most junior agents to watch Genma, explaining it as a training exercise. They had reported on all of his movements to Soun over the past several days.

An hour ago, Soun had received a phone call from one of his men that Genma was in one of the small bars near his home, drinking. A relaxed social environment suited Soun's needs quite nicely, so he had taken advantage of this unexpected opportunity. He patted the carefully written piece of paper in his jacket pocket as he stepped into the bar.

Soun spotted Genma at a quiet table towards the back, three empty bottles of sake near one of his elbows. He was staring down into a small cup of sake when Soun sat down next to him. Genma blinked his eyes and focused on Soun's face.

"Greetings, Saotome-san," said Soun pleasantly. He gestured at the waitress to bring more sake without looking up. "My name is Soun Tendo. I don't know if you remember me, and I hope you don't mind if I join you. I have a proposition I wished to discuss with you that concerns your son."

Genma was not as drunk as he must have appeared to Soun. Brief memories of his past in this life in regards to the other man surfaced in his memories. Theirs had not been a harmonious relationship, and Genma chuckled at one memory of stuffing a belligerent younger Soun into a garbage can for reasons that he could not recall at the moment. He smiled inwardly and thanked the gods for granting him this boon. This was going to take some careful handling. Ranma will thank me for this. I'm sure of it.

"Tendo-san," said Genma with a slight slurring of his voice. "I am honored to remake your acquaintance. I believe that my son is going to the Imperial Academy with two of your daughters." After the barmaid brought them another couple of bottles, he poured Soun a full cup of sake and gestured for him to drink.

"This is true," acknowledged Soun. It was a little bit early in the afternoon for him to start drinking, but it was for a good cause. He took a long sip of sake, relishing the sensations as it slid down his throat. "My daughters Nabiki and Akane have mentioned your son to me once or twice."

"My son has also mentioned your daughters to me as well." Genma poured another full cup of sake for Soun when he noticed that the other man's cup was getting empty. "I imagine that they are fine and upstanding young women. A tribute to the new generation of the Empire."

"You are too kind, Saotome-san," said Soun. He took another deep sip of sake. It was a pleasant change of pace to relax like this. It had been a long time since he had let himself do so, not since before the death of his dear wife. He slowly drained his cup of sake and held it out for another refill.

An unknown number of cups of sake later, the two men were acting like the best of friends. Genma had managed to control his level of intake somewhat, but the world had taken on a pleasant fog. The barmaid removed another empty bottle of sake and replaced it with a fresh one. Soun slapped a bill down on the table with a drunken smile.

"W-where w-was I?" asked Genma drunkenly. He blinked his eyes owlishly. "Oh, yes, my wife. Wonderful woman is my Nodoka-chan, but she's so stubborn. She wants my son to get- get married. She and I just need to find the boy a good wife." He took another deep sip of sake, briefly wondering why he ever thought it tasted differently.

"Marriage is-" Soun paused and took a moment to focus his thoughts. "Marriage is a wonderful thing. I miss my wife a great deal." He paused again and felt a tear forming in his eye. He jerked his head back and harshly mustered his will to stop any more from flowing. I will not cry, he thought grimly. I am an important man in the Empire, in the Security Directorate. I must be strong for the girls.

His hand brushed against the pocket of his jacket. He suddenly recalled his reasons for seeking out Genma. He casually reached in and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. He carefully spread it out on a clean section of the table. His drinking companion eyed it blearily.

"What is that, Tendo-kun?" said Genma with a smile. He leaned down to read it, but his eyes wouldn't quite focus right.

"The answer to your problems, Saotome-kun," answered Soun with a smile. Now if I can just remember what it says. He paused for a moment before it came back to him. Oh, yes. He pressed one finger to the symbols printed on the piece of paper. "Your son needs a wife, right?" Soun swayed a little in his seat.

"Yes." Genma adjusted his glasses a little. They had slipped down a bit on one side. "The boy needs one to make Nodoka-chan happy." He felt tears in his eyes.

"Sign this paper then," said Soun. He pulled out his marking stamp from his pocket on the third try and pressed carefully it to the paper. "My Nabiki-chan needs a husband, and she's already one of those chosen for your son by the matchmaker. You engage your son to my daughter, and we both win."

Genma couldn't believe his incredible good fortune. This is just too perfect, he thought blearily. Nabiki will be the first in line, and I can even honor the agreement with Tendo-kun, that other Soun, in spirit. Oh, this is indeed a blessed day. I'm sure Nodoka-chan will be pleased. He pulled out his own stamp. It only took him two tries to make his mark.

"I agree," said Genma with a smile. Soun nodded, eager to finish the deal and get home. He had a staff meeting in the morning. He could not remember if he had told his driver to remain outside.

"That is emimen- eminently agreeable." Soun watched Genma stamp his mark, a bit slowly due to his inebriated state, at the bottom. The two of them shook hands, both smiling.

"You are a good- good father, Saotome-kun," said Soun as he stood up. The room seemed to be weaving in a not entirely unpleasant way. "We should do this- do this again sometime."

"I agree, Tendo-kun." Genma gave a happy nod. "You have lifted my spirits. I salute you." He executed a sloppy military salute and then promptly let his head fall to the top of the table. Snoring sounds came from him a moment later.

Soun carefully folded the paper and placed it into his jacket pocket. He checked it once or twice to make sure that it was in there before he staggered to the door. The weaving of the room was becoming a little less pleasant now. One of his men was waiting outside.

"Are you all right, sir?" asked the agent. Soun could not recall the man's name at the moment.

"I-I'm a little bit drunk, son," said Soun with great dignity. He made a shushing sound as he raised one finger up in front of his lips. "You can't tell anyone I was in this condition. If you do, I'll have you- have you shot." He smiled. "Please drive me home."

"Right away, sir!" snapped the young officer with precision, before helping Soun into the car. He got into the front and drove off quickly, the snoozing Tendo patriarch in the back seat.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Shampoo found Ranma-chan after only a short period of searching. Based on the angle of Akane's punt and her knowledge of the area, she tracked her quarry to the rear of the local fish-market. The target of her search had pulled a dirty sweater from a dumpster and was playing with it. As the garment shredded under the 'claws' of the Nekoken, the pigtailed girl mewled with pleasure. As Shampoo came closer, she clicked her tongue to attract the other girl's attention.

Ranma-chan turned to look at the familiar shape, recognizing the Amazon almost instantly. Her thoughts were too primitive for words to convey, but she saw the other girl as a warm lap provider, a companion, and also something more, something that was almost akin to a mate, but not quite. Instinct told her that without the proper smell and actions, she would neither mate nor have a mate. This person in front of her had neither. Still, there were ample warm feelings for the purple-haired girl, so, with a joyous "Meow," the pigtailed girl quickly pounced onto Shampoo, bounding into her with abandon, and knocking the other girl down with an animal-like cry of happiness.

Sprawled out very inelegantly with her legs out in front of her by the weight of the redhead resting on her lap, Shampoo looked down with a bemused smile. Quickly rearranging herself into a more comfortable and ladylike position, she seated herself with her knees together in front of her with Ranma-chan purring contentedly there. Shaking her head in puzzlement, she wondered, Now how do I get you home?

Resigning herself to a long afternoon, Shampoo petted her friend on the head as she muttered, "Silly Ranma."

Ranma-chan looked up at the Amazon, a flickering of recognition in her blue eyes. "Mrowr," she drawled out slowly, smiling much like a cat would. When she saw Shampoo looking down upon her and smiling gently, the redhead lifted up her head quickly and placed a catlike kiss right onto the other girl's lips. She then settled back down and curled up into a more comfortable position, resuming her purring.

For a very long moment, Shampoo looked as if she was carved from stone. Unnoticed by either of the two girls, a few scraps of newspaper and some cherry blossoms lazily blew past. A second gentle zephyr blew some more past a few moments later.

The Amazon's eyes were wide with disbelief as her trembling hand reached up and gently touched itself to lips. Ranma... kissed... me, she thought, her mind finally lurching back into motion after an unknown amount of time. This had been a day of somewhat shocking events for the purple-haired girl. She brushed her fingers slowly along her lips, her gaze gradually moving down to rest on the sleeping figure in her lap. Her hand gently dropped back down upon the snoozing girl, a tranquil smile now on Shampoo's face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma had separated from the group heading back to the Tendo household shortly after emerging from the greenhouse, and his glasses gleamed with reflected sunlight as he walked the streets searching for his son. As he searched, he reviewed his counterpart's life. As much as he hated to admit it, he came to the only conclusion he could: the man he was in this tangent was both a coward and a fool.

For example, there was no real honor in the agreement behind the engagement between Akane and Ranma, only the foolish plottings of two men who had somehow never grown out of childhood. The bond between them was forged by the training under a perverted master of martial arts. The 'joining together of the two Schools' was an alcohol-induced promise originally, but one that both were far too proud to deny when sober. It was a flimsy reason that he would gladly expose to the light of day if Soun did not agree to dissolve the agreement.

Personally, Genma held honor to be important, a reflection of the heritage he was born to. However, he did not consider it to be the ultimate arbiter of all decisions. To him, honor was carried in the heart, and shown in the actions of a righteous man. For it to be used as a defense in the face of all reasonable thought offended Genma on a deeply personal level. The Tendo girl is obviously not happy with being forced to go along with such an asinine agreement, and Ranma most certainly is not. He paused briefly at a corner to watch the passing throngs on the street.

He sighed briefly. Soun Tendo, that blubbering fool, relies on his daughters far too much, more than any responsible parent should. If he tries any of his usual tricks, then I will simply assume the 'dishonor' upon myself for the sake of my son's happiness and unilaterally dissolve the engagement agreement. I need to get the boy out of that house, anyway. He won't be able to work on a solution to our problems there. Not to mention that the only person really worth a damn there seems to be Kasumi.

A weight seemed to lift from his shoulders as he nodded at the choice he had just made. Then, his thoughts turned to the other great problem to deal with, one in which Ranma was not even aware of. That only left Nodoka to contend with. Genma sighed again, as his mind filled with memories of the highly traditional woman that this Nodoka Saotome was, a woman with peculiar notions on some things. Despite Ranma's curse, he would have to try to convince Nodoka of the boy's 'manliness.' If Ranma truly was trapped inside his counterpart's life, as Genma was, then there was little he could do to avoid it. They would need someplace to stay, after all.

Still, it should not be too difficult, he found himself hoping. Ranma, in this life, had undergone and overcome trials that any ten ordinary men would have broken under. Even when in female form this other Ranma was very much a man, perhaps too much at times. But, he had to remember to have a little talk with Ranma before we show up on Nodoka's doorstep. I am reasonably certain that we will no longer be welcome in the Tendo household after this night is over, he mused. Personally, Genma felt a faint twinge of regret at that, but he was convinced that what he was about to do was for the best.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Listlessly, Nabiki flipped through the pages of her magazine. It was one of the many fashion magazines that she was normally quite addicted to, but not today. It was very quiet in the Tendo household, too quiet for her tastes. She set down her magazine and laid back on her bed, lacing her fingers behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling. Akane had gone to the movies, so she was not home when their father had been brought home by one of the men from the Directorate, the Tendo patriarch reeking of sake. After she and Kyoko had put him to bed, the house had been quiet.

She rolled up to a seated position upon her bed with a sigh. "I can't believe how bored I am," she said to herself. She continued her dialogue silently. If this was that other life, then I'm sure something would be happening now. Smirking at some of her new memories, she thought, some sort of a challenge, a new enemy to test myself against. Something exciting would be happening. She fell backwards to lay on the bed again. It never stayed quiet for long there. Looking at her clock, she sighed, I can't believe it's been only a minute since I last looked at it.

Nabiki suddenly smiled as she figured out something to do to pass the time. She was absolutely certain that it would provide her with some sort of distraction. Sitting up once again, she reached out with one hand and picked up the telephone in her room, and her fingers began swiftly stabbing at the buttons on the pad at the base of the phone. She listened to the line ringing, once, twice, and then three times before it was picked up.

"Hello? Saotome residence," said a pleasant female voice on the other end.

"Hello," said Nabiki pleasantly. "Is Ranma available? This is Nabiki Tendo calling." There was a pause on the other end.

"Tendo-san?" asked Nodoka, a little surprised. "No, I'm afraid that my son isn't here right now. He and my husband left this morning to do some work in Ranma's lab at the Academy. They still haven't returned."

Even better, thought Nabiki, finding herself eager to try Ranma's device once again, even if only to peek into that one life once again. It was amusing to visit, but she was glad that she didn't live there. She cleared her throat with a delicate sound and said, "Oh, I see. Thank you for the information."

"Tendo-san," said Nodoka suddenly, and perhaps a little too eagerly. "I want you to know that I am looking forward to the meeting with you and your father this week."

"Why, thank you, Saotome-san." A smile appeared on her face, an even more pleasant tone appearing in her voice. "I am looking forward to it as well." Her index finger slowly wound the phone cord around itself. "Ranma is an interesting young man."

"I'm glad you think so," said Nodoka happily. "He works very hard at his studies, and he should offer any girl a wonderful future as his wife. Don't you think so?"

"Uh, I'm sure he will." Nabiki suddenly felt a little awkward at the unexpectedly high level of eagerness in Nodoka's voice. "My father is most interested in joining our two families. He feels that Ranma will make an excellent husband."

"I'm so happy to hear that," said Nodoka, her voice carrying the full measure of her emotions. "But what about yourself, dear? Aren't you looking forward to meeting my husband and myself? I just know that Ranma is looking forward to this meeting as well."

"He is?" A faint note of surprise surfaced in Nabiki's voice. "I mean, I'm sure he is." She felt oddly happy at the thought that the pigtailed boy might be looking forward to a marriage meeting between their two families. "I am, too," she said impulsively, before a blush crossed her cheeks very briefly. She slowly continued to wind and unwind the telephone cord around her index finger repeatedly.

"It was nice of you to call, Tendo-san," said Nodoka. "Shall I pass on any messages to my son?"

"No, that's all right," said Nabiki calmly, regaining control of her own emotions with consummate skill. "I'll talk to him soon enough at the Academy."

"Very well. Goodbye now."

"Goodbye," answered the Tendo girl, setting the phone back into its cradle. She rested her palms flat on her bed after hanging up the phone, staring out the window at the afternoon sky. Her thoughts whirled a bit. So, Ranma-kun is looking forward to the meeting with me and Daddy, huh? She crossed her legs and leaned forward to rest her chin in her palm. That honestly did surprise her a little, but it also brought a smirk to her face. Maybe I'll let him win once or twice to keep his hopes up. It wouldn't do for my future husband to be seen as totally outclassed by me. After all, he and I will know that he'll never defeat me on his own, she confidently smiled as she finished her thought.

"Well, it's not like there's anything really keeping me in this house this afternoon," she thought out loud, hopping off of her bed. "I'll just go see what him and his old man are up to." She smiled as she changed out of the shorts and T-shirt she was wearing, and putting on a clean set of what she was now calling her 'martial artist outfit.'

When Nabiki was done dressing, she headed out of her room with a confident bound and then down the stairs, two at a time. Pausing briefly in the front door area, she slipped on her shoes before heading out into the late afternoon sunshine. Her mood already lightened, she took in a deep breath and let it out, feeling happy. As she headed in the direction of the Academy, she hopped up onto one of the fences running beside the street she needed to head down and began jogging along it, her steps light and sure.

Reaching the Academy grounds after many minutes of hard running, her breathing only a little deeper from the effort, Nabiki walked in through the main gates and shaded her eyes against the late afternoon sunshine coming over the main building. She saw that the grounds were all but deserted, only a few of the janitorial crew washing windows on one side of the building. She ignored them and walked into the main door.

The lights were out when she stepped off the last step in the staircase leading down to the basement area. Pulling her small flashlight out of a pants pocket, she played it around the corridor, wondering if Ranma and his father were still here. Looks like there was some sort of a power failure or something. Ranma-kun and his dad are probably gone. Still, I might as well take a quick check in his lab while I'm here, as long as I came all this way. She continued on down into the quiet darkness of the basement regions of the Academy, her small light giving off a small circle of illumination in front of her.

The door to Ranma's lab was closed, and Nabiki put her hand on the knob and twisted it. To her surprise, the door was unlocked and opened quite easily, making only a slight squeak. She peeked her head in and called out, "Ranma-kun? Are you in here?" As she did so, she brought her small light up and played it around the room. Ranma leaving the door to his precious lab unlocked had her a little disturbed. It did not seem at all like him.

Nabiki's light revealed the pigtailed boy lying on the couch, his eyes closed, and he did not appear to be breathing. She inhaled sharply, surprised at the sight of him lying there and looking so still. She hurried over to his comatose form, noting the interface headset resting on his skull as she approached. A quick check showed that he was breathing, slowly and shallowly, and she relaxed muscles that had unconsciously tensed with concern and sighed with relief. She turned and looked at the resonator, seeing a few lights blinking on the device, but the monitor screen was dark.

"What have you done now, Ranma-kun?" she muttered, her light moving across his face. He appeared to her to be sleeping, and she peeled back one eyelid to see his eye staring up at her, unmoving. The sheer emptiness in its gaze, almost corpselike, disturbed her, and she wondered if this was how she would have appeared to others if anyone had looked in on her during her own use of his device. It was a sobering thought to her as she let his eyelid close, her hand moving to rest lightly on his cheek. She could still feel her desires for him, the soft and pleasant feelings engendered in her from his mere presence, and simply touching him skin-to-skin made her heart beat a little faster.

On an impulse, Nabiki knelt down and gently pressed her lips to his, vainly hoping to provoke some sort of reaction, but he did not respond, and his body remained still and all but lifeless. To her surprise, she felt a single tear suddenly roll down one cheek, and she rubbed it away angrily as she stood back up and glared down at the pigtailed scholar. Crying was a sign of weakness, and Nabiki Tendo was not weak. No man was ever going to make her feel weak if she had anything to say about it. At least her getting angry at him helped push the painful feelings of helplessness away for a time.

Damn you, Ranma-kun, she thought in sudden frustration as she stood over him. She could shatter bone or bricks with her bare hands now, move her body with lethal grace and speed, but, despite these abilities, she felt incredibly helpless as she looked down on his comatose form. Her gaze turned into a glare at him. You and I are going to have words when you wake up after this. You can count on it.

Resolving to figure out what was wrong, she turned to study the workbench, moving her light around, and quickly noticed the scattered tools and the discarded component. She sat down in the chair in front of the small computer unit and hesitantly tapped a finger on the space bar of the keyboard, hoping that she would not disturb the experiment running. The screen slowly lit up, and one thought went across her mind while she waited. Where the hell is Genma Saotome?

The screen finally lit up and scrolled out lines of text, the system updating the information displayed earlier, words that were both somewhat informative and disturbing all the same.

* SWITCH TO EMERGENCY FUEL CELL BACKUPS HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.

* SIGNATURE LOCK MAINTAINED ON TEST SUBJECT.

* FUEL CELLS CURRENT POWER OUTPUT INSUFFICIENT TO ACTIVATE RETRIEVAL.

* CAPACITOR TRICKLE CHARGER ACTIVATED.

* TIME REMAINING FOR SUFFICIENT CHARGE: 05 HOURS, 22 MINUTES.

Nabiki licked suddenly dry lips and quickly glanced over at Ranma's unconscious form for a moment. As she turned back to face the screen, another minute ticked off, and then the monitor darkened back into its power-saving mode once again. Checking her watch by flashlight, she noted the time was now 4:46. She sighed aloud as she realized that there were only two things that she might do now: restore main power to the lab, or simply wait for his backups to restore him back to this life. She grumbled in her thoughts. Damn you, Ranma-kun.

After several attempts to figure out what was wrong with the power failed, a dejected Nabiki returned to the pigtailed boy's lab and closed the door securely behind her, locking it so that no one would disturb them. She briefly considered that perhaps her inability to restore power was just as well, since the surge might cause the computer to lose the signal lock. Also, she wasn't exactly sure why, but she felt certain that disconnecting Ranma from his machine right now would be a 'Very Bad Thing.' She did not know why Genma had not been here at the lab, so that left only her to watch over Ranma until he awoke.

Hoping that her batteries would hold out for the time remaining, she occupied herself by opening up and reading through Ranma's journal, after picking it up from where it was laying out on the workbench. She applied herself to puzzling out what she could from the mathematical equations and very densely-written scrawls of descriptive text done in the pigtailed boy's handwriting, finding what little she was able to understand to be simply amazing. Her level of respect for his genius cranked up another few notches, and she turned to look at the comatose boy with a smile.

When he did not stir, but simply continued breathing very slowly and shallowly, her smile returned to a frown, and she felt a sudden urge of protectiveness rise up in her, directed at the pigtailed boy. She had not been able to protect her mother, but she would not lose Ranma. After all, she thought with a slight smirk, my own martial artist counterpart protects a weaker Ranma-kun from enemies in that other world. So why should it be any different here? She silently vowed that she too would do the same for her own version of the pigtailed boy, once she finally proved to him that she was the stronger fighter. Since this Ranma was probably as stubborn as she knew herself to be, it would obviously take several more fights between them to convince him of that. After her victory during the last one, she was now certain that she was better than he was. She was actually looking forward to the struggles to come between them before she managed to prove the superiority of her skills to him.

The possibility of losing never even entered into her thoughts.

Nabiki turned back to continue perusing the journal, part of her mind already contemplating the arguments that she would use when Ranma finally regained consciousness, even as the rest of her mind focused on studying the high-level mathematics and notes. However, after a time, the mild warmth of the room and the dry reading material combined to make her feel sleepy. With the couch that the pigtailed boy was currently laying on being the only furniture comfortable enough to take a nap on, she very carefully laid herself down next to him, making sure that she did not dislodge his headset. Feeling unexpectedly contented and happy to simply be near him like this, she cuddled up against his body as she pretended that he was simply asleep. She drifted off into slumber.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Ranma-chan slowly awoke, uncertain where she was. Eyes suddenly opening wide, she felt the front of her chest. The look in her bright blue eyes became dejected when she found herself in her cursed, female form. With a brief sigh, the pigtailed girl also realized that there was something odd about where she was sitting, and she turned to the right to see Shampoo's eyes staring into her own.

"Uh, heh, h-hello," stuttered Ranma-chan, the displaced scientist not quite sure of what to make of being in Shampoo's lap. The last thing that she remembered was staring down at a large tiger, and then her mind went blank. As the redhead scrambled off of the Amazon's lap, she struggled to remember what had happened next, but there was simply this gap in memory. She saw Shampoo simply looking at her with a questioning expression on her face.

"Ranma not cat anymore?" asked Shampoo, noticing the very slight flinching movement in her companion at simply the mere mention of the word. The young Amazon saw the redhead shake her head in response, and she gracefully got up from her current kneeling position and smiled a cheerful smile. "Shampoo glad."

"Uh, not that I'm complaining," began the pigtailed girl hesitantly, "but why was I in your lap, Shampoo?"

"Ranma act like cat," said the Amazon, noting Ranma-chan flinching once again at the word, "knock Shampoo down, and fall asleep in Shampoo's lap. Shampoo let Ranma sleep, and now Ranma is better, yes?"

"Yeah," said Ranma-chan, actually feeling pretty good at the moment. I knocked her down? she wondered, noting with a slight sigh that the Amazon was several centimeters taller than this girl form. It felt odd to be so short, and she didn't like it. "I feel better, but I would love to find some hot water now."

"We go back to Tendo Dojo then," said Shampoo brightly. "Ranma get hot water there and change back to boy-type."

"Sounds like a very good plan, Shampoo," agreed Ranma-chan, eager to change back. She agreed with her counterpart's feelings on the matter; she disliked being a girl. Together, the duo headed back home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma tromped back into the Tendo household, dejected that he had been unable to find Ranma on his own. He hoped that his son might have returned already, but that hope was quickly dashed. Everyone else was there, except for Shampoo, who he guessed was still looking for his son. He prayed that the Amazon had better luck in her search than he had with his own.

"Ah, Saotome-kun, my old friend," called out Soun from the main room, seated at the main table and enjoying a cup of tea. "I see that you are finally back. Any luck finding the boy?"

"No, Tendo-kun," said Genma, sitting down at the table with a tired groan escaping his lips. The beating he had undergone several hours earlier made all of his subsequent walking a new experience in discomfort. He was glad to finally sit down and relax, but felt a little guilty for giving up on his search before finding Ranma.

"Ah, well, I'm sure that he'll turn up," said Soun, taking a sip from his cup of tea. "While we wait for him, care to join me in a game of shogi?"

Genma thought about it. The way his counterpart played, it would be amusing to bring his own honest skills to the game. He was currently rated as a master at chess and shogi, and a fourth-dan at Go in his own world, and Ranma had picked up a grandmaster ranking in chess and a seventh-dan ranking in Go during their journeys. He had once witnessed the boy playing ten games of Go simultaneously, and his son's ability to pick out the patterns in his opponent's strategy was still quite astonishing to Genma. When he had once asked about it, Ranma told him that he could 'see' the lines of force in his opponent's strategies and counteract them with his own piece movements.

"All right," he said with a nod, getting up from the table and following Soun to the game table. He sat down and began setting up the board while the other man settled himself at his own place.

Kasumi came out of the kitchen, her usual smile fading somewhat as she caught sight of Genma, but she went up to the pair. When she saw her father look up, she asked, "Can I get the two of you anything while you play, Father?"

"Saotome-kun?"

"Just some tea for me would be splendid, Kasumi-chan," replied Genma politely, his thoughts already running through opening gambits. As near as he could tell from the memories associated with this game, cheating was pretty much the mainstay of his other self's strategy. Most of the ploys were remarkably transparent ones as well. After the board was set up, he moved his first piece and then settled his attention on the game.

Kasumi brought out the tea, earning a distracted Genma's thanks. Surprised that he never looked at her, the matriarch of the Tendo household noticed that he seemed to be unusually attentive to the game being played, ignoring all of her father's usual attempts to distract his attention from the board. She was also surprised to see that he never indulged in any of his own usual attempts at cheating.

Soun began to sweat as he started steadily losing piece after piece to Genma's relentless assaults. He took a long sip of his tea and grimly contemplated his options, but they did not look promising. His usual attempts at distraction in order to facilitate cheating were simply ignored by his old friend, and he saw that the other man seemed very thoughtful about something. He was about to inquire about that when there was a brief disturbance at the front door.

"We're home!" called out Ranma, slipping his shoes off at the entryway and waiting for Shampoo to do the same. The two of them continued on into the main room, where Ranma spotted his father playing shogi and drinking tea. He was a little surprised at the sight, but he could tell at a glance that his father had Soun stomped. As he entered the room, he watched as Soun almost gratefully conceded the match to his father.

"A good game, Tendo-kun," said Genma, though he did not really mean it. He looked over at his arriving son and smiled as he said, "Welcome back, my boy. Is everything all right?" His gaze flickered to the young Amazon who came in with him, noting a brief blush that crossed her cheeks at his question. Inwardly, Genma smiled. He found himself liking the purple-haired girl more and more as time went on, and as he was able to remember more scenes of her and Ranma together. If he and his son were permanently stuck in this life, then he far preferred him to spend time with the young Amazon than the easily-angered and violent Tendo girl, even if Shampoo did have that strange curse.

"Everything is fine, Father," said Ranma, glancing over at a silent Shampoo before looking at his father once again. "I apologize for making you worry."

Soun and Kasumi regarded Ranma with astonishment. There was none of the usual bluster and macho pride in his mannerisms, and the respect shown to his father was nothing short of amazing. Further study on this by the two was interrupted when Akane came walking into the room, apparently having heard the couple return.

"Akane," said Ranma, tipping his head slightly in acknowledgement of the youngest Tendo's presence. He saw her simply turn her nose up and look away after glaring at him briefly, both gestures in apparent irritation at his proximity to the purple-haired girl at his side. He just shrugged a bit, but it was certainly preferable to her hitting him. The pigtailed boy walked past her and sat down into a kneeling position by Genma.

"So now what, Father?" asked Ranma in Russian. He glanced back at a still fuming Akane, noted Nabiki had also entered the room, and then he returned his gaze back to regarding his father. "The excitement seems to be over for the day. So, how do we handle this situation?"

"First, I break the engagement," said Genma, his accent fairly bad but still understandable to the boy. "Take Shampoo with you, and both of you pack our things. I don't think our departure will be a pleasant one."

"Ranma," interjected Akane, her anger levels rising a bit, "why are you speaking in a foreign language again?"

"Please be quiet while I speak with my son, Akane," said Genma, his manner a touch cold, and he noted with some slight satisfaction that his addressing her in such a manner appeared to surprise the girl. He turned back to Ranma and continued in Russian, "We are returning home to your counterpart's mother. I will tell you more of what you should be aware of when we are on our way. Go now."

"All right, Pop," said Ranma, a little confused. As far as he knew from the memories of either of his two martial artist counterparts, his mother was dead. However, he did not question his father. He simply rose to his feet, signaled Shampoo to follow him with a look, and headed upstairs to the bedrooms to pack their meager belongings.

Akane and Nabiki started to follow Ranma and Shampoo, one in irritation at being ignored and the other in simple curiosity, when they were halted by Genma's voice.

"Please come to the table, girls," said Genma, moving from the spot where he had obliterated Soun at shogi to his counterpart's usual spot at the main table. "I have an announcement to make, and it concerns you all. You too, Tendo-kun." He waited for them all to seat themselves, formulating what he was going to say in his head.

"What's this all about, Saotome-kun?" asked Soun, puzzled by the change in his friend. He saw the other man briefly turn his gaze to his youngest daughter, his look unreadable even by Nabiki.

"Akane?" Genma asked. Gaining her attention, he visibly straightened and became very serious. With an emotionless voice, he then queried the youngest Tendo, "Do you like being engaged to my son?"

"Like it?" sputtered Akane, looking as completely surprised by the question as she had ever looked about anything. "Of course not! He's rude, thoughtless, and he flirts with every girl he sees!" Especially that purple-haired bimbo! she finished in her thoughts, too angry to speak the words aloud. "I wish I'd never met him!"

"I see." Genma nodded slightly, his hand gesture cutting off Soun before he could begin to bluster at Akane for her words. He noticed Nabiki studying him with a clinical gaze out of the corner of his eyes. "Thank you for your candor on this matter. You may consider the engagement ended."

Silence reigned for the space of several moments.

Nabiki's elbow slipped off the table in her shock. Surprise filled her rapidly blinking gaze as she attempted a recovery back to her usual cynical poise.

"Oh my." Kasumi raised one hand to her mouth as she blinked. She glanced at her youngest sister to see how she was taking this news.

Akane looked stunned.

Soun exploded, "Saotome-kun! What are you talking about? This is a matter of family honor, to join together the two Schools! How dare you make a decision like that?"

"This was never truly a matter of honor, Tendo-kun," said Genma calmly, noting that Soun seemed to be working himself into using the Demon's Head attack on him. He stared the other man down as he continued to speak, an unmistakable steel in his voice that the others had never heard from him before. "Now please sit down and be quiet, Tendo-kun. We are speaking as mature adults here, or at least some of us are."

"But-" blurted out Soun, looking utterly shocked, the Demon Head attack fading like a pricked balloon. "But what of the promise to unite the two Schools?" He suddenly looked about ready to cry, and his eyes began to fill with tears as the others watched.

Genma sighed, amazed at the quicksilver nature of the emotions in the other man. He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "It just isn't working out, Tendo-kun. Neither of the children are happy with the agreement, and we've forced it down their throats for far too long. I, for one, am tired of watching them do nothing but argue and fight."

"But all married couples fight," said Soun, desperation in his voice. He began to babble arguments in favor of keeping the engagement going. "They're still just getting used to each other. It was always our dream to unite our two families, our two Schools. It kept us going during those dark days training under," he paused, teary eyes looking around before continuing, "the Master."

"Blame it on the blows to the skull I took today if you must, but the engagement is off, as of now." Genma glared at Soun. "I refuse to sit here another day and watch Akane and Nabiki bully and victimize my son and Shampoo because both are too honorable to deal with either one of them as they have deserved for weeks!"

Soun burst into a full-fledged wail of despair, blubbering a stream of incoherent words. He covered his face with one arm and began to cry even more fiercely about how "the two families will never be joined now," and other such phrases.

Kasumi moved to assist her father, her calm words and gentle pats attempting to cheer the man up. She spared Genma a few looks that had less than her usual warmth for bringing her father to tears, blaming him for Soun's sorrow.

Me? A bully? Nabiki was honestly surprised at being included with her sister in such a blanket description. She immediately discarded the notion as ridiculous. Opportunist, maybe. But, how can he call me a bully? She glared at Genma with a cool, disdainful look.

Akane was still sitting quietly, apparently shell-shocked. She kept repeating one thought in her mind: the engagement is off?

Sighing once more, Genma was even more certain that he had made the right choice in this situation. Other than Kasumi, and maybe Nabiki, no one in this family seemed to be a paragon of mental stability. He quietly ignored the cool looks that he was getting from Nabiki, her disapproval with him being quite obvious, but the looks from Kasumi bothered him. Personally, he didn't care if the middle Tendo girl disapproved of him or not, but he was troubled at hurting Kasumi. He turned to face the eldest Tendo daughter.

"Kasumi," said Genma solemnly, "I wish to apologize for all of the ways that my bringing Shampoo and Ranma under your roof damaged the harmony of your household. If it is any consolation, I hold you in the highest regard of anyone I know, except for my wife Nodoka."

Kasumi looked a little surprised at Genma's words of apology.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Why we pack, Ranma?" asked Shampoo, watching him tie his bedroll around his packed backpack. At his request, she was now finishing packing Genma's stuff into the other backpack before they headed over into her small room to pack her own things.

"My father is downstairs breaking the news to the others that this farce of an engagement is over," calmly answered Ranma, carefully checking the fit of his backpack for easy carrying.

"Aiyah! Ranma mean that?" blurted out the Amazon, not expecting to hear that. She thought they might have been packing for some sort of training trip, not leaving for good. Her thoughts briefly went to the one person in this household that she would truly miss, Kasumi. The older girl was her friend, and, briefly, her fiancée, even though the last was thought with a sort of bittersweet happiness.

"Yeah." Ranma tied down the fasteners on his backpack with the ease of a long-time vagabond. He wasn't sure where the thoughts of his other self left off and his own began at this point. "Today was just a perfect example of why it won't work. We end up arguing too much for either one of us to really be happy with one another. Let's just say that the old man finally saw reason."

"Where we go?" asked Shampoo, tying shut Genma's pack. She glanced around the empty room and closet, nodding as she confirmed that everything was packed.

"We're going to my mother's house." Ranma felt an odd sort of deja vu at the thought. He had already returned to his mother once, after being away from her for a decade of his life, and that experience was about to repeat, sort of. He felt a bit odd about it for a moment, a mixture of joy and sadness, and his throat felt unexpectedly tight. "My father and I are going home."

"Shampoo happy for Ranma," said the Amazon, smiling at him in a gentle fashion.

"Well, you're coming with us, of course, and I know my mother will welcome you once Pop explains things." Ranma looked at the purple-haired girl with a grin, and he saw her smiling back at him warmly.

The pair headed to Shampoo's small room, and he watched as the Amazon quickly gathered her things, packing with efficiency and care. They heard some muffled shouting coming from downstairs, but Ranma had confidence that his father was dealing with the situation.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"My little girl will marry your boy, Saotome!" shouted Soun, his composure apparently recovered after a brief session of weeping and being supported by Kasumi's kind words. "This is a matter of sacred honor between our two families!"

"It's over, Tendo," sighed Genma, wishing once again that his son and Shampoo were already done packing, so they could leave. "Just accept it. The engagement between Akane and Ranma is over. It's obvious that it was a mistake, and your screaming about it won't help things. I've been talking with my son, and he's made it very clear he wouldn't be happy to be forced into marrying Akane, and both Nabiki and Kasumi made their views quite obvious on the first day we met that they were not interested in him. I am not going to make my only child miserable by forcing him to marry someone that he is neither interested in nor has interest in him, and I know you love your daughters enough that you wouldn't want them to be miserable either. So, be reasonable about this, Tendo. It was simply not to be, and it would be a tragic mistake to continue forcing the issue. Let the promise of two drunken, foolish men end, since that was all it started out as."

Nabiki perked up from quietly glaring at Genma, surprised to hear him speaking so frankly about this whole engagement matter.

"It's because of that Chinese girl that he has no interest in my Akane, isn't it?" muttered Soun, collapsing back down into a sobbing mass of weeping, his surge of backbone faded.

Akane stared at Genma, a sudden dark suspicion forming.

"Shampoo is not to blame for this, Tendo," replied Genma calmly. "It's been a long day, and I want to put it behind me. Just tell me that you release the boy from the promise, and Ranma, Shampoo, and I will leave here."

"V-very well," muttered a defeated-sounding Soun, his blubbering fading for a moment. He turned miserable-looking eyes towards the other man. "But for breaking a man-to-man promise, you are no longer welcome in this house ever again, Genma Saotome. So take yourself, your son, that Chinese girl, and begone from here. I never want to hear the name Saotome spoken in this house again." That said, he wearily got up from the table, looking decades older than his true age, and began to cry loudly some more.

"I'm sorry you feel this is my fault, Tendo, but I only do this for the sake of my son," said Genma, slowly standing himself. "Someday, I hope you might understand that." He felt tired. He had tried his best to present a reasonable argument, and the other man had jumped to a false assumption and would not be dissuaded from it. Shampoo was not at fault for this decision, but Soun apparently blamed her anyway.

"I'm tired, Kasumi," said Soun, ignoring the other man now. He began to blubber more loudly, barely choking out the words as he said, "I'm going to skip dinner tonight and go straight to bed." He walked to his room with as much dignity as a crying man could manage, just missing passing Ranma and Shampoo in the hall.

"Yes, Father," whispered Kasumi, staring after him with sad eyes. She went into the kitchen and began working on dinner to distract herself.

Nabiki followed her father's movements with her eyes alone, before returning her gaze to Genma. Something did not add up here, but she could not understand what it might be. There's more to this than meets the eye, she finally decided. She was angry at Genma for the pain he had caused her father, and she intended to have suitable revenge for that. Nobody hurt a member of her family.

Akane stared after her father in shock, but she was finally absorbing the idea that Ranma was no longer her fiancé, no longer anything to her. His family name could no longer even be spoken within hearing distance of her father. In a way, she was glad, especially after he was flirting with Shampoo right in front of her. They deserve each other, she thought with anger. Both of them were shape-shifting perverts. So, knowing this, why did she also feel such a sense of loss?

Genma decided to wait in the front hallway area, away from the silently judging eyes of the middle Tendo girl. From what he could discern, Akane seemed to him to be too shocked by the change to feel the same as her sisters. They'll get over it, he decided. It was becoming more apparent by the minute that he and Ranma were going to be stuck in this world, possibly forever, and they had to adjust the conditions into something they could live with. That meant no more engagements, living in the midst of chaotic households, or having threats of manliness or death hanging over their heads.

Ranma came walking down the stairs, a pack on each shoulder, and Shampoo following right behind him. Things were very quiet, and that could be either a good thing or a bad thing. He saw his father as he stepped into the main hallway.

"We're ready to leave, Father," said Ranma, feeling a vague sense of relief to be heading out of this house, even if he was still trapped in this life. He silently handed his father's backpack to him, letting his own fall to land upon the floor with a thump as he picked up his shoes. He saw Kasumi come out of the kitchen area and silently regard them, her calm expression unreadable, and he suddenly felt a little bit guilty.

Kasumi continued to look at the trio, emotions flickering in her eyes that were as confusing to herself as they were impossible to determine by the Amazon and the pigtailed boy looking back at her.

Ranma suddenly bowed deeply to the girl, and he said, "Thank you very much for taking care of us, Kasumi Tendo. Words alone cannot tell you how much I appreciate your efforts."

Kasumi, startled by Ranma's unrehearsed little speech, bowed to him in return, her expression warming with a smile, albeit a somewhat sad one.

Ranma thought her gaze was as much on Shampoo as himself, but he could not be sure.

The door to the main room suddenly slid open, and Ranma saw the other two Tendo girls looking at him, differing expressions on their faces. Akane regarded him with a slight frown on her face, and Nabiki was gazing at him with a calculating look.

"So, you're leaving," remarked Nabiki, studying the boy and his father to see if she could figure out what was different about them. They were both acting tremendously out of character, and it bothered her to not be able to judge their reactions as easily as she could before. They were like two different people to her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she locked onto that idea, wondering why she might think that.

"That's right," said Ranma calmly. "There's no reason to stay here anymore."

His matter-of-fact attitude was irritating to Akane. Didn't he care? Was he so relieved to be leaving her? She herself felt an odd mixture of sadness and relief at no longer having the engagement being forced upon her, but she also found herself getting angry at him for his cavalier manner as he was getting ready to leave. And she also found herself getting even angrier at Shampoo. Is he just going to walk out with that purple-haired, Chinese bimbo of his? She wondered if something had happened between him and Shampoo that had helped cause this sudden change. Her fists clenching at her sides tightly, she glared at the pair. How she hated the two of them at that moment.

Ignoring a wrathful-looking Akane, Ranma slowly walked over to Kasumi and gave her a gentle hug, a whispered "Thank you" going into her ear. He apparently surprised the older girl a great deal when he gave her a peck on the cheek, noticing the blush she was showing. He smiled at her as he stepped back, finding himself not wanting her to be angry with him for what had happened, at least. He turned away from her as Shampoo came forward and said a quiet farewell to Kasumi, her words too soft for him to hear.

"No kiss for me, Ranma-kun?" remarked Nabiki wryly, a smirk on her face.

Ranma considered it for a few moments, but he felt it would probably be unwise with both Akane and Shampoo watching. Apparently, Nabiki could tell what he was thinking because she suddenly got a surprised look on her face. He smirked at her and said mildly, "Only if you paid me." He found he enjoyed the amazed look on her face at that statement.

"Akane," said Ranma, finally turning his attention to the youngest Tendo daughter.

"Ranma," she replied through slightly-gritted teeth. The expression on her face was not pleasant. She shot a venomous glare at the Amazon before returning her attention to Ranma.

Ranma bowed slightly to Akane and said, quite calmly and simply, "Goodbye, Akane Tendo."

Akane was startled, returning the bow through reflex alone, her anger temporarily pushed aside in her surprise. Her hands remained clenched at her sides as she dipped her head. She rose from the bow slowly, her eyes on Ranma's face, an unspoken question in her gaze.

He turned from her, put on his pack and shoes, and the trio left the Tendo household in silence.

Behind them, Akane went from an expression of disbelief to one of angry tears. With a growl, she stormed away to the dojo out back. The sounds of breaking bricks and shattering training equipment drifted into the house after a few moments. Eventually, those noises trailed away.

Nabiki wandered up to her bedroom, already calculating how much she would have to make to pay off her little sister's latest tirade. She was more than a little worried about the loss of such an excellent source of funds as Shampoo was, since the cursed Amazon was no longer going to be going to school anymore. That would really cause a drain on her cash flows.

Kasumi stood in the doorway long after her sisters had left. She watched the closed gate with, for her, a rare solemn expression, her heart feeling heavy with regrets.

"Goodbye, Shampoo," Kasumi softly whispered.

After a long moment, the eldest Tendo daughter shut the door and went back to the kitchen to finish the dinner she had been in the midst of preparing, when this bombshell had been dropped on the household.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma's stomach growled, and he looked startled at the unexpected sound.

Ranma chuckled at the noise, until his own stomach also began to loudly rumble. Frowning, he turned to a silent Shampoo and said in a serious tone, "Not a single word."

"We should get something to eat," said Genma. "We have a fair walk ahead of us this evening to get back to your mother's house. Having a meal will also give you and I some time to talk, Ranma."

"That's a good idea," agreed Ranma. Checking his pockets produced an ominously small amount of currency. He turned to look at his father and saw a similar expression to the one he imagined was on his own face. Pangs of hunger were growing distracting to Ranma.

"Shampoo not have much money either," said the Amazon when she saw the pigtailed boy turn to look at her with a hopeful expression.

"Well, there's always Ucchan's," said Ranma, noting the expression of distaste that crossed Genma's face.

"I suppose it would also allow us to end another engagement set up by my idiotic counterpart," muttered Genma grimly in Russian. For the Amazon's benefit, he then said in Japanese, "Very well, let's go get something to eat."

A short walk brought them all to stand outside the storefront named "Uk-Chan's" on this world. Ranma suddenly felt a little nervous, especially when he realized that Shampoo's mere presence could spark a fight, and the last thing he wanted to get involved in was another battle. He put a hand on the outer door and took a deep breath. He turned to look back at the other two and said, "I'm going in. Shampoo, you might want to wait outside while Pop and I get some food and talk to Ucchan. Is that okay?"

The Amazon looked annoyed and said, slightly grumpily, "Shampoo wait."

Ranma and Genma went inside, leaving their backpacks outside with her. Inside, it was only moderately busy, the dinner rush already over. Ukyo was seen working behind the counter. Ranma smiled at her when he caught her eye.

"Hey, Ucchan," he said in a friendly tone, finding it remarkably easy to slip into the mannerisms of his counterpart. This Ukyo was perhaps even a better friend here than in the other Ranma's tangent, since she wasn't trying to get him to marry her. He was reasonably certain that this would go pretty easily. "My father and I'd like to order some food and chat a little with you, if that's okay."

"Sure, Ranchan," said Ukyo with a weary smile. It had been a long day, and she was eager to close up and get some rest. Luckily, Sundays she was able to close earlier than normal if she chose, and it didn't take long to have the place empty of everyone but her and the two Saotome men. She ignored Genma for the most part, her desire for vengeance satiated, for now.

"We'd like three of your usuals, if you please," said Ranma, looking around casually and comparing this version of the restaurant with the one in the other timeline. They were similar, and yet small differences existed, just enough to be noticeable. A stray memory prompted him to ask, "Where's Ryoga?"

"Out. Lost. The usual," Ukyo said simply, with an undertone of irritation. She quickly prepared three of her standard okonomiyaki, figuring Ranma must have ordered a second helping in advance. She turned around when she heard the sound of coins clinking on the counter. Ranma had laid down all of the money that the three travelers had, fifty yen shy of enough to purchase all three. "You don't normally pay, Ranchan. What's the occasion?"

"Well," began Ranma, uncertain how to tell Ukyo what had just taken place at the Tendo household. He decided to just come right out and say it. "The engagement between me and Akane is off. Pop and I left." It wasn't completely the truth, but it was mostly true, the failure to mention Shampoo accompanying them more a concealment than an outright falsehood.

"Hitting the road again?" asked Ukyo, serving him and his father. She couldn't help but look a little amused and rather self-satisfied at the battered appearance of the older man when she glanced at Genma. It had felt unbelievably good to work off some of her anger at the man by pounding upon him like she did.

"Something like that," answered Ranma, frowning slightly at the joy she apparently found in looking at the injuries she had given his father. "Pop and I are getting out of the neighborhood and going home. I just wanted to stop in, get some food, ask you a question, and then we'd leave. No big deal."

"A question?" said Ukyo, a little surprised. "Just what sort of a question?" She saw Ranma wolf down his meal in his hunger, and a slight smile crossed her face at the sight. She continued to ignore the presence of Genma, who was being very quiet and only watching the exchange between his son and her with an odd look on his face.

"Would you be willing to forget about your engagement to me?" asked Ranma, unsure how she would react. He saw her blink for a moment. "I know this must be a bit of a shock."

"I guess I was just expecting to bring it up myself at the proper time," said Ukyo, not nearly as upset as Ranma thought she might be. She looked down for several moments, and there weren't even traces of tears in her eyes when she lifted her face. "Sure, Ranchan. It's okay. In fact, it's kind of a relief." She smiled at him.

Ranma suddenly put it all together: her slight irritation when Ryoga was mentioned, her calling her restaurant by the 'stupid' name Ryoga used for her, her unexpected ease at his asking her to break off the engagement between them, and the (slightly irritating, although he was not sure why) fact that she never expressed any interest in marrying him, like she did in that other Ranma's life. He did as she had a few moments ago, blinking in surprise. Ukyo and Ryoga? It all made a weird sort of sense, based on what his memories were now showing him had happened between them, complicated by the presence of Shampoo posing as 'Ranma,' as he had been known at school as 'Shampoo.'

"Friends?" he asked, holding out his hand. He saw her look down at his extended hand and take it in a firm grip of her own.

"Always and forever, Ranchan," said Ukyo with a smile.

They let go their grips and Ranma began wrapping up the last remaining okonomiyaki in a paper napkin from the counter. He noticed her smile quickly fading into a frown as she looked over his shoulder at the window.

Ukyo spotted Shampoo peeking in through the front window of her shop, a deep-seated anger filling the okonomiyaki chef's being at the sight of her purple-haired nemesis. She was certain that the Amazon was plotting more mischief against her. She figured that was the only reason why Shampoo was skulking around, so she could do something bad to her person or her restaurant.

Ranma's hopes of getting out of here without any trouble went up in flames before his eyes, the angry flames that arose in Ukyo's gaze at the mere sight of the Amazon.

Ukyo growled out a soft and angry, "Shampoo." Then she turned to heft her giant spatula, intent on bloody mayhem.

Ranma half-leaped across the counter and jabbed a couple of fingers into a shiatsu sleep spot between her shoulders that Shampoo had once taught his counterpart here. He caught the chef's slumping body gently, a whispered apology on his lips as he laid her out on the floor. He made sure that she would be as comfortable as he could make her.

"That could have gone better," mused Genma, watching his son with a wry smile on his face.

"I just hope that she's not too mad when she wakes up," muttered Ranma, wadding up a few towels to place behind her head as a pillow. He stood up and faced his father, his hands moving to quickly finish wrapping up the last okonomiyaki for Shampoo. "We should go now. That nerve strike won't last long. I was just damn lucky that she was distracted, or it wouldn't have worked at all."

When they got outside, Shampoo eyed the okonomiyaki presented to her skeptically for a moment, and she took a sample bite first. After a little incident with 'wallpaper paste style' okonomiyaki, she was cautious around Ukyo's food, but the hunger in her belly convinced her to eat it despite what her pride might say. Within moments, she was consuming it with voracious hunger, the taste of the first bite quickly overcoming her remaining resistance. She shouldered her pack when she was done, after wiping clean her hands and face with the paper napkin.

The trio continued on their way across the city, moving through the darkening streets. Genma led the way, keeping his thoughts to himself as he guided them to the Saotome household. Behind his father, Ranma felt Shampoo take a gentle hold on his arm, and he patted her hand with his free one.

Genma paused and let the two of them catch up to him. They had all been walking for a couple of hours. The pale light from a nearby streetlamp reflected from Genma's glasses as he turned to face his son, and a grim look was upon his face. The two combined into a rather eerie effect.

"Ranma," intoned Genma. He took a moment to adjust his glasses a little to hide his nervousness. The two teens stopped in front of him.

"Yeah, Pop?" asked Ranma, a little unnerved by the sight

"We are near home," said Genma, while continuing to look uncomfortable. He paused and cleared his throat, before speaking once again, "Ten years ago, this Genma made a promise to this Nodoka that he would return with his son as a 'man among men', or else."

Ranma did not like the sound of that, and, after a brief pause, he asked, "Or else what?"

Shampoo looked puzzled. What were they talking about now? She looked from one to the other. Ranma was being even more enigmatic to her than usual today.

"The promise was that you must be a manly man at that time or commit seppuku," said Genma calmly, perhaps too calmly for Ranma's tastes at the moment.

Seppuku? thought Shampoo. What is that? She did notice that Ranma had grown a little paler at the mention of the word.

"I see," said Ranma, his mouth feeling a little dry. "And just what would I have to be like?" He thought about his Jusenkyo curse, and he wondered how they were going to overcome that particular argument against his manliness.

"It is difficult to say," said Genma. "Nodoka is a very traditional sort of woman, but she has some odd ideas of how men and women should act." He paused and looked at Shampoo, something suddenly occurring to him. "However, Shampoo has just given me an idea."

The Amazon looked even more puzzled.

Ranma looked at his father, unintentionally mirroring the puzzled look on Shampoo's face. The odd grin that his father was giving the two of them disturbed him a little. He turned to look at the Chinese girl and tried to figure out where his father was heading with his thoughts. What could Shampoo do to help me prove my manliness?

"Peeping," muttered Genma, startling Ranma out of his reverie.

"Huh?" grunted Ranma, before quickly shaking his head. "I mean, what do you mean by that?"

"Nodoka would consider it to be very manly for you to peep at a pretty girl in the bath." Genma considered how he might work this angle. For a moment, he paused, wondering why he was even thinking about this as some sort of 'angle' in the first place. It disturbed him more than a little.

Ranma got a wide-eyed look on his face, and memories of different, nude, alternate quantum Shampoos flooded his thoughts. A tiny trickle of blood ran from his nose as the images filled his mind. He immediately reached up and pinched his nostrils shut, focusing his thoughts when he turned to look at the Amazon, standing next to him.

"Uh, heh," stuttered the pigtailed boy nervously. The thought of Shampoo naked was much more distracting than he had first anticipated, but he summoned his reserves and banished the thoughts away for a time.

"Why Ranma and Pop look at Shampoo like that?" said the Amazon, appearing puzzled. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but she had picked out of the conversation between Ranma and his father that the pigtailed boy was going to meet his mother for the first time in several years and that he had to be manly. Then the two men with her had started to talk about peeping, and she had gotten a bit confused. To her, Ranma was very manly, and he had never tried to peep at her when she bathed. These Japanese are weird, she finally decided.

"Pop, you can't be serious!" yelled Ranma, his eyes looking a little wild.

"She expects you to be a strong warrior, a paragon of manhood, and to also be a bit more perverted than I raised you as being," said Genma.

"A bit?" Ranma yelled in surprise.

Continuing as if not interrupted, Genma calmly analyzed the situation aloud, "So be reasonable about this, Ranma. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it would help."

Shampoo clobbered the both of them, having grown tired of them speaking as if she was not there. She dusted her hands off as Ranma staggered back up to his feet, having been caught totally off-guard by Shampoo's sudden attack.

"What the heck did you hit me for?" grumbled Ranma at the Amazon, making a mental note to watch out for Shampoo's willingness to strike him for perceived wrongs. He had not managed to get out of one bad relationship to just end up in another one.

"Stop talking like Shampoo not here! Explain what you and Pop talking about." She assumed a listening pose, arms folded.

"Fine!" muttered Ranma loudly. He shifted to Mandarin, so that he would be certain that she understood. "My mother is expecting me to be a 'man among men' when I get back home, because, if I'm not, then I'll have to kill myself to preserve my family's honor." He turned to face the fallen body of his father. "Does that about cover it, Father?"

Genma made an affirmative sound as he recovered from his second beating in a single day. Luckily, this one was almost playfully light next to the one from this morning. He took some small comfort that Ranma had shared it with him this time, but he immediately felt a little guilty for thinking that way. "You forgot to explain to her how peeping comes into this," he said as he got back up to his feet. He adjusted the straps of his backpack, resettling it onto his shoulders.

"Oh, yeah," said Ranma, shooting his father a dark look. "Thank you ever so much for reminding me of that part, Father." He turned to face the Amazon once again, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. "Shampoo, to prove myself manly to my mother, my father thinks that I should peep on you while you're bathing. Now, I know that-"

"Okay," said Shampoo with a nod, interrupting Ranma in mid-speech. She saw him freeze in place for several moments, the oddest expressions crossing his face as he began to blink rapidly.

"Okay?" asked Ranma somewhat faintly, looking very surprised.

"Shampoo no mind if Ranma watch Shampoo take bath," said the Amazon, noting that the pigtailed boy's eyes suddenly looked a little glazed, and his mouth was now hanging open a small amount. It amused her for some reason to see him look so flustered, and he looked so cute to her when he was off-guard. Her ancestors knew that he had been a source for puzzlement and confusion for her often enough during their travels together.

Ranma quickly recovered his composure. He glanced at his father to see the older man trying hard not to laugh by busying himself with his backpack, adjusting the straps to optimize the weight load. With a sigh, Ranma nodded at the Amazon. He turned back to his father and asked, "So what do we tell her about the curse?"

"The truth. What else?" answered Genma. "Despite what you might think, Ranma, that curse is a burden that would have destroyed many a lesser man. If dealing with it, and also the other myriad problems that it has caused you every day, doesn't show true manhood, then I don't know what does. Trust your father, my son. Nobody is going to die." Not if I have anything to say about it, he finished in his thoughts.

Shampoo looked at Genma for a moment, but her expression was neutral. Ranma's father had been sounding odd to her all day, nothing like the pompous old coward that she knew and tolerated because of Ranma.

"Then let's go and meet my mother," said Ranma with a smile, his hands adjusting his backpack straps.

Genma led them to a well-kept house in the modest neighborhood they had been walking in, but a minor difficulty delayed their approach when a splash of water from a passing car hitting a puddle changed both Ranma and Shampoo into their cursed forms. The trio quickly left and got some hot water, the pigtailed boy muttering under his breath the entire time.

A short while later, with the two teenagers back in their proper forms, they all went up to the door and Genma rang the bell. As they waited, Shampoo took a gentle hold of Ranma's hand once again, a smile on her face. He squeezed her hand with his own.

The door opened, and Nodoka Saotome stood there in a pale blue kimono, her eyes suddenly opening wide as she gaped at the odd trio standing on her doorstep, recognizing her husband in the lead.

"Dearest," she whispered, a smile on her lips. Her eyes glanced over at the young man standing there holding hands with a purple-haired girl. Ranma, she thought, certain that this was her son returned to her at long last. With tears in her eyes, she quickly swept him up into a motherly hug and cried out, "Ranma!"

"H-hello, Mother," gasped out Ranma, imagining that he could feel himself smothering from her greeting. It reminded him more than he cared to remember of the welcome home that his own mother had once given him many weeks past. Just before he thought he would pass out, or force Shampoo to rescue him from his mother's arms, she let go of him with a teary-eyed smile.

"Welcome home, my son," said Nodoka, and her heart took flight with her joy. Her husband and her little boy had come home. For the moment, she ignored Shampoo, her attention only on her beloved son and her wayward husband.

Immediately taking charge, she ushered the three of them into her home. Their backpacks were left by the front door with their shoes, and they were all led to the main dining area. Shampoo seated herself next to Ranma as if staking a claim to him. The three travelers had barely sat down when Nodoka disappeared for a minute into the kitchen to fetch the water she had been boiling water for tea.

Ranma took the opportunity to examine the room they were now in, finding it to be well-kept and dust-free. The decorations were sparse, but arranged in such a way as to remind him very strongly of home. He felt tightness in his throat, partly a result of the emotional roller coaster he had been on today. It felt so much like home here. But it wasn't.

Genma also was finding himself overcome by a surprising amount of emotions, brought on by the sights and smells of the half-familiar house. It had seemed so simple a decision to come here; in a sense it was home, as the memories of his counterpart opened to him gradually, but it was straining his emotional resources to keep himself composed. He knew that he had to be strong for Ranma's sake, and he could sense the guilt lurking behind his son's eyes occasionally when he looked at him.

Once they had both gotten a good night's sleep, they could begin making plans to rescue themselves come the morning. He was feeling very confident that, between the two of them, they would solve their current difficulties. However, if they had to build another resonator from scratch, it might take several years before they had enough resources to construct one. In the meantime, Genma would accept each happening as a new learning opportunity, like a form of field research. He busied his thoughts with composing notes on the paper he would write someday on this whole experience.

Nodoka returned with a serving tray, teapot, and enough cups for everyone. She gracefully settled herself next to Genma and began to serve. It seemed to be a solemn moment, an unspoken agreement entered into by all present to accept a cup of tea and drink in silence. The gentle sound of the wind blowing through the trees outside was the only break in the quiet.

Genma noticed that Nodoka was observing him out of the corner of her eyes, and he held himself with dignity. After he finished his tea, he turned to her and said with a note of formality, "It is good to be home, Nodoka-chan. I have fulfilled the promise and returned our son to you, a true man among men. Say hello to your mother, Ranma."

Ranma bowed to her and managed to say without his voice breaking, "Good evening, Mother. I have missed you."

Nodoka's eyes were shining with unshed tears as she looked upon her son. She thought he looked so handsome and carried himself with such dignity and strength, the bearing of a true martial artist. She had so often pictured this day that to have it finally come true was making her the happiest woman alive. She softly whispered, her voice filled with emotion, "Welcome back home, my son." She then moved nearer to him without rising, her body coming to rest on the opposite side of where Shampoo was seated. "I have waited for this day for such a long time."

The Amazon had caught the occasional questioning look directed her way from Nodoka, glances that the two men did not appear to notice, but she wasn't sure what to make of them. Remaining a silent presence, she offered her strength and support to Ranma as best she could.

"I suppose I could spend the rest of the evening simply looking at you, Ranma," chuckled Nodoka. "However, I was wondering if you could please introduce me to your young lady friend." She turned her gaze to Shampoo, a smile on her face.

"Ah, this is my friend, Shampoo," Ranma blurted out, grateful to have something easy to talk about. He had been wondering what his own mother was going to do if he did not return. It left an opening in his usual awareness of his surroundings. "She came with us from China. She's an Amazon, and an excellent fighter." He noticed the Chinese girl smile at him.

"Ranma good friend to Shampoo," said the Amazon. Forging ahead with true inspiration, she added, "He even watch Shampoo take bath."

Ranma blinked, grateful that he had not been taking another sip of his tea at that same moment. Did she have to say it quite like that? he wondered with a furrowed brow. He had not been expecting to have the proof of his 'manliness' thrown out into the conversation quite so quickly.

Genma raised an eyebrow. Well, she's direct, thought the older man with a slight smirk on his face.

Nodoka seemed to be even more pleased with Ranma, and asked, "Is that true, my son? Have you been looking at this girl while she bathed?"

"Uh, yeah," answered Ranma, suddenly having flashes of memories of seeing Shampoo bathing assail him. He grinned weakly, feeling that he could at least answer semi-honestly based on that sort of secondhand experience. "I mean, yes. Yes, I have."

Shampoo looked a little surprised at how certain he sounded, but a hint of a smile seemed to be on her lips.

"That is very manly of you, Ranma," said Nodoka approvingly, nodding. "A proper appreciation for a woman's naked body is the mark of a true man. Your father certainly enjoyed looking at me in the bath before we were married, after all. He never thought I knew."

Genma was suddenly not quite as amused by this whole thing as he had been a few moments ago, and the memories of the other Genma's actions suddenly erupted into his awareness. The courtship between this version of him and the woman seated near his son was quite a different one from the relationship he had built with his Nodoka. In a few ways, they were the same, but there were many embarrassing differences.

"I did not want to rush into the discussion of some things, Nodoka," he said, adjusting his glasses slightly. "But there are some matters that you should know right now, about Ranma." He saw his son tense a little and glance at the katana resting in a rack over by one wall. The truth be known, Genma was suddenly feeling a little unnerved by its presence as well. He was not feeling as certain of his abilities to control this odd situation he found himself in, but he still intended to try.

"Oh?" said Nodoka, turning to face him.

"To begin with, the agreement with Soun Tendo has been cancelled, by my choice. There will be no joining of the two families. It was a mistake that I deeply regret." He saw Nodoka blink in surprise.

"But why?" Nodoka asked. "It used to be all that you spoke of when Ranma was born. To unite the Tendo and Saotome families was your dream."

"It was a difficult decision, but the right one, I believe," replied Genma. "It would have been wrong to force a marriage upon Ranma for the sake of the pride of two scheming, old men. I say he is a man, and a man should have the right to choose his own partner in life, as I chose you, my dear Nodoka-chan." He smiled at her, and, for a moment, he let himself recall how very much he loved his wife, seeing so much of her in the lonely woman now seated across from him. He spoke as if to his own wife, so very far from him now, and his words had an effect on her.

"Oh, Genma," whispered Nodoka, her eyes filling with tears again even as she smiled. "How can I disagree with something like that?" She could recall how earnestly he had pursued her when they were young, the brash young man she had fallen so deeply in love with. His leaving had hurt her deeply, and left her lonely for so long. But, seeing before her now the gentle-spoken man he had become, sounding so much older and wiser (obviously from his time on the road training their son), she found herself falling in love with him once again. It startled her and left her feeling how very much she had missed him.

"There is one thing more that you need to know about your son, Nodoka," said Genma calmly. "He is suffering from a curse that some might say calls his manhood into doubt. Before I demonstrate it for you, I must ask this question. Do you consider Ranma to be manly, Nodoka?" He saw her look at Ranma seriously for a moment, then she broke into a smile.

"Yes, I consider him to be manly," said Nodoka, nodding her head. "You raised our son well, Genma dearest. He has fulfilled your promise. So now you may show me this 'curse' of which you speak. I doubt that it will change my opinion."

"We'll see, Mother," said Ranma, before taking a moment to go into the kitchen to find a container and filling it with cold water from the tap. He returned shortly.

"If you wanted water, Ranma, you only had to ask," said Nodoka, looking puzzled.

"The water will allow me to show you my curse," said the pigtailed boy, feeling oddly distant and calm at the moment, some part of him realizing that this wasn't his life, only borrowed moments from another version of himself. "Hot water will restore me to what you see before you now, your son." With that said, he poured the cool water onto himself, his body changing into female form.

"R-Ranma?" asked Nodoka, looking faint. Genma was there at her side in an instant, supporting her. She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at the girl before her now, dressed in the clothes of her son.

"Ranma is cursed to turn into a girl in physical form when splashed with cold water, Nodoka," said Genma soothingly. "Hot water restores him to his normal form. The girl, Shampoo, becomes male with cold water. That is why she travels with us." He turned Nodoka to face him, her eyes looking a little glazed with surprise. "I know it is a lot to try and take in all at once, but you have my word that Ranma is still very much a man. This curse has given him challenges to overcome that would have broken another man. He has grown stronger from them."

Nodoka looked at Shampoo, taking the container from Ranma-chan and tossing the remaining cold water into the girl's face. She stared at the larger male form of Shampoo-kun, a thoughtful look on her face. Her gaze moved back to her son, now her daughter, as she considered the matter.

"If you feel that Ranma is unmanly, then I offer my life as proof of my words when I say that he is," said Genma suddenly. "The boy has gone through so much, suffered so much, but these experiences have left him even more worthy to carry on the Saotome name." He saw Nodoka suddenly focus her eyes upon himself, a look of certainty appearing on her face.

Ranma-chan poured some hot water from the teakettle, transforming back and then rushing over to his father as he shouted, "Are you nuts, Pop? If she thinks I'm not manly, then I should be the only one to pay. All that's happened is my fault, after all." He suddenly wasn't sure if he was speaking about the accident during the resonator experiment, or his counterpart's misstep at Jusenkyo. He was brought up short when Nodoka suddenly smiled.

"To have you both speak so very passionately in the defense of each other," she said gently. "How can I condemn either of you? Give me a hug, Ranma, and welcome home, my son."

Ranma stepped towards Nodoka, and his vision suddenly grayed out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma saw Ranma's eyes seem to go blank for a moment, and he saw the boy stumble into his mother's arms. She hugged him to her, crying about how glad she was to have him home once again, and how manly he had proven himself to be. A moment later, his eyes cleared, and Ranma seemed extremely puzzled. He saw the boy turn to look at him.

"Pop?" asked Ranma, sounding very bewildered. "What's going on? Where are we?"

Genma sighed, partly with relief, partly with dismay, and then he took Ranma aside to explain an edited summary of the day, taking care about not mentioning other worlds, not wishing to confuse the boy even more. Until he was finally retrieved from this timeline, Genma would give this version of Ranma the father that he should have had in this life. He was, oddly enough, finding himself looking forward to the challenge, as well as having the unexpected opportunity to observe the results of his son's device on one of his counterparts from the other side of the quantum barrier between worlds.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Refreshed from her nap, Nabiki snuggled comfortably against Ranma, reading from his journal by flashlight as she waited for his return. A check of her watch revealed that the last minute before recall had finally arrived. Hunger had forced her to eat one of the two lunches sitting on the workbench, and it had been very delicious. Tempted to eat them both, she managed to control her urges. Her counterpart had been raised to eat as much as she could whenever possible, since it might be a while before the next meal if things went bad. Her will had repressed that particular desire.

While checking her watch, she heard the system click back online. Blushing from incipient embarrassment, she moved before Ranma could awaken with her snuggled up to him like she had been all afternoon and went to sit in the chair by his workbench. She was not yet ready to show, much less admit, a weakness to her only rival in martial arts. Also, she wanted to control the pace of their relationship. As she thought about things, she saw the monitor light up as the system powered up to full activation.

* TIME REMAINING FOR SUFFICIENT CHARGE: 00 HOURS, 00 MINUTES.

* EMERGENCY CAPACITOR NOW AT FULL CHARGE.

* ACTIVATING EMERGENCY RETRIEVAL SEQUENCE. PLEASE STAND BY.

"Initiating retrieval cycle," intoned the computer's voice from the speaker. Several moments later was heard, "Retrieval cycle complete."

Nabiki let out the breath she discovered herself to be holding. She saw Ranma's breathing change suddenly, and she closed his journal, setting it aside. One of her trademark cool smirks appeared on her lips.

"Welcome back to the real world, Ranma-kun," she said sweetly. Moving nearer to him, she reached down, grabbed his shirt, and hauled him off the couch while growling in anger, "Now tell me just what the hell you thought you were doing."

Ranma blinked his eyes open, seeing Nabiki's face in the dim light cast by the small flashlight pointing at them from its resting place on his workbench. There was a lingering weakness in his body, and it left him feeling woozy. He felt very hungry and thirsty, and his bladder was now informing him that relief should be sought soon. This caused him to be a little disoriented, wondering if he had somehow dreamed the day's events. Then, his mind snapped back to the present, and he was fully himself once again. His fears about being trapped in that alternate universe, possibly forever, were now gone.

"I asked you a question, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki, lifting him bodily from the couch, but there was a falseness to the fierce tone she was using to mask her concern. She saw the headset fall from contact with him, the wire leading to the resonator hooked on something that prevented it from rising with him. "What were you doing in here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Nabiki." Ranma's gaze took in the darkened room. He suddenly realized what must have happened, and he was grateful for his foresight at installing several levels of redundancy into his system. He brought his gaze back to her face. "Why are you invading my lab?"

"Oh, no you don't, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki, shifting into one of her 'interrogation voices.' She let go of him, finding it difficult to retain her composure otherwise. "I'm asking the questions here. Where is your father? What were you doing? Where did you go?"

"If you don't mind, Nabiki," said Ranma with a little irritation in his voice, "I need to use the facilities for a few minutes before I answer any of your questions." Without waiting for an answer, he stumbled his way across the darkened room, opened the door, and made his way down the hall to the restroom.

Nabiki decided to wait, but she was a little taken aback at the tone he used with her. She was concerned about him. Why couldn't he see that? She tapped her foot on the ground while she waited, occupying her mind with reviewing how her counterpart treated her own version of Ranma. She frowned at how differently her Ranma was acting from his counterpart in that other world.

Ranma returned after several minutes, looking a little bit better than he had before. He had splashed some cold water into his face, drinking several swallows of cool liquid from the tap to reduce his thirst. But he still felt like he could drink a lake dry right now. His nose picked up the scent of food, and he homed in on its source unerringly. He opened up the remaining boxed lunch and began consuming it in true Saotome fashion.

"I'm still waiting for an answer, Ranma-kun," said the Tendo girl coolly, her patience with him wearing a little thin. She watched as he rather unconcernedly finished his meal. Unused to being ignored, especially when interrogating a subject, she found herself frowning in frustration.

"I don't see why I have to answer any of your questions, Nabiki," said the pigtailed boy as he dabbed his napkin against his face. "Although this might be a good opportunity to ask you about what you were doing in my private lab the other afternoon and now tonight." He looked at her, obviously waiting for an answer.

"I wanted to know what it was you were doing in here," she replied. "I tried out your machine, and it was life-changing." She made a loose fist with one hand and studied it. "The experience was more than I bargained for."

"I thought so, too, after my first time," said Ranma, relaxing his stance a little. He took a moment to study the girl, wondering just how much he could trust her with his secrets. He didn't really know her, but he suspected there had been changes taking place inside her mind that left an altered Nabiki for him to deal with. Changes that were probably as profound as the ones he himself had undergone. For some reason, he felt inclined to trust her, at least somewhat, since she was the only other person in the world who could appreciate what they had both undergone.

"So talk to me," said Nabiki, relaxing a little when she sensed him lowering his guard a little. "Tell me what's happened to you, and I'll tell you what's happened to me. Fair deal?"

"Fair enough," sighed Ranma, actually a little grateful to be able to share his troubles with another, even if that person was Nabiki Tendo. He sat down on the couch and began to relate the events of the day, the accident, and some of his concerns about his father. When he was done, he looked at her face, seeing her mulling over what he had said. Idly, he noted how beautiful she was. He banished that thought away quickly.

In exchange for his candor, Nabiki told an intrigued Ranma about some of her own experiences from the alternate timeline she had visited. They briefly compared notes on places visited by their counterparts, finding a fair number of similarities. The duo shared a very brief closeness as they compared experiences with some of the people they knew from the two very different tangents, Nabiki finding herself reluctant to speak much about some of them. This brought them back to Ranma's main concern at the moment, and the Tendo girl finally broached the subject.

"So you think your father now has the mind of that other Genma Saotome inside him?" asked Nabiki, knowing she found that to be a most unwelcome prospect. It wasn't exactly the same Genma from her martial artist counterpart's world, but she strongly suspected that this one would be as troublesome to herself and Ranma. She felt a great deal of sympathy for the pigtailed boy sitting next to her now.

"Yes, I do," answered Ranma, sounding frustrated, "and my own father is trapped in that other parallel timeline now. Nabiki, what am I going to do? I don't know how I'm ever going to get him back."

"We'll think of something," said the Tendo girl confidently.

"We?" asked Ranma, raising one eyebrow. "Since when did this turn into some kind of partnership? I work alone. I always have."

"Not this time, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki. "You already implicitly agreed to my help when you agreed to share information. Besides, who else could you turn to? I know you haven't really made any friends here."

"I never felt the need," said Ranma hesitantly. "I was so tied up in my work all the time. Besides, what can you do to help me?"

"Aside from bringing my own formidable intellect, fighting skills, and good looks to this partnership, you mean?" asked Nabiki with one of her trademarked smirks. "After all, I am a better fighter than you are, and you might need me if Genma gets up to his old tricks or if any other troubles should arise."

"You're not a better fighter than I am," growled the pigtailed boy, annoyed that he hadn't managed to do better than tie with her so far. "And don't go getting any ideas about acting as my protector, or something. Ranma Saotome doesn't need any girl protecting him."

"You're pretty cocky for a guy who had his butt handed to him in our last sparring match, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki teasingly, watching the boy frown some more as he stood up. She stood up as well, firmly poking her finger into his chest as she continued on, saying, "When you can beat me in a real fight, then we might renegotiate our roles, but for now just accept that I'm in charge. Besides, there's really nothing wrong with following my lead. That other Ranma certainly has no problems with letting that other Nabiki deal with problems."

"I most certainly am not going to become your sidekick," grumbled Ranma as he folded his arms and looked defiant. "Especially since I haven't lost to you in an actual fight. Sparring doesn't count. So, if anything, you should be listening to me. I'm the guy, after all."

"What was that, Ranma-kun?" asked Nabiki, a dangerous glint now in her eyes, a counterpoint to the cool smile on her lips. "If you can take me in a real fight, then I might consider it. Not that I really think you can," she finished truthfully. The tone of faint mockery in her voice was obviously grating on him.

"You really don't think I can beat you?" asked Ranma, surprised. His male ego was feeling the need to assert itself, and it was doing so with a vengeance now. "Guys are stronger fighters than girls. My martial artist counterpart is the best fighter among his peers in that other world, male or female, and I have all of his skills."

"I can say the same thing, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki with her smirk back in place. Her pride was on the line here, albeit a certain amount of that pride was borrowed from her other self, but she refused to back down now, after hearing him say something like that. She intended to rub his nose in her victory over him and prove her strength to him. "So, what do you say? Do you feel confident enough to challenge me to a real fight? I promise not to hurt you too badly when you lose, and you are going to lose."

"You're on," Ranma half-growled, feeling his newfound egotism taking firm possession of his mouth once again. "Just name the place and time, and I'll be there."

Both of them were now standing, practically nose-to-nose, each of them wearing equally cocky looks on their faces. The almost companionable mood from a few moments earlier was set aside for now, and their rivalry was guiding their actions now. It intermixed itself with the undertones of attraction they felt for each other, producing a volatile combination of feelings. This had been building up between them for the past few days, lurking behind their eyes as they spent more time with each other. Both of them were actually looking forward to the thought of challenging each other like this.

"Before classes, tomorrow morning, out in the playing fields away from the main buildings of the Academy," said Nabiki firmly. "Give me a good showing, Ranma-kun."

"You can count on that," he said with a grin, right before his face paled a bit and he staggered. His time spent under the influence of the resonator apparently must have drained him more than he thought, and he felt weak in the knees. He noticed Nabiki slipping a supporting arm around him, and the feel of her touch was pleasant.

"We should get you home," said the Tendo girl, her genuine concern for him slipping past the cool-eyed mask she had been wearing. "I'll help you to your house, and I don't want any arguments about that."

"All right," agreed Ranma. He had been operating to a large degree on adrenaline after waking up. The food and water he had consumed helped, but he was still feeling weak.

Together, the two of them shut down his equipment, gathered up his things into his bookbag, and they left his lab. Ranma took a moment to lock the door. They wended their way back upstairs, Nabiki refusing to relinquish her hold on his arm after he experienced another bout of weakness on the stairs and almost broke his neck.

They arrived at his house, Nabiki insisting that she escort him inside despite his protests. He finally relented with a grumble, mumbling under his breath something about "pushy females." She let that remark slide for now, but she made a note to punish him a little for it in the morning.

Nodoka greeted them at the front door, her face looking worried. She blinked when she saw Nabiki with Ranma, and she ushered them both inside with a terse, "Where have you been, young man? A pair of peaceforcers brought your father home, drunk, a couple of hours ago."

"He was with me, Saotome-san," said Nabiki, knowing that it was not exactly a lie. "We haven't met, but my name is Nabiki Tendo." She bowed to Ranma's mother. "Your son and I were on a date." She flinched a little inside at the weakness of the lie, but it was the best she could come up with at that moment.

"Well, Genma was certainly in no condition to tell me about your day when he came home," said the Saotome matriarch darkly. She then quickly brightened up and smiled very broadly when she asked her son, "Did Nabiki-chan say you two were on a date? How was it?" She briefly glanced at the Tendo girl, noting that she was dressed in the same sort of Chinese-style outfit like she had seen Ranma wearing during one of his morning practices. She found that mildly odd, but it did not diminish her happiness in the slightest way to see her son spending time with one of his prospective fiancées. And she still thought the Tendo girl reminded her of someone, but she could not quite remember who. However, seeing her son taking some initiative and making such an effort was gratifying to Nodoka.

"Uh, yeah, date," said Ranma helplessly, "it was, uh, interesting. I can honestly say that it was a most memorable day."

"I should be going now," said Nabiki smoothly, after watching him fumble for words for the last few moments. "I'm afraid that Ranma-kun is a bit worn out by what happened today. I suggest that he go to bed right away." She smirked at the pigtailed boy.

"I'll trust your judgment on the matter, Tendo-san," said Nodoka with a smile. She turned to him and said, "You heard her, Ranma. Off to bed. You and I will talk in the morning." She turned back to a grinning Nabiki, missing the dark look that her son was giving the Tendo girl. "Will you be all right going home by yourself, dear?"

"Sure," said Nabiki brightly, "it's not far. I only live a few blocks away." She bowed in farewell to Nodoka. "Goodnight, Saotome-san. Goodnight, Ranma-kun." With that, she left.

Ranma went upstairs, even more determined to prove himself to the smug girl tomorrow. She was even more insufferably irritating to him now that she fancied herself his peer in fighting, and he did not much care for her take-charge attitude. He was the guy, so he should be in charge of their partnership, right? Not that we are partners, he quickly amended.

While wondering about that, and about the problem of his father, Ranma fell asleep, his mind dropping into a dreamless slumber.

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Special thanks goes out to D.B. Sommer for his kind permission to borrow from "Shampoo 1/2" for Earth +4.612, +4.509 (Ranma 1/2 cluster), a very near parallel to the world in that story. For the original way that events played out on that alternate world, this took place in chapter nine of that story. The switch in Genmas has altered this other tangent even further towards a new destiny that will play out differently from the path of the original timeline.

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	10. The Rules Of Engagement

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Genma felt Nodoka shift against his side, jarring him awake once again. Her leg rested atop his own, and one of her arms was draped over his chest. To the best of his knowledge, she had been cuddled against him like that all night, and he had nervously awoken every time she shifted her position. He blinked open bleary eyes at the ceiling of the semi-familiar bedroom and listened to her sleepy mutterings, mostly of her love for him and Ranma, judging by the words. Sunrise was still a long time away, as far as he could tell, but he could not see the clock without his glasses. He prayed that he could get another few hours of sleep, and he wondered once again if he might not have made some sort of

miscalculation in coming home to his 'wife.'

Meanwhile, Nodoka's hand slowly moved across Genma's chest in her sleep, gently caressing him. Her dreams were pleasant, and her body luxuriated in the feel of her husband lying next to her. For ten long years, her sleep had been troubled by her loneliness, but now she was content. The love of her life had returned to her, changed by his time on the road, matured into the man she always hoped he could be, but he was still her Genma. She snuggled against him, feeling warm and safe for the first time in a very long while. Her breathing steadied as she fell back into a deeper slumber.

Genma closed his eyes when Nodoka's breathing changed, and he tried to imagine that it was his own wife who now slept pressed up against him. Trying to embrace that illusion was an easy task, but the struggle was in how far he could bring himself to pretend. He knew that, come the dawn, his reality would be far different from his fantasy, and he would have to deal with this Nodoka, not his own wife. A lump formed in his throat as he worried about his own Nodoka. She would not suspect that a stranger now slept in their bed. That concern had been partly responsible for his restless night, and the other part had been the great temptation given him, to forget his own troubles for a time with the obviously willing woman at his side. He could still picture the disappointed look on her face when he refused her as gently as he was able to as they went to bed.

Fending Nodoka off had not been an easy task, as she had taken his refusal initially as some sort of game on his part. The sheer, silken nightgown she chose to wear to bed had not helped matters, an outfit that was clearly chosen to reveal her figure to his gaze and entice him to action, and it was so tempting. But he kept feeling it would be a betrayal somehow, and that nagging worry refused to leave him. He had finally claimed a need for rest due to his recent injuries and the long trek across town, and she eventually relented. However, she then had immediately snuggled tightly up against him as they laid down to sleep, and Genma had found himself unable to relax. Sooner or later, he would have to give in to her ardorous demands, and that foregone conclusion raised an interesting philosophical question: would that be considered adultery?

Genma heard Nodoka sigh with contentment once again. As far as he could tell, Nodoka's dreams were apparently pleasant ones for her, and the feel of her body against him soon lulled him back to a fitful sleep. He was grateful that his dreams were uneventful and quiet so far. After a time, the soft sounds of his breathing changed to a rumbling snore.

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Meanwhile, Ranma slept the sleep of the blessed. His eyes had closed the moment his head hit the pillow. However, instead of being awake and agitated like his father, the pigtailed boy foundered in the sea of someone else's dreams and memories.

Troubled by the disturbing images all night long, the young man's dreams verged on nightmares. Some were scenes that, almost, reflected his own past, yet verged disturbingly at seemingly random points. In one, he and his father ran from Shampoo all the way from her home village to the Tendo home. The reason being that the young Amazon had to kill the 'girl' that defeated her in front of her village. But, in yet another sequence, he defeated her while in male form in the Tendo home, and she then declared that he was her husband. It continued as Shampoo, Akane, Ukyo, and even Kodachi all fought to be his bride.

However, after a brief period of respite in his dreams, the images changed in his slumbering mind. Now Ranma found himself caught up in vivid scenes of a very different type with Shampoo, beginning with the two of them locked together in a passionate embrace. He felt both of her callused hands caressing his body as he returned the favor upon her own, a softly-whispered "Airen" repeated into his ear as she nuzzled at his neck. The dream quickly turned far more erotic and intense, images swiftly crossing his mind of another life with Shampoo, the two of them married and loving each other with all of their being.

Ranma grumbled and rolled over onto his side, his mind now assailed with ardorous images of himself and Shampoo, their bodies intertwined in the throes of passionate intercourse. He groaned softly as a phantom of Shampoo continued to pleasure his dream self.

The imagery was so vivid and felt so real that Ranma snapped awake from them, uncertain for a long moment in the darkness where he was, or even who he was. His breathing was hard and panting, as if having just run a marathon, and his manhood was very solidly erect. All he could recall of his dream was that it concerned Shampoo and him and had been extremely pleasant.

A deep, slow breath filled his lungs and was gradually released while Ranma calmed himself, willing his body to relax. He stared at the unfamiliar walls of his room, the same room he had apparently once lived in as a child, and he tried to make sense of things. All of the events that occurred yesterday were jumbled in his mind, and he had a long gap in his memory. He shrugged off the notion that suddenly occurred to him, that the hard impact with the wall while skating with Shampoo might have affected him. He had taken much more severe injuries than that and still been able to function normally.

What happened to me? wondered Ranma in the quiet solitude of the night. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, grateful that his erection had gone away during his musings about yesterday. He turned his head and stared out at the night beyond his window. His mind kept drifting back to Shampoo, and he resolved to ask her if she thought there was anything strange about how he was acting yesterday. As his thoughts went back to his dreams and his reaction to them, he shivered with disgust as he imagined what it would have been like had he slept in his girl form.

I'm no longer engaged to Akane or Ukyo, noted Ranma idly, but he did not quite know how he felt about that. It was a relief to not have any engagements being forced upon him, but it still felt strange to no longer be at the Tendo Dojo. He yawned as he watched it begin to rain, the sound lulling him back to sleep. He closed his eyes and slipped back into a dreamless slumber.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you

understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. That same device has also given the Nabiki of this timeline an accidental copy of the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. An unexpected accident has now switched the mind of Professor Genma Saotome with that of his counterpart from the "Shampoo 1/2" timeline. Ukyo Kuonji is now on her way to her destiny with the young scientist, and she is pursued by the warrior, Ryoga Hibiki, who has known her since childhood and believes her to be male. Ranma, after failing to reclaim his true father, must now deal with this altered Genma, who has already engaged Ranma to Nabiki. And now Nabiki is determined to show Ranma that it is she, not he, who is the stronger fighter.

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Chapter 10 - The Rules Of Engagement

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear

the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but

not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer

a defeat.

- Sun Tzu: The Art of War

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Hikaru Gosunkugi walked quietly within that region of the Mobius Institute known as 'The Stacks.' This place was where many of the various books and tomes on all things mysterious and magical were kept for reference use by its agents, except for the powerful and dangerous ones. Each of those treacherous codices were kept securely locked up and spell-warded in the vault, accessible only with permission of Director Kasuga himself.

The smell of old paper and preservative agents permeated the air in this section of the Institute, but Gosunkugi ignored the odd odors as he poked among the various books, seeking some means for exacting revenge upon that pure-bred bitch that Ranma had on his leash, Kodachi Kuno. If he could hurt the girl Ranma loved for hurting the woman of his dreams, poetic justice would be served. So the young Esper had gotten up well before dawn to have peace and quiet during his search. The population of magic-wielders currently working for the Institute was composed of many notoriously late-risers who preferred to do their studying at night, so he felt reasonably assured of solitude as he searched for the instrument of his vengeance. He was perusing an index in one tome when a finger poked him in the back.

"Ahhh!" cried Gosunkugi, certain he had just lost a dozen years off of his life. The older cadets often told stories of the creatures that were rumored to wander around loose through the lower halls (aside from the elderly Director Kasuga), and he was certain that one of them had just come for him.

"Gotcha," snickered a female voice behind him.

Gosunkugi whirled around, clutching the book to his chest like a shield, to see a girl who was quite familiar to him standing there and looking very smug. She was currently dressed in the white and red robes of a Shinto shrine maiden, and a somewhat thick pair of glasses perched on her snub nose, giving her a more mature look. Her lustrous, red hair was tied back into a loose ponytail.

"M-Minami-chan," stuttered Gosunkugi when he recognized the young Ghost Sweeper standing where he had been certain a fiend from the lower pits of Hell would be. "What's the big idea, scaring me like that?"

"Oh, Gos-kun," said Minami sarcastically, "you are such an easy target." She smiled brightly at him, pushing a lock of loose hair back behind one ear. "What brings you down here this early in the morning?"

"Research," mumbled Gosunkugi.

"What was that?" asked Minami, wondering when he was going to ask her about the changes to her appearance. Feeling a little hurt and annoyed by his lack of perception, she turned so that he could better see her.

"Just some research," said Gosunkugi more clearly. The small lie he had worked out in advance came easily to his lips, so it was unfortunate that she had a spell of lie detection on him. "I'm falling a bit behind in one of my courses here at the Institute, so I'm looking for some more reading material." A brief fantasy of enchanting Akane Tendo into his arms rose unbidden to his mind, so he failed to notice that the young Ghost Sweeper was still twirling a lock of her hair and now looking more crossly at him. "So, uhm, what brings you here this morning? I thought your first class wasn't until nine."

"I was doing some early reading before classes when I happened to notice you back here," replied Minami, briefly wondering what his real purpose here was, even as her finger tucked her hair back into place. For a telepath, he certainly doesn't make it easy on a girl, she thought, mildly exasperated with the thin boy. I spent over two hours yesterday with that book on cosmetic sorcery, and the idiot hasn't even noticed.

She briefly recalled the efforts it had taken to recolor her hair to its present shade from its normal, duller red, altering her eyes to a more enticing shade of green, and, for the final touch, she had reconfigured her torso a bit to trim her waist, hips, and thighs of a few kilos of excess mass and enhanced her bustline a small amount with some of the displaced matter. She knew she wasn't skilled enough with this sort of magic to remake herself into a supermodel's measurements, but she was rather pleased at the results. However, all of that was apparently to no avail where a certain Esper boy was concerned, and it made her feel a little hurt.

"Oh, that's nice," said Gosunkugi absently, feeling a little nervous with Minami around to watch what he was up to. Strictly speaking, using any Institute resources for personal reasons was very much against the rules, and it could result in severe penalties if it was learned that he had done so. He also felt wary due to the intense looks that she was giving him, as if she expected him to do something, and he wasn't doing it.

"Hikaru Gosunkugi," said Minami finally in irritation, "aren't you going to say anything about my appearance? I'm trying out a new look, and you have yet to say a single word about it."

"Uh-uhm," stammered Gosunkugi, caught flat-footed by her sudden accusation. He was doing a good imitation of an animal surprised by the headlights of an oncoming car. "Y-you look nice, Minami-chan. You did something with your hair?" He saw her eyes narrow ever so slightly. "Did you try a new nail polish?" Her eyes began to blaze with an inner light, and he knew that wasn't a good sign. He made one last attempt and said, "Uh, I know! You're wearing new shoes." He smiled at her hopefully.

The glare he received in return could have ignited a supernova, and Gosunkugi mentally kicked himself as his Esper senses picked up a stream of invective directed at him, most of them variations on calling him an idiot or worse. He watched as Minami whipped her glasses off with one hand and stared angrily into his eyes with a glare. Uncertain what to do or say, Gosunkugi just stood there. He felt himself begin to sweat from the stress of her gaze. He always felt this way around Minami, a fact that the Ghost Sweeper sometimes used to her own advantage. However, she did not appear to want to ask him for any sort of a favor now, and he could not figure out what he had done to make her mad.

"You might be interested in knowing that I am going to be attending the Academy alongside you and Kasuga-senpai," said Minami icily. "I just got my transfer papers yesterday, not that _you_ care. Perhaps _some_ boy there will know how to show the proper sort of appreciation for an intelligent and understanding girl like myself, not like the insensitive wretch currently standing before me." With that said, she replaced her glasses, turned on a heel and stalked off back the way she came with a feminine harrumph.

Girls, thought Gosunkugi, confused by what had just happened to him. He liked Minami, but the young Ghost Sweeper was often an enigma to him, and she wasn't nearly as interesting to him as Akane Tendo. With a shrug of his thin shoulders, he began searching once again for an appropriate book, not noticing one on the shelf above him beginning to move. It twitched slightly as he examined some of the tomes directly underneath it.

The slender book quivered again a second time, the sorceries bound up within it triggered by the emotional emanations from the young man now seething below it with his desires for vengeance. It slowly slipped forward a small amount, the plain brown cover disintegrating to reveal a gold-trimmed, black leather beneath. When the last of the brown cloth had finished fading into ash, the book slipped forwards another small distance and paused for a moment. Then, with a final surge, the book leaped clear of the shelf, falling free of the volumes to either side of it, and plummeted the short distance to whack Hikaru Gosunkugi squarely on the top of his head.

The sunken-eyed youth collapsed to the ground as if poleaxed, stunned by the unexpected impact. After a moment, he shook his head, stared at the book resting in his lap, and almost heard it purring there. He noted the faded black leather and the much scuffed gold trim. Kanji symbols in more worn gold were revealed when he picked it up and looked at the binding, brushing aside some of the remaining ashes of the brown cloth that once covered it.

The kanji read, "Codex of Ineffable Sorcery - A Primer Into The Arts Arcane - Six Hundred Sixty-Sixth Revised Edition."

When Gosunkugi saw these words, he began to chuckle softly. Then the chuckles slowly became louder and more menacing, until he broke off into a fit of coughing. After catching his breath, he whispered, "Soon, Ranma Saotome, I shall destroy that bitch of a noblewoman, and then you. Prepare to face the doom I shall prepare for you." He could hardly wait to start reading the book.

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As Ranma dressed, he sneezed. He heard his mother downstairs in the kitchen already preparing breakfast, but so far he had not heard any motions from his 'father.' That was perfect. He was looking forward to a private discussion with Genma Saotome when his mother was not around to disturb them. Luckily, the injury to his jaw was already healed, or he would be feeling even less charitable towards the man than he was at the moment. Grabbing his red, Chinese-style shirt and quickly slipping it on as he walked, Ranma left his room and quietly paced the distance to his parent's room. His ears detected some faint sounds as he drew nearer to it even as a stray thought occurred to him as he paused outside the door. He would have to leave soon if he was going to make his scheduled appointment for the duel with Nabiki.

I guess the old fool is learning the effects of an alcohol binge on a body that isn't prepared for it, thought Ranma without any sympathy. A small smile lit his face as he placed his hand on the doorframe.

Inside the bedroom, Genma rolled over on his futon and sincerely wished that he was dead. The din caused by Nodoka's movements in the room a short while ago had set off a pounding in his head worse than anything that Happosai had ever caused him. The pain was unimaginable, and the room kept shifting in uncomfortable directions. When the door slid open, the noise was like the sound of fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. And when the voice spoke, it lanced through his skull like the wrath of ten thousand angry gods.

"Good morning, Father," said Ranma cheerfully. "I trust that you slept well?" He walked over and slipped the comforter from off the supine form on the futon. This was after he raised the drapes in the room to achieve the full effect that he sought in this action.

The early morning sun caught Genma squarely in the face, bringing with it an entirely new concept of pain, and his desires to expire on the spot multiplied at least tenfold. He whimpered like a baby and snatched the covers back as quickly as he could. He caught sight of the face of his son smirking at him in that brief moment, dressed in a very familiar outfit, and he briefly wondered if the events of yesterday had been some sort of a nightmare. However, that didn't explain Nodoka's presence, nor did it explain how drinking could have affected him as badly as it had. For decades, he had rigorously conditioned his body to consume very large quantities of liquor without suffering any lingering effects. Now, he felt like his head was an anvil being used to forge sword blades for an army, and he wished that he felt well enough to wipe the smug expression from the boy's face. He heard Ranma settle himself nearby and yank the cover back from protecting his face from the harsh light of dawn.

"You and I need to have a little chat, old man," said Ranma calmly.

"Ranma!" shouted Genma, but he immediately regretted it, another small whimper escaping his lips. He continued much more softly and said, "You should give your father more respect than this, especially when he's lying on his deathbed."

"You aren't really my father, and you aren't really dying," said Ranma coldly. He reached down and hauled Genma up by his lapels. "You really don't want to test me, old man. I know the troubles that you've caused in the past, and you aren't going to do it here. This is a whole new world, and you don't know the rules. I'm not the same sort of Ranma that you're used to dealing with, and I'm far more intelligent than that ignorant jock you raised."

Genma groaned as the room whirled, and his stomach made disturbing noises. It appeared that the boy was already on to him, and he hastily began to try and come up with some sort of backup plan, but failed. So he decided to improvise. In addition to that problem, the pain in his head seemed to be getting worse, and he swore a most solemn oath to the heavens that if he somehow was able to survive this hangover, he would never ever drink again. He managed to focus his blurry vision on Ranma and frowned, deciding to brazen it out.

"How dare you speak to me this way, you lazy boy?" scolded Genma. "You should be grateful to have me around now. My example will make a real man out of you, not some pathetic scribe like you've been so far, and I can teach you many things that this other Genma never knew."

"Like what? How to dodge out of a bar bill?" asked Ranma in a very sarcastic tone. He tightened his grip on Genma's clothes. "My father is a great man, a great scholar, and you have no right to belittle him. He's never done anything to me that could even begin to compare to what that other version of me has undergone."

A memory briefly flashed across Genma's mind, the reason why Ranma had spent ten years training his mind and learning all the knowledge that the world had to offer. Genma blinked at the memory, knowing that he now held a valuable trump card to be played, one to show the arrogant boy now threatening him that his father was not the great man he thought him to be. He was so tempted to tell Ranma now, but something made him stay silent and listen to the pigtailed boy who was still ranting at him.

Ranma continued, not seeing the gleam appearing in Genma's eyes for a moment. "I've seen the world that you came from, and now my own father is trapped there with all of your moronic mistakes! So don't you dare even think about making yourself comfortable here! As soon as I can, I'm going to send you back there and rescue him."

A wicked grin crossed Genma's face, and he said, "Oh really, boy? I think I like it fine here in this life. And besides, you're soft. You aren't even a real martial artist, and I'd bet even a girl could beat you up."

Ranma winced, ever so slightly.

Genma kept talking without appearing to notice, "Face it! You're just a punk kid playing dress-up in that outfit, but I can make you the real thing. I can make you into a real martial artist, even better than that ungrateful boy I used to call my son. How does that sound... son?"

For a single moment, Ranma was actually tempted by that, and then he hated himself for even considering betraying his own father in favor of this creature who now wore his face. A low, angry growl emerged from his throat, and fury filled his being. Before he could stop himself, his fist slammed across Genma's face, knocking him into the wall and leaving cracks in the plaster there. He started towards the fallen man, who was even now gathering himself, but he stopped suddenly and glared at Genma instead.

"You aren't worth it," said Ranma in disgust, partially at his own loss of control, partially in shame at feeling tempted by the offer. He turned to leave, pausing for a moment to say, "And don't you even think about trying anything with my mother." He walked out.

After Ranma left, Genma suddenly had a clever idea strike him, and he rubbed his jaw in thought as he stood up. A nasty smile crossed his face as he quickly picked up the telephone receiver and started punching buttons. He listened to it ringing on the other end several times, his eyes wincing in pain at each one, before being answered.

"Hello? Fuyutsuki-san? Genma Saotome here. I have something I wish to discuss with you."

As he went on to speak in serious tones with the man on the other end, a longtime friend to his counterpart, Genma Saotome smiled evilly. His headache was still almost unbearably painful and pounding, but this phone call would neutralize any threat that this Ranma could offer him.

A short while later, after Ranma had left for classes, Genma heard Nodoka enter the room bearing a tray of tea. He moved around a little on his futon and cursed softly at the lack of conditioning in this body for such manly pursuits as drinking. His new position had again brought the morning sun straight into his eyes like the wrath of the gods, and he hid his face under the covers and whimpered in pain.

Nodoka sighed. Genma had come home stinking drunk last night, and it was the first time that she could recall ever seeing him in such a repulsive condition. Even at the celebration party after their marriage, he had remained very sober, and his strong sense of self-control had always been one of the things that had attracted her to him. She set the tray of tea down and knelt by his side.

"Genma Dearest," Nodoka said softly. She heard him groan under the covers while she poured some hot tea into a cup. It was a special blend that her mother had always used whenever her father was recuperating from one of his occasional drinking bouts. She deftly whipped the cover off Genma's body, pinched his nose shut, and poured the whole cup down his throat in a single smooth motion. Then she waited, patiently kneeling beside her husband.

When the herbal concoction hit his system, Genma sat straight up, and his eyes went wide. He blinked rapidly, and he felt like someone had just stuck a firehose in his mouth and turned on the water full force. All of the remaining pains of his hangover were experienced in a single, blinding instant, rather than gradually over a period of time. When it was over, he sat there, panting like a bellows.

"Feeling a little better, Dearest?" asked Nodoka sweetly.

Genma grunted and exhaled in a sigh, his mind fogged from a reaction to the herbal mixture he just drank combined with the remaining hangover.

Nodoka narrowed her eyes slightly at Genma in displeasure. Her husband didn't look to be in any shape to teach his classes for the day, so she made a mental note to contact his aide to take over for him. She poured another full cup of hot tea and shoved it into his hands as she said, "I want you to drink down this entire pot of tea that I made. Now." The sweet tones had been replaced with steel ones.

He swallowed the tea, and his eyes only bulged a little at the reaction it caused in his body this time. Seeing Nodoka's unforgiving eyes upon him, he meekly held out the cup for a refill. He drank down six more cups of tea before the pot was empty. By the time he was done, he felt almost normal.

"Now, will you tell me whatever made you make such a disgusting spectacle of yourself last night?" asked Nodoka calmly. She took the empty teacup from his hand, set it on the tray, and then waited with folded arms for his answer.

Genma felt that lying would be a prudent course of action right now, so he said, "I-I don't exactly remember, Nodoka-chan."

Nodoka did not look convinced, and her arms remained folded across her chest. She hoped that this was not some sort of middle-aged crisis like her father had gone through when he was Genma's age. With her son's future happiness riding on the next few days, the last thing she wanted to contend with was Genma acting differently. She frowned at him deeply.

"Nodoka-chan?" said Genma, beginning to panic, visions of a sword taking his head off filling his mind for a moment.

"I want you to listen to me well, Dearest," said Nodoka, her voice sounding like plush velvet covering a steel gauntlet. "I know that you have not been happy with the thought of Ranma becoming engaged at his age, but I will not have you sabotaging things by purposefully acting so disgracefully at this time." She leaned in closer, her eyes now blazing with anger, and her finger firmly stabbed into his chest to punctuate her statements. "You _will_ refrain from drinking, unless it is with one of the fathers of the families that we will be meeting this week, and you _will_ agree with my decision for the girl I feel would be best for Ranma. Do you understand me, Dearest?"

Terrified at that moment, Genma could only nod mutely. He then saw Nodoka's expression become its usual pleasant one once more, the power of her will hidden behind it. He almost leaped out of his futon when her arms came up at him, but he relaxed when she only gave him a hug.

"I just want everything to go right this week, Dearest," said Nodoka quietly, and then she kissed him on the lips.

Genma blinked in surprise, but the kiss was unexpectedly arousing. It had been a very long time for him, and now that his headache was gone, he felt up to other activities. Ranma's recent warning was already forgotten as he pulled Nodoka in for a deeper kiss, an act that apparently surprised her.

"Dearest?" asked Nodoka, confused. "What are-umph!" Her question was cut off by the very passionate kiss, and she was surprised to feel Genma's hands quickly moving to the ties of her yukata. She was more than a little astonished at his sudden ardor, and she wondered if it was some sort of a side-effect of the tea. If so, she would have to make more, she thought in a brief period of clarity.

A brief time later, both of them were far too occupied to think about much of anything other than what was currently going on.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kinnosuke Kashuoh yawned slightly as he blinked his eyes open at the morning sunlight, and he stretched his arms as he enjoyed the feel of the silken nightclothes he was wearing. A warm body was snuggled up against him in sleep, murmuring in gentle protest at his movements. It took him a moment to remember which of his three 'pets' it was. He looked down to see red hair, for it was Tiger's head now nestled against his side. One of her trimly-muscular arms was resting across his torso, and the sensation was arousing him, not to mention how good the rest of her body felt to be pressed against him like it was.

Tiger yawned much like her feline namesake, blinking sleepily as her jade-green, slit-pupiled eyes adjusted to the early morning sunlight streaming in through the window. Her tapering, cat-like ears perked forward as she smiled upwards at her Kinnosuke-sama. She was wearing a sheer silk teddy in deep blue, because she knew that he liked seeing that color on her. She was so happy that she had been the one chosen to share his bed the previous night, and a pleased smile caressed her lips as she recalled the jealous looks that Lynx and Panther had given her.

"Good morning, Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger softly, a gentle purring undertone to her voice that was highly sensual-sounding. "Did you sleep well?"

"Quite well, Tiger," said Kinnosuke in an almost perfunctory tone of voice, his eyes glancing at the clock. He saw that he had some extra time this morning before he needed to bathe and get himself ready for classes, and he looked downwards at the loving face looking upwards at him, feeling a strong stirring of desire within him at the sight. He had not done anything with Tiger the night before, preferring to focus his mind on his plans for his conquering of Nabiki and her organization to the exclusion of much else, but this morning was a different matter. He had not played with any of his toys for a number of days now, and his body was telling him that it had been long enough.

Without another word, Kinnosuke bent down and placed a firm kiss on Tiger's lips, feeling them parting for him immediately and with abandon, her hands moving to caress his neck and the back of his head as she knew he liked. He felt her body roll on top of his as she opened her mouth and let his tongue duel with her own.

Things became more and more heated between them, Kinnosuke lightly growling with pleasure as Tiger's roaming kiss hit just the right spot on his neck. Both of his hands gently ran along the length of her ears as he stroked her hair, and he felt them twitching gently at his touch, a sure sign of her enjoyment of his caresses. He felt her soft lips nuzzling below his ear; her body's every movement exciting him just as it was designed to excite any man who owned her. Knowing that she was his to command, her only desire to love and serve him with all of her being, was a most powerful aphrodisiac to him. He put his arms around her and hugged her to him, feeling her tongue caressing his neck and up under his jaw.

"Kinnosuke-sama," purred Tiger, her passions feeding deeply on her love for him and growing more and more intense. Subliminal programs awoke in the depths of her mind, and her hands began moving to touch certain shiatsu pressure points on his body, those which would enhance sensual excitement in the human male. She felt his hands moving slowly about her body, and a sigh of bliss escaped her lips. Her ears rotated back in pleasure as she sat up, her legs straddling his waist, and her hands continued to probe around his torso.

"Oh, yes," murmured Kinnosuke, enjoying every moment of Tiger's touch upon him, feeling his own desires awakening even further at her direction. When their two bodies were finally joined in coitus, the pleasurable sensations almost overcame his control, but he felt the redheaded catgirl's hands touching and moving about his torso, each gentle but firm press of her fingers somehow slowing and dampening the urgency of his responses.

"Kinnosuke-sama," sighed Tiger, feeling her own pleasure gradually rising up within her like a tide as they moved together, and her ears remained flattened to her head as the intense sensations consumed her attention. Her trim body was now acting almost totally on its own under the guidance of her subliminal programming, and she luxuriated in the touches of the man she loved so deeply, feeling him moving beneath and within her. To Tiger, this was the fulfillment of the measure of her existence.

A short time later, an intense orgasm reached out and embraced her as she felt her body buck against his for several moments. Even as that happened, her hands moved to firmly touch various points on his body, quelling the urgent fires burning inside of him and keeping them from peaking just yet. Her movements slowed for a short time as she caught her breath, but then they began gradually speeding up again.

As he hovered on the brink of his own release, Kinnosuke lost himself in the fantasies his mind conjured up by the motions of their two joined bodies, and he passionately whispered, "Oh, Nabiki-chan."

Anger soured the sweetness of the intense sensual pleasures once again washing through Tiger's body a second time, but her programming judged that her master was at the right point to let her send him off the edge into his own climax. Her hands gently moved to touch certain pressure points, releasing the blocks on his internal energies that had been established. However, when she felt his body shuddering beneath her in his pleasure, he whispered that hated name again, and rage filled her. The intricate mental conditionings Genom had installed in her mind would not allow her to feel anything of a negative nature against her master, so the sum total of all that jealous anger was then channeled against the sole target remaining, even as their two bodies slowly relaxed after the release of passions. Tiger breathed evenly, her eyes barely open, as she remained sitting straddled on the man she cared for with all of her being.

Damn you to hell, Nabiki Tendo, thought Tiger angrily, even as she felt her beloved's body gradually calming beneath her. Tearing apart your precious organization will be a pleasure, and I swear I will see you brought low before Kinnosuke-sama. However, I do hope it is after intense resistance on your part. A wicked smile crossed her lips as she gently moved herself off of her master, gathering up her clothes in an idle fashion and pulling on her yukata. Please resist me with all your might, so that I can have the pleasure of shattering your will even as my fists break your body.

Unaware of the thoughts running through Tiger's mind as he absently watched her dress, Kinnosuke was enjoying the pleasant afterglow of his recent activities, endorphins now running strongly throughout his body. He studied Tiger, picturing Nabiki's face atop the catgirl's exquisitely toned shape, and smiled. Perhaps after classes were over he would enjoy Lynx's more quiet charms, or maybe he would entertain himself with some playful wrestling with the statuesquely beautiful Panther before he took pleasure from her body in intercourse. Or maybe he would take both to his bed, or perhaps even all three of them. All in all, it looked to be a very good day. He knew that the time spent away from the trio only enhanced their desires to please him, and that was partly why he would occasionally forego the many diversions that they offered him. It gave him a sense of power that was almost as enjoyable as the pleasures of the flesh that they presented him.

The door suddenly opened, and Lynx and Panther entered the room, the tall, blonde catgirl bearing a tray with his breakfast. Both of them were dressed in traditional yukata and obi, barefoot, and with their hair pinned up.

"Good morning, Kinnosuke-sama," said the two catgirls brightly in two-part harmony. They paused for a moment in the doorway, their noses catching the scent of recent sexual activity in the room, and the duo shot brief glares at Tiger. But, a moment later, they were all smiles again as they presented themselves to the man they loved with all of their being.

"With your leave, Kinnosuke-sama, I will go and prepare your bath for you," said Tiger very respectfully while kneeling, one arm held across her chest as she kept her head bowed. She arose when he grunted his assent, and she watched for a brief time as he began to eat his breakfast. The redhead then quietly withdrew from the room, the other two catgirls watching her departure out of the corners of their eyes.

While Tiger's inner thoughts filled with bloody images of beating Nabiki Tendo to a pulp, she walked the length of the corridors in the west wing of the manor house. Her ears laid back and a very quiet snarl escaping from her throat, she walked along with a purposeful stride. Her eyes were set in a narrow gaze, the green of her irises filled with a jealous anger. She entered the bathing area and proceeded to get it ready for her master's use, as well as taking the time to bathe herself if he desired her to join him in the tub as he occasionally did.

Meanwhile, back in the bedroom area, and taking the subservience of the remaining two catgirls as his due, Kinnosuke ate his breakfast at a leisurely pace. He fended off Lynx's brief attempts at trying to feed him with a cool-eyed glare. He enjoyed the cowed look she gave him in return, feeling a heady surge of power at his ability to control such a woman so easily.

Soon, Nabiki, Kinnosuke thought with glee, you too will kneel before me and take your proper place as a woman, serving me as is my right as a man.

Soon.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki arrived on campus a little over forty minutes before classes were to begin, her uniform in her bag. She was dressed in a light-blue, short-sleeved, Chinese-style shirt (a color she was finding that she liked the most) and black gi pants. The trim muscles in her arms were slightly tense with expectation. She took a moment and inhaled deeply of the scent of cherry blossoms in the air, smiling. The sky was clear except for a few scattered clouds. It's just a perfect morning for a martial arts duel, she thought pleasantly.

Setting her bag down on the grass where the duel would take place, Nabiki began to do some stretching exercises to loosen herself up. As she limbered up her body for what would only be her second real fight, she caught sight of some of her assistants approaching her: Yohko Mano, and behind her two other associates, Yuka and Sayuri. All three of them were dressed in the gray uniforms of security cadets. Nabiki nodded her head to them in greeting as they came nearer, pausing for a moment in her warm-up.

"Good morning, ladies," Nabiki said pleasantly. She bent her body double as she stretched out one leg, feeling the muscles in her calves and thighs loosening up. "Is everything ready for the big show today?"

"We spread the word about the fight," said Yohko calmly. "And from the surprising number of cadets already on campus, it should be a pretty respectable crowd to witness it. Rumors have been making the rounds about what the two of you have been doing the last couple of days, and there are a few wild stories floating around. Is it true that you beat up a couple of guys on the street a few days ago?"

Nabiki blinked in surprise, since she was sure that nobody had been around to witness anything. Still, with would-be Security Directorate operatives running around all over the place, it was not a very large surprise that someone might have been following her for surveillance practice. However, she was a little miffed at herself for not detecting anyone doing so.

"That's true, actually," admitted Nabiki. "It was just those two punks, Hayate Isurugi and Kena Sadojima. They weren't as tough as their reps would say."

Yohko raised one eyebrow. She knew for a fact, based on how well she knew Akane's level of fighting skills, that the youngest Tendo girl could take on those two at the same time in a straight fight and likely win, but she had not suspected that Nabiki was an even better fighter. It was also pretty clear that Ranma was a tough combatant, since he had battled Akane as easily as if the girl was almost standing still. This fight was looking more and more interesting.

"So why the duel, senpai?" asked Yuka in curiosity. "What has Ranma ever done to you?"

"It's a private matter between him and me," said Nabiki as she did a few more limbering-up exercises. Her body felt supple and strong this morning, and she knew that she was drawing ever nearer to the level of conditioning that her counterpart enjoyed, grateful to her mother for the brutal training of her youth. "Let's just say that both of us are curious to see how we would each do in a real fight against the other and leave it at that."

"Okay, Boss," said Sayuri with a nod. She glanced at the other two girls with her and asked, "So what sort of odds do you want us to set on the betting? Current opinion is favoring Ranma, since more people have seen what he can do. Three to two odds?"

Nabiki thought about it for a moment. Based on her sparring matches with Ranma, she assumed that his counterpart was not quite as skilled as her own. Ranma seemed to be a fairly good match for her physically. He was a bit stronger that she was, as well as being able to take somewhat more punishment. However, she was faster, more limber, and her counterpart's skills seemed to be superior to those that Ranma obtained from his own counterpart. She was confident that other Nabiki could take down that other Ranma in a one-on-one fight, so she was extremely confident she would win here today. After all, she had already beaten him once before, and going at each other in a real fight would give her the opportunity to prove her superior fighting skills to him even more decisively.

"Those odds sound about right to me, only set them up in my favor," said Nabiki with a grin. If Ranma heard the odds, she was sure that would rev up his fighting spirits a bit, and she wanted them both to be at their best for this fight. She really wanted to settle the issue of who was the tougher between them, at least at the point that they stood now. "Oh, and don't forget to take bets on the length of the fight. I should have Ranma put down in under ten minutes, but he may last as long as fifteen. Set your odds based on that."

"Gotcha, senpai," said Yuka, jotting it down in her notebook.

"Go start setting up bets," said Nabiki. "Ranma will be here shortly, and I want to get started as soon as he does."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane paused at the gates to Furinkan Military Academy and surveyed the area. It was similar in appearance to the Imperial Academy, and she was a little relieved at that. She tugged at the new uniform that she was wearing, the jacket feeling a little snug at the collar. However, the pants fit her all right, and it was only a very mild adjustment for her to wear this much more masculine uniform design. She was grateful to Kyoko for obtaining several in her size yesterday.

A commotion over by one of the cherry trees on campus quickly drew her attention, and Akane witnessed a fight between two cadets taking place. Now this is my kind of action, she thought with a grin. She casually strolled over to see what was going on.

A small crowd of cadets was gathered around the two struggling figures battling between the wall and a large cherry tree. As she drew nearer, Akane could see that they were both boys, first-year cadets from the single stripe on their uniform sleeves, one currently beating in the face of the other with economical strikes from his fists. She noticed that there were a couple of other girls standing around as well, but the vast majority was male. She licked her lips as she wondered how quickly she could start testing herself against these other young warriors-in-training.

The loser finally crumpled to the ground, his face looking battered and one of his eyes swelling shut. The other boy looked not quite as beaten up, but he had taken a few solid hits in the conflict. He enjoyed the cheers of the crowd at his skills, and one of the two other girls who had been standing in the small crowd looked at the victorious boy with shining eyes. The other one, a girl with short brown hair and a single stripe on her sleeve, appeared to be studying Akane casually.

Akane chuckled at the fighting skills demonstrated before her now. She did not appear to notice or care that several sets of eyes were now swiveling in her direction. The boy who had just won looked at her with a very sour expression.

"What's so funny, little girl?" asked one of the upperclassmen, a brawny boy wearing two stripes on his right sleeve. He was several centimeters taller than Akane, and he marched up to her as he spoke in a menacing tone of voice.

"I was just expecting to see better fighting abilities," said Akane casually. "I could take on either of those two and win."

"The winner is my little brother," said the older boy angrily, "and I don't appreciate you mocking his skills. If you're so very good, then perhaps you might put your fists where your mouth already is? Girl, I challenge you!"

"My pleasure," said Akane, and her body surged forward as her fist struck the older boy up under his jaw before he could defend himself, with her full power behind the blow. As his body sagged down, stunned, her knee quickly followed up the first strike by slamming upwards into his groin hard enough to lift his feet clear of the ground by several centimeters. Clutching himself in reflex, a greenish look now filling his face, he fell to the ground and began retching while Akane calmly watched his plight. Several boys looked pained in sympathy for him.

Akane was disappointed. She absently brushed her fingers back through her hair and sighed. As she straightened her uniform, a modest rippling of conversation went through the crowd. She only half-listened as she smoothed the cloth of non-existent wrinkles, ignoring the gasping figure at her feet.

"She just took down Yatagi-senpai without working up a sweat."

"She's a beauty though."

"Try ball-buster, instead."

"The other upperclassmen won't put up with something like this."

"Do you think she might get invited to join the Combat Club?"

Akane's eyes brightened at that last one, and she whirled to face the male cadet who had just spoken and asked, "What did you just say?"

The boy, a first-year plebe like her, backed away from her holding his hands up in submission. "I just wondered if you might be invited into the Combat Club." Seeing that she wasn't attacking him, his voice gained confidence. "Only the best of our fighters are allowed to apply, so the club contains only master-level combatants. It's said that to join, you must defeat three of the current members." Eyes shining with awe, he gushed, "I bet that you'll be the first plebe ever to get in! See the sergeant over there, the first-year cadet? That's Kasugano-san, and she's a member."

Akane watched the other girl approach a moment after their eyes met. She studied her as she strode over, the girl's walk having the rather distinctive sort of grace that a well-trained fighter had, and her body was leanly built. The girl's short brown hair blew freely in the sudden breeze that arose.

The girl stopped within a pace of Akane, and then neither one moved. Their gazes locked for several moments, as an unspoken communication occurred between them. Akane idly noticed that the girl's height was a couple of centimeters shorter than her own, perhaps a hundred and sixty at the most, giving her a very slight reach disadvantage against Akane. Neither girl appeared to notice when the boy Akane was speaking to scurried away as quickly as he could without attracting attention.

"I'm Sakura Kasugano," said the other girl neutrally. "Seventh Dan of the School of Holy Imperial Fighting."

"I'm Akane Tendo. I'm unranked but mostly use the same school as you."

"You fight well, plebe," Sakura said with a friendly grin. "It took great speed and skill to defeat Yatagi-baka as quickly as you did. Perhaps you might like to test your skills against me sometime soon." She held out her hand. "Would you like to be friends?"

"I think I'd like that," replied Akane sincerely, taking the hand and engaging in a brief test of grips that she only narrowly won. She saw Sakura nod once.

"Welcome to Furinkan Military Academy, Akane Tendo," said Sakura with a slightly broader smile. "Come with me, and I'll show you around the campus." With that, the lean-built girl walked off, displaying a relaxed military posture in her spine. Her short hair waved about a little as she strode away.

Akane smiled. The day had just begun for her, and things were already looking very promising. She hurried after her new-found friend.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Ranma entered the gates of the Academy, he wore the fighting outfit Nabiki had gifted him with. His uniform lay neatly folded in the bookbag slung over his shoulder as he intended to shower and change after this morning's foregone victory. Grateful that his sleep had been peaceful, he felt ready for the coming challenge. In fact, his body hummed with suppressed excitement. A look of mild surprise crossed his face as his gaze took in the many knots of students, many more than should be there that early. Dismissing them as an unneeded distraction, he walked towards the practice field and his 'date' with Nabiki.

Hiei Yuukyuuzan and Naka Seta watched Ranma from one side of the main building as he made his way past them. Hiei's eyes blazed with hatred for Ranma, for making him look bad to his leader. He knew that today was going to be his last chance for redemption. Ranma Saotome, soon I shall redeem myself, with your broken body as the coin, he thought darkly. Enjoy your little match with Nabiki, because she's going to be next after I take care of you.

Naka was keeping his own counsel today. His trademark smile was on his face as he kept Hiei company. The two members of the Wolf Pack began following along behind Ranma silently, keeping their distance for now.

Ranma continued his walk out to the field, absently counting the number of cadets in the area. He saw them forming a rough circle a good distance away from where Nabiki was warming up with some punching and kicking exercises, every movement economical and lean of any wasted motions. Her short-sleeved shirt showed off the compact and pleasantly well-defined musculature in her arms, especially when they were covered in a light sheen of sweat like they now were.

A slight increase in the buzz of conversations going on around her signaled Ranma's arrival on the scene. Nabiki paused in her efforts as she watched her challenger approach. As she continued to watch, their gazes locked. The intensity of the look caused a brief shiver of ...need ...anticipation ...aggressiveness to whisper through her as she responded to the strength and confidence of the young man in front of her. But there was also now something more present, something that she had simply not noticed in him before, even when they had been engaged in fierce combat with each other.

Nabiki quickly lowered her gaze as a flush appeared on her face, and she hoped that Ranma had not noticed her unexpected reaction to him. She had always been very much aware of Ranma's physical attractiveness, and his blue eyes and handsomely-carved facial features had always been quite pleasing to her. But the force of personality now lying behind his face -the intelligence, the character, and the strength of will- gave it a life and energy that had just struck her almost like a physical blow.

It was the first time the sight of any boy had ever taken her breath away. What he had gained for himself so very recently, something that he had never displayed so openly to her before, was a measureless vitality that warned anyone who saw him that this young man was a force to be reckoned with. The athletic grace that he now carried himself with as he slowly approached her only added to that image.

However, despite her strong feelings for him, Nabiki intended to fight Ranma as if nothing had changed. It would be a severe insult to his abilities if she eased up on him in the slightest way, and she suspected that he was feeling much the same. Disregarding who and what they were only days before, both of them were warriors now, martial artists, and that carried a code of conduct that went beyond feelings of love or friendship. If Ranma intended to defeat her, he would have to take that victory from her by force. However, Nabiki was certain that she would win, despite the bravado that Ranma was now displaying, for she knew that her skills were greater and her reflexes and conditioning better.

At the moment of meeting Nabiki's gaze, Ranma had a cocky look on his face, feeling deeply confident in himself this morning. After all, despite the taunts that Genma had spoken to him just a short time ago, he knew that he would win. He refused to believe that any girl, even one possessed of the skills of an heir to the Anything-Goes School, even his female counterpart, Ranko, was better. His male ego, now backed up by the memories of those other lives, would not allow him to. He was Ranma Saotome, and he knew to the very core of his being that he never lost when it counted. An intense clarity of purpose had come over him.

Then the moment was gone. Returning to himself, Ranma briefly shook his head to clear it. He paused in his approach to Nabiki, and he felt that familiar tingling sensation starting up as he came near her. He ignored his feelings of attraction with some difficulty. It did not matter what he might or might not feel for Nabiki at this time; she was only his opponent now. In a sense, she represented the ultimate test of his martial arts skills; a warrior who was trained to an equal degree as himself, and an opponent who would know all the same tricks and counters that he knew. Defeating her would be to ascend to the top of a mountain and embrace the new life he had found for himself, and he wanted to win against her more intensely than he had ever wanted anything else in his life. This would be his test, and he would not fail.

"Ready, Ranma-kun?" asked Nabiki pleasantly. "You can always choose to back down, you know, and take your place in my shadow. Or, if you think you can, you could show me how much of a man you are. Not that I think you have any chance of defeating me." She knew her words were cheap shots, but unsettling an opponent's mind with insults was sometimes just as effective as a strike to the ribs or gut.

"Let's get to it, Nabiki," said Ranma calmly. Without bothering to warm up, he settled into an almost relaxed combat stance.

Things began, and she could immediately sense that something was quite different about Ranma this time. Her fists and feet lashed out at him, probing his defenses as they maneuvered around each other for advantage. Ranma responded in kind, his punches and kicks flowing against Nabiki's own defenses. She could sense intense purpose in his movements, but there was also something more that unexpectedly began swirling between them, a powerful feeling of rightness. This was what they were both born to be, to do, and yet there was also an almost sensual undertone to their struggle. In a sense, they were Yin and Yang personified, and this was their first real battle with each other. There was a feeling of expectancy in the air, as if anything was now possible.

"This is so exciting," said Yuka, now that all of the betting was taken care of. She was standing next to Sayuri and Yohko, watching Nabiki and Ranma seemingly dancing with each other at incredible speed. It was like being down on the Arena floor during a match.

"Uh huh," muttered Yohko, her gaze locked on observing the almost patternless motions that the two martial artists were using. She caught a brief glimpse of Kyosuke coming towards her, but she very purposely ignored him as he slowly approached. She had forgiven him over the weekend, but she enjoyed having him feel the need to pursue her. She glanced at a couple of third-year cadets from the Video Club following the action with a portable video camera, and smiled. "I'm so glad that Nabiki decided to film this fight. We'll make a killing on selling this."

"Come on, Tendo-senpai!" shouted Sayuri, pumping a fist into the air in her excitement. She cheered for her friend with all of her heart and soul, feeling a heady thrill fill her at seeing Nabiki fighting so fiercely. "Kick Saotome's ass!"

Ranma ducked under Nabiki's spin kick, his eyes and other senses watching the flows of her motions, and he waited for the proper moments to attack. He somehow knew that she was doing the same, as they both became more and more focused on their efforts against each other. He blocked two of her punches, lashing out with a punch and kick of his own in return. He could feel a sort of energy coalescing around the two of them, and it was growing stronger as the struggle between them became more intense and heated.

It was like what he had once felt during his fight with Akane, an almost overwhelming need to exert his dominance, one that apparently was also felt by Nabiki. Yet he did not feel the same purely animalistic, almost sexual drive here. That was present, but it was only part of what he was feeling, mixed in with a desire to prove himself to Nabiki as well as to himself.

Nabiki feinted, a move she sensed Ranma notice fractions of a second before she could strike him with her opposing hand. Instead of a punch, her right foot lashed out as they continued to dance with each other. It was deftly parried by a leg block, and she felt her desires to defeat him growing ever stronger as Ranma proved himself more capable with each passing exchange of blows. She gloried in the struggle going on between them, finding in this version of Ranma the opponent that her counterpart would never know, possibly even a true equal in skill, and she redoubled her efforts to overcome him. Her hands and feet flew even faster and harder against Ranma, battering away at his defenses with relentless energy.

Ranma leaped into the air, earning a loud gasp of amazement from the crowd watching them, and Nabiki joined him there. For several seconds, freed from contact with the ground and possibly in defiance of gravity, their bodies wove into and out of each other's defenses with incredible speed. Blows that could easily break bone were turned aside with swift parries and dodges as their struggle continued to grow ever more heated.

I can do this, thought Ranma with assurance. I'm as good as she is. No, I'm better. With that thought, his fist suddenly slipped through her defenses and cracked into Nabiki's face, sending her back earthward with a short, thin stream of crimson fluid trailing from her nose like the fire of a comet. First blood was Ranma's, and the crowd was utterly enthralled.

Nabiki landed easily on her feet, flipping her body around in midair at the last possible moment. She brushed her thumb against her nose, and it came away with several brilliant drops of blood on it. It was a minor injury, and she knew it. Without waiting for Ranma to land, she leaped back into the air, aiming herself where he would touch down. Her foot came down across his chest in an axe kick, catching him at the single moment when his defenses were weakest, while he recovered from landing. She lashed out again and again, raining a series of punches and kicks into him, only a very few getting through his defenses before he was able to fully lock them back into place.

Then Ranma came back on the offensive, somehow finding the almost nonexistent holes in her defenses allowing him to land an occasional punch or kick of his own. As minutes passed, he managed to strike a few more hard blows into her face and body, roughly as many as he had just taken, and then the two broke apart for a momentary respite. The crowd was cheering loudly around them, both of them having earned supporters from among them. However, instead of dividing on gender lines, there were a fair number of girls shouting for Ranma's victory, just as there were appreciative cheers for Nabiki's efforts by several boys.

Nabiki sucked in a breath, feeling a sharp pain in her ribs from one of Ranma's hits. She feigned disinterest with her few injuries, and she could see Ranma doing the same as they slowly circled each other, their gazes locked. Nabiki could not recall any fight she had ever relished as much as this one, in either life. Even her defeating of Kasumi had not given her such a thrill, and she was enjoying the struggle before she finally managed to defeat Ranma in front of all these witnesses. She remained supremely confident of that. The only thing that concerned her was that he equaled her inventiveness in creating techniques on the fly.

Meanwhile, Ranma studied Nabiki, feeling aches in his jaw and other places on his body. He felt wetness on one cheek, and he touched a hand to it, coming away with some blood. He recalled her fist passing by his face very closely a few times, and her thumbnail had apparently caught him once as it went by. He spit on his finger and wiped some saliva on the wound to try and inhibit the bleeding.

Nabiki suddenly sprinted at Ranma, determined to finish this quickly before Ranma could catch her with any new surprises. My body still isn't quite fast enough to pull off the Amaguriken, or this would all be over now, she thought. However, it was just as well, for she wanted to defeat him this way, not simply end things quickly with some special technique. Overcoming him with her regular skills, proving to him that she was simply his better at martial arts, that was how she wanted to win this fight.

Rushing forward equally quickly, Ranma engaged Nabiki in a new series of rapid-fire punches and kicks, blocks and counterstrikes. The crowd watched in mild awe around them. His right fist struck forward with a lightning-fast punch, his knuckles catching Nabiki to one side of her jaw. Her head rolled with the blow instinctively, and he moved to press his advantage as hard as he could.

Nabiki swiftly replied with a combination move, blocking his snap kick and counterpunching solidly into his abdomen before he could spin away from the hard blow. She saw his breath forced out of his lungs in reflex, and his reflexes slowed for a critical moment as she spun her body around in a tight, reverse spin kick. Her foot impacted hard just below his ear, catching him along the jawline with her heel, a blow he was not able to block quickly enough.

Pain exploding across his face, Ranma's body flew back almost twenty meters to impact hard into the chain-link fence. He dimly heard the crowd gasp in amazement, more cheers from Nabiki's supporters ringing out for her. He fell to his knees as Nabiki paused, smirking in his direction.

You're done for, Ranma-kun, Nabiki thought confidently. I've taken your full measure, and you're no match for me. I'll make the end of this fight swift. It's the warrior's code, after all.

Ranma felt woozy, and he shook his head as he rested on hands and knees on the ground. The pole holding up this section of the chain-link fence was bent from his body's impact against it. He tasted blood in his mouth from one of Nabiki's strikes, and he could not seem to rise. The world began fading away into that vague region between wakefulness and unconsciousness.

"Get up, Ranma!" shouted a voice to his left. "Get up and fight her. I ain't never lost to a girl, and I ain't gonna see you lose now. It's embarrassing!" There seemed to be a ghostly figure hovering on the edge of his vision, but he saw nothing when he turned his head to look. He lifted his head up and saw Nabiki as the voice suddenly spoke once again, shouting at him, "Get up, you wimp! Don't prove that old fool right!"

Nabiki began charging at Ranma, determined to finish this. She was going to show him that she was the true (albeit unofficial) heir to the Anything-Goes School in this world, and she would prove herself to be its strongest fighter when she put Ranma down. Her body quickly hit its full running speed, and she took to the air in a long, leaping kick. A confident smirk crossed her face as she anticipated her victory over Ranma, and she knew it was only seconds away.

"You're not gonna lose to her!" screamed that voice once again, this time coming from somewhere behind him. "You're Ranma Saotome, and you ain't gonna lose to Nabiki Tendo, you hear me!" He saw Nabiki's body was now a little closer to him, the heel of her foot extended out before her. "So get up and FIGHT!"

Nabiki's foot just missed Ranma by the narrowest of margins when he suddenly rolled to one side. Her kick sheared through the steel pipe holding up this section of chain-link fence, and it fell outwards as she bounced off of it to land on her feet. She saw Ranma standing a short distance away, and her senses detected a bluish glow rising up around him, the power of his chi filling the air in a bright aura that was almost visible even to the untrained eye.

"I'm not finished yet, Nabiki," growled Ranma, clothed in the aura of his chi as it glowed around him. "I'm going to win this time."

"Oh, yeah, Ranma-kun?" asked Nabiki, feeling her own aura rising up around her in response to his. In her mind, his defeat has already happened. "You're already beat. You just haven't realized it yet. I'm faster and more skilled than you are, so how do you figure you're gonna win?" Her feet were light on the ground as she ran over to him.

"Simple," said Ranma with a cocky grin. He ran right at her, head on. "I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," his voice rose as he loped at her, "and when I really need to win, I NEVER LOSE!" He suddenly flipped over Nabiki's head, in a move that many blue-uniformed cadets swore was a physically impossible act, and his foot came around in a blurring arc while he was still in midair. The kick caught her hard across the face when she half-turned to follow his movements.

Nabiki's head snapped to one side, her body instinctively rolling with the blow to minimize the damage, but a sharp cry of pain escaped her lips anyway. She had lost the initiative, and she struggled to get it back quickly. But Ranma was relentless in his attacks against her. They traded more strikes, and a grim determination filled Nabiki that she was not going to lose, not to him. She never lost, especially not to Ranma. She was the faster one, and her skills were better. She knew this to be true. So why was she now losing? She doubled and redoubled her efforts to put him down, pushing her body to its present limits.

A hard punch from Nabiki's fist sank solidly into Ranma's abdomen when it slipped through his guard, and he quickly responded in kind, his punch catching her across the face once again. He felt her other hand firmly tap against a nerve point along his side, and his movements briefly faltered, allowing Nabiki to retake the initiative for a time. He then received several more hard blows from her fists and feet before he was able to wrest it back from her. When he did, he immediately exploited it with a vengeance and grimly kept up the pressure against Nabiki as hard as he could. He knew that he could not falter for a moment with her, or she truly would finish him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi Kuno walked through the main gates of the Academy with a bright smile on her face. Today, she was happily wearing a uniform composed of what she felt were more appropriate fabrics for someone of her station in the Empire, hand-tailored, and she was looking forward to seeing Ranma once again now that she was properly garbed. Today, Saotome-kun, I will tell you the truth about me, she thought with a faint quiver of nervousness in her stomach.

Waving at the car for the driver to take her brother to Whitehall

Academy, Kodachi smiled at seeing his unconscious form slumped in the back seat. Within moments after leaving Kuno Manor, Tatewaki had begun another tirade against "the vile Ranma Saotome." After listening to this for almost five minutes, she had knocked him unconscious with a few well-placed strikes from her fists and spent the remainder of the trip in blissful quiet. Their driver had wisely said nothing about that.

Kodachi, while pausing to straighten her uniform skirt, was puzzled by all of the commotion going on this morning. A few students hurried past her, and she quickly learned that some sort of a fight was going on over behind the main building. Not interested in any such kind of plebian activities as watching what must have been two boys beating each other up, Kodachi turned her footsteps to the main building and settled in at the front steps to wait for Ranma to arrive. She pulled a thin book of poetry out to pass the time and lost herself in the words.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After over fifteen minutes of fighting like this, both Nabiki and Ranma were still going strong, and the crowd was growing amazed at their stamina. Minor injuries were gradually accumulating on both of them in the struggle, mostly scrapes and bruises, and each of them was oozing blood from nose and mouth. Every now and then, a punch to one face or the other would speckle crimson fluid upon the grass beneath their feet. All around them, the crowd of cadets watched in fascination, since this was even better than an Arena match. This was two of their own battling against each other for victory.

"Damn it, Ranma-kun," grunted Nabiki fiercely as they moved to grapple with each other fiercely, "you aren't going to win. I'm the better fighter between us. I know I am." She deftly slipped a hand around his shoulder, trying to lock his arm into place and secure the hold she had on him, but he was somehow able to keep slithering free of her grip. It was frustrating her immensely.

"If that's so, then why am I the one winning?" whispered Ranma into her ear teasingly, even as he felt his fatigue growing within him. He took advantage of Nabiki's momentary indignation to reverse the hold she kept trying to get him into, swiftly bearing her down to the ground with a squawk of protest from her. They wrestled with each other across the grass, the crowd beginning to make snide remarks that fortunately went unheard by the two fiercely struggling combatants. Nabiki's free elbow slammed solidly into his ribs as she attempted to free herself, but he took advantage of his greater strength to twist her arm up into a more painful joint lock.

"Ouch!" cried Nabiki as she felt her shoulder socket grind. "Damn it, that hurts!" She savagely drove her free elbow back into his ribs again, angry at him for the humiliation she was now feeling. Her hips twisted around, and she attempted to free herself even as he struggled to subdue her. Their actions at this point of the fight earned many more amused comments from the crowd, but she could not get enough leverage to make a difference. With another grunted cry of anger, she tried to flip him off her, punctuating her efforts with more elbow strikes against his side. "I swear I'll get you for this, Saotome!"

"Surrender, Nabiki!" demanded a tired-sounding Ranma. He somehow managed to get a solid hold on her other arm, and he now had her in a most compromising position against the ground. He was trying to get her to yield before she noticed him getting aroused by their wrestling around like this, her nearness filling him with surges of desire for her, so he shoved her face into the ground, praying that she would surrender to him quickly. His only other option was knocking her unconscious, and he was oddly reluctant to hit her anymore.

"I'm not giving up, you jerk!" Nabiki growled. Unable to get the reverse hold she sought, in order to squeeze the breath from his lungs as she originally intended, instead she gathered herself and somehow managed to get herself out from underneath Ranma. However, she was still unable to free herself from the firm hold he had her in. Her chi aura was now burning very fiercely in tune with her building fury, and her muscles strained against the joint lock he had her in.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way," Ranma growled back, and he very briefly released his hold on one of her arms, just long enough to land a quick punch into the back of her head. He had to end this quickly, or he knew that she was going to pound him. Ranma heard Nabiki give out a cry of pain, and then she somehow managed to contort herself free of his hold, ending up facing him. He slammed a punch across her jaw as hard as he could before she could attack, and he felt the blood from her mouth and nose on his fist.

"You're not... gonna... beat me," grunted a rapidly weakening Nabiki, and she summoned her strength for one last effort. Her body gathered itself beneath him, but Ranma's follow-up punch knocked her unconscious a moment later before she could unleash it.

Over on one side of the crowd, Hiei narrowed his eyes as he watched Ranma emerge victorious against Nabiki. He turned to Naka and said, "When he goes into the locker rooms to change, then we take him. He's injured and easy prey now."

Naka nodded and smiled even more broadly, looking forward to the message they would send to the other cadets with Saotome's defeat. He turned his head to watch the small group of girls heading towards their fallen leader, and his eyes seemed especially intent on watching Yohko Mano in motion. His smile dimmed a little as he observed Kyosuke following along behind Yohko, apparently keeping his distance but staying near enough to her to be of assistance if he was needed.

Still kneeling over the fallen Nabiki, Ranma let his arms relax to the ground as he took a moment to allow his body to regain some of its strength. He took several deep breaths as the crowd went wild with excitement all around him, and then, when his finally energy came back sufficiently, he took some time to check over Nabiki for serious injury. He was very relieved to see that she wasn't badly hurt. When he finally stood up, he noticed several girls approaching him.

Yuka and Sayuri both knelt down to check over Nabiki, while Yohko confronted Ranma.

"You fought well, Saotome-san," said Yohko with a nod of her head, her voice a little tight with concern for her friend.

"Thank you, Mano-san," said Ranma tiredly, but even now he could already feel more of his strength returning. He saw Yohko look a little bit startled that he knew her name. "Nabiki didn't give me any choice but to do my best, but she should be fine though. We weren't really trying to hurt each other."

"You could have fooled me from the way I saw you two were fighting," said Yohko with a slight frown. "We'll take care of her from here, Saotome-san," said Yohko, bowing slightly to him. "You go clean up. You look like a mess."

"Thanks a lot," said Ranma, somewhat sarcastically. He endured a fair amount of congratulations for his efforts from many other cadets before he was finally able to break free. When he recovered his bookbag from where he left it, he was relieved to finally have the chance to be able to go clean himself up. He was going to be late for his first class, but it could not be helped. He hoped that his new homeroom instructor, Kisaragi-sensei, would not be too upset with him.

Ranma trudged into the quiet of the locker room, his steps tired as he walked. He was looking forward to nothing more than a hot shower and a chance to clean the blood and dirt off of himself. What he received were two menacing figures waiting for him within the locker area as the door closed behind him.

Hiei stepped forward, slowly cracking the knuckles of his hands as he smiled coldly at Ranma and said, "So, we meet again at last, Ranma Saotome. You can't know how much I've been looking forward to this."

These guys have got to be kidding me, Ranma thought with no small amount of irritation as he glared at the taller boy in front of him. He noticed the one with a bokken moving to flank him. I'm tired, bloody, and hurt, and these two jerks want to pick a fight with me?

"What the hell is this?" he said tiredly.

"Let's just call it payback for smashing my head into a wall the other day," snarled Hiei, one hand making a gesture towards Naka.

"You two guys have picked the wrong person on the wrong day to go looking for a fight," said Ranma, backing up towards the door when he heard it locking behind him. He glanced back to see a figure in a gray uniform moving away, but he could not see a face.

"I don't think so, Saotome," said Hiei, his fist suddenly blurring in with a powerful strike.

Ranma leaped up, momentarily using Hiei's head as a springboard to swing himself over, using his finger and thumb as the balance point atop the larger boy's skull. As he was in the midst of his acrobatics, Ranma saw Hiei's fist smash right into the thick wall with a shower of dust and chips of concrete. After clearing Hiei, Ranma did an agile bounce off of Naka's face with one foot and landed a short distance away, facing the two of them.

Naka casually flicked a thumb along a stud on the haft of his bokken, and the wooden blade suddenly split evenly down the middle along its length, to reveal the gleaming steel of a katana. His smile turned much colder, and a glittering appeared in his eyes as he gazed at Ranma. The footprint on his face did somewhat diminish the intimidation factor a little though.

Ranma blinked.

"Now, wait a minute here, fellas," said Ranma, eyeing the length of sharp steel in the boy's hands. "Let's not do anything rash here." He agilely dodged the sword strike, but his bookbag did not survive the attack. It split apart a moment later and fell into two halves. Ranma blinked again. Why me? he wondered, starting to get angry.

"I'm going to teach you a new meaning of suffering, Saotome," said Hiei coldly. He advanced on Ranma, and gestured Naka to one side.

Ranma suddenly felt a slight buzz, from somewhere in the back of his skull as he eyed his two assailants. Later on, he wasn't sure if it was some sort of an after-effect of his intense fight with Nabiki, or if it was something else entirely. All he could clearly recall of that time was feeling the weariness in his body and the lingering pains of his wounds, and all he could think of was that he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, preferably without losing any more blood.

Most people are not aware of it, but buried deep within every human brain lies a throwback to a previous epoch, from a far more primitive stage of human development. What we have come to think of as our brain has grown around and over the cells of this hindbrain. Nothing can ever remove it from us, not surgery, laws, or religion. It has only five urges: to eat, sleep, fight, mate, and kill. There are no cells for compassion, friendship, or mercy within it, for those come from the surrounding brain matter. When fully aroused, this throwback brain is a powerful force.

Perhaps triggered by the stress of the situation, it fully awoke at that moment within Ranma. The buzzing finally became too insistent to ignore any longer. It reared up and demanded release, and the pigtailed boy gave himself to its control.

Blood suddenly thundered through Ranma's head, even as his heart began to race in his chest. In the space of only a few moments, subliminal control programs deeply buried in his subconscious were triggered by the awakening of this primitive self, even as his system was flood with adrenaline and endorphins, as well as several other complex serums from specially genetically engineered glands throughout his body. His muscles surged and swelled with new vitality, his senses expanded, and his thoughts began to fly lightning-fast through his mind. When it was complete, his body was now stronger, faster, and more efficient in every way. The pains from his recent injuries vanished, and the many cuts and scrapes already present on his body clotted and ceased to ooze blood.

Ranma suddenly charged an astonished Hiei, moving almost too quickly for the human eye to keep up with. His right leg lashed out in a kick and struck the larger boy solidly across the jaw with a bone-crunching impact, knocking loose several teeth even before he had any chance to raise his arms to defend himself. Even as Hiei's body barely had time to react to the first blow, the pigtailed boy was back between them. The two bullies barely had time to realize that it was now they who were trapped in here with him, instead of the other way around, and that was not how the game was supposed to be played.

The pair seemed to be moving in slow motion to Ranma. Naka's sword rose at a glacial pace in his view, and then the pigtailed boy was upon him, his body almost inhumanly fast and strong, supercharged to the limits of the human frame's ability to bear. One hand ripped the sword free from the boy's grip, dislocating the shoulder of the arm that had just been holding it, and Ranma's other hand knocked him unconscious with a punch to the face that slammed the young bully hard against the wall. Almost as an afterthought, the pigtailed boy pivoted and kicked Hiei's chest, the sound of cracking ribs greeting his ears as the other bully lazily flew back to crash into the wall.

And as quickly as that, it was finished.

His body suddenly snapped back to normal, the hindbrain releasing its hold upon him as the subliminal controls forced it back into its cage, and Ranma almost passed out as the accumulated fatigue poisons and stress hit him all at once. He had been using controlled hysterical strength, though not all of it. Using his muscles to their fullest extent would have torn them clean away from the bones. His abused heart hammered painfully fast in his chest, his breathing was panting and strained, and he was soaked in sweat. He fell to sit on the ground as the chemical cocktail flushed itself from his system, leaving him feeling weak and shaky. The shock alone would have killed him if he was an ordinary human.

Ranma stared at his two unconscious attackers and shivered slightly as he felt his body recovering from what had just occurred. What the hell just happened to me? He felt another mild tremor run through his body even as the last of the buzz faded from his mind. However, he also felt oddly euphoric, a product of the remaining endorphins floating around in his bloodstream. He was strongly reminded of descriptions of the power inherent in the Nekoken technique when it was unleashed, but this seemed to be something else entirely. And he had been fully aware at all times.

For several moments, he closed his eyes, feeling the trembling in his limbs fade away along with clear memories of whatever had just happened to him. For those few seconds, he had been a perfect fighting machine, almost more than mortal, embracing fully the savage that lurked inside every man, and it had felt so very good. He hugged his knees and opened his eyes, grateful in a way that it was not under his conscious control, for it prevented him from ever risking the temptation he would endure if he could call it up at will.

"Ranma?" asked a voice to one side, and he looked up suddenly to see Coach Fujinami standing over him. The large man knelt down next to him. "What happened here, Saotome?"

"They attacked me," said Ranma quietly. "I defended myself."

"And quite a good job you did too, Saotome," said Fujinami with a hint of a smile on his weathered face as he briefly studied the two fallen forms. His eyes narrowed for a moment when he saw the discarded katana, but then he turned back to Ranma. "Are you hurt? Can you stand?"

"I-I'm fine, Coach," said Ranma, standing up without any tremors in his legs remaining. He studied his two former attackers for a moment or two. "Am I in trouble, sir?"

"No, Saotome," replied Fujinami, standing back up. "Don't worry about this. Two on one strikes me as a case for self-defense, and I'm aware of the histories of these two troublemakers. I'll take care of things for you. You just get cleaned up and get yourself to class."

"Yes, Coach," said Ranma tiredly. He quickly picked up his things and thanked the gods in the heavens that his uniform was somehow still intact. Apparently, only his text on classical literature had lost its life in the attack on his bookbag, split cleanly down the middle. He tossed it into a dumpster as he slowly headed for the showers, feeling his worries about what had just happened to him move to the back of his mind, for now at least. For his father's sake, focusing on his rescue had to take priority. Like with the Nekoken on that other world, he would just try and avoid triggering it. At least I don't have that to worry about, too, he thought with some relief.

Behind him, Fujinami paused a moment in quiet thought, remembering the incredible sight he had just witnessed from his office with a fair amount of awe. He had to inform Fuyutsuki of this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When the first bell rang for the beginning of classes, Kodachi was a little concerned that Ranma had not passed by her yet. She had taken great care to array herself in a casual pose that would allow her face and figure to catch the morning light to best effect, and the way she was seated would display a somewhat brazen amount of leg for his viewing pleasures. However, that was all to no avail, and now she was worried. She began gathering up her things, half-listening to some of the cadets walking by.

"Can you believe that fight?" asked one blue-uniformed female cadet.

"Nope, and Saotome-san was so dreamy looking," said the other female cadet with her, one also dressed in blue.

Saotome-san? wondered Kodachi, blinking.

"For a while there, I thought he was going to lose to Tendo-senpai, but he managed to win in the end."

The other girl nodded, and then she sighed and said, "I wish he was my boyfriend. I guess now that Akane Tendo is no longer here, he's up for grabs. Say, do you have those notes on those derivatives from-" The closing door shut off the remainder of their conversation.

Ranma fighting Nabiki? wondered Kodachi with a frown. A vivid memory of Ranma's dying form in that other world flashed across her mind, his blood spreading across her hands, a death that the Nabiki of that world had a part in. Why ever would they be fighting? She stuffed her book of poetry into her bookbag, her eyes narrowed in deep thought. Torn between being late for class, or searching out either Ranma or Nabiki for some answers, her choice was simple when she decided to skip her first class and go look for them. Saotome-kun, where are you?

Hoping to find him quickly, Kodachi headed in the direction of the gymnasium building. One of the two would likely be there, she figured.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki came to in the infirmary with a soft groan of pain, and she felt a bandage across her nose. Her ribs were wrapped tightly with more bandaging. She heard a motion from next to her bed and glanced over to see Yuka setting down the textbook she was studying. Nabiki smiled at the other girl and asked, "Can I have some water, please?"

"Here you go, Tendo-senpai," said Yuka pleasantly, handing her a glass filled with water. "I'm glad to see you're all right."

"How did we do at the gambling pools?" asked Nabiki, swinging her legs to the side and sitting up. She only felt a little woozy. "I could use some good news." She saw the other girl frown and gave her a rueful smile. "Sorry, thanks for sitting up with me like you did."

"It's no problem, Tendo-senpai," said Yuka. "As to your other question, uhm, we didn't do so well. Ranma's victory with the new odds you set only made things worse. He even beat the odds on the duration of the fight."

That's what I get for being overconfident, thought Nabiki with a sigh, irritated at losing two ways on a single fight. She stood up easily.

"Tendo-senpai?" asked Yuka, alarmed.

"I'm going to go grab a shower and clean up," said Nabiki, picking up her bookbag from the chair it was resting in. "You get to class now, okay?"

"Yes, Boss," chirped Yuka, bowing quickly before running off.

Nabiki smiled after the departing girl, and then she headed down to the women's locker area to clean up for the day. With luck, the first class was all that she would be missing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kinnosuke sat in class and frowned, studying the note he had just been given. Word had already come to him from one of his agents that his two pawns had failed, and now the entire Wolf Pack was likely going to be expelled from the Academy and sent off to one of the reformatories in the area. A rather painful, but, fortunately, not a critical loss of resources for me, he thought, with a large dose of irritation at this setback. In his mind, he cursed Ranma Saotome for delaying his schemes, finding the pigtailed boy to be the instrument of opposition to him yet again. It would have all been so much simpler if those two idiots had managed to defeat him. Now I'll have to put Tiger and my other two beauties to work.

As the instructor droned on at the front of the class about the theory of recombinant genetics, an area of biology upon which his own family fortune was built, Kinnosuke smiled coldly and leaned forward at his desk. He knew that the trio would not fail him, and he would put them to work dismantling Nabiki's support network a piece at a time. Folding his hands together, he pretended to pay attention to the old man in front of the class.

I will control the Academy, and Nabiki Tendo shall be mine. It's only a matter of time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki stood under the spray of hot water, her face upraised into the flow as she basked in its warmth, and she slowly ran her fingers back through her hair as she stood there. Sleek muscles moved beneath her skin as she washed herself. She lazed under the stream of hot water as she rinsed the last of the soap from her skin.

The blood and dirt of her battle against Ranma had long since been

sluiced down the drain, leaving behind only the pains in her flesh to remind her of it, and a few colorful bruises on her skin. Her nose and mouth had been where most of the blood came from, the other scrapes on her limbs and torso only showing the loss of a few layers of skin. She opened her mouth and let a small quantity of water enter, swishing it around with her tongue to cleanse out the last of the coppery taste of blood within, and she was grateful that none of her teeth were loosened. She spat out the mouthful of pale pinkish fluid in the direction of the drain.

All of a sudden, the water turned ice-cold, and Nabiki shrieked very loudly and involuntarily as she swiftly dashed out from beneath the now chill spray. Shivering visibly, she stood there completely naked as the cold water sluiced off of her trim body, and a reflexive glance showed herself still female. She glanced around and saw Kodachi standing there, with her hand resting on the main water control valve. Wearing a smug look, the aristocratic girl turned the water off.

"What the hell did you do that for?" shouted Nabiki, grabbing up a clean towel from the thick stack and wrapping it around herself. Water dripped from the ends of her hair, and she picked up a second towel to scrub the excess moisture from it before confronting Kodachi. Her bare feet slapped on the tiles as she stalked towards the other girl, feeling a growing annoyance as she drew near. She stopped a few paces away from Kodachi, and their gazes locked like two predators suddenly recognizing each other.

"I see that I now have your attention, Tendo-san," said Kodachi with a slight grin, her eyes boring into Nabiki's. A sizzle of some sort of invisible energy seemed to pass between the two of them, even as the aristocrat girl continued to speak cordially. Yet there was a hint of challenge in her voice that Nabiki could not miss. "Forgive me, but I thought it amusing to introduce myself to you this way."

"I'm not laughing," grumbled Nabiki. "What do you want, Kuno-san?"

"What was the meaning of this fight I have heard tell of, between you and Saotome-kun?" asked Kodachi, a glint of potential violence in the violet of her eyes. Unconsciously, she compared Nabiki's body to her own, and she found herself a little jealous of the older girl's better build and muliebrity.

"It was a private matter between us," said Nabiki, feeling even more irritated at being interrogated like this, especially by this particular noblewomen. That it was Kodachi Kuno, remembering from her downloaded memories the perverted girl of that other world, only made it somehow worse. Nabiki wasn't sure why, but she was coming to agree with Akane that there was something about Kodachi that whispered 'enemy,' or at the very least 'rival.' She slowly walked forward to stand right in front of the noblewoman, glaring eye to eye with her, standing only slightly taller than she did. "I don't see how any business I have with Ranma-kun is any concern of yours." Then, almost as an afterthought, she added sarcastically, "My Lady."

Kodachi narrowed her eyes as she met Nabiki's gaze with her own and said, "I'm making it my concern, Nabiki Tendo. So I ask you again, what is the meaning of this fight I have heard tell of? Why do you wish to cause Saotome-kun harm?"

"It was a duel, Kuno-san," said Nabiki simply, even rudely, refusing to yield in the staring contest she found herself in. She had lost to Ranma, but she was not about to lose a battle of wills to the aristocrat now standing before her. "It was simply a test of our martial arts skills against each other. If you continue to press me on this, I would be happy to challenge you next."

Kodachi blinked, and Nabiki smiled slightly in her small victory.

"And you lost to Saotome-kun?" asked Kodachi hesitantly. She heard a sigh from Nabiki.

"Yes, I lost," answered Nabiki. "He was better than I expected him to be." Even better than I possibly even hoped he'd be, she finished the sentence in her thoughts, and then turned away from Kodachi. She felt no particular need to volunteer any information for the other girl's use. "It was as simple as that. He won, I lost, and now I begin training for a rematch against him. I'm sure I'll beat him next time."

Kodachi frowned as she contemplated that for a moment, and then she said, "Why challenge Saotome-kun? There must be dozens of young men who you could fight with."

"It's personal," said Nabiki simply, "and I don't care to explain it to you. So be on your way, underclassman." Seeing the look of anger appear on Kodachi's face, most likely at being spoken to in such a way by a social inferior, brought one of Nabiki's usual smirks to her face. She saw Kodachi swell up for a moment in mild fury, then turn and walk away with a faint growl.

"This isn't over between us, Tendo-san," Kodachi called out over her shoulder as she walked away. With grace born of years of training at being ladylike, she made her stalk from the locker room look very regal.

"Somehow, I didn't think it was," murmured Nabiki thoughtfully.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma endured several hours of boredom, waiting for lunch and his free study period, so that he could talk to Fuyutsuki and inform him of his decision regarding Nabiki. He had decided to withdraw his resistance to her participation in class, and so there was no further need to continue the series of sparring matches anymore. Not that he intended to cease sparring with Nabiki, far from it. He now realized that she represented a test of his abilities that would constantly grow in skill with him as his own abilities improved, and he would be lying to himself that the attraction he felt for her did not contribute to his desire to spend time with her. Since they both seemed equally dedicated to improving themselves, he welcomed the efforts that he knew she would offer against him. After all, he would have done the same if the situations were reversed, and had.

Before he did that, he wished to take care of some work in his lab. He had a few ideas for solving the transference issue, so that he might be able to rescue his father soon. He wanted to take some time and sit down with the computer in his lab and run through some of the schematics to check out the results of his various mental calculations. He considered extending an invitation to Nabiki to watch over him while he checked in with his father for a little while, but he did not wish to concede the issue of needing anyone's help quite just yet.

Luckily, Kisaragi-sensei, Ranma's first instructor, seemed to like him, so she did not make him stand in the hallway with buckets for the remaining time of first period. He occupied himself with watching her walk around the room as she discussed the role of the citizen in the Empire, and he even participated in the remaining time of the class. Today's topic was about the notion that "every citizen was a soldier to defend the Empire in time of need." Despite his abilities at recall, all Ranma remembered of the class was how attractive Kisaragi-sensei looked in her dress.

However, the next couple of classes were exercises in boredom, and Ranma almost fell asleep a couple of times. Eventually he was released from his scholastic purgatory and went to his lab. He slid his key into the door, only noticing the new addition of a large padlock at the last moment, one that did not open to his key.

Ranma paused in the doorway, blinking in surprise at the new lock and wondering what it meant. An envelope lay against the base of the steel door, and it caught his eye as he wondered at the addition of the padlock. He picked the envelope up and discovered a note addressed to him within it.

The note read, "Cadet Saotome, after reviewing the progress of your efforts with your father, I have decided to terminate your research subsidy, and your equipment will be packed up and returned to the Ministry of Science for salvage and eventual disposal. Per your father's request, this class period is to be added to your physical training regimen with the singular goal of improving your conditioning to even higher levels. Sincerely, Kozo Fuyutsuki, Presiding Dean of the Imperial Academy."

"Pop," Ranma breathed out with a slight snarl, crumpling the note in his fist. Visions of beating Genma Saotome to a bloody pulp filled his mind as he stood in the hallway and tried to think of what he could do now. All he had at home were his notes, the datadisks containing his control software and all of the duplicated files for the scanned paraverse coordinates he had investigated so far. Without the support of the Academy, he didn't have anywhere near the resources that would allow him to recreate his equipment.

"Father," Ranma suddenly murmured, feeling the heat of his anger cool with the realization that his real father would not have any idea what was going on. Without the resonator, there was no way to contact him. Ranma shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"I'm not going to be beaten by that fat, drunken fool," said Ranma softly to the empty air. "I'll figure a way out of this, I swear I will."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Come in, Kuno-dono, come in," said Fuyutsuki from behind his desk, gently waving his hand to Kodachi. He bowed to her with a smile, and then gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs before him. "I trust that you are settling in here at the Academy and your classes so far?"

Kodachi seated herself gracefully and said, "Yes, Fuyutsuki-sensei, I am acclimating myself well so far." Especially now that I no longer have to contend with that annoying barbarian, Akane Tendo, she finished in her thoughts as she smiled. "I am curious as to why you wished to see me though."

"It's nothing to be concerned about," said Fuyutsuki, flipping open a file with her dossier within it. "I was just going over some of your performance evaluations from Blackhall, and I must say that I'm quite impressed. I have rarely ever seen such high scores, even among the top cadets here at the Imperial Academy."

Kodachi blushed slightly at the compliment, smiling gently.

Fuyutsuki continued, "However, I feel that you are capable of far more, so I wish to make you an offer, Kuno-dono."

"An offer, sir?" asked Kodachi, puzzled. "What sort of offer?"

"You might not be aware of this, but I currently have two of the Academy's finest athletes involved in a special training regimen," said the Dean, his gaze meeting Kodachi's. "And I wish you to join them in this. It involves very rigorous physical conditioning, backed up by intensive martial arts training at the highest levels."

"Well, I don't know," said Kodachi, feeling uncertain. "What are the other two cadets in the course like?"

"One of them you are already familiar with, Kuno-dono," said Fuyutsuki with a smile, "Ranma Saotome."

Kodachi blinked, feeling for a moment as if the temperature in the room had risen several degrees. She lowered her gaze and felt her blush deepening. The chance to spend time with Ranma would be worth any sort of physical discomfort to her. And she was curious to see how far she could train herself as well. It was a win-win situation.

"If Saotome-kun is in it," said Kodachi with a bright smile as she looked up, "then I accept."

"Excellent," said Fuyutsuki, closing her dossier with a smile. "The other member of your soon-to-be-trio is an upperclassman to you, Nabiki Tendo. They have only been at it for a few days, so I'm sure that you won't have any difficulties catching up."

Somewhere deep inside Kodachi, there was a faint cracking of glass heard, and her smile turned somewhat brittle. So I have to compete with that other Tendo girl? Mild bitterness colored her thoughts. Very well. If it means spending time with Saotome-kun, then I can even put up with the presence of Nabiki Tendo and her damnably perfect figure.

"You may return to class now, Kuno-dono," said the Dean calmly, as he folded his hands before him. "I will be down to watch some of your first class period, to see how the three of you get along."

"Very well, sir," said Kodachi. She stood up, bowed to him, and exited the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma had already been struggling at his training for an hour when Nabiki came out dressed in the standard Academy training outfit for girls: a white T-shirt with "Property of Imperial Academy Athletics Department" emblazoned upon the front, shorts, white socks, and running shoes. He took a break from doing his push-ups to watch her approach, grateful for the opportunity to rest. His bruises were making the pains of his efforts far worse than normal, and he saw Coach Takami eye him without comment.

However, he was surprised to see Kodachi Kuno also come out of the locker room and follow Nabiki towards him. He wiped some sweat from his brow as he watched her hesitantly approach. What is Kodachi doing out here with us? he wondered.

Nabiki was wondering the same thing, a slight frown on her face as she settled herself down to begin warming up. Her muscles were feeling strained from the intensive efforts of this morning, so they were not very appreciative of her activities. Luckily, that went away as she stretched them out.

Kodachi presented herself to Coach Takami and said, "First-Year Cadet Kuno reporting for special training, Takami-sensei. I hope to learn a great deal from all of this." She smiled brightly for Ranma's benefit, pausing to look over at him. She then settled herself a short distance away from Ranma and began to stretch, taking it slow when she noticed him watching her, even as he tried not to look like he was watching her.

Floozy, thought Nabiki with a grumble as she worked out a kink in her right calf. She noticed Fuyutsuki come out and confer with Takami about something or other, seeing the two men eyeing all three of them. When she turned to look at Ranma, she saw him giving Kodachi more than a casual glance, and she frowned at that.

"Hello, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi quietly. Her resolve to tell him the truth about herself seemed to vanish when her eyes met his, and a small swallow rolled down her throat. "I'm looking forward to training with you."

Nabiki grunted and looked away from the two of them, feeling a faint burning in her eyes. She resolved to use today's class to show Kodachi Kuno that she was wrong in thinking Akane was her true competition for Ranma. Very wrong indeed. No girl was going to take Ranma from her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ukyo stared sullenly out the window of the train, and her chin rested in the palm of one hand as she leaned against the frame. I wonder what sort of a guy this Ranma Saotome is? she wondered, her eyes reflecting the sight of farms and country roads passing by outside the train. Papa hasn't told me much about him other than that he's supposed to be some kind of a brilliant scholar.

One hand plucked glumly at the cloth of her yukata, since her mother had strongly insisted that she show up dressed in traditional garb. As part of this, Ukyo was armed with only a few shurikens and her war fan at the moment. Her mother hadn't wanted to shock the Saotomes, so she had purposely gone much lighter than her usual arsenal of weapons. She felt naked without a sword, or even her battle spatula, at her back.

A quick glance at her mother only deepened Ukyo's depression. She was doing needlepoint as their train zipped across the countryside, and her skilled hands didn't miss a single stitch as they moved. Ukyo's own brief attempt at needlepoint sat in her lap, mostly unfinished, since she had accidentally sewn it to her yukata twice now. It wasn't very much fun doing all these traditional feminine things. She would much rather have spent her time practicing her martial arts or her other shinobi skills, and she found herself hoping that nothing came of this meeting. Perhaps then, finally, her family would leave her alone about getting married.

Her father was reading one of the financial newspapers. Ukyo hadn't seen him poke his head out from behind it ever since the train had started moving. He occasionally turned the page and hummed mildly at something or other that he saw.

I can hardly wait until this is all over, Ukyo thought as she turned her face to look out the window once more. I doubt that this Ranma guy will be very interesting. How exciting could it be to be married to some scholar? He probably doesn't even know how to defend himself. This is going to just be a big waste of time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka scurried all over the house to get everything ready for the arrival of their guests, a bright smile of contentment on her face. She was still a little astonished at Genma's vigor and passion that morning, although he had been a little quicker and rougher with her than was his norm. Still, despite its brevity, the activity had helped to take her mind off of thoughts about her son and the upcoming meeting with the Kuonjis. At her insistence, Genma had left a few hours ago to attend to his afternoon classes and would not be expected back until very shortly before they arrived. That left her the whole day to prepare food and clean the house from top to bottom. Still, she spared a little energy to consider the changes in the men in her life.

First my son becomes all mysterious and a bit moody on me, she thought as she paused in her cleaning of the toilet, and now my husband is acting differently too. It's enough to drive a woman to distraction. Oh, I hope that this meeting tonight goes well. I hope that Ranma and the Kuonji girl get along.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fuyutsuki studied the pile of paperwork on his desk as he waited for his Navi to download and process the data and images that he had recorded of Kodachi Kuno. She had sparred with Nabiki while Ranma was sent off to run, giving him an excellent opportunity to gather good data on her capabilities. He could tell that the two girls seemed well on their way to a healthy rivalry, and he was certain that would focus the Kuno girl on improving herself.

After a time, Fuyutsuki heard the system beep, and he took a look at the results on the monitor. He punched up Kodachi's data and watched as the screen cleared and a video sample taken from the fight was displayed in one window. In another box, the computer began running down its preliminary calculations for each of the young noblewoman's vital statistics.

Name: Kodachi Kuno

Age: 16

Sex: Female

Height: 1.65 meters

Mass: 49 kilograms

Physical Capabilities:

Structural Integrity: 77.29

Muscle Strength: 76.01

Lung Capacity: 80.16

Eyesight: 85.22

Auditon: 92.60

Dynamic Eyesight: 93.51

Metabolism: 91.67

Neuroreflex: 88.47

Offensive Capability: 74.58

Defensive Capability: 75.63

Recoverability: 84.44

Speed: 83.80

Perseverance: 84.52

Objectivity: 75.81

Perception: 86.62

Judgment: 82.01

Adaptability: 83.72

Estimated Current Fighting Capacity: 1416.06

"A fair bit below Ranma and Nabiki's level of performance, but still an acceptable beginning," murmured Fuyutsuki as he studied a slow motion replay of the sparring match. Nabiki's injuries had obviously hindered her somewhat, but she still managed to defeat Kodachi in less than two minutes time. He made notes as to areas where the instructors should work to build up Kodachi's capabilities, and then he leaned back in his chair.

"Everything is proceeding on schedule," he said with a smile, studying the setting sun moving down slowly in the sky. "All is going according to plan."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane fidgeted outside the gates to the Imperial Academy, waiting for Ranma to emerge. She checked her watch once again, noting that his training class with Nabiki must be over with. She hoped that her sister had kept Kodachi away from Ranma today like she promised. Losing him to that nobly born floozy was not going to happen, now that Akane intended to make him hers. She would do all in her power to keep Ranma for her own, and no other girl was worthy of him but herself. She smiled brightly as she fantasized about the challenge she intended to make to him, and she adjusted her new uniform with only a hint of nervousness.

Walking towards the main gate like a man heading to his own execution was Ranma. He had defeated Nabiki, but that was really the only good thing that happened to him today. Now he had to face this meeting with Ukyo, and he was not looking forward to it. With a sigh, carrying the remnants of his sloppily-repaired bookbag, he trudged out the main gate. He was half-expecting Nabiki to be there, but he was greeted by one of the Tendo girls, at least.

"Ranma Saotome, I challenge you!" said Akane firmly as she stepped out from where she was standing against the wall. Her finger stabbed out in his direction, and Ranma only felt annoyance.

This is not happening, Ranma thought with a groan, realizing that this was going to be his third fight in a single day. His limbs seemed to be radiating fatigue now, and he knew that Akane wasn't going to let him past without fighting him. Dropping his bookbag, Ranma made his choice to end this once and for all by giving Akane what she wanted from him. Maybe then, he thought, she would leave him alone. He tiredly assumed a casual stance and waited.

"Come and get me, Akane Tendo," said Ranma, hoping he would be able to restrain himself from taking his frustrations out on the girl.

With a savage grin, Akane charged Ranma.

Less than five minutes later, Akane's battered form was face down on the ground, and Ranma was feeling a little better about things. He had even managed to force down the distractingly high level of sexual attraction he felt for Akane as they fought, and he was pleased that he was able to restrain himself from injuring her other than the few bumps and bruises he had given her when he put her down. With a rather cheerful look on his face, he picked up his bookbag and walked off.

Akane regained consciousness a short time later and saw that Ranma was gone. She held one hand to her face, feeling the bruise forming there on one cheek, and smiled. I lost, she thought dreamily.

Now I know I love you, Ranma Saotome.

Somewhere on his way home, a pigtailed scholar felt a shiver suddenly run through him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ukyo followed her parents as they walked through Tokyo, casually watching the sights of the Nerima Ward passing by. Her meeting with Ranma Saotome was drawing near, and she was surprised that she felt a little bit nervous. Her father had a smile on his face as he pointed out some of the sights that he remembered from his boyhood when he went to school in the capital. Ukyo just looked around with something akin to awe.

Tokyo was a very large place, in Ukyo's opinion, and it made her feel more than a little like some sort of country bumpkin. She had grown up surrounded by mountains and small villages with few people, so the immense city that surrounded her now was like nothing that she had ever experienced before. It was actually rather intimidating. There are so many people, thought Ukyo with a little nervousness.

"We're here," said her father calmly.

Ukyo looked around. The flow of people had faded off to a trickle as they wandered away from the commercial district and the local train depot, and the pleasant neighborhood that surrounded them now was almost completely peaceful. They were standing next to a high wall that must have protected a good-sized yard, and a large wooden gate, with a simple brass plaque bearing the kanji for Saotome upon it, stood before them.

"Are you nervous, Ukyo-chan?" asked her mother as she began fussing with Ukyo's outfit.

"I'm not nervous, Mother," replied Ukyo, as she endured the fussing stoically. I just want to get this over with, she thought calmly to herself. She had been trying to imagine what Ranma Saotome was like, based on the description and photo obtained from the matchmaker. At the present, she imagined Ranma to be a rather dull sort, the type of boy that held no interest for her. I want a life of adventure, and I doubt that this guy has any interest in that sort of thing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka kept looking at the clock on the wall. The Kuonjis were going to arrive at any minute, and Ranma still wasn't home. She stood like a fretful statue in the doorway that led to the kitchen area, and she only took her eyes off of the clock to briefly glare at Genma. She watched her husband sitting there in an unusually relaxed pose at his usual place at the table, drinking tea, and the ease that he had in his manner irritated Nodoka. Honestly, she thought with some despair, that husband of mine has no sense of propriety. Doesn't he realize how important it is to find a good wife for Ranma? He acts like he doesn't care.

Genma was feeling very mellow. A brief stop at one of the little pubs in the region had relaxed him with the help of only a bottle or two of sake. He was determined to regain his old level of drinking ability, and he knew that regular training was the key to success. He was also finding that he enjoyed the respect afforded to a tenured professor at the Ministry of Science. Spending a few hours a day lecturing about high-level mathematics and other subjects that he knew surprisingly well now (finding the information readily available in his memory) was about the easiest job he could imagine having. He anticipated a comfortable retirement in this life, enjoying all that it had to offer, especially since he still had Nodoka and Ranma with him, in a certain sense. He took another sip of tea and sighed with contentment.

I swear, if he does anything to ruin this, I'm going to kill him, Nodoka swore darkly, glaring now at Genma and wondering at his easy acceptance of things. She wanted this night to go over perfectly, and Ranma was still not home. She fretted for a moment over the location of her son. Where is that boy?

Nodoka heard the jingling of the bell at the front of the house. After giving her clothes one last inspection, she went to answer it. Before opening the door, she paused with her hand on it, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She forced a cheerful smile on her face to hide her nervousness and slid the door open.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ukyo sat at the table with a neutral expression on her face. The initial introductions between the two families had been very formal and proper. The only surprise for her had been that Ranma wasn't there. She had remained silent, and her face did not betray her feelings. However, underneath the table, one hand was clenched tightly into a fist, the tendons cracking a bit. It was the only outward sign of her growing irritation. She saw that the two mothers were doing most of the talking, and the two fathers had seemed to come to an unspoken agreement to let them do so.

What kind of a jerk is this Ranma Saotome guy that he doesn't even show up when his potential bride shows up? thought Ukyo sourly. She and her family had been visiting with the Saotomes for almost thirty minutes. She confirmed her estimate of the time with a quick glance at the clock.

Finally, Ukyo decided she had endured long enough.

"Excuse me," said Ukyo quietly. The four adults looked at her. "Where is Ranma?"

"Ahh," said Nodoka with an embarrassed look. "He appears to be running a little late from his classes at the Academy." She looked over at Genma helplessly.

"My son is involved in a special training class to improve his physical conditioning," said Genma seriously. "However, he should be arriving home at any moment."

"What?" asked Ukyo in surprise, a little louder than she had intended. Her mother frowned at her. I've traveled for most of the day, dressed myself up in this frilly getup, and that jackass isn't even here? How dare he do this to me! Her neutral expression had now been replaced by an angry frown. She suddenly imagined Ranma as some sort of frail weakling, based on what Genma had said, and her mood darkened further.

Quickly filling in the awkward silence, Nodoka said, "He was selected for special training after we set our meeting time. I did not know how to contact you to change our appointment. I am sorry."

An interesting reaction, thought Genma with drunken detachment. I may be able to fend off Nodoka's plans yet, at least with this one. The boy is too young to think about marriage yet, not until he attains a level of ability that I deem sufficient to carry on the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts.

Meeting the Kuonji girl had been a pleasant surprise for him. She looked almost identical to the one from the world he had left behind, maybe a little taller than her analog, her shoulders a little broader. This one had far better manners though, he noted, unlike the obnoxious little hellion with the giant spatula he no longer had to deal with.

"Why is your son training, Saotome-san?" asked Akira Kuonji calmly, hoping to smooth things over. He was curious about the boy now, whereas before he had only viewed Ranma as a lifeline tossed to a drowning man.

"The boy was selected for intensive training in martial arts at the Imperial Academy," replied Genma in his most diplomatic tone of voice.

Ukyo blinked, surprised at this development. She did not notice the brief glance that her mother and father shared with each other.

Genma continued on, "He shows great promise in his fighting skills, and I know that he will be a great warrior, willing to give his life for the Art. That is how much it means to him." Genma wiped a sudden false tear from one eye, smiling inside at the eager looks he was being given by Akira Kuonji. "The boy has such promise. He only needs the support of a good woman now."

Nodoka blinked, stunned.

With a smile, Genma produced a bottle of sake and invited Ukyo's father to sit with him and leave the women to talk. The two men left the room and went out onto the back porch region to chat. Genma gave Nodoka a wink and a nod before he went outside.

At the same time, a tired Ranma returned home and slipped off his shoes with gratitude in the front entryway. He set his destroyed bookbag down next to them. "I'm home," he called out.

Ranma, thought Nodoka gratefully. She smiled at the two Kuonji women and said, "My son is now home. I just know that he will make a very good impression on you."

Coming into the dining area, Ranma spotted Ukyo, and impulsively called out to her, "Hey, Ucchan." He suddenly realized what he had just done and felt like a total fool. He immediately bowed to the three women, hoping in vain that his gaffe might pass unnoticed, and seated himself at the table across from Ukyo.

Nodoka and Ukyo's mother looked at him, surprised. They saw that Ranma had a bandage across his nose and looked to have been in a recent fight, a few fading bruises on his face. He also moved with some occasional hesitancy from his injuries.

Feeling an almost electric shock run through her at her first sight of Ranma, Ukyo's thoughts went something like, H-how dare he speak to me so familiarly? She looked down and began blushing as he sat, an unexpected surge of desire for the pigtailed boy affecting her, and she suddenly felt extremely shy.

Ranma gazed at Ukyo and felt a smile cross his face at the sight of her. I guess I was worried over nothing, he realized with relief, thinking that he had been silly to be afraid of seeing Ukyo. But a tingling in his body made him wonder if friendship was all he was feeling for the girl. He could not bring himself to tear his gaze away from looking at her, and he thought she looked extremely appealing seeing her dressed in traditional feminine garb as she was.

Still unable to bring herself to meet Ranma's gaze, Ukyo could not seem to figure out what was wrong with her. Her fingers twiddled with each other under cover of the table as she tried to understand what was going on. He wasn't anywhere near what she had been expecting, and his easy movements were a sure sign of a well-trained fighter. Each time she tried to look at him, her stomach tied itself into such a knot that she had to bend over again. She found herself wondering what he looked like underneath his clothes, and her blush deepened as she continued to stare at her cup of tea before her.

"Perhaps we should give the two of them a few minutes alone to get to know each other a little," suggested Nodoka gently, after spending a minute glancing from her son to Ukyo and back. Receiving a nod from Ukyo's mother, the two women withdrew to the kitchen to talk on their own.

For several minutes, the two teens seemed unable to speak to each other. After his initial, overly-familiar greeting, Ranma was not sure what to say, so he contented himself with looking at Ukyo. She sure is cute, he mused idly. On the other side of the table, the ninja girl was sitting and trying to sort out her very confused feelings.

During this whole time, Genma Saotome and Akira Kuonji were talking and drinking sake. It was a companionable moment between the two men, and Akira found himself unburdening his concerns to Genma. Both of them were well on their way to being drunk.

"I tell you it's been terrible, Saotome-san," said Akira, slurring his words slightly. "I have been unable to secure a husband for my only daughter. W-what sort of a father am I to be unable to do that?" A few tears began to flow from his eyes.

"I know the feeling, Kuonji-san," said Genma, feeling the effects of the sake in his system giving a pleasant glow to everything. "But I may have the solution to your problems. My son, Ranma."

"You agree to an engagement?" said Akira, his hopes growing. When he saw Genma nod once, he began searching himself for the marriage contract. "Ukyo does bring a very- a very good dowry with her. She is to inherit our family shrine, all our lands surrounding it, and all other family assets when she finally marries." As he looked down to find the suddenly misplaced contract in his robes, Akira did not notice the brief glow of avarice shining in Genma's eyes.

The contract was shortly signed and both men affixed their seals to it. Genma held out his hand and the two men clasped arms, securing the deal with a pledge of honor between them. That singular act brought a happy smile to Akira's face. They toasted the event with another cup of sake.

"We must keep this a secret though, Kuonji-san," said Genma with a conspiratorial look. Especially since Ukyo will be Ranma's number two wife.

"Why?" asked Akira, confused, even as he swiftly pocketed his copy of the contract.

"My son will honor this agreement," answered Genma slowly, "but I wish to make it a surprise for my wife. You understand how it is." He saw Akira nodding drunkenly, not really understanding but grateful to agree to anything Genma said by this point. "For now, we will simply tell our children that Ukyo will be staying in the area to allow them time to get to know each other." He felt extremely proud of this idea. The two men then went back to finishing off the large bottle of sake they had brought with them.

The two fathers came staggering back into the dining area, finding the two teenagers enthusiastically discussing the merits and pitfalls of weaponless and armed combat. Hearing the commotion made by the two men, both mothers returned as well. Akira suddenly clapped Ranma smartly on the shoulder, startling the pigtailed boy.

"Your son certainly seems nothing like his portfolio, Saotome-san," said Ukyo's father with twinkle in his eye. "I came here with expectations of someone far more scholarly in nature, and now I find him to be a fine young warrior as well. He sounds like he might be just the man for my Ukyo-chan."

"What?" shouted Ukyo in irritation, temporarily forgetting her shy feelings. Yet a glance at Ranma silenced her as her shyness returned with a vengeance. She went back to absently twiddling her fingers.

"However," said Akira, ignoring his daughter as he nodded slightly to Genma, "so as not to rush into anything foolishly, it has been agreed that Ukyo will remain in the area to get to know Ranma better. If things go as well as I hope, then the marriage between our two families will occur within the year."

Both Ranma and Ukyo seemed to visibly tense at that announcement.

Genma has apparently taken my little speech to heart, thought Nodoka gratefully. I knew he would come through for me. She was now secretly finding herself favoring the Kuonji girl to become Ranma's new fiancée. Ukyo reminded Nodoka of herself as a girl for some reason, and Ranma needed a strong woman to guide him, as she had tried to guide Genma.

"I think my wife and I would be very proud to have Ranma become Ukyo's husband," said Akira with a conspiratorial wink at Genma, "if the two of them end up getting along, that is." He moved over to his daughter and clapped his hands down on her shoulders. "A strong girl like Ukyo will be able to provide many healthy children for the Empire, when, er, if he marries her." And the girl needs someone strong enough to stand up to her. She does take after her mother that way, he finished in his mind.

"Papa!" exclaimed Ukyo, scandalized. She glanced at Ranma and felt shyness strike her once again, going quiet and staring at the tabletop.

"Excellent," said Ukyo's mother. "I've seen more than enough to be satisfied. I truly think Ranma will be a good match for my daughter, especially since my husband feels so strongly about it." She smiled at the Saotomes. I've found a good husband for my daughter at last! He sounds like a strong fighter, as well as a brilliant scholar. I just know that he will father many exceptional children for the clan.

Nodoka smiled as she nodded in agreement. This is all working out so well. If things don't go well with the Kunos or the Tendos, then I just know that Ranma will marry Ukyo. She felt a pleasant glow fill her at the thought of many grandchildren.

"Ukyo will be staying with some of our relatives in the area until the wedding can take place," said Ukyo's father with a smile. "Her aunt runs an okonomiyaki shop, and I hear that it's quite popular in the area. Ukyo is a good cook, and the experience should do her well."

"Okonomiyaki?" asked Genma with surprise.

"Yes," replied Ukyo's mother proudly. "My sister-in-law uses the old Kuonji family recipes. I don't believe that your son will ever taste a finer okonomiyaki than the ones made by my Ukyo-chan, once she learns the finer points of their creation from her aunt. She hasn't had much of an opportunity to learn them, what with her duties at the shrine and her other training."

I can't believe this is happening, thought Ranma as he stared at the tabletop, trying to control himself from pounding on Genma in his mother's presence. He glanced over at Ukyo and was captivated by the bright blush on her cheeks. Well, maybe this isn't going to be so bad, he conceded, since it isn't as if there's any agreement between the families. She and I could just, uh, date. That thought created a large fountain of butterflies in his belly.

Ukyo continued looking down at the table, her blush finally fading a bit. Judging by my parents, she mused sourly, it looks like I'm going to be stuck with marrying this Ranma guy now. My father is sure not going to let this chance to marry me off get away, if I know him. I guess I'm going to have to explain to Ranma how things are going to be between us, after I get settled in. Maybe we can come to an understanding of some sort. The thought of spending time with him was oddly pleasant to her, and she wondered if he might be interested in helping her keep up her training.

"Then, it's all settled," said Genma proudly. He poured the last of the sake into Akira's cup. "Here's to the future."

The two fathers toasted while the mothers looked on contentedly. There were smiles all around, except from the two now-engaged children seated at the table.

Ranma and Ukyo finally met each other's gazes, and he tentatively smiled at her. That set off a fresh blush in Ukyo's cheeks, but she did not lower her eyes, finally having mastered herself sufficiently to look on it as a challenge of wills. She firmly met Ranma's gaze with her own and answered his smile with a small one of her own.

Both of them were now thinking almost exactly the same thing.

Maybe this won't be so bad. What's the worst thing that could happen?

"Would you like to be friends?" Ranma asked Ukyo.

"I'd like that, Ranchan," said Ukyo, an impish smile on her face. She enjoyed the startled look on his face.

There was the distant rumble of thunder in the skies.

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The boost is a concept borrowed from the "Deathstalker" novels written by Simon R. Green, a terrific space-opera style story.

Ghost Sweeper Minami is a character created by DB Sommer in his story, "Shampoo 1/2", and is used with his permission.

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	11. Girl Troubles

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Akane paused in her workout with the heavy punching bag, wiping some errant perspiration from her brow with the sleeve of her light yellow gi. She looked around the training hall, shrugged her shoulders, and then returned to brutalizing the bag with solid punches and kicks. She quickly lost herself once again in her exertions, enjoying the feeling of her body in motion, a private dance of lethal skill. The fading bruises from her brief, losing combat with Ranma a few hours earlier hindered her slightly, but she had trained while injured before. And she knew that they would be almost completely faded by the morning.

Outside, Nabiki peeked in through the open window at the back of the training hall, her body suspended by her feet from the edge of the roof. She was dressed in one of her many Chinese-style outfits, this one being composed of the usual black gi pants, but topped off by a sleeveless sea-green silk shirt. She was finding that she liked the look of blues and greens on her in her shirts. She shifted her position slightly, her legs beginning to twinge a little from the strain on her injured body, but she was getting some great action shots of her little sister. They should be worth a fair amount of yen from Akane's new fan.

The small camera in her hands gave off another gentle clicking sound.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. That same device has also given the Nabiki of this timeline a copy of the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. An accident with the resonator switched the mind of Professor Genma Saotome with that of his counterpart from one of the few "Shampoo 1/2" timeline variants, and he has engaged Ukyo Kuonji and Nabiki Tendo to Ranma so far. After a fierce battle with Nabiki, Ranma defeated her, one of several fights he became involved in that day.

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Chapter 11 - Girl Troubles

In revenge and in love, woman is more barbarous than man.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

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After consuming triple portions for dinner, a level of consumption that even surpassed Akane's usual appetite, Nabiki retired early to her bed. She decided to skip her homework tonight in favor of a couple of hours of extra sleep to recover from her savage brawl with Ranma. She was already months ahead in all of her classes, so none of her instructors would even notice any difference. One advantage she had over her counterpart was her almost eidetic memory. In the weeks and months to come, she was confident that she would be able to use that ability to remain well ahead in all of her studies even while she pursued her brutal new physical training schedule. In addition to her time at the Academy, she planned to put in at least two extra hours a day on top of that. She felt confident that five to six hours of training daily should build her physique up to very acceptable levels in only a short time. Not that she considered herself to be out of shape, except when she compared herself to the lean and hardened figure of her martial artist counterpart.

As Nabiki brushed her hair while preparing for bed, she pondered three things: Akane's battered, yet smiling condition upon her return home, Kodachi's obvious desires to claim Ranma, and her own strengthening feelings for the pigtailed boy. Nabiki had absently witnessed Akane's rather contented grin all through dinner, lost in some private fantasy that probably involved Ranma. It gave her a chance to think about the new developments in her life.

After brushing out the last few tangles in her hair, she set down her brush and slowly laced her fingers together beneath her chin in an unconscious imitation of her father's thoughtful pose. She gazed at her reflection solemnly, her thoughts whirling chaotically in her mind.

Nabiki could not bring herself to believe that she had let unexpected emotions for Ranma get the better of her, for that gave him an advantage in their dealings that she found intolerable at the present time. Whenever he was near her, he confused the trained orderliness of her thoughts, and that was unacceptable to her. She was not some blushing, shy little schoolgirl out of some romance manga. She was Nabiki Tendo, sometimes called the 'Iron Bitch' of the Imperial Academy behind her back, a young woman who prided herself on her independence and her abilities at controlling her surroundings. She resolutely refused to believe that she was showing such a bothersome 'weakness' for Ranma, even as she wondered if her feelings were why she had lost to him.

She was still certain that the pigtailed boy was not her better in skill, so it was obvious to her she had allowed herself to be defeated, somehow. That realization was still troubling, but much less so than the alternative. The need to be the best burned deeply within her, some, but not all, carrying over from the memories of her counterpart. She knew that she must challenge Ranma again to regain her place within her internal picture as to the proper state of things - that Nabiki Tendo was the top fighter in the area, and it was most definitely not a young man named Ranma Saotome.

Overconfidence had dealt her two irritating failures for the price of one: her loss to Ranma itself, and the divestiture of a fair amount of her money on his beating all the spreads she established. She even underestimated his endurance when she had set the time duration bets on the fight. However, she was still confident that she would recoup her monetary losses when she challenged him again and won. She would beat him the next time, and the time after that. Her one loss was only a temporary setback.

Standing up from her dressing table, Nabiki examined the bruises on her face one last time, grateful that her father had not seen her in such a condition and that Akane was too distracted to inquire about them. They were already fading, and she was certain that she would be back to one hundred percent come the morning, after several hours of needed restorative rest. Collapsing into bed, she closed her eyes and let slumber quickly carry her away.

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Nabiki found herself standing in the familiar surroundings of the Tendo Dojo, barefoot, and dressed in Chinese-style clothes with a blue shirt. She was paused in the doorway, the walkway leading to the main house lying behind her. A hazily indistinct figure was kneeling in the middle of the room. When she stepped fully into the dojo, the figure of her counterpart snapped into sudden clarity, also barefoot and dressed in Chinese-style clothes, with a light green shirt.

"Hello again," said the other Nabiki, opening her eyes and looking over at her. She stood and bowed to the new arrival, a smirk suddenly appearing on her face as she did so. "You lost to Ranchan."

Nabiki blinked before returning the bow, clearly not expecting the smirk and the reproof in her counterpart's greeting. She straightened up and frowned as she said, "It was only a temporary setback. I'll just train myself harder and try again in a few days."

"And you'll lose again," said the other girl. She tilted her head to one side slightly as she looked at the blue-shirted Nabiki. "Why do you think you lost this time?"

"Ranma got lucky," replied Nabiki, a bit puzzled by the question.

"Nope," said the green-shirted Nabiki, but then quickly added, "and you'd realize why if you thought some more about it. Observe." With a dramatic wave of her hand and a grin on her face, the scene quickly changed around them, forming into the fields back behind the Academy. Frozen ranks of cadets stood around them, none breathing. Ranma was halted in mid-step as he walked towards her, that moment when she first turned and was clearly able to see his face.

"Cute trick," said the blue-shirted Nabiki dryly. The clarity of the image was astonishing. She never realized how clear her memories were of that event.

"Thanks," replied her twin with a smile. "Oddly enough, it reminds me a bit of something that I once saw on a dubbed, American science-fiction program, but that's beside the point. Now take a look at Ranchan's eyes. Tell me, what do you see?"

Nabiki walked over and studied Ranma closely, noting the purposeful gaze on his face. She turned and said, "He looks like he really wanted to win."

"Correct," noted the green-shirted Nabiki with a slight smirk on her face. "Ranchan wanted to win very badly, and that was why he did. His skills were roughly equal to yours, or mine, however you care to look at it. So it wasn't a new move or two that let him win, it was his driving need for victory, the one you can see so clearly in his eyes." There was an odd, almost unnoticeable tone of wistfulness present in her voice as she paused for a moment, gazing at the pigtailed boy with an inscrutable look on her face. "That was why he won."

"What?" Nabiki blurted out, not noticing the other girl's pause and odd tone. She turned from her study of her opponent. "I wanted to win, too!"

The other girl shook her head slowly and seemed to sigh, as if she was addressing a slow and possibly dim-witted student, irritating Nabiki greatly. She then said, "No, you were certain you would win, but he had more than that. Not only was he certain he would win, he wanted to win. He _needed_ to win. There's a difference."

"How so?"

"Look at me," said the green-shirted Nabiki, gesturing at herself with her thumb. "I've long understood what your Ranchan now apparently knows, what I hope this talk will help you understand. Victory doesn't always go to the fastest or to the strongest. In my experience, it most often seems to go to the one who desires victory more strongly than their opponent does, so strongly that they reach far deeper into themselves than they otherwise ever would. I enter every fight with that attitude, that hunger for victory, and I've always won in the end. He did that, and you lost."

"Damn it! I don't accept that! I'm almost as tall as Ranma-kun, with basically equal reach to his in my arms and legs, and I'm about as strong as he is. Even if I may be weaker, I'm still faster than he is, and my skills, YOUR skills, are better than his, better than his counterpart's abilities! I should have beaten him! Wouldn't you win against his counterpart?"

"Of course I would," admitted the other Nabiki with a nod. "But if his training was as brutal as what I suffered through under Uncle Genma, then it would be a long, hard fight before I beat him. I'm certain that I'm faster than that other Ranma, at least in my female form. Then again, in my male form, like with my own Ranma, I'm stronger than he is too. I also have Matriarch Cologne to thank for training me to be a much better fighter in either form than I ever imagined I could be. And I have a pretty good imagination."

With a smug smile, the other Nabiki whipped herself up onto her feet and went through a brief series of punches and kicks to demonstrate her great speed and prowess as she kept talking. "I'd say that makes it a given I'd beat this other Ranma in a fight. However, having said that, the chance to test myself to the limits of my abilities against someone like him as an opponent is really sorta irresistible, to see how good he'd be at his absolute best."

"So what do I do to beat my Ranma?"

"Do you really want to beat him?" The other Nabiki paused in her attack upon the hapless target. "There's a way."

"Tell me!" demanded Nabiki.

"It's obvious." The other Nabiki smiled. "Develop your speed even further than you have, like this." After calling out a loud "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she began swiftly demolishing the training dummy. Her fists were mere blurs, each solid strike landing at nearly the speed of sound, possibly even beyond it. As the target crumbled to dust under the brutal assault, she continued, "It's one of my favorite techniques out of all those in my arsenal. Train to use it, and your Ranma won't be able to stand against your speed. I doubt Cologne would ever have taught his counterpart the technique, so yours won't ever be able to counter it."

Nabiki blinked, and then suddenly found herself barely able to wait until she was able to claim that level of speed for herself. Just you wait, Ranma-kun, she thought with a smug look. I'll show you I'm the better fighter. You'll never win against me again. She made a mental note to start training her body immediately, and she needed to buy a large quantity of firewood for that purpose. Her hands closed into fists for several moments.

The other Nabiki went on speaking as she gracefully flowed around the imaginary dojo's floor, "I'm actually sorta surprised that your Ranma can give you so much trouble. After all, as much as I love my own Ranchan, he's just not in my class as a fighter, and he never will be. He'll always be in my shadow, and given how Cologne judges my potential, I don't see how it could ever be anything else. Don't get me wrong. My Ranchan's really very good, one of the best, but he's not the heir to the Anything-Goes School in my world. I am."

A second one of the training dummies was obliterated with rapid, powerful blows from the other girl's fists. She paused and looked at the dreaming Nabiki. "On a side note, the little bits and pieces of that other Ranma that I can see getting filtered through your Ranchan's personality are, well, kind of interesting. For example, I can pretty much safely say that your Ranma, and I assume his counterpart in that divergent timeline of his as well, is most definitely not quite as domesticated as my own Ranchan can be at times. Mine tends to defer to women, being raised by his mother while I was with Genma all those years. Yours is much more independent-minded and capable. I kinda like that in him." She smiled, and a slight blush colored her cheeks. "Not to mention those incredible sensations you feel whenever he's near you. Wow!"

"Yeah," admitted Nabiki with a bit of a smirk. However, she felt more than a little embarrassed to be reminded of the pigtailed boy's effect on her. "You're right. He's arrogant, stubborn, and he can be annoying as hell at times. But I don't think I'd ever trade mine for one like yours. I honestly can't picture my life without him in it anymore."

"I guess there's just something about Ranma Saotome that grows on a girl, in any world, hmm?" asked the green-shirted Nabiki. She casually waved a hand, and the scenery dissolved away into white emptiness for a moment, before reforming into the Tendo Dojo.

"I guess so," admitted Nabiki. "He's also going to be mine someday, once I deal with Akane and Kodachi. Daddy's told me that there's going to be a marriage meeting with Ranma's family in just a few days, and that I shouldn't worry about the outcome. And when it's over, he'll officially become my fiancé. I just have to work on teaching Ranma-kun who's gonna be boss between us," then she smirked for a moment, "namely me. At least I don't have to worry about any other girls showing up and complicating things. I know I can handle Akane and Kodachi easily enough."

"True, things could be worse. You could have a Jusenkyo curse, a bunch of Amazons, and a cross-dressing okonomiyaki chef to contend with," said the other Nabiki with a chuckle. "Take it from me, you've got it easy."

With that having been said, the lucid dream faded away to a more normal one.

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After the meeting with the Saotomes was over, Ukyo and her parents headed over to visit with Ukyo's aunt, her father's sister, Yumi Kuonji. Ukyo had heard stories of her aunt, a genius prodigy who achieved the rank of Jonin at a younger age than anyone else ever had, considered by all of the older members of the clan to be the most capable and powerful warrior that the clan had ever produced. Her father often told Ukyo that she resembled her aunt as a young girl a fair amount, something usually said whenever she was being defiant. But why her Aunt Yumi was living in Tokyo was a tale that none of the adults ever seemed willing to tell. Her mother had once admitted it was due to some sort of trouble with the Hibikis when she had been a teenager, but Ryoga had claimed ignorance of the matter the one time Ukyo had interrogated him about it several years ago. All she knew was that Yumi had separated herself from the clan to live in the Imperial Capital on her own, but she still kept in contact with her brother.

A brisk walking distance from the Saotome residence, Ukyo and her parents eventually stopped outside a small, but quite well-appointed okonomiyaki restaurant. A dark blue awning outside bore the kanji for "Yu-chan's" upon it. Ukyo stifled a snicker at the name. Maybe if I don't end up marrying this Ranma guy, I can start my own place and name it "Ucchan's" or something, she thought with a wry grin, remembering the silly nickname he had called her. She then quickly banished the thought as being too weird.

Akira Kuonji led the way into the shop, quiet now since it was long after the dinner rush was over. A grin was on his face as he bellowed at the top of his lungs, "I hear that someone is passing off pig slop as okonomiyaki in these parts!" He then paused and waited for the results.

The figure working behind the counter, somewhat broad-shouldered for a woman and rangy of limb, yet still unmistakably female, snapped her head up at the loud insult. Apparently she had been too involved with some minor activity behind the counter to hear them come in. She was dressed in the typical garb of an okonomiyaki chef seen throughout the Empire: snug black leggings, tabi shoes, a tight-fitting white undershirt, and a heavier, short-sleeved shirt in dark blue worn atop with the cuffs rolled up. The woman's face was square-jawed and almost mannish in a way, not what could ever be called classically beautiful, yet having a solid sort of character to it that was attractive on its own terms. Her shoulder-length brown hair was held back in a loose ponytail secured by a yellow ribbon. When she raised her turquoise-colored eyes and saw Akira standing there, they lit briefly with amusement. She casually removed a large spatula from the wall behind her and hopped over the counter without touching it.

"Nobody insults a Kuonji's okonomiyaki!" roared the woman with very real-sounding anger. She then went into a blurred series of attacks with her weapon, with such speed and skill that Ukyo was left breathless with admiration.

Akira dodged and evaded the initial attacks, but he was still just a little bit drunk from earlier. He miss-timed a dodge, and the flat of the weapon caught him squarely in the face with the full power of the woman's shoulders and arms behind it. He went down hard, stunned.

"You never could take me in a fight, little brother," said Yumi sagely before picking the larger man up casually and depositing him into a chair. She turned and looked Ukyo over with a toothy grin, bowing loosely as she said to her, "Greetings, niece." She then turned to face Ukyo's mother and said, "And how are you, sis?"

"I am well, sister-in-law," said Yukiyo pleasantly, though she was apparently a little distressed. I had forgotten how unladylike Yumi always was, she thought with concern. Still, she doesn't dress like a man, so that's at least a step in the right direction for a role model for my daughter.

"Hello, Aunt Yumi," said Ukyo with a polite bow, still impressed with the great skill with which her aunt casually wielded the weapon in her hands. "I am honored to meet you."

"The pleasure's mine, Ukyo-chan," said Yumi, "and you can call me Auntie, or just Yumi if you prefer." She laid her weapon on the counter and pulled out a chair from a table, flipping it around before sitting upon it. She leaned forward and crossed her arms, resting them on the top of the chair's backrest. "So, how did the meeting go?"

"We decided to have Ukyo remain in the area for a while and get to know the boy better before we decide whether or not to proceed with an engagement," said Yukiyo as she watched her husband slowly regaining his senses out of the corner of her eye. "It won't be any trouble to have her stay here with you for a while?"

"Of course not! It will be my pleasure." Yumi gave another broad smile and turned to study Ukyo for a moment. "It will be nice to have a little help with the cooking and the cleanup. So what do you say, niece? You up to it?"

"Just try me," said Ukyo with a smile.

"She's got spunk, I'll say that for her, so she must take after her mother," said Yumi with a smirk in her sister-in-law's direction. She turned her attention back to Ukyo, speaking out of the corner of her mouth to Ukyo's mother. "And I might be able to teach her a thing or two about fighting and the shinobi arts while she's staying here. After all, a certain crazy old man who we all know and love isn't the only one who knows the tricks and skills of our clan. He just knows a few more of them." There was a twinkle in her eyes as she saw the teenaged girl's eagerness. "And I'm sure you'll like the big city a lot, kid. It really isn't anything like the mountain villages back by the shrine. There's always something exciting that seems to be happening around here."

"My husband and I trust that you will keep us informed as to how Ukyo is doing, sister-in-law," said Yukiyo politely. "I am sure that the experience will do her good."

"Don't worry, Yukiyo." Yumi's expression became more serious. "The girl's family, and I'll look out for her as if she was my own daughter. If anyone hurts her, they'll answer to me. Fair?"

"I thank you for your assistance, sister-in-law," said Yukiyo a little more warmly as she bowed in her chair. "I know how important family is to you."

"Family is always first in my mind, sis." Yumi grinned. "I'll watch out for her." She casually cracked her knuckles. "Nobody messes with us Kuonji girls, right Ukyo-chan?" She smiled warmly at her niece.

"Yes, Auntie," replied Ukyo brightly.

"That's the spirit," said Yumi. "You go on up those stairs and take a look through the second door on the right. I laid out a futon in case you needed a place to stay. I get up early here, so sleep well." She smiled and made a shooing gesture to the girl. "Now scoot. Your mother and I are going to catch up a little, while we wait for your father to recover from that little love tap I gave him."

"Yes, Auntie," said Ukyo, feeling much more positive about this whole excursion now. First Ranma had turned out to be far more than she had expected, and now this. Her aunt was everything that she had imagined from the stories told of her. She bowed and headed up the narrow flight of stairs.

I think I'm going to love it here, Ukyo thought with a smile.

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Within the dojo at Kuno Manor, Kodachi was finishing up the last hour of her personal evening training regimen, when a somber Kuno unexpectedly entered the room. She ignored him, still a little angry with him for his many ugly remarks about Ranma, and how far beneath her station the pigtailed scholar was. She continued driving her fists into the heavy punching bag she was using, a brief fantasy of doing the same thing to Akane Tendo the next time they fought filling her mind. However, for a single moment, Nabiki Tendo's face floated across her mind's eye, smirking at her with her trademarked coolly smug look, and Kodachi angrily redoubled her efforts. She smiled mirthlessly as she knocked the bag back on its chain with her punches, glorying in the smooth power her body was putting into her blows.

How dare yet another one of those pushy Tendo cows try and come between me and Saotome-kun? she thought with a huff as she paused for a brief moment. The very idea. He obviously needs someone of much more delicate refinement and intellect than either of those two lowborn savages has to offer. One is nothing but a brutish thug, and the other is some type of would-be gangster and profiteer. Both of those over-muscled harlots are simply the lowest sort of scum. And both of them have tried to hurt Saotome-kun!

She suddenly powered a swift series of kicks into the heavy bag as her emotions raged within her, giving the lithe muscles in her arms and shoulders a brief respite. Sweat flew from her face and body with each solid strike, and the seams of the heavy leather punching bag began leaking modest amounts of sand from the incredible abuse it was taking. It would not survive the night at this rate, possibly not even another hour.

During her day of bed rest to recover from the injuries she suffered at Akane's hands, Kodachi had taken some time to re-examine her research on this Ranma's life and his accomplishments. She found a great deal to admire about him that she could admit that she had never known about his counterpart. As far as she could tell, this Ranma was an honorable and well-educated young man from a good and noble family, even though they were of the lowest rungs of the nobility. From the brief time she had spent with him, she could see that he was much like that other version of him that she had known, the one now lost to her somewhere across the dimensions. Deep in her heart, she could admit him to be the boy she had fallen in love with.

However, the passionate feelings she felt growing within her for this Ranma were quickly replacing the shy but loving regard she had once held for his counterpart. Perhaps a large part of that was due to a certain indefinable something that she could sense within him, a hidden strength of some sort that he had, one that seemed to call to her very femininity with an undeniable power. Just the mere thought of being held close by him had the ability to bring a blush to her face, and her occasional fantasies about him kept wandering off into some very erotic scenes, ones that scandalized her sometimes.

Kodachi let her mind drift a bit as her fists and feet continued to unleash increasingly powerful strikes into the punching bag with some of the last of her waning energy reserves. Despite her jealous feelings over the shapeliness of Nabiki's nude figure when she had seen it in the locker room showers, the young noblewoman was only mildly concerned at her own abilities at attracting Ranma's eye to herself. Modest as she considered herself to be, she knew she was attractive, athletic, and fairly well-built and endowed for a girl her age. She was very much like her mother before her, a beautiful daughter of an ancient House of the Empire. She was a desirable young woman that many men would seek to possess, but she only had eyes for a certain pigtailed boy.

That was her current dilemma. Kodachi wanted Ranma to desire her as much as she now did him, and it was driving her to commit such acts of brazenness in the brief time that she had known him so far, even as subtly as she did them, that it sometimes shocked the almost painfully shy girl that she once was. However, her urges were becoming stronger of late as her burgeoning feelings of love for him grew. At times, she wanted to simply grab the pigtailed boy and drag him off to her bed, to explore the limits of carnal pleasures between them. Then, after their mutual desires had been fully explored and satisfied, and she lay there cuddled in his arms, that relaxed moment would be the time she would admit to Saotome-kun her true feelings for him.

Why can't it be that easy? she wondered, even as she suddenly noticed the damage being sustained by the punching bag. She eased off a bit in the vigor of her efforts, conserving the last of her strength as she forced herself to relax. If only I could just be more open about my feelings with him. She seemed constantly poised on the horns of a dilemma: be bold and brazen with Ranma, or be demure and shy like a true lady was. So Kodachi kept waffling back and forth between having the audacity to simply drag him off to a quiet area and slake her strong desires for him, and becoming almost tongue-tied in his mere presence. The very unwelcome additions of the two Tendo girls was something she also needed to deal with, and soon. Kodachi's upper lip curled at the thought of the coolly smug attitude given to her by Nabiki.

Dealing with that other Tendo harridan will require much more delicacy, thought Kodachi grimly, beginning to hit the punching bag harder again. She doesn't strike me as being nearly as easy to outthink as her younger sister, and she's an even better fighter. She will require cleverness to overcome, not brute force. Although that way would not be nearly as satisfying as the beating I gave to her brutish sister. Still, it would be easiest if I could change the focus of her attentions to another target. But, who?

Lost in her thoughts for a moment, she did not hear her brother suddenly address her. She continued to pummel the heavy leather bag with her fists and feet, enjoying the feelings of tiredness building up within her muscles. She knew the intense workout would help her get to sleep, instead of lying awake to fret about her meeting with Ranma in a couple of days as she was sure she would do otherwise.

"Sister dearest," interjected Kuno into her musings once again, a little louder than the first time, causing Kodachi to pause in her exertions.

"Brother dear," replied Kodachi, stopping her workout and padding over to one side of the mat in her bare feet to pick up a towel. She dabbed at the perspiration on her face for a moment as she felt her energy reserves begin to recover. "What brings you out to the training hall so late?"

"Why didst thou strike me this morn for speaking my mind on the subject of that person?" asked Kuno abruptly, finally voicing the question he had held within him throughout dinner. He assumed what he saw as a noble pose, one of wounded dignity, and glared at his sister.

"My relationship with Saotome-kun is my own business, brother dear," reproved Kodachi mildly. She draped the towel across her shoulders and held an end in each hand. "I could no longer bear to hear you speak such hateful things about him in my presence, so I stilled your voice as best I saw fit." She coolly returned her brother's icy glare with one of equal chill, her body lightly balanced on the balls of her feet, a gesture of defiance that he ignored for the moment.

"I see," said Kuno sullenly. Their gazes remained locked, and neither appeared willing to back down. Strain appeared in his voice as he continued speaking. "So you choose this scholar over thine own flesh and blood? He has so quickly poisoned your mind against me?"

"Saotome-kun has not poisoned my mind against you, Tachi-kun," said Kodachi in a more soothing tone of voice. She was relieved to see her brother relax a little at her tone. "However, if Father has his way, if what I hope will come to pass does, then Saotome-kun will become my husband. He and I will be of one flesh, as the black and crimson-garbed priests from the West speak of marriage."

"Saotome is unworthy of you," growled Kuno in a low tone. "And I refuse to accept that he is to become a member of this household. I refuse, I say! As your elder brother, I request, nay, I _command_ you to reject this marriage for the good of our most noble House. There are many far worthier men who could, and should, be thy lord and husband. Thy pristine beauty should be wed to another of high station, not wasted on a lowborn scoundrel like him, one who is almost common gutter trash. I say that Ranma Saotome is not worthy of you!"

Kodachi blinked, and then a cross look appeared on her face. Without a further word, her hand slapped her brother's face hard. As she watched him recover from the shock of her attack, a battle aura began shimmering around her for a moment, triggered by her anger. She stepped forward half a pace, her stance clearly that of someone ready to deal out more damage.

His ears ringing from the unexpected blow, Kuno shook his head and then stared at his sister in shock. Blood dribbled from his mouth, a result of his having bitten his lip during the surprise blow. So the vile knave has now brought my sweet and innocent sister to such a state that she would raise her hand against her own family, against her own brother, he thought darkly. And my beloved sister is not enough for his base lusts. No, he has also claimed the heart of the fair maiden Akane Tendo. How I have come to loathe you for these crimes, Ranma Saotome. I swear I shall avenge myself upon you for these sins, and my skills shall humble thee. I swear this upon my most sacred honor and that of all my ancestors. He paused to gather his thoughts, his visage angry and grim.

"That is twice in one day that thou hast struck me whilst I was but speaking my mind, my beloved sister," he intoned angrily. "Do not make me forget that thou art a woman and my younger sibling, or my wrath shall be swift and terrible upon thee. Thou hast changed much in the past few months, changed in a manner most grievous unto me, and now I think I can see the reason for it. Thy womanly, vaporous passions for this lowborn cretin have unhinged thy mind, and that madness has somehow infected our beloved parents. I see that now."

"You are an idiot, brother dear!" spat out Kodachi fiercely. "You seek to guard me as if I were some little doll for you to keep safe until you deign to find a man worthy of me, then you will gladly hand me over to some popinjay of a chinless noble who you see as suitable for owning me. Perhaps someone like your friend, that lecherous Mikado Sanzenin, for example. Well, I am not your doll!"

"He would not be my first choice for thy husband," said Kuno in a solemn tone of voice, apparently contemplating some of her words yet ignoring others, "but he is not entirely unsuitable for thy hand in marriage. He is surely far better for thee than Ranma Saotome is, and his family is one of impeccable breeding and a most noble lineage."

"Am I to be bred like a prize mare now?" asked Kodachi in a mocking tone, somehow glad to now have this argument out in the open. These feelings had been building up within her for some time, and it was taking all of her self-control to keep from pounding her brother into the floor until he would admit that she was able to live her own life. For one thing, she would select her husband, instead of having her older brother dictate to her who that would be. And she knew with certainty who she would have that someone be.

"I would not spend a single moment of time with that loathsome lothario that you call friend, save you trussed me up in irons and presented me as a gift for the gratification of his perverse pleasures. While that is something I am sure he at least would like, I most certainly would not. I have heard sufficient stories from several girls at Blackhall to give me an adequate barometer as to his lack of character."

"Sanzenin-kun's reputation with those of the fairer sex is surely exaggerated," said Kuno with annoyance, wiping the remaining blood from his mouth with an absent gesture. "Women flock to him out of attraction to his noble countenance and good nature, so do not speak ill of him."

"Very well, brother dear," said Kodachi mildly. "Then I ask you to not speak ill of my intended husband. I consider him a good man, and I will not hear you insult him in my presence." She saw her brother seem to visibly swell up in sudden anger at her statement.

"Ranma Saotome shall never become thy husband!" Kuno thundered at her. "That trumped-up commoner is not worthy of the honor of thy hand. Thou art a fair daughter of the noble House of Kuno, and thou hast a duty to wed for the good of the family, not to follow the yearnings of thy fragile, feminine weaknesses!"

"Brother dear," replied Kodachi in saccharin-sweet tones, "cease to be this annoyance you have become of late to me. Stand aside and let me pursue Saotome-kun for my husband. It is quite true that I am a noble daughter of the House of Kuno, but I am also a lady samurai of a warrior House. So do not force me to raise my hand against you to defend my point, let alone the man I have come to regard so highly in my heart. For I will if I must."

Kuno could not believe what he was hearing. Only a few months ago, he would never have conceived of his meek and shy sister speaking so defiantly to him. She was no longer humbly complying with any of his commands to her, what he had grown used to over the course of their lives as the normal state of affairs between them. She would not seek to challenge me in our ancestral hall, would she? he asked himself in the solitude of his own thoughts. I am the very pinnacle of the Kuno's legendary fighting abilities, a scion descended of centuries of combat lore and skill, all distilled into the most puissant of mortal vessels that has ever drawn breath. Without thinking, he began to laugh with an almost maniacal edge.

"Thy madness for the Saotome churl has claimed the last of thy wits, sister dear," said Kuno grandly between chuckles. "A mere slip of a girl such as thyself could never hope to defeat me. Thy combat skills could never compare to mine own. Perhaps it would be best for thee to return to more suitably feminine activities."

Kodachi casually tossed her towel aside and uppercutted her brother as hard as she could across the jaw with her right fist, lifting him clear of the floor and knocking him back several feet with a loud crash into a weapons rack, before springing back herself to land in a combat stance. The blood seemed to sing within her veins as she waited for him to respond to her challenge, new reserves of energy filling her, and her body once again coming to rest easily upon the balls of her feet. Her eyes glowed with the light of battle as she gazed at him.

"I accept thy challenge, dear sister," said Kuno grimly, pulling himself free of the weapons rack, drawing forth one of the bokkens from it as he did so. His hand briefly felt along his jaw, casually testing to make sure it was still attached to the proper place on his face. "I shall force thee to yield to my will in this, great though it pains my soul to bring any harm to thee."

"Cease your pompous posturing, brother dear, and fight me if you are going to do so," growled Kodachi. The tiredness from her workout had now almost completely faded, and she felt quite ready to put him down hard and painfully if she had to. The young noblewoman settled herself to let her brother make the first move in their duel, studying his stance for any clues as to his intentions. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw him suddenly rush towards her.

"Hold!" shouted an angry female voice from the doorway, mere moments before the two siblings were about to engage each other in savage combat, the command somehow penetrating through the red haze of anger that had arisen within each of them. The pair froze in place, Kodachi briefly flicking her gaze to the grim-looking figure standing in the doorway, even as her brother stepped back from her and turned to look as well.

"Mother," said Kodachi in a quiet voice, uncertain what else to say. She relaxed into a neutral stance, watching her mother briefly fluttering one of her ever-present fans before her face as the Kuno matriarch studied them both.

"I am very disappointed in you two," said Kenseiko grimly. "Very disappointed indeed. This bickering is pointless, not to mention most disruptive to the harmony of this household, and I will have it ended here and now. Do you two understand me?"

"Yes, Mother," said the two siblings in unintended harmony. They briefly glared at each other.

"Dachi-chan," said Kenseiko thoughtfully, "fighting with your elder brother is not the way to settle things between siblings. It is not very ladylike to act in such a manner."

Kodachi visibly wilted a little at the comment.

Kuno smirked, but only for a moment, before their mother whirled to glare at him.

"And you!" snapped Kenseiko, pointing at him with her now-closed fan. "How dare you take up arms against your younger sister, Tachi-kun? Is the boy your father and I are considering for your sister's husband so repellent to you that it has caused you to take complete leave of your senses?" She waited for a reply, arms now folded, one slippered foot tapping lightly on the ground.

"Aye, he is," said Kuno quietly and defiantly, raising his gaze to meet hers angrily. "Ranma Saotome is no great lord, no noble of a good House, but merely of humble squire stock. In my opinion, he is barely of the nobility. The knave fights with his bare hands, brawling like the lowly peasant he is. A true samurai would fight armed. To have such a lowly one marry a highborn and pure-bred lady such as my own dear but misguided sister is unthinkable!" He began to tremble with barely repressed rage.

"There is no guarantee that he will, my son," said Kenseiko mildly as she gazed at her son thoughtfully. "Nothing is cast in stone, yet. However, the boy has proven himself against you to be a strong warrior, and our House has taken in new blood from outside the high nobility from time to time."

"He defeated me using base trickery," growled Kuno. "He is only a scholar, not a true-blooded warrior. I do not see him as worthy to seek entry into a house of heroes such as ours. Perhaps he used some sorcery upon myself and Sanzenin-kun." He nodded briefly in thought. "Yes, I can think of no other way that he could have won with merely his bare hands."

My brother is even more of an idiot than I dared imagine, Kodachi thought with irritation. He refuses to admit that Saotome-kun is now his better in combat. She sighed softly, a gesture her mother noticed even though her brother did not.

"Go clean up and get ready for bed, young woman," commanded Kenseiko mildly. She could not completely repress the sudden twinkle in her eye as she looked at her only daughter, putting the lie to the facade of anger that she had worn so far. "You and I shall speak sometime soon on the proper ways for a lady to act, as well as other things."

"Yes, Mother." Kodachi felt a little puzzled as she left to bathe and prepare for bed. She pointedly ignored her brother as she stiffly walked out.

"Mother," began Kuno, moments after his sister had left the room. He paused when his mother raised her hand.

"Listen to me well, my son," she said calmly. "You overstepped your place in this household in the matter of Kodachi's future. I know that it is hard for you to believe in this particular instance, but your dear father and I are always looking out for the welfare of this House. It is for you to trust our judgment as to what is best for your younger sister."

"But this Ranma Saotome is only barely of the nobility!" protested Kuno vigorously. "Whereas our proud lineage has been touched by the divinity of the Imperial line itself! To taint it with such base commonness, to allow my precious sister to lie with such a one, to bear children to him, is far beyond what I can tolerate. Give me thy leave, and I shall prove him unworthy of holding a place in this House."

"What would you seek for me to say?" Kenseiko's tones became more thoughtful. "Defeat Ranma Saotome utterly and without question, and I will consider him to be an unworthy match for your sister, too weak to add to the strength of this House. Is that what you would have me say?"

"Aye, Mother," replied Kuno grimly, his eyes burning with reforged purpose.

"Hold your eagerness to spill the boy's blood, my son. How is Ranma Saotome any different from that of this girl I hear tell of that has claimed your fancy, this Akane Tendo?"

"Ah, Akane Tendo," said Kuno grandly, his anger forgotten as he bathed in his glowing memories of her. "She is a noble beauty without compare, a veritable warrior goddess clothed in mortal form, filled with spirit and great passion. She has claimed my heart utterly with but a single look from her flashing eyes, and I would conquer a thousand nations if only that I might lay them at her feet as an offering."

"She is of the lower nobility too, Tachi-kun," said Kenseiko in the same grim tones as before. "Why should I allow you, the heir to the vast holdings of our House, to court such a one, a girl of a family that is of roughly equal level to that of the Saotomes? I had in mind for a pristine daughter of the high nobility as a wife. Perhaps that pretty Saginomiya girl you were smitten with a short while back?"

"Feh," snorted Kuno. "Though I still find her fair to look upon, the spiteful witch has lost her claim to my noble heart. The spell she once cast over me with her alluring charms was broken by the sight of the object of my true love. Akane Tendo has shown me a spirit and a strength of body that I have not seen in any of the daughters of the high nobility, so I look upon it as my sacred duty to take such a strong woman to wife and raise her to the peerage. Then, she shall bear unto me strong sons to carry on the Kuno family legacy. That her bloodline is of the same stature as that cursed Ranma Saotome is of no consequence to me. I shall have Akane Tendo as my wife, and I shall allow none to gainsay my desires in this."

My son takes after his father far too much, thought Kenseiko with a mental sigh. Both of them tend to only hear what they want to hear. It is a good thing that the women of this House are sensible enough to hold things together. However, Dachi-chan is becoming more and more like I once was as a girl, and I do not know whether to be proud of her or annoyed. Already she is getting into fights and gathering rivals, and one of those is my dearly beloved son's chosen consort. The old saying is true; a mother's lot is not an easy one.

"Your father has already made arrangements to meet with the Tendos," she said after her brief time of reflection, "and it promises to be a most memorable evening. Now go and prepare yourself for bed, my son, and cease attempting to exert your will over your sister. A Kuno is not a bully, Tachi-kun."

"Aye, Mother," said Kuno with a manic sort of smile, bowing before leaving. His thoughts were already lost on fantasies of Akane Tendo. Once Ranma Saotome fell before him, the spell cast upon her should fade, and she would finally be able to return the burning feelings of love that he held for her. He quickly left his mother standing alone in the training hall.

"A mere yeoman's youngest daughter?" Kenseiko softly wondered to the air. Her investigations of the Tendos had left her less than impressed with their bloodline, so she no longer felt it necessary to meet Akane in person, as had been her original plan. She gracefully walked over to the open window and gazed out at the night.

"Husband, whatever were you thinking? This has all the makings of a disaster of epic proportions. Young Ranma shows great promise to make a fine addition to our House, but this Akane girl is obviously ill-suited for my precious son as the future Lady of this House. Far better that Tachi-kun should simply take her to his bed as a concubine, if he truly desires her so strongly. Yes, that is far more suitable a position in this House for one of her station. I shall speak to my husband of that. After all, the heir to this House requires a young lady of noble quality and good breeding to assist and eventually succeed me in running the household affairs, a lady of refined beauty, intelligence, and innate strength of character."

Kenseiko briefly snapped her fan open and fluttered it before her face, even as she contemplated which House to make an overture to. After several moments of thought, a name suddenly occurred to her, a family currently rising in favor at the Imperial Court. And they had only a single daughter, still unattached, one who has so far rejected all suitors. Yes, she will be perfect for my Tachi-kun, she thought with a pleased look. I believe she even shares his interest in swordplay.

With a smile on her face, Kenseiko went to inform her husband of the decision 'they' had made concerning their son's future.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I am pleased with you, Dearest," said Nodoka as she readied herself for bed. She was slightly aroused when she noticed Genma watching her with hungry eyes. His new level of desire for her made her feel like a young newlywed again, filled with youthful passions of her own. "Your actions tonight were well done."

"It was nothing, Nodoka-chan," said Genma. "The boy's spent too much time locked up with books. He should learn to enjoy life more, and what more enjoyable thing is there than to spend time with a beautiful woman? Now come here, my wife. It has been too long."

"But Genma-kun," said Nodoka breathlessly, even as he began quickly undressing her when she drew near to him. "It has only been hours since our last time."

There was a brief pause.

"Oh my, Dearest," sighed Nodoka. "Oh, that feels so good." She felt her passions rising up within her, even though Genma was still being a bit quicker and rougher with her than was his usual manner. In an odd way, it seemed to be adding to her excitement, almost as if he was a stranger to her. She felt quite risqué.

"Be quiet and turn off the lights," commanded Genma in a gruff voice. "Your husband commands it."

I don't know what's come over him, thought Nodoka as darkness claimed the room. He's become so different. A very brief moment of introspection came over Nodoka regarding her husband. Despite his acquiescence to her desires for Ranma's future, and his embrace of an almost hedonistic manner that was sort of appealing in a decadent sort of way, she still wondered when he would start acting again like the quiet man she had first fallen in love with. After only a few days of this new attitude of his, she was already starting to miss the old Genma Saotome she had married so long ago.

Then, the heated passions of the moment quickly pushed aside any further thoughts she might have had.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma eased off his shirt, wincing a little at some of the deep bruises on his body. Despite the pains he had endured, he felt content with his victories today, especially the one over Nabiki. He idly rubbed a spot on his ribs where one of her punches had caught him solidly. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, smiling a little.

I beat her, he thought proudly. I took everything that Nabiki could throw at me, and I was the one who was left standing at the end of the fight. Me. Ranma Saotome. I proved that I'm the better fighter, and not her.

He recalled the feelings of elation that ran through him when she had finally fallen. But the memories of his win faded in the face of the other problems now facing him. As satisfying as it had been to successfully prove his status as top fighter to his attractive rival, it did not even really begin to solve any of his other difficulties.

He collapsed onto his futon with a groan, his mind striving to focus on coming up with a plan to continue his work. Somehow he had to get his equipment out of his lab before it was sent off to the Science Ministry and disposed of. With a sigh, he decided that accepting Nabiki's aid in this one instance was for a good cause, as long as she followed his lead and did not try to order him around like she clearly seemed to want to do whenever she was around him. After all, she had broken into his lab once, despite a locked door. So who better than her to help him steal back his own equipment? There was only one question that remained. Where to take it once he had it?

Before he fell asleep, he also made plans on taking some time to pound his 'father' into a fine paste sometime in the near future for his recent actions. Some morning training with Genma would allow him a chance to work off some of his frustrations. But at least he didn't try anything funny with Ucchan's father this time, he thought sleepily. Now I just have to keep an eye on him with the other two fathers to be sure he isn't trying something underhanded, but at least one of the three meetings is over without me becoming engaged. One last yawn escaped his lips, and then he immediately slipped into slumber.

The next thing Ranma knew, he was standing in the backyard of the Tendo household, next to the pond. He shied away from it, obeying some ingrained instinct before quickly chiding himself for being so afraid of a little cold water. After all, I'm not cursed, he thought with some amusement.

"You had me a little worried today, bookworm," said a voice suddenly behind his right shoulder. He turned around and saw the other Ranma behind him, dressed in a red shirt and black gi pants.

"I won, didn't I?" replied Ranma, suddenly noticing that he was dressed in black gi pants and Chinese-style shirt as well, only in blue.

"You almost lost to Nabiki," said the other Ranma with a shake of his head. "Nabiki! Who would've ever thought she could be any sort of a martial artist? I sure never would've, not in a million years."

"From what my Nabiki has told me," said Ranma thoughtfully, "on that timeline where she got her skills from, that Ranma stayed home with the Tendos and his mother, and she went with Pop on the training trip from Hell. Even all the way to Jusenkyo." He saw his twin begin chuckling.

"Nabiki cursed to turn into a guy is just too damned funny for words," said the other boy, pausing to watch as a few random memories floated by, drifting like soap bubbles in the breeze. "I wish I could see the look on my Nabiki's face if she ever learned that." He watched a memory float by, one originating from another world, of his female self beating up Kodachi in the gymnastics ring.

After a long moment of study, the other Ranma shook his head. He looked at the pigtailed scholar with a half-grin. "Anyway, now you're gonna hafta train even harder. If I've learned anything from dealing with the likes of Ryoga, your Nabiki is probably gonna train hard and challenge you again. You're gonna need to be ready for that."

"I beat her once, and I can beat her again," said Ranma confidently.

"Yeah," said the other Ranma thoughtfully. "Makes me almost wish I spent more time training with the Old Ghoul. Almost. But your Nabiki had some Amazon training in her style too. I'm just not sure how much she knows."

A thought suddenly struck Ranma, and asked, "Just out of curiosity, where's Ranko?"

"She's back there somewhere, I guess," said his counterpart, casually gesturing at the Tendo household. It was sort of hazy-looking, as if a fog had rolled in over it. "It's kinda hard to explain."

"Never mind then," said Ranma, wondering if this lucid dreaming was a side effect of the resonator as well. He had never had such clear visions in dreams before where he felt so conscious and aware. It was very much like real life.

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you to start training yourself even harder, bookworm," said the other boy with a grin as the scene began to fade to a hazy whiteness. "You'd better be prepared to beat your Nabiki again after she trains herself some more, 'cause there's no way in hell that I ever wanna see any Ranma second best to a chick. You got me?"

"Don't worry," Ranma assured his counterpart. "I know I'm better than her now, that I _want_ to be the best more than she does. Nabiki's going to have to face facts that a well-trained guy is always going to beat an equally well-trained girl. She'll just have to accept that." He smiled at his other self as the dream began dissolving around him.

"Ranma Saotome is the true heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," said the other Ranma confidently. "No girl is ever going to claim that while I have anything to say about it."

The dream imploded with an inaudible pop, reverting to the regular chaos of normal dreams.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Genma snapped awake before dawn, feeling Nodoka curled up against him once more. Now that he was conscious, his stomach began sending hunger pangs and rumbles of complaint at its emptiness. He ignored them. Disengaging himself from her gentle grip without waking her up, he arose from bed and quietly dressed in one of the newer gis he'd picked up shopping yesterday, while waiting for Ranma to update him on what was going on at home.

I should have heard from the boy before now, thought Genma with great concern. He paused for a moment to study this version of Nodoka in the dim light, looking so fragile and alone in bed by herself. He sighed softly at the sight, wondering what his own wife was doing, how she was managing to cope without him. Realizing very quickly that his worries were getting him nowhere, he crept out of the room and down to the backyard. He was surprised at how amazingly stealthy he could be for his present bulk.

Upon reaching the yard, Genma began his workout with stretches to get the blood flowing in the cool morning air. Not knowing how long he was going to be stuck with this body and this life, one of the first things he was determined to work on was trimming himself down to far more acceptable levels. Despite the thick muscles running beneath his present bulk, he felt as fat as one of those lazy panda bears in the public zoo, and that was unacceptable. He knew his own body had degenerated into plump flab over the years, but never in his wildest nightmares could he have pictured himself drinking and gorging his way to excess through life until he was carrying around the amount of extra blubber that this body had on it. So he intended to whip himself back into the absolute best shape he could get it into, through rigorous exercise and a strict diet. He figured that it would at least give him something constructive to do while he was here.

He also planned to investigate the local library and see what the state of technology was in this world. He suspected that he might know a few things that were still unheard of here, and a few patents in the right areas could set this family up for life. And if he could do nothing else for her, he wanted to know that this Nodoka would be well-provided for after his departure. That other Genma had never given much thought to providing for his family, too consumed with his dreams of creating a martial arts legacy through his son.

He added it to the growing list of things he wished to accomplish here. There were also a few legal matters he planned to take care of as well, since he wanted to provide iron-clad assurances that Nodoka alone would have control of any income from the patents for when that other Genma (or 'that fat fool' as he had taken to calling his other self) returned to this life.

A short time later, Nodoka woke up and quickly realized that her man wasn't in bed with her. A frown of disappointment appeared on her face, and she was starting to wonder if he no longer found her attractive. He had been home with her for almost two days, and he was still keeping her away at arm's length. She was starting to get more than a little frustrated, especially since she was currently wearing one of her most revealing negligees, far more daring than the one she had worn to bed the night before. It appeared to her that even more drastic measures were needed on her part.

She heard faint sounds coming from the backyard, mainly curses, grunts, and an occasional wheeze. She walked to the window and looked out to see Genma, training harder than she had ever witnessed him doing, even as morning sunlight began brightening the backyard. She felt pride glowing within her at his dedication to the Art, and she spent several moments just watching him bound about the length of the yard as he went through complex exercises and difficult katas.

He's going to need a big breakfast to keep up his strength after all that activity, Nodoka thought happily. She dressed and went to the kitchen, humming softly to herself. She knew that Genma had not been eating much since his return home, far less than she could ever remember him eating, but she wasn't sure why. To try and coax his appetite a bit, she prepared an enormous breakfast of all his favorite dishes. It was easily large enough to feed all four people now living under their roof, even the quite manly appetite she had seen Ranma demonstrating for the last couple of days. After all, there was nothing like a good meal to brighten a man's day.

In her room, Shampoo woke up with the dawn, stretching her arms out to her sides and up over her head, even as she stretched her legs out to their full extension beneath the covers and flexed her toes. Her ears detected some very familiar noises coming from the backyard, the quite distinctive sounds of someone doing martial arts training. Yawning, dressed in only a long shirt, she opened the window of her small room, expecting to see Pop working out with Ranma, but she only saw Genma training by himself. She leaned out the window, wondering to herself in a soft whisper, "What Pop doing? Lazy Pop never train this hard before."

Unaware that he now had an audience, Genma kept at his exertions, rather pleased and surprised at his new body's performance. Despite annoyingly thick layers of fat on it, this body had very good endurance, and he was confident that a regular regimen of working out and cutting down on his food intake would slim him down in no time. Just changing his diet would be a big help on its own, especially cutting out all forms of alcohol from his consumption. The other Genma had apparently felt that water was fit only for bathing, not drinking, so beer and sake made up a rather distressing portion of his fluid intake. But that was going to change. He intended to purge all of the poisons from this body and rebuild its physique to as near to its peak as he could manage, using everything he knew from both lives to help the process along.

Pausing in his exertions, he mopped the sweat from his forehead with the bandana his counterpart constantly wore to hide his baldness. He then dropped to the ground and began doing sit-ups, pushing this body as hard as he felt it could take without crippling himself up. Breath flowed in through his nose and out through his mouth as he remembered his own training from a long time ago. It had been far too long, he realized. He was so involved in his efforts that he did not immediately notice that he had company.

"Pop up early," said Shampoo neutrally from behind Genma. She stood there dressed in one of her usual, semi-baggy Chinese outfits, for she never knew when cold water would transform her. She calmly studied the sweating man with an inscrutable expression. He had been acting far nicer to her for the last couple of days, not an unpleasant surprise, but she was still more than a little uncertain how long this present mood of his would last. She was still wondering what had possessed him to break the engagement between Ranma and Akane, not that she was really complaining. However, distrusting him was a habit deeply ingrained into her after all the time she had known him.

"Good morning, Shampoo," Genma said pleasantly, taking a brief pause in his exertions. He adjusted his glasses and mopped some more sweat from his brow. "Care to join me in a good workout before breakfast? This old man could use the company, since-" he paused for a moment and a ghost of pain went through his soul, "since my son isn't awake yet."

The Amazon looked startled at the request. She blinked and then asked him, "Pop want practice with Shampoo?"

"Only if you'd like to." Genma adjusted his glasses. "I know I haven't been too friendly to you in the past, but I'm hoping to change that. So, would you like to train with me this morning, fat, old and slow as I am?" He smiled at her in a friendly manner.

Shampoo just stared at him, confused. He wasn't acting anything like he normally did with her, and she didn't know how to take it. The twinkle in his eyes was even more disconcerting, far from the usual sort of dismissive looks he had given her before. With a brief shrug, she nodded. "Okay. Shampoo not mind."

After the Amazon warmed up a little, the two of them began with some sparring. Instead of being tentative in his attacks against her, Genma treated Shampoo as a serious opponent, and the two of them went at it in earnest. However, the smile never left his face, and it gradually infected Shampoo as she realized that he had no ulterior motives towards her this morning. So the two of them danced with the full measure of their respective skills, and, as they did so, two sets of eyes watched them with differing reactions.

Dearest is certainly acting vigorous this morning, noted Nodoka with a smile, watching the match. It was odd to her to think so, but she kept getting the impression that Genma was treating Shampoo almost like a daughter, for some reason that she could not fathom. That notion had been gradually building up since the three of them arrived on her doorstep. Could he perhaps want Shampoo to marry Ranma? It would be the manly thing for Ranma to do, after all, even if she wasn't Japanese. How else will I ever get grandchildren? With a shrug, she went back to putting the finishing touches on breakfast.

What the hell is that old man up to? wondered Ranma suspiciously as he watched Shampoo sparring with Genma. He had just woken up, but apparently not early enough. Pop never works out with Shampoo.

The pigtailed boy watched the two figures bounding about the yard, his father wearing a stupid grin that made Ranma wonder what sort of devious scheme he was up to. And why the hell didn't that old man get me up to spar with him? Ah well, now that Shampoo's warmed him up for me, I'll take over. With a loud kiai yell, he leaped from the window and joined in on the morning fun.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Good morning, Ranma dear," said a smiling Nodoka as she watched her son come in from the backyard area. "You have just enough time for a quick bath before breakfast, but you should hurry."

"Sure, Mom," said Ranma in a pleased-sounding tone. He headed past her, across the hall, and up the stairs.

Nodoka stared after the teenaged boy. He looks so happy, she thought, her hands still busy with her cooking. He got along well with Ukyo-chan last night, so I guess that must explain his present mood. She recalled the occasionally-intense discussion between her son and the Kuonji girl, one mainly on various martial arts techniques, pleased that they had so quickly found something in common between them. She stirred the soup she was making, adding a few small pinches of salt and spices. As she did so, her eyes lit up and she bopped her head lightly with one fist as she smiled more ruefully. I forgot to tell him about his date with Ukyo later today. I'll let him know while he eats his breakfast.

A few minutes later, a rather bedraggled-looking Genma crawled into the kitchen area, appearing as if he had been worked over by experts. The gi he was wearing was torn up and missing part of one sleeve, his body was all but completely covered in bruises, and the pains from his wrenched joints and abused muscles defied description. He groaned aloud and promptly collapsed to the floor. The stricken man concentrated on his breathing, struggling hard to stay conscious, even as he vowed to humble the smug boy who had done this to him only minutes before.

That little punk has no respect for his elders, Genma thought angrily, vaguely remembering the brutal beating he had received during his attempt at sparring with Ranma. Ungrateful boy! Even if it kills me, I'll regain the proud physique I had before I was trapped in this pathetic shell, and then I'll show him what a true master of the martial arts is capable of.

"Dearest?" asked Nodoka with some concern, looking at him. "Things seemed to get a little heated out there between you and Ranma. Are you going to be all right?"

"I'll be fine," growled Genma, struggling to rise. "The boy's just a bit better than I expected. He caught me by surprise."

"More than once from the looks of you," said Nodoka blandly, trying hard not to look amused at his plight. "Ranma is certainly quite the martial artist, isn't he?" Pride was evident in her voice. "Such skill he has. I confess that I was quite impressed at his abilities while I was watching him spar with you."

"If I have anything to say about it, he'll get even better," Genma muttered. Four hours of daily workouts at that Academy of his should start whipping that lazy boy into the proper shape for the more advanced training methods I intend to put him through, he thought with an evil smile. He will endure everything that I feel a true heir to the Anything-Goes School should endure. With what I know of his true potential, I'll turn this boy into the greatest fighter the world will ever see. Within a few weeks I can begin the real work on toughening him up into a _true_ martial artist, but I'm sure he'll thank me for it later.

His adrenaline surge finally giving out, he collapsed face down on the floor of the kitchen, unconscious.

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Ukyo stood on the flat roof of her aunt's restaurant, her eyes closed as she meditated after finishing up a rigorous morning exercise. Her clothing was slightly dampened, feeling cool and snug on her frame from the sweat of her heavy exertions. She was dressed in one of her okonomiyaki seller outfits, her usual garb for training other than the traditional ninja night suit, and her breasts were bound down out of habit. A soft nimbus of bluish chi flowed around her body like St. Elmo's fire, totally invisible except to those who were similarly enlightened. She was attempting to attune herself to the many odd energies of the city, so different to her from those of her former home in the mountains.

Tokyo, and especially Nerima, seemed filled with a chaotic power that was completely unlike anything she had ever experienced, yet she was confident that she would master its essence. Her great-grandfather had always told her, "A true ninja can blend into any environment, for we are the masters of the Way of Shadow, and the myths of the past that still walk among ordinary men." With that proud thought in mind, she focused her awareness upon the seven energy centers of the human body, feeling her breath smoothly flowing in and out. As the moments passed, she felt her frame revitalizing itself after her recent efforts, each breath swiftly returning her closer to her full endurance. The young ninja felt her mind calming to stillness, the sounds of the awakening city washing over her without arousing her.

She did not sense the presence of another person until it was almost too late. Her body instinctively dodged to one side without a single conscious thought as a foot blurred past where her head had been a moment earlier. She swiftly rolled over on one shoulder and snapped up into a combat stance, and her opponent continued on with the assault without pausing, throwing several more vicious punches and kicks in the space of only a few seconds before finally stopping. Ukyo blocked or dodged each strike with an almost effortless grace and speed.

"Pretty good, Ukyo-chan," said Yumi with a wide grin, relaxing from her assault upon her niece. "You sensed my approach despite all my efforts at cloaking my presence, and your reflexes are excellent. That's quite a rare level of ability in one so young, so that old man trained you pretty well. I imagine it takes a pretty exceptional fighter to defeat you in single combat. Still, I might have a few pointers I can offer you that I've picked up in my travels, so just think of me as your new teacher."

"Thanks, Auntie," said Ukyo with a grin. "I'm really looking forward to learning whatever you can teach me." She quickly picked up her things. And I'm sure she won't try any of the crazy training methods that Gramps used. That old man can sure be a sadist when he wants to be.

With a parting wink, Yumi walked across the roof of the restaurant. "Come on downstairs, and I'll put you to work. I have a task in mind for the first step in your training." She walked over to the door to the stairs and headed down.

Ukyo followed her aunt, curious as to what she would be asked to do. She was not long in learning the answer to that question.

Yumi turned on the grill and allowed it to heat up, a smile on her face as she pulled out a batter mixture. She looked at the girl and said, "I thought you might be hungry. I know I always am after a good, hard workout."

Ukyo's stomach chose that moment to make its presence known with a loud grumble of hunger. A good meal was one of her favorite things in the world, something her great-grandfather had often teased her about when she was growing up under his care. Still, whatever she might think about the old man's brutal training methods, or his strange insistence that she was a boy and should always act like one, he had never let her go hungry. He had even told her many times that she had a very manly appetite. And ever since puberty began, her body's metabolism had seemed to be in constant high gear, requiring a steady supply of food to keep her trim body's insatiable furnaces well-stoked.

The okonomiyaki her aunt fixed her vanished down Ukyo's gullet almost as quickly as it had been made. The young ninja had always thought that her great-grandfather's skill at cooking the Kuonjis' signature dish was the best, but now she realized that she had just met a true master of the grill. The teenaged girl ravenously consumed a second and then a third okonomiyaki before the edge was finally taken off of her hunger.

"Feeding you is going to be more work that I thought," teased the older woman. "You eat more than any of the teenaged boys that come in here."

Ukyo chuckled nervously at the comment, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Now you will show me what you can do," said Yumi, a semi-serious look on her face. "I have a special task that will require your utmost performance today. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Auntie," said the girl gravely, as if she had just accepted a challenge to mortal combat. "What do you want me to do?"

"A delicate task." Yumi paused for a moment dramatically, before spoiling the drama completely when an impish smile crossed her face. "You're going to stay at this grill and practice hard until you can cook your new boyfriend the best okonomiyaki he's ever had, since I have it on good authority that he's going to be coming by tonight." She briefly recalled the pleasant phone conversation with Nodoka while Ukyo was on the roof training.

Ukyo half-slumped over at the counter with surprise, a faint blush now crossing her cheeks.

"The best way to earn a guy's attention is by cooking for him," said Yumi sagely, grinning broadly at her niece's discomfiture. "Since I don't usually open until near the lunch hour, we have the entire morning for me to start refining your techniques. We may not get your abilities perfected today, but I intend to turn you into the finest okonomiyaki chef of your generation, given time."

Ukyo grinned.

Picking up a small spatula in each hand, Yumi's grip on them was firm and steady. She gazed at her niece with a twinkle in her eyes and said in a passable imitation of the solemn tones of the eldest of their clan, her father, Genji Kuonji, "And now, my young apprentice, we shall begin your training."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka watched in growing irritation as Genma and Ranma waged a fierce battle over the food she had served for breakfast, a battle that the boy appeared to be easily winning. She saw him fending off Genma's attempts at stealing bits and pieces of food from him with skill and speed, but an increasingly annoyed look was visible on her son's face. Neither of them came near her own food bowl as they dueled with their chopsticks, even as she sat in not-quite-stunned immobility. It was a far worse sight than the poor manners that they had demonstrated on their first day back. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Cut it out, old man!" cried Ranma, blocking another one of Genma's attempts to steal some of his breakfast. A moment later, he managed to swipe a fried egg away from the older man. He grinned at the annoyed look on the older man's face. "Hah! Serves you right!"

"How dare you show me such lack of respect, boy!" roared Genma, managing to get a bit of extra rice and some fish through his efforts. It was taking all of his skills at distraction tactics and insults to get Ranma to lower his defenses enough to get through at all. "Obey your father and give me back that egg!"

Ranma swallowed the egg in question with a single gulp, a smirk on his face.

Nodoka's right eyebrow began to twitch.

Genma redoubled his efforts, admittedly somewhat hindered by his recent injuries. But he knew that this too was part of training, the struggle to obtain enough sustenance to keep the body nourished. Yet he was so intent on goading Ranma (and trying to get as much of breakfast for himself as he could), that he failed to notice the increasingly wrathful expression on Nodoka's face.

"Genma," spoke Nodoka grimly, but she was ignored by the object of her growing anger.

Ranma glanced at his mother, briefly distracted by the sensations of danger appearing from her direction and impinging on his trained senses. He noticed Genma swiping the last two fried eggs from the serving plate while his attention was apparently elsewhere.

"Genma!" snapped Nodoka sharply. "Stop this childish play with our son and just eat your breakfast!" For a moment, she forgot her normal ways of acting around her family and husband, and the Nodoka she once was as a teenager appeared briefly in her mannerisms. The urge to get a bokken and smack her husband around for acting like an idiot tempted her for a brief time.

Genma froze, sincerely surprised that all of her anger appeared to be directed at him. He noticed Ranma looking at him guilelessly, and he quickly realized that he had miss-played his hand this round quite badly. He quickly went to work upon soothing Nodoka's ruffled temper, placating her with gentle words and a very obsequious attitude. He was rewarded with her slowly appearing to be mollified.

Idiot, thought Ranma, as he gulped down the last of his breakfast in relative peace. The sooner you're gone and my own father is back, the better.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane's hands were firm on her opponent's back and neck, forcefully holding him bent over as she drove her right knee upwards into his stomach and lower ribcage several times in rapid succession. After her first such blow elicited a cough of pain from the larger boy as the air was promptly driven from his lungs, she heard nothing more as she struck again and again, the blows preventing him from drawing enough breath to even grunt. The initial strain on her arms from forcibly holding him in such a position eased as his resistance ebbed away. Akane then agilely moved aside with the grace of a dancer. Before the stricken boy could even begin his struggle to draw a breath, her heel flew upwards in a mule kick that slammed hard into the underside of his jaw. The force delivered in the kick was sufficient to knock the boy out and send him swiftly flying backwards in a short, ballistic arc to crash down onto his back.

While the dust slowly settled around him, Akane silently watched the fallen boy with glittering eyes, her chest heaving a little. Her guard remained raised as she warily moved over towards her opponent. A small cut welled up a little blood upon her cheek, and she was favoring one leg due to a deep bruising strike that hit her hip, two relatively minor injuries being ignored for the moment as she felt a momentary sense of satisfaction at her apparent victory.

Sakura Kasugano separated herself from the crowd and casually knelt to examine Akane's downed foe, peeling back an eyelid and feeling for his pulse. After a few moments, she nodded and gestured for some of the other watchers in the crowd to help the defeated boy back to his feet. The muscular youth now lying unconscious was a second-year cadet and one of the more extremely chauvinistic members of the Combat Club. He was someone that Sakura never got tired of seeing being taken down by one of the few female fighters on campus able to do so, and she was glad to add another girl to that short list of worthies. She watched the volunteers scrambling to obey her unspoken order with a slight grin on her face, acknowledging their respect for her position as a member of Furinkan Academy's toughest group of cadets, despite her own first-year status.

As Sakura stood back up, she shook her head slightly, a little bit envious at Akane's win. The new plebe was only beginning her second day on campus, and she had already racked up her first victory towards the three that she needed for membership in the Combat Club. The young cadet sergeant was pleased, but also a little surprised as well at Akane's impressive abilities, seeing a girl who was possibly even more driven to fight and test her martial arts skills than she herself was. It had taken her over a week at the beginning of the semester to get her three victories, mainly since she had been one of only two girls among the new crop of first-year cadets to express any sort of interest in joining. The club membership was almost exclusively male by tradition, and the boys had not taken her challenges seriously at first.

"Are you well, Tendo-san?" asked Sakura casually.

"I'm fine, Kasugano-san," replied Akane, feeling the pain from the hard blow to her hip already beginning to fade. The battle today was a much tougher fight than the quick victory she obtained yesterday, but this boy was one of the members of the Combat Club. Other than Ranma, he had been a much tougher opponent than any boy she had ever faced at the Imperial Academy. Akane had shrugged off several hard blows taken during the fight, but she had never lost confidence in her eventual victory over the boy being helped away. She smiled slightly as she recalled something from one of her mother's earliest lessons to her and her two sisters.

Strike fast, strike hard and strike without mercy were the three basic tenets Akane had taken to heart from her mother's teachings, and she had always sought to live her life by them. Challenging the arrogant boy had been a rather pleasant way to begin another day of following in her mother's footsteps. She could hardly wait until she became a full member of the Combat Club, testing herself daily against the best warriors that the Empire had to send here. With such opponents as these to train with, I will surely become a worthy companion for Ranma, she thought with a dreamy smile. And I know I'll finally become the best fighter in the family, even better than Nabiki's new skills.

"You're bleeding," observed Sakura calmly, interrupting Akane's musings. "I think we should visit the infirmary before we go to our first class. You wouldn't want to get bloodstains on your uniform, after all. You wouldn't want the demerits it would bring." She smiled slightly, then turned and began walking off.

"All right," said Akane, following the slightly shorter girl into the main building.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hikaru Gosunkugi followed along behind Ranma, a look of malevolent anticipation on his face. He had stayed up late last night, the first of many nights he anticipated doing, preparing for his vengeance against the pigtailed boy. However, anyone who happened to look at him at the moment would not notice any differences in his usual, sunken-eyed appearance. The thin boy snickered, this action briefly breaking the aura of non-detection his Esper powers wove about him.

Ranma turned around, suddenly noticing for a moment that he was being followed. He glanced back up the street leading to his home, but saw nothing. Shrugging, he turned back to heading towards the Academy, even as he wondered how he was going to deal with his mother's eagerness for him to pursue Ukyo. The thought of a date with the ninja girl made him nervous. The way his life was heading now, he honestly did not know what to expect if he did ask her out.

"Your father and I will be attending a function at the Ministry this evening," his mother had told him with a smile at the door, "so it's a perfect time for you to spend some time with that nice Ukyo girl and take her out on a date. Now I want you to ask her out, and I expect you to show her a good time. She's staying at her aunt's place of business, so here's some money to eat there tonight." She quickly handed him several thousand-yen notes and told him the directions. He was not surprised to learn that it was within walking distance of his home.

The name of Ukyo's aunt's place had been a mild shock, and an eerie feeling had fallen upon him and stayed with him since then. So it could be understood why he was not at his most observant right now. Still, he didn't think anyone would be attacking him since there weren't any girls really pursuing him like that other Ranma had.

When his target of vengeance continued onwards towards the Academy, Gosunkugi fell into place a short distance behind him, cloaking his presence with skill. He smiled at the thought of the spell he would be casting soon. Actually, it was the only one contained in the tome he had managed to sneak out of the Institute. Soon, Saotome, I shall have my revenge on you and that noblewoman bitch you dangle on your leash, the thin boy thought with a grin.

The brief cackle of glee that emerged from his lips forced him to hide in an alleyway once again to avoid Ranma's eye.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki walked along at a moderately fast pace, her footsteps even and sure. The morning was pleasantly cool, and the sky was clear of any clouds. She was trying a new route to the Academy from home, one that passed through a small park with a fountain a few blocks from her home. She stopped at the fountain and watched the waters dance for a few quiet moments of peace.

"The element of life and change," said a voice to her right and a little bit behind her.

Startled that someone had snuck up upon her so easily without being detected, Nabiki whirled around to see a small figure dressed in the robes of a wandering Buddhist monk, a straw hat hiding his face, and a tall staff in one hand. The wooden staff was metal-shod at both ends and was topped by three jingling rings of brass attached to a circle of metal at the upright end. She was doubly startled that someone carrying such a thing could have approached so closely without a sound warning her.

When Nabiki said nothing, the small figure tipped his head up to reveal the face of an ugly little gnome of a monk beneath the broad hat, one that reminded her a little bit of Happosai. The two figures gazed at each other, but the old man spoke first.

"Greetings, young warrior," said the small figure. "I am Cherry." He bowed slightly.

Nabiki bowed back, but she did not remove her eyes from the strange apparition as she asked, "Why did you call me a warrior?" As far as she could tell, she looked like a fairly ordinary girl in her gray uniform, like any one of many that attended the Academy.

Cherry smiled. It made him look even uglier somehow. "You carry the impression of a martial artist in your stance and your manner. By the way, you wouldn't happen to have any extra food on you, by some chance?" When Nabiki only frowned and did not reply, he shrugged and looked a bit disappointed, then pointed at her with the head of his staff, the rings jingling slightly. "Rarely have I ever encountered someone with such a powerful destiny written in their being, and now I have met two in such a short time." He studied Nabiki rather intently. "Like the other, you have begun walking a new path, one that was never meant for you to follow. How curious."

Could he mean Ranma? wondered Nabiki, even as she quickly schooled her features to hide any sort of reaction from appearing. She simply stood with a neutral expression and let the old man speak as he would, but she studied him as she did so. She studied him quite closely. Some of his words were hitting uncomfortably close to home.

"It is interesting that you paused to study the water," said Cherry solemnly, dropping his gaze to look at the fountain. "It is the element symbolic of life, ever moving and ever changing. But I sense strong ties between the water and yourself. Perhaps you drowned in a past life?"

Nabiki could not stop herself from staring at the wizened, little figure. Could he sense a lingering trace of Jusenkyo in her, somehow? "I have no idea, old man," she said, a little brusquely.

Cherry did not appear offended, but amused. He tapped the end of his staff against the fountain once. "You remind me of someone I once knew. She had a sharp tongue on her, too, and clever eyes." He smiled at her, a truly horrifying thing to see. "Yes, you remind me of her a great deal." With that, the old monk turned and leisurely walked away from a puzzled-looking Nabiki, pausing only long enough to say, "If the Fates are kind, we shall speak again, and I sense that this passion play is only beginning and should be quite entertaining for an old man when all the players are finally in place. For now, consider the water, for you and it are linked."

Linked with water? thought Nabiki, taking her eyes off the small monk to study the cool liquid flowing out of the fountain. When she turned back to ask him another question, he was already entering the forest nearby. Trailing along behind him was the faint, lingering ringing sound of his staff as he vanished back into the trees.

"Hey, old man!" Nabiki shouted. "Old man? Cherry?" She repeated the call several times, but there was no reply, only a slight breeze seen ruffling the leaves of the nearby trees. Weird, Nabiki thought, feeling an uncomfortable amount of the strangeness in her counterpart's life beginning to impinge on hers. Glancing at her watch, she cursed the delay in getting started on her business for the day. Then, still wondering about the odd, little monk, she turned and headed for the Academy.

After a short walk, Nabiki drew near the campus, and the sight that greeted her caused the corners of her mouth to curl upwards into a lazy sort of half-smile. She could smell potential profit in the air, and she patted a pocket absently, feeling a lump there. Her eyes beheld Kuno being helped back up to his feet, his weapon currently lying broken cleanly in two at his feet. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she witnessed Kodachi standing far too close to Ranma than she cared for, apparently scolding her brother while the pigtailed boy stood quietly a little ways behind her. Ranma seemed uncertain what to do with himself. As Nabiki came within earshot of the trio, she saw Kuno suddenly pull himself up into a standing position and wave off the chauffeur's aid.

"Leave me be!" Kuno thundered at the man, before raising his eyes to glare at the man his sister stood next to, the one he had so quickly grown to despise. The two young men eyed each other, Kuno's face a vision of intense struggle to maintain his calm, to hide the raging torrent of emotions that all but consumed him at the sight of Ranma Saotome. How the nobleman loathed the sight of that face. The face of his rival for the affections of Akane Tendo, the woman he cherished more than any other in the world. The face of the man who had seduced his innocent and naive, younger sister.

"Brother dear, this is really such unseemly behavior for one of our family," Kodachi gently berated Kuno, sounding a bit exasperated with him. "Please leave us and go to Whitehall now, all right?"

"Yeah, Kuno," said Ranma with irritation, "just leave me alone and stop attacking me, okay? You're never going to be good enough to beat me, so why even try?" Admittedly, it had taken a little more effort to put the other boy down this time, but Ranma was feeling pretty cocky about his fighting skills this morning.

Oh, good one, Ranma-baka, thought Nabiki with a sigh, feeling a bit exasperated with her nominal rival. Why not just paint a sign on your forehead saying "Attack me" and taunt the guy some more? Honestly, you'd think you would have learned some tact at your age. You'd never see me getting into pointless fights with someone like Kuno. Before Ranma could get the other boy revved up and wanting to fight him again, she slid in between the two and pulled the young nobleman aside with only slight resistance on his part, still being somewhat dazed. She ignored the very pleasant feelings that began coursing through her when she took hold of Kuno's arm, but she wondered for a moment why it seemed to have gotten warmer when it was such a cool morning.

"Walk with me to class, Saotome-kun?" asked Kodachi sweetly, quickly taking advantage of Nabiki's appearance. Before moving over closer to Ranma, she exchanged a brief look with the older girl that was far from friendly, and a momentary sizzle of invisible energy cracked through the air like heat lightning between them. Then, a faint twitch suddenly appeared upon Kodachi's lips as she gazed at Nabiki's hand resting upon her brother's arm, and an idea for how to get rid of the obnoxious annoyance to her that was Nabiki Tendo began germinating in her mind.

"Huh?" Ranma blurted out, quite oblivious to what had just occurred between the two girls. "Oh, uh, sure." He looked a little bit nervous as he fell into place at Kodachi's side and began escorting her over the modest distance from the gate to the main building. He glanced back briefly at Nabiki, but she was apparently occupied with Kuno, the two of them disappearing around the corner. In a hidden corner in the back of his mind, it bothered Ranma to see her spending time with the other boy, but he would have been hard pressed to say why. However, hearing a question from Kodachi a moment later, he snapped his gaze back to the front and responded to her query. He then continued marching alongside her while listening to her cheerily chatting with him. A whiff of her delicate perfume brushed by his nose now and then, and he tried to ignore the feelings it generated.

Behind them, Nabiki pretended disinterest in Ranma's companion, but it rankled her to see him spending time with another woman, especially a stuck-up girl like Kodachi. That Kuno floozy is going to be trouble for me, I can just feel it, she thought with a frown.

Kuno had finally managed to recover his senses enough to feel a strong quivering of desire for the girl tugging on his arm, penetrating through even the shell of arrogance and bushido honor he wove about himself. Regret for this weakness in his feelings for Akane consumed him for several agonizing moments as he sought to master himself. He quickly stepped back to a much more appropriate range for one of his social rank as he then addressed Nabiki as he felt befitted their respective stations. "I do not require thy aid further, Tendo-san."

"As you wish, Kuno-kun," said Nabiki casually with a smirk on her face, calmly fishing out a small packet from a pocket of her uniform. She thanked her ancestors for all-night film developing operations, as a dozen pictures of Akane filled the packet. Along with the candid photos of her younger sister was an item that had required some trickery on Nabiki's part to obtain, a small lock of Akane's hair. She was certain that she would be able to milk quite a few yen from the pompous young lordling for it.

"I do not remember giving thee leave to address me so familiarly, Tendo-san," said Kuno grumpily. He drew himself up to his full height and glared at her imperiously for several moments. A brief twinge of disappointment filled him when she did not react one iota to what he thought was a commanding presence.

"Look, Kuno-kun," said Nabiki seriously, drawing him away from the flow of cadets entering the campus to speak more privately. "I'm not one of your family's vassals, so don't treat me like the hired help. I happen to have a few items that you requested a few days ago, if you're still interested in them. However, if you want to play Lord of the Manor, then go play somewhere else. I happen to be a very busy woman, and I'm sure that I could find someone else interested in buying these photos of my little sister." For emphasis, she waved the packet of photos in the air.

"Photos?" said Kuno, an almost hungry look coming over his face before he contained himself, glancing around quickly to ensure than no one had witnessed his outburst. He started to draw nearer to the very annoying girl with him, but that odd quivering of desire once again began to fill him. So he chose to remain at his current distance. Despite her very impertinent demeanor towards him, there was something distinctly attractive about Nabiki Tendo. When he had more time, he decided he would consider the matter at greater length. However, for now, he was far more interested in seeing the pictures she was so very casually waving about. He coughed once to cover his brief lapse. "Yes, I recall the matter now. You will show them to me now."

Nabiki opened the packet and fanned out the twelve pictures she had selected for this initial sale, the middle one clearly showing Akane in the midst of a high jumping kick. The gray-uniformed girl smirked slightly as she held them up for Kuno to see more clearly. She pulled them out of his reach when he started to grasp for them.

"Two thousand yen each seems a fair price," said Nabiki pleasantly. "And I also have a lock of my sister's hair that you requested. I'm willing to let you have it along with the pictures for an even fifty thousand yen." She was betting that a traditional-minded sort like Kuno would not think anything of the price, since samurai of old were trained to think of the value of money as being the province of women and lesser men.

"Hmmm," murmured Kuno, apparently contemplating the offer.

"Of course, if you're not interested, perhaps I can interest Ranma in these rare items," said Nabiki teasingly. That statement decided the matter for the young nobleman.

"I shall buy them, Tendo-san," said Kuno suddenly, with more than a touch of eagerness in his voice. He quickly slapped a small wad of yen notes into her hand that was more than sufficient to cover her asking price. No one witnessed the exchange between them, standing as they were in a quiet area well out of sight of the cadets entering campus.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Kuno-kun," said Nabiki with a smile. Having such a windfall of yen made her whole day look brighter, until she recalled Ranma spending time with a certain young noblewoman. She made a mental note to bruise the other girl up a little during practice today, to show Kodachi that it was very unwise to make a play for a boy that Nabiki considered as her property. Even if the boy in question did not know it yet.

Kuno nodded to himself as he strode the short distance to his waiting limousine, gazing raptly at the pictures of Akane. But thoughts of her feelings for Ranma came to darken his visage, and he spent the trip to Whitehall in a foul mood.

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After walking with Kodachi to class, all Ranma could recall of their conversation was her excited anticipation for the marriage meeting to take place between their two families tomorrow evening. One or two of the girls standing near enough to them in the hall to hear about that seemed to frown in response, but Ranma was certain he was just imagining things. He had been at the Academy for a few months, so why would the girls suddenly start showing him any interest now? He chuckled to himself, quite sure that it was only his stress talking.

Ranma was now somewhat nervously waiting outside Fuyutsuki's office, since a summons to appear before the man had been waiting in his locker. The pigtailed boy occupied himself during the wait with composing some of the arguments he would make in favor of continuing his work. He was confident that he could present a sufficiently strong case. While he was in there he also planned to mention his willingness to forego any more of the sparring matches between himself and Nabiki, the ones to prove her capabilities at keeping up with him.

After yesterday's fight, I have no doubts as to Nabiki's physical abilities, Ranma thought with a slight smile. He was confident that keeping her around as a training partner to sharpen his abilities with would be a wise move in the long run. But he knew he would simply have to remind her now and then as to who the better fighter between them really was, despite whatever she might think on the subject. Still, it promises to be fun responding to the challenge she represents. I know she's going to keep trying to get better than me, and I honestly don't think I'd have it any other way.

Sometime later that hour, after he emerged from Fuyutsuki's office, Ranma was frowning. What he thought were brilliant appeals to the older man's sense of logic and fairness had simply fallen on deaf ears, save for the request to discontinue the necessity of continuing the sparring matches between Nabiki and himself. That one had received a slight smile from the man, but it was the only thing to receive any positive response.

Then, to add even more salt in his wounds, Fuyutsuki had informed him that his equipment was to be removed from his lab space in a few days for dismantling and salvage, and he should count himself fortunate that his physical training was not going to be increased even further than it was already to be extended. His 'father' had apparently made a request that Ranma's training be increased to cover the entire day, since he was already so far ahead of his peers in his scholastic studies. The entire experience had left a sour taste in Ranma's mouth.

"Stupid old man," Ranma muttered under his breath. As to which old man he was referring to, even he wasn't quite sure.

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"And I've taken the liberty of having a delicious lunch made just for the two of us, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi, smiling at Ranma as her gaze noted several of the Kuno family servants setting up a table and two chairs in a shady spot under one of the trees. Food began to appear from covered dishes as the pair drew closer.

Ranma glanced over to where Kodachi was leading them, seeing a table that was growing more laden with food by the minute. His nose caught a whiff of the waiting meal, and he briefly inhaled the scents of rice, chicken, and steamed vegetables. A grin appeared on his face, and he thought, Ya know, with food like this to come home to, marriage to 'Dachi wouldn't be half-bad. She seems really nice, and at least this one doesn't do that psycho laugh. A moment later, he shook his head as if to clear the wayward thought from it.

Ha! Kodachi thought triumphantly. I doubt that either of those two Tendo tramps would be able to feed Saotome-kun in such fine style. A brief fantasy of future meals spent with Ranma danced in her mind. The fantasy was quickly replaced by a more risqué one, and Kodachi blushed prettily while murmuring soft protests at how bold Ranma was acting towards her in her daydream.

Watching Kodachi standing in one spot with her hands slowly tearing her handkerchief apart, Ranma raised one eyebrow and suddenly felt a little bit nervous being around the young noblewoman. But it's still better than the laugh, he eventually decided, and he actually thought it made her seem more attractively feminine in an odd way. When he saw her finally return to her senses a few moments later, he gave her a reassuring smile and let her escort him to their waiting table.

"I hope you enjoy the food, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi shyly. She gave Ranma a smile as they sat down and readied themselves to eat. She nodded her head at the servants, and they withdrew a short distance away to allow the couple some privacy. It was then that the young noblewoman realized her position, that she was about to share her first meal with a young man that she was very much attracted to. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she took a sip of her tea, and then she began eating with dainty manners to hide her sudden bout of nervousness.

Ranma found himself to be famished, and he began wolfing down food as quickly as he could without devolving into the typical table manners of his martial artist counterparts. Ever since he had begun training at the Academy, and enduring the grueling physical regimen the coaches put him through, his appetite had grown much greater. With a brief shrug, he went back to working on putting as much of the delicious meal before him into his stomach as he could manage.

Standing over by her main assistants, Nabiki not-quite-glared at Ranma being so friendly with Kodachi. As she watched him dig into his lunch with gusto, a hint of a frown appeared on her face.

Yohko eyed Nabiki and wondered why the other girl seemed to be growing more and more obsessed with Ranma of late. She waved the other girls away while Nabiki's attention was distracted, briefly watching them fan out to contact their own small groups of followers and conduct business. When the Devil Hunter was reasonably assured that they would not be overheard, she casually ground her foot down onto the top of Nabiki's quite firmly, eliciting a yelp of surprise and a glare from her companion.

"What's the big idea?" demanded Nabiki in a hiss.

"I just wanted to get your attention, Nabiki," said Yohko with a grin. "You were staring at Saotome-san again. Jealous of his new girlfriend?"

"I will only say this once, Yohko," said Nabiki in low tones, an icy calm reminiscent of the old Nabiki in her voice. "I am not jealous, and Kodachi Kuno is _not_ his girlfriend. I am simply keeping an eye on my sister's interests." The lies came easily to her lips.

"Uh huh," grunted Yohko, clearly less than convinced. "I only said something since I'm worried you might be obsessing about the guy. Are you upset that you lost the fight with him?"

"I don't want to talk about that," Nabiki stated with a hint of a growl.

"Fair enough," said Yohko, noting Nabiki's attention drifting back to look at Ranma still eating like a starving man. "So when are you going to have a rematch with him?"

As soon as I've mastered my new technique, thought Nabiki as she turned back to Yohko. "Sometime soon," she said with a smirk. "Is there anything else?"

"No, not really," said Yohko. "I guess I just needed a little bit of reassurance that it's business as usual again. I have my eye on a new skirt, you see. My allowance is a pittance that not even a monk could survive on, so I'm depending on you to keep the money coming in."

"Trust me, Yohko," said Nabiki with a nod. "I fully intend to keep my enterprises running for many months yet to come. I still have a long time to go until graduation, after all."

With that, the two of them began discussing the various parts of Nabiki's small syndicate and how well each part was doing profit-wise. Despite her recent distractions, Nabiki was gratified to learn that her organization was still pulling in a tidy profit daily from the various endeavors, and that news was sufficient to keep her distracted from watching Ranma and Kodachi.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hiroshi swallowed nervously as he gazed down into the steel-gray, slit-pupiled eyes of the tall, black-garbed and masked girl holding him easily against the wall, his feet dangling almost a foot above the ground. She looked quite capable of breaking him in two if she desired, judging by the muscles displayed beneath her snug-fitting clothes, not to mention her ability to hold him suspended with only one of her arms.

Behind her mask, Panther smiled. An almost sexual thrill went through her as she enjoyed the obvious fear being shown by the little gray mouse she had trapped. The cloth on her head covered her rather distinctive ears, only leaving her eyes to show her non-human origins. She slowly tightened her fingers into the front of Hiroshi's uniform, glad for having a task to perform for her beloved master. Idleness made her edgy. But she could tell that this one's will was broken without her having to do anything more than threaten a bit, and she was somewhat disappointed by that. Still, the young man represented another piece out of Nabiki's organization, and the three catgirls were looking forward to the day they pulled out the final piece and let the whole thing fall apart irretrievably.

That would be the day that the Tendo girl would find herself alone, without any allies to come to her aid. On that day, she would fall to the might of the trio, to be beaten and broken for the eyes of all to see. Then, and only then, would they bring Nabiki into the presence of her new master. Panther smiled at the thought. The Tendo girl would come to know her place, given time. Personally, Panther still was not so sure why Kinnosuke even wanted her, but hers was not the sort to question why.

"The choice is quite simple, Hiroshi-kun," purred Panther in sultry tones, returning her attention to the task at hand. "My master offers you a place in his organization, since he is able to recognize useful talent when he sees it. Refuse his generosity, and I have been given permission to break both of your legs in as many places as I see fit. As I said, it is a simple choice. But be aware that acceptance also brings rewards."

"W-what sort of rewards?" asked Hiroshi nervously, already quite willing to hear of any extra perks that leaving Nabiki's side would offer him. His answer was to feel her free hand caressing up his thigh to just below his groin. She lowered him down so that his feet once more touched the ground, towering over him by several centimeters.

"Do you accept my master's leadership?" asked Panther, leaving her hand where it was and moving it in a caressing motion. Her fingers casually touched certain nerve clusters in the boy's upper thigh region. The response was as she had expected when she heard him shudder and gasp.

"I-I accept his leadership," gasped Hiroshi, sensations other than fear washing over his awareness. All he wanted was for her to keep touching his thigh where she was. Her hand felt so good.

"A wise decision, Hiroshi-kun," said Panther sensually. She tapped a few more nerve clusters on his thigh, and then she tapped a single spot on his neck. She felt his body go limp as he slipped into unconsciousness. With a smirk hidden behind her mask, the blonde catgirl lowered him to the ground and left him there, a blissful smile on his face. "And now Nabiki's forces begin to grow weaker," she muttered.

A moment later, Panther bounded away. When Yuka and Sayuri came around the corner seconds later, they never even saw the catgirl.

Sayuri stopped and glared down at the sleeping Hiroshi, before she kicked him awake.

"You should consider yourself lucky that none of the instructors caught you sleeping here, you jerk," growled Sayuri, irritated that he had managed to forget a lunch date with her. Again. She was tempted to kick him once more.

"Yeah, and where's that idiot friend of yours?" said Yuka. The fact that a secret fan club had formed for Kodachi within a single day of her arrival on campus had been good business for Nabiki's group, selling the few candid pictures they were able to get of her, but it was also an annoyance to a great many of the girls whose boyfriends were all smitten by the young noblewoman. Hiroshi's best friend Daisuke was even rumored to be the president.

Suddenly wondering if the whole experience had been a dream, Hiroshi stood up and endured the chastisements of the two girls. But his memory of the gray-eyed girl in black refused to leave him, and he was certain that the experience had been real.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Thank you for a most lovely time, Saotome-kun," Kodachi said with a bow as they stood outside her classroom. Feeling bold, she asked, "Would you be interested in having lunch with me again tomorrow?"

"Of course, Kodachi," said Ranma, deciding that he did not mind hearing her call him 'Saotome-kun' instead of just 'Ranma.' It was oddly pleasant to hear her say his name with that slight formality to it.

After saying his good-byes to Kodachi and leaving her classroom, Ranma wandered down the halls and into the empty room of the infirmary, having decided to take a brief rest before his training class. It would give him some time to digest his meal and relax. Despite a frustrating situation at home, the day was going fairly well. He even found himself looking forward to visiting with Ukyo tonight. Without an engagement hanging over his head, the two of them could spend time together like normal dating couples did.

With a grateful sigh, Ranma stretched out on one of the cots and closed his eyes. He patted his distended stomach and burped once, feeling more than a little overfull. He drifted off into a pleasant doze.

"Enjoy your lunch with your little groupie, Ranma-kun?" asked a wry voice, interrupting his brief nap. It was a voice that he immediately recognized as Nabiki's.

Ranma snapped his eyes open and looked around, quickly locking in on the sight of Nabiki casually leaning her shoulder against the doorframe of the infirmary. Her expression was neutral as she looked at him, her arms folded across her chest. He could still feel his stomach digesting the rich food, but it would still be a little while before he would be able to move very well. He hoped that she wasn't here to cause him any trouble.

"Aw, lay off, Nabiki," Ranma grumbled. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I could ask the same thing of you," replied Nabiki with one of her usual smirks. "But it seems that my schedule is undergoing revision. Apparently, since I'm far enough ahead of my peers in my more scholastic studies to handle the change, I'm to be given the same training schedule that you are. Fuyutsuki-sensei called me into his office a few minutes ago and told me the news, as well as what you did this morning. Thanks."

"Well, it is kind of nice to have a training partner who keeps me challenged," admitted Ranma grudgingly. Then, with a sudden grin, he added jokingly, "Even if you aren't quite as good a fighter as me."

Nabiki did not reply or change her expression, but she walked into the infirmary and sat down on the edge of the cot Ranma was lying down on, causing a faint squeak of bedsprings. She then thumped a fist down on his full belly rather hard, apparently testing it like a melon. She was rewarded with a yelp from Ranma and a glare.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" asked Ranma, a little irritated.

She smirked. "I suppose I did. Don't get too cocky though, Ranma-kun. Granted, you won that fight, but there's always next time."

"Anytime you wanna give it a try, Nabiki," said Ranma, scooting back and sitting up on the cot. Her nearness was making him feel a little edgy as he eyed his attractive martial arts rival. Luckily, his stomach was feeling somewhat less overfull now, so he was able to move easier.

She smirked again and said playfully, "I'll let you know, Ranma-kun. I'll beat you next time for sure."

"Heh, whatever you say, Nabiki," said Ranma with a snort. Taking his eyes off her, he put his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. A gloom seemed to settle over him as he thought about his father again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just outside the infirmary, Kodachi stepped off the stairs onto the landing. She had been released from her class a few minutes after Ranma had departed, with instructions to visit Fuyutsuki-sensei. While there, she and Nabiki had both managed to politely ignore each other's presence in the waiting area. Each of them had been called in to speak to the man privately.

Kodachi was thrilled at the news Fuyutsuki had for her, the thought of spending four hours each day training alongside Ranma was a pleasant one. The time would be a good opportunity for her to improve herself as well, and she was quite certain that one of her noble bloodline would eventually surpass a plebian little annoyance like Nabiki, let alone her brutish sister, given time. The memory of her humiliating loss at the hands of the older girl when they had sparred still burned clearly in her memory. A brief fantasy of pummeling the other girl to within an inch of her life in the near future had crossed her mind during her talk with Fuyutsuki.

After leaving his office, she then went to visit Ranma in his lab, but he did not answer her calls and a strange lock was upon the door. She suspected that he wasn't in there. A bit disappointed, she took full advantage of her current freedom to see if she could locate him. She was just about ready to give up when she heard two familiar voices nearby. She took up station outside the door, listening intently to the conversation going on a few feet from her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"A yen for your thoughts?" said Nabiki suddenly. She crossed her legs and rested her arms on her knee.

"They locked up my equipment, Nabiki," said Ranma without preamble, looking over at her with an unreadable expression. He dropped his arms to rest his hands on the blanket beneath him.

"Yeah, I might have heard something about that," said Nabiki, taking her ease and leaning forward a little. "I was looking forward to trying out your little toy again." Her eyes seemed to trace his body all on their own, before she regained control of them and focused her gaze on his face. After all, who knows what new techniques I could pick up with the thing?

"They're going to destroy it for salvage," said Ranma glumly. "My 'father' convinced Fuyutsuki-sensei that my research was a total waste of money and time. I can't let that happen. The resonator may be my only way to rescue my real father from that other world."

Standing in the hall, Kodachi sucked in a breath at the sorrow she heard in Ranma's voice as she leaned against the doorframe. She felt a little guilty about spying on him, but this gave her a perfect opportunity to prove her usefulness to him. She waited for the proper moment to make her appearance.

"So why tell me?" asked Nabiki coyly, uncrossing and recrossing her legs the opposite way as she watched his responses. She noted his eyes following her body's movements. Oddly, it seemed to be getting a little warmer in the infirmary. She ignored that distracting sensation and asked with a smirk, "Do you possibly need my help?" She enjoyed the sudden look of discomfiture that appeared on his face.

"I need a good thief," Ranma began, quickly waving his hands when he saw the frown that suddenly appeared on her face. "No! No, I mean I need someone who can open locks, someone skilled in dealing with them. I also need someone who can help me create some sort of alibi or set up a false lead to keep me in the clear." He breathed a quick sigh of relief when she appeared mollified.

"I have some skills in those areas," admitted Nabiki. "But, what's in it for me?"

"Huh?" Ranma blurted out. "What do you mean?"

Nabiki slowly leaned towards him gracefully and smiled coyly, her face halting only inches away from his. She saw him swallow nervously, even as she felt that familiar, pleasant tingling he caused within her by his mere presence growing quite a bit stronger. It was becoming easier for her to ignore the worst of its distracting effects, if she focused her will on doing so. Feeling playful, Nabiki reached over and gently ran her right index finger along his jawline as she locked gazes with him. She murmured softly, "What's in it for me? It's a simple question, Ranma-kun."

Why, that poisonous snake! Kodachi growled in her thoughts as she peeked in on the pair, both hands closing into tight fists. Taking advantage of poor Saotome-kun in his hour of need. She felt a familiar urge to protect Ranma from what she saw as a predatory female trying to take advantage of him. Nabiki was yet another unworthy girl seeking to involve herself with him, one that Kodachi truly felt the pigtailed boy would be better off without, and one that the noblewoman would drive away from Ranma for his own good. He desperately needs a virtuous woman like myself to protect him from such base sorts. After all, she saw it as her sacred duty to defend him, the man she loved, from such threats to his well-being.

Kodachi was certain that her perfect moment was near at hand, the moment when she would reveal her presence to a grateful Ranma. When she did so, he would send the little would-be gangster packing. She was sure of it.

A soft fire seemed to trace after the passage of Nabiki's finger across his face, scattering Ranma's thoughts quite effectively. He found himself drowning in her eyes, seeing a faint sparkle of amusement and a hint of desire ignite in them. Her gaze remained locked with his own for several moments, and now it was his turn to feel the room to be suddenly getting warmer. It was a very different sort of battle they were now waging with each other, still a struggle for dominance, but one fought with different and far more subtle weapons. Ranma felt he was losing before he even had a chance to counter her attack, and his hands helplessly moved to grip the blankets beneath his body as he struggled to bring his mind under control.

"So what do you have to offer me?" Nabiki asked teasingly, almost breathing the words into Ranma's face. "Why should I risk my future career to help you?" She drew imperceptibly closer, greatly enjoying the sense of control she had over the present encounter. The thrill of the chase filled her, and the bright smile on her face shifted to one of anticipation of her imminent victory. She half-closed her eyes and moved a little closer, her hand stroking back along his jawline.

Ranma suddenly grabbed Nabiki's hand and pulled it away from his face as he felt defiance blaze to life within himself. He was rewarded with seeing her look a little surprised at his resistance, and it helped him focus his thoughts a bit more. He said the first thing to come into his mind, "Quit playing games, Nabiki. If it's a matter of paying ya, I don't have much money." Unconsciously, he continued to hold onto her hand.

Nabiki frowned in thought for a moment as she sat back upright, a little annoyed that Ranma thought she was only interested in his money. He had managed to surprise her a bit by his last-second resistance, but she was actually quite pleased to know that the little game being played out between them could continue on for a little while longer. Still, she was certain that it was only a matter of time before he fell before her, one way or another. And once she mastered the Amaguriken technique and showed him that she was his clear superior in the martial arts, then her case for being the one who was in charge of their relationship would be airtight.

His hand does feel nice holding mine though, she thought absently.

"That's all right, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki pleasantly. "We'll just agree that you owe me a large favor and leave it at that." Unnoticed by either of them, her hand moved a little until it was resting on top of his and holding it in a gentle grip.

"I could live with that," said Ranma after thinking about it for a moment, when his heart rate finally calmed down a bit. He noticed that she was now holding his hand, and he found it to be a very comfortable feeling. "Fuyutsuki-sensei told me that they won't be moving my stuff until the weekend, so we have time to come up with a plan."

"You leave everything to me, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki, gently rubbing her thumb against his palm, feeling the growing calluses there. She stopped when she realized what she was doing, but she did not release her gentle grip on his hand. "I'll come up with a perfect plan. After all, this sort of thing is what I do best."

It was at that moment that Kodachi stormed into the room, finally unable to stand it any longer. She glared at a startled Nabiki, and briefly turned a softer look towards a shocked Ranma. She quickly took in their position, Nabiki's hand holding Ranma's, and her eyes narrowed as she turned her gaze to glare at the older girl with a far more venomous look.

"K-Kodachi," stammered Ranma, quickly pulling free of Nabiki's hold on his hand with a faint sense of regret felt in the back of his mind. He impulsively cried, "This isn't what it looks like!" Why the hell did I just say that? This is all perfectly innocent.

Nabiki looked at him like he had just sprouted another head, and then her gaze quickly turned unfriendly. Ranma, you jerk, she thought with a frown. I'm going to make you pay for treating me like some sort of a leper just because Kuno-hime decided to drop in. Her palm still seemed to retain some of the heat from Ranma's hand, a rather pleasant feeling now soured by Kodachi's unexpected arrival. Nabiki glanced down and felt her cheeks blush for a moment as she realized that the two of them had been sitting on a perfectly serviceable bed, and then she wondered where such a thought would have come from. And why am I having them about Ranma? she growled mentally, not liking how out of control she felt around him.

Her thoughts scattered for several moments as Kodachi gazed at Ranma. She knew he was not at fault, that blame fell squarely upon Nabiki's shoulders, the other girl clearly trying to force herself upon him as payment for her questionable aid. The young noblewoman knew in her heart that a true gentleman like Ranma would never be attracted to such a truly base and common sort of girl as Nabiki. Still, it was quite understandable to Kodachi how a crafty sort like the Tendo girl was might come to desire the pigtailed boy for herself.

However, now was not the time to pick a fight, especially since Kodachi knew quite well how skilled Nabiki was. She calmed herself, a somewhat difficult task with as close to Ranma as the other girl was seated, but she would show him that she was a lady. She looked at him with a very serious expression, ignoring Nabiki completely for the moment.

"Saotome-kun, I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm just going to tell you straight out," said Kodachi. "I know what it is that you're working on."

Ranma was caught off-guard by that. "What do you mean by that?"

Kodachi went over and closed the door leading to the hall, after quickly checking to make sure no one was watching. When she was finally satisfied, she walked back and sat down on the cot across from Nabiki. She leaned closer to Ranma and lowered her voice to say, "Unless I have somehow managed to misjudge the equipment in your lab, then you appear to be working on a method of mentally crossing to alternate quantum realities."

Nabiki's gaze revealed nothing as she studied the noblewoman.

Ranma laughed nervously. "Uh, that's quite an interesting theory, Kodachi. What makes you think I'm doing something like that?"

"Before I tell you how I know, I have to know something" said Kodachi seriously. She locked gazes with Nabiki, even as she continued to speak to Ranma. "Do you trust her to keep what I say secret?"

"What's the matter, Kuno-hime?" asked Nabiki sarcastically with a smirk. "Don't you trust me?" Receiving no answer to that, Nabiki shook her head. "I already know quite well what Ranma-kun is working on." She broke eye contact with Kodachi to look at him with a warm sort of smile, almost seductive in nature. "Let us say that I know _intimately_ well what Ranma-kun is working on."

"Do you trust her, Saotome-kun?" asked Kodachi again, turning to face Ranma. She had not missed the tone in Nabiki's voice, but chose to ignore it.

"Yes," said Ranma with sudden certainty, looking over at Nabiki to meet her gaze. "I think I could trust Nabiki Tendo with my life."

Nabiki felt an odd feeling run through her, a sort of warmth that rushed from her head to her toes. She smiled at Ranma and nodded, the two martial artists experiencing a brief, unspoken communication between themselves. They might be the fiercest of rivals in the Art, but there was also a bond that was growing between them, one that both of them were just starting to notice. She then punched him lightly on the shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie, breaking the tension a little.

"Very well," said Kodachi, sparing one last, cold glance at Nabiki. "The reason why I know what you are working on is quite simple. I was involved with a very similar experiment along those lines on another timeline thread." She briefly glanced at Nabiki with a subtle look of warning before returning her gaze to the pigtailed boy. "Saotome-kun, I'm a quantum traveler, and my personality was downloaded into this life from another world."

"You're a WH-mph?" yelped Ranma before Kodachi clamped her hand over his mouth. The pigtailed boy quickly realized that she was a fair bit stronger than she looked. Th-this is amazing, he thought, very quickly realizing the possible implications. Kodachi represented a possible link in finding the solution that would let him bring his father home. He saw her smiling at him and regained control of himself. He noticed Nabiki watching him with a subtle sort of intensity.

Terrific, Nabiki thought disgustedly, yet her expression showed nothing. Now the little floozy will be getting underfoot even more. She pulled Kodachi's hand away from Ranma's mouth a little roughly. "That's quite some story, Kuno-hime," she said wryly.

"It is the complete truth, Tendo-san," said Kodachi with a slight sneer in her voice. How dare this common trash question the word of a Kuno?

"I believe you, Kodachi," said Ranma with a smile, his desires to rescue his father seeming a little less out of reach now. "But how did such a thing occur?"

After basking for several long moments in the warmth of that smile, Kodachi proceeded to tell an edited version of her story. She went on to claim that her next memory was of waking up in the body and bedroom of the Kodachi of this world. She entirely left out of her tale any description of his counterpart's death. I will spare him that pain, she decided. Let the death of his analog on that world from a betrayal by the cold-blooded reptile named Nabiki Tendo remain my secret. She turned a solemn look at the older girl sitting across from her. But it will not happen here, Tendo. If I perceive you betraying this Ranma, I will kill you myself.

"Amazing," murmured Ranma, looking at her with wide eyes. From his close call during the power failure, he could only imagine what he might have done if such a thing had happened to him permanently. Thoughts of his father pained him for a moment.

"Five months ago, your analog and I began working together," said Kodachi warmly. She patted Ranma's hand gently. "I was so honored to work as his lab assistant, and he made sure I was fully aware of the potential risks before allowing me to make my first transit." Kodachi leaned a little closer, feeling a strong urge to snuggle up against him. Her eyes glowed as she described those early days of experimentation. "It was wonderful, Saotome-kun. In the first world I visited, I was a rich foreign exchange student in a country known as the United States of America. It was sort of embarrassing though, since I jumped into that Kodachi while she was in the middle of a rather, umm, passionate session of kissing with her boyfriend." The noblewoman blushed a little at the memory. "I did learn a bit though," she said quite softly.

Ranma blushed as well. He thought about mentioning his own little excursion into such activities with the Earth he found himself on where he was married to Shampoo, but he wisely kept silent.

I'll bet you did, you little tramp, thought Nabiki with a mental sneer. Getting this pretentious noblewoman to stay away from Ranma would be for his own good. The more she was learning about Kodachi, the more she was coming to see that she was just like the rest of her overbred peers in the nobility, hedonists without any real sense of what were the truly important things in the world. Figures her first jump would be into something so sordid.

"I had many little adventures, but we kept running into some sort of interference that prevented either of us from connecting to a large number of regions of superspace," said Kodachi with a thoughtful look.

"Superspace?" asked Nabiki, her curiosity overpowering her desire to appear well-versed in all aspects of Ranma's experiment.

"It's how you can visualize all these different worlds co-existing, Nabiki," answered Ranma. "Picture a potentially infinite number of threads all suspended side by side in a sort of braided pattern. Each of those individual threads is a single timeline, and all of them taken together fill a region that my father described as superspace in his theories."

"I see," said Nabiki, contemplating the matter. Then the world where I got my skills from could be 'next door' to the Earth where Ranma got his skills from. Heh. Imagine if those two ever met. She glanced at Ranma, who was listening to some more of Kodachi's descriptions of her other adventures. Although, in a sense, they have, through us. She thought about that other Nabiki's life, and she wondered about what the other Ranma must have been like to grow up under Genma's care in her place. Lost in her thoughts, she missed some of the descriptions.

"I think it wasn't until I visited my sixth world that the first problem happened," said Kodachi in a thoughtful tone.

"First problem?" Ranma looked at Kodachi. "What do you mean?"

"It was on a somewhat distant timeline from my own," replied Kodachi as she tried to recall exactly what had happened. "I jumped into the life of an analog who was a champion-level fighter, on an Earth where our nation was filled with delinquent youths. There was a shadow war going on, gangs fighting over turf every day, and the schools were brutal battlegrounds. My other self was the unquestioned leader of a group of quite formidable young women, and she called herself 'The Black Rose' of all things."

Nabiki narrowed her gaze fractionally.

Ranma looked a little startled.

"When I jumped in, she was talking with a few of her lieutenants," Kodachi continued, wondering at the looks she was getting from the other two. "I think I knew one or two of the girls from my time at Blackhall, but in this world they were much tougher sorts. Anyway, when I returned back to my own life, her fighting skills had become mine, as well as a large number of her memories." Even now, Kodachi knew she could close her eyes and remember each of the many fights her counterpart had fought in, mostly single duels against other gang leaders. Other than her skills with wielding her fists and feet as weapons, her counterpart was armed only with her favorite weapon, a yo-yo.

"When I came back and showed what I knew, your counterpart studied the data and learned that there was some sort of feedback effect that caused the transfer during retrieval," said Kodachi, continuing after a brief pause to quell the memories that had rushed forward. "He was never able to find a solution for what was causing them, but they did not seem to cause any lasting problems. Other than picking up the occasional new skill, most memories seemed to fade into the background." She shivered a little, her self-control fraying a bit as unshed tears shimmered in her eyes. "But that's in the past. I would like to help you, if you will let me."

Ranma moved closer to Kodachi on an impulse, putting a companionable arm around her, and the noblewoman slumped against him as the last of her strength seemed to desert her. She clutched tightly at him, and she sniffled softly against his shoulder. Ranma stroked her hair as if she were a young child, and made gentle sounds in an attempt to comfort her. "You're not alone anymore, Kodachi," he said in soft and soothing tones. "I'll do my best to be your friend."

Just great, thought Nabiki sullenly, glaring slightly at the girl being held awkwardly in Ranma's arms. Jealous feelings seethed within her, but she held them in check. However, the urge to toss Kodachi out the window to see how high she might bounce brought a brief smile to her face.

After a time, fortunately before Nabiki's patience ran out, Kodachi appeared to cry herself out. She ended with a few shuddering sighs as she held herself against Ranma. "Thank you, Saotome-kun," she said softly. "I've felt so alone in all this until now."

"You're not alone, Kodachi," said Ranma softly. "Nabiki and I have both experienced the same thing when we used my device."

"You have?" asked Kodachi, sitting back reluctantly. It had felt so nice to be held in Ranma's arms like that, so warm and safe. She felt her sorrow dwindle at the sight of his kind face, and was more certain than ever that she would be the happiest of women as his future wife. Of course, she thought with a subtle glance at Nabiki, all I have to do is to keep any greedy females like those two Tendo harridans from snatching him up before I make him mine.

"Yes," said Ranma with a nod. "That's how Nabiki and I are able to fight as well as we do now."

"Ranma-kun," said Nabiki with a slight warning tone to her voice. She did not feel right about him sharing secrets with the Kuno girl so easily.

"I won't tell anyone, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi sincerely. "I want to help you in any way that I can."

"Then I guess we're now three," said Ranma, feeling more confident than ever now. He looked at Nabiki, who was watching him with a neutral expression on her face.

"I suppose," said Nabiki. But only until I can figure out what sort of game is going on inside the Kuno girl's mind. She's up to something, I just know it. She's not telling everything she knows.

Ranma held out his hand, thinking he might end up regretting this decision, but he somehow doubted he would. "Partners?"

Nabiki gripped his hand with her own, feeling his hand squeezing back. She nodded as they matched grips. "Partners."

Kodachi laid her hand shyly atop Ranma's, gently squeezing his. She smiled at him, feeling a warm electric current seeming to pass between them. "Partners."

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As dusk fell across the city, Ranma stood a short ways down the block from the dark blue awning proudly displaying the name "Yu-chan's" upon it. He absently rubbed one of the deeper bruises Nabiki had given him during sparring today. He suspected the reason she was upset with him was about him trusting Kodachi with his secret so easily, when she had to break into his lab to find out the truth. He truthfully did not read anything more into her actions than that. She had just been a bit more energetic in their sparring, and he was secretly grateful for the opportunity to take his skills to the edge. Even if it had just been sparring.

Get a grip on yourself, Saotome, the pigtailed boy thought. I can't believe that I sound like I'm enjoying all this fighting I keep getting involved in. I'm a scientist, not a warrior, and I just need to keep telling myself that. I don't need a bunch of challengers rolling into town every other day looking to beat on me. I never went on any training journey, and I never upset anyone enough to come hunting me down as far as I know. Sure, Kuno is a pain, but that's just because he's upset about Kodachi liking me. Like I really care what 'Bokken Boy' thinks of me.

Ranma paused in his stream of introspection. He felt nervous about walking the short distance to the restaurant run by Ukyo's aunt, but he was ardently denying it even to himself. Ranma Saotome ain't scared of nothin', he heard roll around in his head once or twice. He smoothed the cloth of his shirt, a new one in green that his mother had bought for him. She had found a shop that carried the style and picked up a dozen of them for him, in various colors. The one he wore was in the same style as the red one Nabiki had given him, and it felt more and more comfortable to dress like this every time he did. He took a deep breath and eyed the small restaurant.

Showtime, thought Ranma. He strolled the distance to the entrance to the shop and slid open the door.

Ukyo looked up at the sound of the shop's door opening up. Her aunt was in the back getting some more batter. With a bright smile, she chirped out what had become familiar words of greeting for customers to the shop, "Welcome to Yu-chan's." Then she blinked at the sight of the young man standing in the door, dressed in more casual clothes than the uniform she had seen him in last. Her heart seemed to skip a beat.

"Uh, hey, Ucchan," said Ranma, letting the curtain in the doorway fall back behind him as he walked in. The interior of the shop was well appointed and had a homey feel to it, with enough tables and chairs to seat maybe thirty people if they were friendly.

"R-Ranchan, how was your day?" said Ukyo, suddenly feeling more than a little foolish. Luckily, there was only a single customer in the shop, a kindly old man who was one of the regulars. He was minding his own business at one of the corner tables, reading the newspaper.

"Huh? Oh, it was fine," said Ranma, suddenly feeling uncertain about this whole thing. Just what did someone do on a date? Ranma now realized that he did not have a single idea how to proceed from here, and his memories from his other counterparts were no help. He also did not think it would be wise to ask Ukyo why she was cross-dressing at the moment, but he goggled a bit at the sight of the feminine girl he had met just last night now looking like one of the guys. "Uh, you look like you're getting settled in here pretty good." Ranma walked over and sat down in one of the seats at the counter.

"Oh, Aunt Yumi is great," said Ukyo. "She's teaching me how to make much better okonomiyaki than I ever did before. Wanna try one?"

"Sure," said Ranma, feeling more at ease as they slid into a sort of camaraderie-like manner with each other. "Gimme one of your specials."

"Coming right up," said Ukyo with a grin, her hands moving into full cooking mode. She felt happy to be cooking for Ranma like this, looking forward to getting to know him a little better.

As the okonomiyaki sizzled to a golden brown on the hot grill, the curtain at the back of the shop opened up and Yumi came walking out with a container of pre-made batter in hand. She spied the teenaged boy seated at the counter, and she smiled as she recognized him from the picture that Yukiyo had shown her last night. So that's Ranma Saotome, eh? she thought, studying him casually. Quite a nice-looking boy Ukyo's found for herself. He carries himself well, and with the grace of a skilled martial artist. The two of them should do well together.

"Aunt Yumi!" cried Ukyo, almost forgetting her cooking chores in her excitement to introduce the two to each other. She gestured at Ranma with a hand armed with a small spatula. "This is Ranma Saotome." She pointed back the other way. "Ranma, this is my Aunt Yumi."

Ranma stood up and bowed, saying, "A pleasure meeting you, Ma'am." He studied the woman for a moment as he stood up straight again. She was a tall woman, Ranma quickly realized, taller by several centimeters than he himself was. He took quick inventory of her physical features, wondering if Ukyo would come to look something like the square-jawed, athletic-looking older woman standing before him.

Fairly well-mannered for a teenaged boy, too, thought Yumi. She took a quick sniff of the air and said, "Careful there, Ukyo-chan. A few more seconds and it's going to burn."

"Ack!" Ukyo quickly flipped it off the grill onto a plate, and stood watching (and she assured herself that she was not nervous) as Ranma took a bite. When he began devouring it ravenously, she beamed with happiness. He likes it!

Ranma was in heaven. There were some subtle differences in flavor and texture, but this was undoubtedly an Ukyo-made okonomiyaki that was a near rival to any in his memories. The thought of having a girlfriend like her around (without any arranged marriage hanging over their heads) was a pretty fine idea to him, especially with delicious food like this to eat. The pigtailed boy gobbled it down, the heavy workout over the course of the afternoon having burned off all of the lunch that Kodachi had fed him, and a bit more. After the first bite was past his lips, he found his hunger taking control, and he quickly wolfed the rest of it down in true Saotome fashion.

Well done, Ukyo-chan, thought Yumi, smiling. She watched as her niece made Ranma a second one that was just as quickly devoured as the first. The boy's got a bit of a good appetite on him. She smiled a little more broadly when Ranma consumed a third before seeming satisfied. And it looks like he could give Ukyo a good run for her money in an eating contest though.

"So Ukyo tells me you study the martial arts, Saotome-kun," said Yumi as she studied him again. "How good are you?"

Ranma started to say "I'm the best!" but he managed to restrain the impulse. He coughed once and said more modestly, "I'm pretty good."

"Well, perhaps you could show me sometime," said Yumi pleasantly. "If you're good enough, I'm sure Ukyo could use a sparring partner."

"Uh, okay," said Ranma, glancing at Ukyo. He saw the male-dressed Ukyo blush a little at his gaze upon her. He grinned at her in an easy-going way. "That might be fun." I guess another sparring partner wouldn't hurt anything. Yeah, having Ucchan as both a girlfriend and a regular sparring partner would be great. Something we could share. As he looked at her, a brief flash of a memory rolled across Ranma's mind, of a sweat-sheened Ukyo floating in zero-gravity, her legs locked tightly around his waist as their bodies moved together in free fall. His wife on another timeline. He shook his head a little, amazed at having such a reaction to a girl he had known for less than twenty-four hours.

Ukyo had been feeling more and more nervous each time Ranma had looked at her. Beneath the counter, the small, stainless steel spatula in her hands was twisting into a shape not seen outside of a text on origami. She suddenly realized that Ranma had probably come to ask her on a date, and she felt fear since she did not really know what to do. At least I don't have to ask him, since he's the guy, she thought with some relief. All he has to do is ask.

"Um, Ucchan," Ranma began.

"Yes!" Ukyo responded quickly. She immediately realized what she had done and looked embarrassed, the spatula going through several more contortions of its form in her hands. She wasn't sure why she felt so shy around Ranma. After all, he was just a guy, and she was practically one of the boys herself, thanks to her upbringing. This wasn't as easy as she thought it would be.

"Heh, I, uh, thought you might want to go to the movies with me," said Ranma finally. It's Ucchan, he thought, attempting without success to quell his nervousness. She fell in love with you on more than one timeline, so don't be so scared of her here. With his courage laid out on the line like that, he lifted his gaze from where it had fallen to study the countertop, meeting her eyes. "They're showing a new martial arts film, and I thought you might like to see it with me."

Ukyo nodded, a bit more in control of herself. "Sure, Ranchan. That sounds like fun. Let me just clean up a bit, and we can go."

Yumi caught a hold of Ukyo on her way upstairs. She pulled her niece out of sight and whispered, "You might want to let the fact that you're a girl be a bit more visible, Ukyo-chan." When she saw the young ninja look puzzled, she pointed at Ukyo's chest.

Feeling embarrassed, Ukyo continued upstairs, smacking herself in the head with her palm occasionally.

A few minutes later, far less time than Ranma was expecting to wait for his date to get ready, a somewhat different Ukyo appeared. The pigtailed boy blinked at the sight of the attractive girl before him, most definitely not quite 'one of the guys' at that moment. He smiled and nodded approvingly, feeling more relaxed now.

Ukyo stepped off the bottom step of the stairs, feeling a little bit vulnerable looking feminine. She was still uncomfortable with wearing traditional female underwear, so a sports bra had now replaced the chest bindings she was much more used to wearing. She had decided to let Ranma get to know her as she was, preferred clothing style and all, so if he didn't like it, tough. Besides, Ukyo far preferred clothes that she could fight in, if it was necessary. So she was wearing yet another set of her okonomiyaki seller's outfits and a white bow in her hair. The harness for her battle spatula was strapped on, but she had left the spatula itself behind the counter with her aunt's. Unasked, Yumi tossed it to her before coming over to Ukyo. Noticing Ranma's smile, Ukyo smiled back as she sheathed her weapon.

"You two kids go have fun, but don't keep her out too late tonight, Saotome-kun," said Yumi, quickly hustling the couple out the door with a grin.

The door to the restaurant slid shut, and the two of them were alone on the street.

"Your aunt is an interesting lady," said Ranma, turning to face Ukyo. He eyed the spatula wryly but did not comment on its presence. It felt oddly right for her to have it, even when they were on a date. That was when it hit him; this was going to be his first real date. Another flash of Ukyo from another life crossed his mind, her battle spatula raised as he fought with her on an oversized griddle. How things can change, he thought with a sudden grin.

"Yeah, Gramps has told me stories about her as a kid," said Ukyo with a smile. "She was the best warrior in the valley when she was our age, the best my clan had ever seen in over a generation."

"Really?"

Ukyo nodded. She gestured in the direction of the theater. "We should probably get going though, if we don't want to miss the movie."

The two young martial artists headed down the street. Ranma kept glancing at Ukyo, finding the sight of her pleasing to him. As they walked along, Ranma kept finding himself remembering things about other Ukyos, and enjoying the pleasant chat with the Ukyo now at his side. Perhaps inevitably, they fell to discussing martial arts. The two of them traded anecdotes about their training, Ranma editing his so that it would not appear to be too wild. Some of Ukyo's stories from her days of training were fairly amazing though.

Before they knew it, they were in front of the theater. One large poster proclaimed the virtues of the film, "The Hidden Fortress - The Special Edition." Ranma paid for a pair of tickets, and the two of them went into the theater. None of the attendants appeared to pay too much attention to the fact that Ukyo was armed, for which Ranma was secretly grateful.

While they watched the movie, sharing an extra-large popcorn between them, Ranma was pleased to see Ukyo staring raptly at the screen. He settled back to enjoy the film, feeling truly relaxed for the first time in a long while. His two martial artist counterparts would never have been able to do such a thing, trouble seeming to follow them everywhere they went.

This is the life, he thought with a grin, forgetting his troubles at home in the presence of the pretty girl at his side. No enemies after me, no crazy fiancées following me around, just me and Ucchan out on our first date. He glanced at her again as the action on the screen heated up. This Ukyo was relatively normal (aside from the cross-dressing tendencies) when he compared her to the odder versions that populated some of the worlds he had seen so far. Thoughts of the future faded for now, and Ranma let himself dwell in the moment.

Ranma was quite certain that the worst of his problems were now behind him, or being dealt with. With that thought in mind, he relaxed and enjoyed the rest of his evening.

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Ryoga Hibiki stared at the small campfire before him, watching a small camp rice cooker bubbling and steaming away over the flames. He had never felt so hungry in his life, salivating slightly as he smelled the aroma of cooking rice. He let loose a low growl of anger and stared up at the stars. His stomach gave off a deep growl of its own.

"Damn you, Kuonji," muttered Ryoga darkly. He closed his eyes and felt the anger bubbling away inside him, a deep-felt passion urging him to commit violence upon the object of his wrath. These feelings had been building up steadily with every mile that had passed beneath his feet. He had spent the last few days wandering around totally lost, truly experiencing for the first time the Hibikis' infamous lack of any sort of sense of direction.

That experience had only added to his dark mood and fueled his fierce determination to have it out with Ukyo, once and for all, to crush his long-time rival at long last. He would prove that he was the better fighter between them, with Ukyo's broken body as the clear evidence of his superior skill. He also hoped in a quiet corner of his heart that the victory would finally purge him of his unwanted and uncomfortable desires for the boy he had battled against and trained alongside for so many years.

The smell of rice drifting his way inflamed his hunger, and Ryoga found himself missing his mother's home-cooked meals wistfully. If he had been at home, he knew that he would be enjoying some of her culinary wonders. The thought of the dishes she had lovingly made for him over the years, brought new pangs of hunger from his gut. Opening his eyes to see nothing but plain rice and some wild vegetables he had managed to gather for his dinner darkened his mood even further. His hand slowly tightened into a fist, before he rammed it into the palm of his other hand with a loud smacking sound.

"Damn you, Kuonji," muttered Ryoga grimly. "This is all your fault! When I catch up to you, I'm going to kill you!"

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	12. Fiancee Follies

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ayaka Kisaragi set down the tray she was holding, upon which rested a warmed container of sake and a single small cup, onto the table next to her couch. She paused and adjusted her kimono, scratching idly at an itch on her side as she picked up her notebook and flipped through it to the proper page. Holding it open in front of her, she flopped down on the couch, the thick cushions embracing her softly. She picked up the receiver on her telephone with her free hand and punched in a quick series of numbers. It was answered on the other end before the conclusion of the second ring.

"Report."

Ayaka frowned slightly at the perfunctory tone of voice coming over the telephone as she began to speak. "Only two notable things have occurred so far this week, sir. First, Ranma Saotome, one of the individuals you instructed me to keep tabs on, was involved in several altercations, including some sort of grudge match with one of the older female cadets here at the Academy. Coincidentally enough, his opponent was Nabiki Tendo."

That statement was followed by a brief grunt of acknowledgement heard over the phone.

"It was a very close fight, both of them showing extraordinarily high levels of skill, but Saotome won in the end. I am in the process of obtaining a copy of a video shot during the match, one that I feel you might find most interesting."

"Possibly," said Director Kasuga on the other end. "Please continue."

Ayaka flipped to another page of her notebook. "The boy recently lost his access to a private lab space given to him by Fuyutsuki-san. I have no knowledge of the project he was working on. Shall I break in and investigate?"

"Negative," said Director Kasuga. "The Science Ministry examined the proposal he originally submitted for his project and found his notions for a method for contacting parallel Earths interesting but unlikely to ever be made workable. They politely informed me that they had only allowed it out of respect for his father's reputation and since the costs were relatively small. Now that his father has withdrawn his support, that ends young Saotome's foolishness, so his little science project could have no bearing on determining the identity of the crux individual we seek. We are continuing to update our readings on the emanations from that region of the city, but powerful forces are now converging within the Pattern, hindering our efforts. I want you to continue to concentrate your investigations on our list of suspects, and those they come into regular contact with."

"Understood," said Ayaka neutrally.

"Carry on," said Director Kasuga gruffly. "I have the utmost faith in your abilities to investigate this matter."

"Sir?" Ayaka said quickly.

"Yes? What is it, Kisaragi?"

"I want you to know that I appreciate this chance, in your giving me this assignment," said Ayaka sincerely. "I know my actions in the past have been less than exemplary-"

"Such as your predilection for getting drunk and laid every few days, you mean, Kisaragi?" Director Kasuga interrupted dryly. "Why else do you think we removed you from your position here at the Institute as advisor to the Miko Task Force? Despite your impressive spiritual powers, and your unmatched record as a Ghost Sweeper, your personal life was a rather poor example to those impressionable young girls. All of them look up to you, after all. Still, if you do well in this assignment and keep yourself under control, I'll see what can be done about reinstating you."

"Thank you, sir."

"Personally, Kisaragi, my advice to you would be to get a steady boyfriend, one that you can keep for longer than a month. After all, you're not getting any younger."

Ayaka felt like someone had just stabbed her.

"I understand that all of your former squadmates from your own training group have gotten married by now."

The assassin brought a friend.

"Yes, sir," said Ayaka numbly. I need a drink, she thought.

"Carry on, Kisaragi."

Ayaka heard the phone being hung up on the other end, and then she did the same while she ran a hand back through her red hair. A few moments later, the stereo in her small apartment flicked on at a touch of her finger upon its remote. Half listening to the driving beat of the music playing, she picked up the bottle of warmed sake and poured herself a cup.

Before she could drink it down, the doorbell rang. She walked over to the door and opened it up. Three female figures stood outside in the hallway. One of the women gave a wry look at the redhead.

"Drinking alone is a sure sign of alcoholism," said Yui Ikari teasingly with a smile, before swiftly pushing past Ayaka to lead the other two young women with her into the apartment. She was dressed in a snug black minidress and matching pumps. "If you're going to drink, you're coming out with us and doing it right."

"But I don't want to go out tonight," protested Ayaka, even as she was already appearing to weaken at the thought.

"We'll do karaoke," said Yui with a broader grin, seeing her friend's resistance crumbling. She knew quite well that Ayaka could not resist doing karaoke.

The two off-duty peaceforcers with Yui, Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa, each took hold of one of Ayaka's arms and half-carried the weakly protesting woman into the bedroom to help her get ready for a night on the town. Instead of their usual uniforms of black cloth and leather with gray piping, the two women wore stylish outfits that were not quite as daring as what Yui was wearing, but not far too behind it either.

While waiting for the Institute operative to change into something more appropriate for bar-hopping, Yui picked up the cup of sake that had been left on the table. "Here's to getting you to have some serious fun tonight, Ayaka," she murmured with a smile, before swallowing the drink. Since Keiichi was unavailable tonight, Yui planned to enjoy herself with a serious girl's night out on the town with her best friends. As the music played on in the background, she waited for the fourth member of their little posse to get ready for some serious fun. Ayaka was quite obviously still stressing over her brand new assignment, so it was up to the three of them to get the leggy redhead's mind off things.

After all, thought Yui with a grin, they had to keep living up to their reputation as the 'Fearsome Foursome' of the Security Directorate.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight (qd_author )

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them:

u/3764932/

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. That same device has also given the Nabiki of this timeline an accidental copy of the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. Nabiki, irritated at her recent loss to Ranma, has begun scheming for her rematch against him. Professor Saotome has also begun adjusting to what may be a long stay in the alternate timeline he is trapped in while his counterpart continues to trouble Ranma's personal life. Kodachi reveals the truth about herself to an astonished Ranma and an annoyed Nabiki. Finally, Ukyo meets up with her aunt and has a date with Ranma.

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Chapter 12 - Fiancée Follies

After God created the world, He made man and woman. Then,

to keep the whole thing from collapsing, He invented humor.

- Mack McGinnis

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The clash of steel was loud in Kuno's ears as he engaged the nameless samurai warrior before him. He felt the jolt in his arms as his weapon struck solidly against lacquered armor plate, instead of between them to bite into the flesh of his opponent. He ducked under his foe's counterstrike, lashing out at the same moment with a rising stroke to the lower ribcage region, only to be denied his goal once again as the warrior deflected his blade.

My timing is off, else I would already be victorious, Kuno thought grimly as his adversary forced him back a step at a time with a sequence of lightning-fast strikes. He fended off the armored figure, weaving a net of steel before himself as he tried to figure out how to emerge victorious. Anger at being forced back step by step filled him, and he cried out, "But I shall not fall!"

In silence, Lord Daisho Kuno closely watched his son's motions as he engaged his phantom opponent. The muscular, older nobleman was dressed in a fine silk kimono and hakama-style pants, a worn bokken held in one hand. He absently tapped it against his knee as he watched his son's pathetic efforts. He gave the impression of having just stepped out of an elder age, when men of honor fought and died with steel in their hands and fire in their eyes. His face was grim and unforgiving.

In contrast, Kuno was dressed in a suit of silvery material overlaid by a bluish metal that acted as force-feedback simulators, his head covered by a light helmet of plastics and silicates. Once the suit was activated, it fed to him the sensation of being in a life or death battle from the Middle Ages, thus gauging his combat effectiveness. All that was missing were the smells of this illusionary field of battle to make it complete. Even so, it was easy for him to forget himself in the splendor and realism of the sights and sounds.

Lord Kuno was less than pleased at his heir's performance. In fact, he was almost furious to see his own son losing to a computer program so badly.

That boy must be slacking off on his training, the older man angrily concluded as he ceased tapping his wooden weapon against his leg. He gripped the handle tightly, briefly remembering his own days of youth. He's slower than he can be, and far too flashy in his attacks. When I was fifteen, two years younger than he is now, I could've beaten someone of his skill level. Damn it! It looks like my uncle has failed me. He probably spends more time spinning stories for the boy and guzzling sake, rather than forging my son into the great warrior he could be. The boy even sounds like that foolish old man. As he studied his son's moves closely, his mouth twisted deeper into a frown.

Kuno dodged backwards, barely avoiding the blow that would have opened his ribcage if it had been real. His blade slashed down at his foe's arm, exposed for a fraction of a second by the strike, and he was rewarded to see his own blade shear through the cloth and armor to sever the limb at the elbow. Simulated blood and gore surged from the wound as his opponent staggered back, and Kuno finished it off with a reverse stroke that cleanly removed the illusory sparring dummy's head at the neck. The body stumbled back a pace and then fell over, the head vanishing off to one side. The young nobleman stared impassively at the bleeding corpse in the seconds before it vanished.

"Simulation completed at level twelve," said a computer-generated female voice in Kuno's ears as the scene around him faded away. "Time taken for completion: four minutes, fifty-two seconds. Best time for completion: one minute, twelve seconds."

Kuno removed the simsuit's helmet from his head, blinking at the unexpected sight of his father seated to one side of the training mat. This does not bode well, he thought.

"Father," he greeted his sire respectfully. He set the helmet upon the rack along with his weapon, quickly running a hand back through his sweat-dampened hair. He received not a single acknowledging word from the other man for his greeting, only a cool-eyed gaze. Grimacing, Kuno prepared himself for what was surely to come.

"You play at being a warrior, my son," said Lord Kuno quietly.

Kuno growled, but held his peace.

"Years of training come to this, you nearly losing a fight to an opponent made of electronic smoke and mirrors," Lord Kuno continued, apparently unaware of his son's fists tightening at his sides. "Your sensei has failed to awaken the Kuno's warrior spirit within you. If he had, you would be all but unbeatable." He shook his head, a little sadly. "Young Saotome-san defeated you with his bare hands, several times, over the past few days, I am told."

Kuno somehow held his temper before his father, but he seethed inside with a fresh surge of desire to seek out and avenge the indignity of his defeats. Seeing his father looking so disappointed with him was truly agonizing. Ranma Saotome, the young nobleman thought grimly, how I have come to loathe the mention of thy name. I will overcome you, for the sake of my reputation, for the honor of my beloved sister, and for my own desires to see you groveling at my feet. Oh, how you will beg for mercy when I am finished with you, Saotome. My eventual victory will taste all the sweeter when you do.

"I will be taking over your training from now on," said Lord Kuno, a touch more kindly than his previous words had been. "The Kuno School of Long Blade Fighting deserves far better than what you show of its skills so far. I fear I have let matters of politics and my other duties distract me from taking a more personal hand in your training before now, but I wonder if it might not be too late."

"Father?" said Kuno, his face puzzled.

Lord Kuno stood up, lifting his bokken to rest it upon his right shoulder. He stared severely at his son and said, "For centuries, the Kunos have produced champion duelists, feared for their skill with the sword. Your former sensei has failed to take you as far in your training as he should have." He paused, lowering his voice in a menacing manner. "However, I am certain that I can find new ways to motivate you."

Seeing the fierce look in his father's eyes, Kuno felt a brief moment of hesitation before his usual bluster returned. Bah! Let this old fool do his worst. I am the quintessential and most noble example of the perfect warrior, feared and respected by my fellow men, loved by all women.

"I see doubt as to the status of my skills in your eyes, my son," said Lord Kuno with a wolfish smile. "Would you care to test them?"

"Aye, Father, I do indeed," said Kuno boldly. He grabbed his bokken from the rack, never taking his eyes off his father. He would show his sire to doubt his inestimable skills.

"Excellent. I could use a light workout. Though, I really doubt you'll give me one." The older man took hold of his own weapon with both hands and charged across the floor with cold purpose in his eyes.

Within seconds, it was over. Kuno stood stunned, his bokken lying on the floor several meters from where he stood. The wooden blade held in his father's hands rested, poised at his throat. The cold look in the man's eyes had shifted to one of disappointment.

"I see that I have a great deal of work ahead of me," said Lord Kuno calmly. "Pick up your weapon, and we shall try it again."

Such speed and skill he has, Kuno marveled as he moved aside and bent to pick up his bokken. He rushed his father and lasted ten seconds longer before he was disarmed once more.

"Better," said Lord Kuno. "But not good enough yet, not by a long shot. However, I think there is a faint glimmering of hope for you. With my aid, I know you'll be a far better fighter than you ever dared dream."

Kuno looked up, his eyes shining with renewed energy as his fist locked around the haft of his weapon as he said, "Now I know that the gods smile upon me. That most lowly and wretched of curs, Ranma Saotome, shall fall to me and my blade, and then the lovely Akane Tendo's heart shall yield to me. She shall see that I am the ultimate warrior, the only man worthy of her." He broke into a gale of maniacal laughter following his rant, one that was abruptly stopped short by the application of his father's weapon to his skull, quite hard.

"That hurt, you know," grumbled Kuno, rubbing the lump growing on the top of his head. A moment later, a second lump had joined the first. The young nobleman growled.

"Enough of this foolishness, boy," said Lord Kuno calmly. Even though he had raised the boy to show a certain independence of thought, a necessity for a future lord of a noble house, there were still limits to his tolerance. "I have no time to waste on you if you continue on in such a fashion. Now, recite for me the philosophy of our School."

Caught off-guard by the question, Kuno almost earned a third lump on his head before he quickly spoke. "The sword and the body must be as one."

"Continue," said Lord Kuno.

Feeling new confidence at the glimmer in his father's gaze, the young nobleman cleared his throat once and said, "Wielding a sword should be as natural as being alive, to embrace the sword that lives within every true warrior. The stances are its walk, the rhythm of the swing its speech, and honor is the breath and blood of the sword."

"Very good, my son," said Lord Kuno with a touch more warmth in his voice than was present before. "There is hope for you yet. I see that my uncle may have taught you something after all." He swung the blade of his bokken around a few times, before smiling and asking, "Do you wish to see one of the special techniques I plan to teach you, once you have mastered the basics to my satisfaction?"

Kuno nodded, still looking a bit out of sorts.

"Behold," intoned Lord Kuno solemnly, "a technique handed down from our forefathers, the Blade of a Hundred Strikes." He turned to face the wall nearest to him as his hands blurred into motion, his weapon swiftly thrusting forward again and again, dozens of times in only seconds.

The wall began to buckle from the air pressure alone generated by the strikes, the wood and stone reacting as if caught by the focused force of a hurricane. With a last shattering wrench, a two meter wide hole was ripped through the wall, scattering chunks of stone and shards of wood out across the grass outside.

Kuno was impressed, to say the least. He quickly covered it by coughing into his fist once. "Impressive, Father. Most impressive, indeed."

"I want your promise to obey me without question in exchange for my teaching you, my son," said Lord Kuno, a gleam in his eyes. I have such plans for your future, my son, the older man thought. Not to mention what your mother has in mind for you. The latter thought brought a very faint feeling of sympathy for the boy. The girl his mother had picked for his son had a rather formidable reputation.

"I swear I shall obey you, Father," said Kuno sincerely, still thinking about how this new technique would let him finally strike down Ranma Saotome. He could feel victory hovering near to his grasp.

"Excellent," said Lord Kuno jovially. "Tomorrow evening young Saotome-san and his family shall dine with us in the main hall. You will be on your best behavior while they are here. Genma Saotome is an old friend of mine from my youth, and I am pleased to see that he raised his boy to be such a fine warrior. When we last saw one another, I did not expect him to ever do so, but I see that the fire of his own warrior heritage could not be denied forever."

Kuno blinked. This was surprising and unwelcome news to him, but his honor required him to bear his discomfort stoically. "You have my word, Father," he said, bowing low for several moments before straightening. "I will act in the proper manner." His thoughts went otherwise. But once you have taught me this technique, then the foul wretch Saotome shall be brought low at last!

"See that you do, boy. See that you do. For now, continue on with your practice." He dryly added, "you need it."

The elder Kuno left, leaving an angry young man behind.

"Father was a little bit harsh with you, I think," observed Kodachi as she gracefully stepped into the training hall, having witnessed the entire exchange that had just taken place from a position half-hidden in one of the room's many entryways. She was presently dressed in one of her casual kimonos, this one in green silk with a phoenix across the back in golden thread. Her feet were shod in a pair of house slippers in black.

"What brings thee into my presence, dear sister?" Kuno asked a little curtly. "Hast thou come to rub my face in tomorrow night's farce, perchance?"

Kodachi grimaced, but then she remembered her purpose in coming to speak with her brother privately. "I wished to speak with you about your new dalliance, Nabiki Tendo. The two of you were quite close, I saw."

Kuno blinked, then snorted, "Nabiki Tendo, a dalliance? I think not. What interest would I have in a woman of such mercenary morals? My interest is solely in her younger sister, the most fair and high-spirited Akane."

Kodachi grimaced inwardly at the mention of the youngest Tendo girl, but her face remained pleasant. "Oh, really? I would think that you might enjoy the challenge of breaking through that mercenary shell that Nabiki Tendo projects. She was obviously showing some interest in you."

"But of course," said Kuno grandly. "Am I not the heir to the Kuno name? Am I not the undefeated Academy-level kendo champion throughout the Empire? Women throw themselves at my feet daily. What matter is it, if an ill-mannered gentlewoman with delusions of grandeur finds me attractive? Of course she is attracted to me as any moth is to the flame. However, she has no respect for those who are her superiors and speaks and acts out of turn. I have no interest in such a dalliance."

"How little you know of women, my dear brother," said Kodachi with false charm.

"What? Enlighten me," said Kuno, sounding curious.

"It is obvious that her seeking money from you is simply a ploy to bask in your noble presence," said Kodachi, striving hard to keep up a straight face. "Not to mention that winning Nabiki Tendo's heart would make things easier to win the heart of her sister."

As the memory of both Nabiki's beauty and her strange, yet beguiling, presence resurfaced, he found himself intrigued by the prospect of bedding both sisters. One whose quick wit and tongue paralleled his own, while the other's sheer physicality was in and of itself sexual. He suddenly knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he must have them both for his mistresses. He realized it would be beneath his station to marry either, yet having them at hand at his whim excited him.

Kuno rushed over to his sister's side in the blink of an eye. He leaned in and said, "Thou hast my undivided attention, dear sister."

Deal with this, Nabiki Tendo, thought the young noblewoman with a smile. And with you distracted from the field of play, there will be no further impediments on my path to winning the heart of Saotome-kun.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm home!"

Ukyo pushed the front door to the restaurant closed behind her with a happy little sigh. A soundless motion in the air was her only alert to the attack that suddenly came, surprising and swift. Parrying the first strike quickly with a bare hand, Ukyo quickly made out the face of her assailant, her aunt Yumi. The older woman began striking quickly with her battle spatula, but this wasn't anything out of the ordinary compared to how Ukyo's life had been spent with her great-grandfather. What followed was a ten-minute long duel of flashing battle spatulas, fist strikes, and kicks, ending when her aunt managed to disarm her with a blow to her wrists.

Seconds later, Ukyo was knocked senseless by a combination of punches and nerve strikes. Then, after being woken up with a bucket of cold water in the face, Yumi had handed her a towel and a fresh cup of hot tea and then settled herself into one of the chairs to talk. Her manner was more like that of a big sister than a woman who was her mother's age.

The older woman listened with interest as Ukyo described her time spent with Ranma, and occasionally a wistful smile would cross her aunt's face. When asked about it, Yumi took the time to relate some tales taken from her own youth, much of that having been spent on the road from the time she was fourteen or so. Ranma apparently reminded her of one or two of the young men that she had met during that time of her life, although he did not seem to be nearly as brash and egotistical.

"He struck me as being a pretty nice boy, Ukyo-chan," Yumi said in between sips of her tea. "I think you could do a lot worse than trying to capture that Saotome lad's heart."

"Do you really think so, Auntie?" Ukyo asked, her face feeling quite warm.

"Take it from a more experienced woman," said Yumi. "That kid's got a lot of potential, if he settles down with the right woman."

"Well, we've just had one date," Ukyo said with an even deeper blush, beginning to twiddle her fingers nervously underneath the table. Although it had been her first real date, especially since she never considered the dates with other girls that her great-grandfather had tricked her or forced her to go on 'to make a man out of you, boy' to have counted. Despite dressing and acting like a male for most of her life, Ukyo did not ever consider herself to be 'that way' in her likes. She still wasn't sure about the idea of marriage in general, but Ranma was pretty easy to get along with. And she did feel quite attracted to him.

"Just take things one day at a time, Ukyo-chan," Yumi said, smiling. "I'm sure that everything will work out just fine for you."

"I'll try, Auntie." She then studied the tea remnants in the bottom of her cup, feeling her embarrassment level soar.

"Your father dropped by while you were gone," said Yumi suddenly. "He was on his way back to his hotel, and he just wanted to see how you were getting along with me. I told him you were out on a date with Ranma. His reaction was, well, interesting. I think it was because he had been drinking."

"What happened?" Ukyo asked, wondering if her father was all right.

"I don't really know how to say this except straight out," said Yumi, looking the girl squarely in the eyes. "Ukyo-chan, it seems that you're _already_ engaged to marry Ranma Saotome, and neither of you were to be told about it until much later."

Ukyo couldn't remember much of anything that took place over the next several minutes. After a time, she looked up from the table and asked, in a stunned voice, "Wh-why didn't they tell us?"

"It seems your father and Saotome-san made a solemn, albeit most likely drunken and stupid, vow to keep you both in the dark," said Yumi, her facial expression speaking volumes on what she thought of keeping such a thing a secret from her niece. "It was only by luck that your father blurted the rest of the story out to me, after I persuaded him a bit."

"Oh." Ukyo wasn't sure what to say at that point.

"Ranma was apparently more skittish about the idea of an arranged marriage than you were, Ukyo-chan," Yumi said, a gentle smile on her broad face. "I'm only telling you what I learned because I think it's an asinine thing to keep hidden from you, and him. That being said, I want you to promise me that you won't tell Ranma about the engagement until you feel it's the right thing to do. If I read him right, then he seems the type to be resistant to the idea of being forced into anything."

"Stupid old man," Ukyo suddenly grumbled. "My father has got to be the biggest jerk on the face of the planet. How could he make a deal like this behind my back?"

"Just don't take it out on Ranma," Yumi said. "You did like how things went on your date with him, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah. He's a great guy to hang around with."

"Then let yourself be friends with him." Yumi kicked her legs up to rest on a nearby chair as she slouched comfortably where she sat. "I can tell that you like Ranma a lot, so just relax and enjoy being around him. Let the whole marriage thing take a back seat while you two get to know each other."

"Won't he be mad when he finally learns the truth?"

"Maybe," admitted Yumi. "But I think even a few days being kept in the dark will give him a chance to get used to having you around." She grinned, her voice having dropped into a teasing tone.

Ukyo blushed again at being reminded of her engagement.

Yumi's grin faded into a more serious, yet supportive look. "Don't worry, kid. You and Ranma are going to have a lot of years ahead of you together. Be glad. Since a good-looking boy like him didn't seem to have any girls hanging around him, or mention anybody to you, then it's a reasonable bet that you won't need to worry about any rivals for his affections. Believe me, I know what that's like."

"Okay, Auntie."

"Now get to bed," Yumi suddenly snarled insincerely. "You thought your time in the mountains with that wily old man was tough? Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be twice as tough!"

After retreating to her room with a laugh, Ukyo found that she could not sleep, so she contented herself by resting in her bed and studying the disparate shadows. They flowed across the ceiling as the wind moved the branches of a tree that was partially blocking the light from the streetlamp outside. Her hands supported her head as she watched the irregular movements of the patches of darkness, and her eyes tracked the motions, instinctively watching them for anything out of the ordinary. It was a necessary survival instinct to have in a ninja clan, after all. She closed her eyes, trusting in her keenly trained senses to alert her, even from sleep, if anyone entered her room by stealth. Years spent with her great-grandfather had trained Ukyo to go from a sound sleep to fully alert and combat ready in less than two seconds.

At least my training won't be in any danger of slacking off, she mused, letting each muscle in her body relax. And Ranchan's certainly easier to get along with than I thought he would be. She slipped her hands free from behind her head and began doing one of her kuji-kiri exercises, the gestures helping her concentrate. She had always done her best thinking when it was quiet and dark, and right now she felt the need to do some serious thinking about what she planned to do about her new situation, especially in light of what her aunt had learned from her father.

Ranma Saotome. Ukyo tasted the feel of his name in her mind like a perfectly-done okonomiyaki. There was something undeniably attractive about him. She didn't consider herself to be the type of girl to get all giddy about a guy, but Ranma was quickly finding himself a special spot in her thoughts.

The young ninja smiled as she recalled her date with him a few hours earlier. In her memories, a rosy glow coated each event from the evening, and a sense of happiness filled her thoughts. She was already looking forward to spending more time with him.

Ukyo Saotome. She found the feel of it to be good.

Ranma Kuonji. That thought was pretty good as well.

Then, the import of what she was doing hit Ukyo all of a sudden, and she sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide open. "What the hell am I doing?" she whispered to the room.

The shadows on the walls and ceiling did not offer any response to her question; they simply continued in their random motion.

After a time, Ukyo relaxed, bopping herself in the forehead with a fist. Idiot, she thought with a sudden smile. One date and you fall for the guy? What's gotten into your head, Ukyo? She flopped back down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling once again, her brow drooping in thought as she contemplated that question. However, the slight smile on her face had not gone away, and she eventually drifted off to sleep thinking fondly about a certain pigtailed boy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mikado Sanzenin relaxed in his bed, idly running a hand along the exposed flank of the girl sleeping next to him as she sighed in her sleep. Her Blackhall uniform was casually scattered across the floor, even as his own was folded neatly over his desk chair. She was an attractive conquest for him, a first-year cadet at Whitehall's sister academy, with long, chestnut-colored hair and a very sensual frame. But now that he had taken his pleasure from her, he was already bored with the girl. He sighed softly. It was always that way for him. The thrill was in the chase, not in the inevitable conquest. But then, no girl he had ever set his sights on was ever able to resist him for long. Except for the ones that slapped him or kneed him in the groin. But they were all lesbians anyway, so they didn't count, he reassured himself.

At least that abominable plot to wed me to that simpering Shiratori girl is over and done with, he thought gratefully. While it was true that she was attractive enough for his tastes, her personality left much to be desired. Personally, Mikado suspected that she had been dropped on her head a few times when she was a baby, but nobody had ever asked his opinion of the matter before his parents had tried to ram an engagement to the girl down his throat.

It had all been a result of politics, in the end. The Shiratoris had money to burn, being the nineteenth richest family in the entire Empire, but they lacked political status. Mikado's father had seen that as an opportunity to infuse the Sanzenins' coffers with needed yen, to enable their House to take advantage of some lucrative production contracts for the Imperial Army that the Emperor was shopping around. However, when the Emperor awarded the contracts to the Daitokujis, that had combined with Mikado's own reticence to end the matter. So now he was still a free man, at least for another year or so.

A vision of the woman he truly desired floated across his mind's eye, a pristine virgin whom he was certain pined for the touch of a man like him.

Kodachi Kuno, the sister of his best friend, the secret passion that had haunted his nights since he first met her. Even when he was in the midst of copulation with one of his conquests, she was still on his mind, the only woman he felt would truly complete him. He knew they were destined for each other.

Even as her face filled his mind's eye, he continued casually stroking the soft skin of the girl still sleeping next to him. He heard her breathing becoming soft moans as his fingers idly played along her body.

Long ago, Mikado had set a goal for himself, to bed one hundred young ladies of the nobility before he was seventeen. The polite social games of those of such high station represented far more of a challenge than becoming intimate with a girl of merely common lineage did. However, he had also enjoyed sampling the charms of a fair share of attractive commoner girls so far in his life. Smiling, he recalled his last meeting with Kodachi with fondness. He would enjoy breaking down her timidly innocent resistance, until she finally cried aloud his name in rapture when he took his pleasure from her in bed.

It is only a matter of time, Kodachi-chan, he mused. I almost cannot wait to be able to grant you my special favor and taste the savor of your lips, as well as your many other charms. He was hoping to save her for the last. After all, he was drawing near to his goal, to bed one hundred girls before he reached his seventeenth birthday. Each one so far had been lovelier than the last, many of them untouched virgins before receiving his attentions.

Despite her obvious reluctance at our initial meeting, thought Mikado, flexing the hand her touch had briefly impaired, Nabiki Tendo would make a very fine addition to the ranks of my conquests. She was a little older than he was, but her figure was unquestionably a superb one. She also had an attractive worldliness in her manner that he knew he could use to break her resistance to his charms if need be. His sources informed him that she was infatuated with money, so if necessary he was willing to buy her favors. After all, the method of seducing a woman did not matter to him, and money was an easily-obtained commodity for one of his high-born status. Still, if she continued to refuse him, then he would assume she was a lesbian and move on. Nabiki was lovely, but he was also running out of time to reach his goals. He only needed a few more.

After fulfilling his self-imposed goal of manly conquest, he could turn his attentions to the one who he saw as being his finest and sweetest coup, the innocent and pristine Kodachi. Ah, fair, unspoiled light of my life, he thought, a mixture of fondness and lust coloring his thoughts. You will be my greatest victory when I finally take you to my bed. Sharing our pleasures together will complete me. And nothing will keep me from that goal. Anyone that tries, I will simply eliminate from my path.

Feeling his lusts stirred by thoughts of his goal finally coming within reach, he changed the motions of his hands upon the girl sleeping next to him. Feeling her body responding to his touch as he brought her back to wakefulness for another round of activity, Mikado pretended that it was the one, true love of his life who was in bed with him. Rolling atop the unnamed girl, he proceeded to do that which he so fiercely desired to do to the object of his passions, even as the girl gasped out his name in carnal pleasure.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The redheaded catgirl leaped over her opponent's kick with a graceful movement, the cloth of her light yellow gi rustling as her head and feet briefly reversed their orientation in midair. Her fists snapped out twice with quick punches, but both blows were skillfully blocked by the boy she was dueling with. Completing the side leap a moment later, she agilely landed, balanced on the balls of her feet, her arm whipping into position to deflect the roundhouse kick aimed at her face. She grinned, her catlike ears poised in the direction of her opponent as he unleashed several more rapid-fire punches and kicks, each one dodged or blocked by her with great skill.

Kinnosuke Kashuoh broke off his furious assault for a moment to reassess his opponent, giving Tiger a chance to counter-attack. His eyes glowed with the thrill of savage combat as he parried and dodged each of her quick strikes, enjoying the use of a level of skill that he steadfastly kept hidden at the Imperial Academy. A weapon known can be planned for and dealt with, but a surprise could be lethal if saved for just the right moment; one of his family's mottoes. The Kashuoh School of Martial Arts was just such a weapon, its abilities hidden from outsiders' sight and knowledge unless absolutely needed. It was for this reason why he preferred to let the three catgirls enforce his desires, such as when they forcibly enlisted the aid of his former subordinates, the Wolf Pack.

As the two combatants traded the initiative back and forth, the other two catgirls watched from the sidelines. Lynx rubbed a towel across the back of her neck and across the half-open front of her gi, smiling at having been picked first to spar with her beloved. Now she was looking forward to a long, hot bath to relax and unwind in. She giggled a bit at the sight of how Panther looked.

"What's so funny?" growled Panther.

"Oh, nothing," giggled Lynx, enjoying the annoyed look that passed across Panther's face. The sight of the proud and mighty Panther, the largest and most muscular of the three catgirls, sitting there with a black eye and a split lip from sparring with Kinnosuke was very amusing to her.

"You didn't do much better," said Panther, poking Lynx in a spot on her side where a deep bruise lay. She was rewarded with a muffled yelp from the other catgirl. "Serves you right."

The two glared at each other for a moment, before each harrumphed and pointedly ignored the other. Both of them went back to watching the current match going on.

Ordinarily, it would be true that Tiger, let alone either of the other two catgirls, would have been unable to even raise a hand to harm Kinnosuke. Their standard-issue personality programming quite strongly prohibited them from even contemplating violence against their owner, a necessary safety feature given their formidable strength and skill. However, a short time after the trio had entered into his service, Kinnosuke had taken the liberty of disabling those particular overrides, finding a certain thrill in having a level of wildness left in his living toys. All it took was him speaking a certain sequence of command words that would not normally ever be spoken together in a sentence, and their absolute prohibition against harming him was nullified. Should he ever choose to do so, he could reactivate it in a single moment, with a single word. But as they were now, it allowed any of the trio to spar with him like this. Fortunately for Kinnosuke, none of them could ever bring themselves to seriously harm him, a result of far more deeply ingrained personality governors.

For his part, Kinnosuke greatly enjoyed using the three as sparring partners. It was a thrill he indulged himself in on a fairly regular basis, one that would have likely made his grandfather totally apoplectic had he known. There was something enticing to him about proving his manhood this way, putting his strength and skills to the test like this. Now knowing that Nabiki Tendo was as formidable a fighter as he had suspected from seeing her sister in action, only hiding it like he had hidden his own skills, he was looking forward to being the one to utterly dominate her. Conversely, he was also still a little puzzled as to how an apparent bookworm like Ranma Saotome had managed to hide such fighting skills as he had recently demonstrated in the schoolyard fight with Nabiki. Yet it was a puzzle that intrigued him.

Tiger began a series of retreating backflips away from Kinnosuke when he renewed his assault, the blows from his fists and feet striking even faster than before. Before reaching the edge of the mat, her body came down into a crouching position, and she speedily swept his leg out from under him. She sprang over him as he fell, and one foot lashed out while she was still in midair to deal him a bruising blow to his ribs. She landed close to the center of the mat, her green eyes watching him closely.

"Nice move, Tiger," said Kinnosuke quietly, standing up with a tight smile on his face. Sweat dripped down his face, and he knew that he was nearing the end of his physical reserves. He held an arm across his injured ribs, even as he began raising his chi within himself. When the redheaded catgirl came at him, they engaged in a furious assault upon each other as control of the match passed back and forth between them. New strength flooded his limbs as his adrenal glands answered the call of his chi, temporarily increasing his speed and power. He was gambling it all on one last sequence of attacks.

Tiger felt Kinnosuke's fist slip past her defenses despite her best efforts, and she barely managed to roll with it when it struck her in the stomach. An elbow strike cracked across her face, taking advantage of the brief hesitation in her movements. Her defenses buckled as his kicks and punches seemed to be everywhere at once, before they finally crumbled away under his relentless assault. She started to fall to her knees, and she took one last uppercut into her face, knocking her sprawling backwards. Stars filled her vision for several moments.

"I yield, Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger with a tired smile, rubbing her sore jaw. She was as amazed as she always was that he was able to fight all three of them in sequence, after brief rest breaks, and still emerge victorious each time. But feeling his strength overwhelming hers always made Tiger feel weak in the knees. She held out a hand and smiled with delight when he helped her up.

"A good workout, girls," said Kinnosuke with a smile, taking the clean towel held out for him by Lynx. He wiped his face, feeling the trio of warm bodies near him. When he pulled the towel free, he saw all three catgirls smiling at him.

"Kinnosuke-sama was in excellent form today," said Lynx in a very appreciative tone, her eyes shining with love. She ignored the angry looks that Tiger was giving her from behind their mutual beloved.

"Our master is a man among men," said Panther, casually shoving her way past Tiger to be the one standing closest to him. "He deserves to have his cares soothed away with a good massage." Of the three of them, Panther was the most skilled at shiatsu-style massage.

"Why would he want to spend time with an over-muscled ape when he can have more fun with me?" asked Tiger, moving Panther out of the way with a subtle Jiu-Jitsu move.

Kinnosuke chuckled as Lynx got into what quickly became a three-way shoving and wrestling match for the honor of receiving his attentions. He smiled and enjoyed the sight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma woke up gradually from a deep sleep, through a light doze and finally to full wakefulness. Blinking, he rubbed his nose between his thumb and forefinger and listened to the wind blowing outside. The house was quiet, and he glanced over at his clock to see what time it was. The digital readout changed to 4:46 AM as he watched it. He now felt wide awake, even though there was still over an hour left before he had to get up.

"Terrific," he whispered with a sigh. Rolling onto his side, his eyes fell upon his Navi. Since he was awake, he might as well try to take care of some of his work that he had been neglecting. It was piling up on him again, like it often did when he became totally immersed in one or two projects like his current life had led him to.

Slipping on a warm robe and house slippers against the pre-dawn chill, he sat down at his computer system. His hand flipped on the main power switch, and he waited while it booted up. As he watched the Navi run through its startup routine and bring up the main graphic interface, he thought about some of the newer systems already on the market. The next generation of processor chips were now out from several of the Empire's competing computer manufacturers, so perhaps it was time for him to start thinking about an upgrade again. After all, it had been over six months since he had purchased this one, and it wouldn't do to let it get too far behind the technology curve.

Ranma clicked on a particular icon on the main workspace, starting up his word processor. The screen quickly lit up with a new workspace window, and he then opened up the specific file he needed after entering his personal decryption key. From his years working with some of the computer security experts he had known, his own personal security had become quite important to him. So in his spare time he had written up an encryption algorithm for his personal datafiles, protected by a nonsense phrase that he had picked out at random. With the fake Genma walking around in his world, he was grateful for his foresight. One of these encrypted files of his was now open, one that he had been neglecting of late, his private journal.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

FROM THE PERSONAL JOURNALS OF RANMA SAOTOME:

It's been almost two weeks since my initial full immersion experiment was run, and I still sometimes wonder how deeply it might have affected me. I have already recorded more completely my initial impressions of the results from that first day of experimentation, with the full capabilities of the quantum neural resonator having been unleashed upon my cerebral cortex, so I won't repeat myself here.

Something changed in me that day, I admit, but I feel it was more like I was added upon rather than having anything taken away from me. I used to indulge myself in so many interests, but few of them have lately held much interest for me. The work on my project has taken on a new level of focus, especially since rescuing my real father (not to mention getting rid of that other Genma Saotome, the parasite, before he can do any real damage to my life) has now taken on paramount importance. I miss having my father around to talk with.

Among the many accomplishments in my life, I have looked upon the heart of the atom through an electron microscope, studied the birth and death of stars and galaxies, beaten world-ranked grandmasters of chess and upper-dan Go players, spent years learning at the feet of a multitude of learned men, and made my own contributions to the halls of academia. I once learned how to play the piano to concert-level quality. I spent a single summer memorizing all of Shakespeare's plays, as well as many other famous works of Western culture, just to see if I could. Now, other than my current project and my newfound interest in martial arts, nothing else really seems to matter. Life is funny sometimes, isn't it?

That being said, I can honestly say that I don't regret what I have gained from these recent experiences, especially in the new fighting skills I now have. Using them and finally being able to put Akane Tendo (ie The Thug) in her place was a great relief for me. Admittedly, it was an exercise in naked animal aggression being given free reign on my part, but it was, well, fun too. However, she's gone from my life now, and since she's left for another school, I am sure she'll find fresh targets for her aggressive nature. I am finally free of her. I am sure that Furinkan will suit her far better than the Imperial Academy ever did.

It is just as well. The last thing I need right now is more women in my life. I have my hands full enough right now with Ukyo Kuonji, Nabiki Tendo and Kodachi Kuno. Three women who have become involved in my life in some weird parody of events from those other worlds, but in this life, the meetings were engineered by my own mother, in her over-eager attempts to arrange a marriage for me.

It's strange how the same people keep popping up in the lives of myself and my analogs, as time and again they gather together in one way or another. Can there be such a thing as fate or destiny? My father, that is, my real father, once taught me that a man makes his own fate in his life, but I am starting to wonder about that now. Hopefully, I can use the experiences of my counterparts as guideposts, so that I can try to avoid the traps and pitfalls of their lives.

My analogs. During the early course of my experiments, I've walked in the shoes of three counterparts from that strange region of parallel worlds where they defined themselves exclusively as martial artists in their lives. One was taken on a training journey from Hell with another version of the fat bastard currently living in my house, and his memories were the first ones imprinted into my mind, as well as his skill at fighting. So far, he has managed to get himself romantically entangled with Akane, Ukyo, Kodachi and also Shampoo. He somehow manages to keep them all at arm's length while he figures out what to do, even though deep in his heart I think he's already fallen in love with Akane. I wonder how long he can keep the girls juggled before he's forced to make a decision, or it all explodes in his face? Ah well, I have enough problems of my own to worry about without having to worry about his too.

But then there's the second version of me. He's in the world where my father is now trapped, while I get to deal with his shifty martial artist version of Genma Saotome, an idiot without a single shred of honor or any common sense as far as I can tell. The sooner I can return him to that other world and forget I ever saw it, the better it's going to be for me. That analog of mine now only has one girl to contend with at present, Shampoo, all thanks to the efforts of me and my father. He might be the luckiest one of the three, but time will tell.

I hope my father is all right.

The third one disturbs me on a deep level, for some reason. He stayed at home while Nabiki Tendo, of all people, went on the training journey from Hell instead, but that one I see as having his own major troubles. He's been all but emasculated when it comes to how he deals with the women in his life, at least in my eyes, and I'm sure my other quantum brothers would agree. He defers to his version of Nabiki, since she seems to have taken the starring role in the events of that world. The fact that she's cursed to turn into a boy makes me wonder if there is some factor going on in the timelines that I should be more aware of, but what that might be, I could not say, not precisely. It's also odd how the same people keep dealing with the same people, like variations on some weird sort of theme.

But getting back to that other Ranma, with that Nabiki's curse, and the way the relationships have formed up, he's practically irrelevant to things. Nabiki's male form has impregnated the Shampoo analog of that world, so why could it not do the same thing for Ukyo if necessary? That Nabiki can't ever bear that Ranma's children, not with the curse active within her, so unless they do surrogate parenthood, I don't see how the Saotome and Tendo bloodlines could ever truly be joined.

I feel sorry for him, in a way. Looking at that life from the outside, I just find it to be, for lack of a better term, a very scary thought to think of one of my own analogs having ended up like that, nothing more than a mere sidekick to a girl.

Despite what my own timeline's version of Nabiki might think, that is most certainly not going to happen to _me_. I don't know what's going on in her head, but if she wants that sort of relationship from me, then she can simply forget it. My father may have raised me to view men and women as equals, which is why I can fight a girl with my full strength just as I would another guy, unlike most of my counterparts, but I'm also never going to accept a submissive role in any relationship with a girl. Not that I plan on ever having a relationship, besides a purely professional one, with Nabiki Tendo. I'm physically attracted to her, as I am to the other girls, but I can't let myself fall in love with any of them. I don't want to trigger the traps that lie there, though it may already be too late.

One thing that's been puzzling me a bit is that Ranko's memories, which were also downloaded into me in a subsequent experiment to the first, don't seem to be surfacing as much as that other Ranma's, other than her more scholarly ones. While Ranko is not as demurely feminine as, for example, Kodachi, she did have her girlish traits and had experienced socialization into that gender role. Perhaps her 'rougher' nature has muted them in me or something. However, I've noticed that I fall into introspective modes of thought more often now and perhaps gained a greater understanding of the female mind and its processes. With my current struggle with Nabiki, I need every resource I can find to hold the upper hand.

I've been studying Ranko's device and its underlying principals, and I don't think it has anything to do with anti-gravity at all. If anything, several of her equations carry implications similar to my current lines of research, but from a different angle, with aspects also related to Einstein-sensei's work in Berlin with his protégé Nathan Rosen decades ago. I plan to devote more attention to it later.

I still find myself occasionally slipping into the poor grammar skills of my benighted counterpart in my speech, a result obviously from his vastly poorer level of education having been written into my brain, but that annoying tendency has been fading slowly as time goes on.

Luckily, my new motor skills show no signs of fading away. The ingrained agility and martial arts abilities borrowed from him continue to grow within me, and each day I seem to get a little bit better. Where they devoted their entire lives to learning these skills, I spent the same time developing my mind and expanding my knowledge. So now, in addition to my own abilities, I can fight. I wish the fact that I enjoy it so much would worry me more, but it doesn't really.

My main concern is that my body's conditioning isn't where theirs is, not having gone through their ten years of hellish training, and Nabiki seems much further along in conditioning hers. There might even come a point when my body simply can't advance quickly enough to keep up with her burgeoning abilities, and then where will I be? I have to keep trying to get better, keep trying to overcome the limiters of my own body's conditioning when compared to my martial artist analogs.

After this week is finally over, hopefully having managed to dodge the bullets of all my prospective arranged marriages, I can devote myself to solving the matter of restoring my father to his proper body, and sending that twisted parody of the man I love and respect back where he belongs. Once I can do that, then the worst of my problems will be behind me.

After all, I'm not cursed, and it's not as if I have a bunch of people looking to fight with me all the time. Well, Nabiki may prove to be a handful at times, but Kuno and Mikado aren't any trouble. And it's not as if I have Ryoga Hibiki coming to town looking to pound me. If he even exists in this timeline, he won't have any reason to want to take a swing at me. Kind of a shame really, though. Maybe in this world, we could be friends.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma saved the journal entry, encrypted it, and then closed down the word processor.

"Let's see what's going on in the world," he muttered. Ranma opened up his connection to the Imperial Datanet and quickly logged into his main electronic mail account. He waited while his system checked for new mail. It had been a few days since he last checked it, but he hoped that it wasn't too full.

"You have new mail," came a female voice from the speakers. Ranma had the volume turned way down, so he could just barely hear it. He watched as his Navi began to download his email. He sighed at the number of messages displayed on the screen when that procedure was completed. He knew it had been a mistake to let it go for more than a day or two at the most, especially since he was on several mailing lists from the various universities and academic groups around the globe.

* 263 NEW MESSAGES AVAILABLE. READ NOW?

"Might as well," Ranma muttered with a slight amount of dismay at the sheer volume of message traffic he would now have to slog through. He began scrolling through the entries, finding most of them to be junk, or juvenile arguments about things that he had no real interest in.

Eventually, Ranma finished off his email and looked at the clock on his desk. It read 5:31 AM now. He decided to leave the datafiles on Jusenkyo he had liberated several days ago remain where they were for now. He had more immediate concerns to deal with, such as beginning his research into discovering how he could get his father back safely. The first step would be to begin by gathering data on that other world. He pulled out the datadisk from his bookbag, the one containing all of the coordinate and other data from each of his uses of the resonator. He slipped the disk into the drive bay and started up his home system's copy of the analysis software.

"Now to see where the divergence point took place," Ranma muttered. "That might give me something to start with."

* QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000008 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

* PLEASE STAND BY...

* MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000008. DETAILS?

Ranma typed out "YES" for a response, and the screen began to print out more information on the file.

* FILE #0000008 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

3,882 YEARS

1 MONTHS

23 DAYS

17 HOURS

20 MINUTES

25 SECONDS AGO.

The time counter kept ticking upwards as Ranma sat and stared at the numbers in puzzlement. That world was virtually identical to the first one I visited in that region, he thought as he looked out his window at the stars fading with dawn's imminent arrival. So the change wasn't simply some near-term alteration of events that surrounded Shampoo's presence in that Ranma's life. Something else happened a long time ago, and yet the present-day world somehow remained relatively identical.

Ranma shook his head, a chuckle bubbling up from deep within him.

"Ranma Saotome, you're an egomaniacal fool," he thought out loud. "I can't believe I believed that the changes somehow centered on me, on my life in that cluster of timelines. Five hundred years or even five thousand years ago, either way it doesn't bring me one step closer to getting my father home." He knew he should have known better, but he had assumed that all the worlds in a cluster diverged from each other relatively recently.

Of course, in the cosmological scheme of things, even four thousand years was a drop in the bucket when compared against the immensity of the history of the universe. Ranma sighed at his own stupidity. "Maybe the idiocy inherent in a depressing number of my analogs has affected me more than I thought," he muttered.

Stretching out a kink in his neck by rolling it from side to side, he was discouraged at this turn of events. Figuring that some early morning exercise must be what he needed to clear his thoughts, he quickly got dressed and eased the window to his room open.

Leaping from his open window, he landed on the wall encircling the grounds of his house, near the tree that sat at one end of the small koi pond. He eyed the cold water as the wind rustled the water's surface. The half-full setting moon was low in the sky, already beginning to show a hint of dawn. Even so, Ranma could just barely make out a few small lights on the darkened surface of the moon, scattered signs of mankind's presence on its sister orb in the form of mining colonies. Several were French, but there were others that represented the other powers of the world, including several by Japan.

Maybe someday I'll go into space like that other analog of mine did, he thought with a brief grin, before dropping his eyes from the heavens.

With a quick sprint to build up speed, Ranma took to the neighbor's rooftop in a single bounding leap. He ran across the roof without making much sound, feeling the muscles in his legs already beginning to loosen up as he catapulted his body into the air once again, sailing across the gap between this building and the next. He quickly disappeared into the distance, as if trying to outrun all of his troubles.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Excuse me, can you tell me where Tokyo is?" Ryoga asked, shifting the weight of his pack on his back. He smiled in a friendly manner, but his smile was starting to look a little travel-worn around the edges after several days on the road. His fiery need for vengeance was stoked a little brighter and hotter with each mile that passed beneath his feet. The sooner he found Ukyo and savagely crushed him once and for all for awakening such strong feelings of attraction for another boy, the better. This was all that damn jerk's fault!

"Tokyo?" asked the old farmer in surprise. "But this here is Settsu Province, just outside Kobe. You're nowhere near Tokyo, boy! Can't you read a map?"

Ryoga grimaced, and his hatred for Ukyo grew another degree hotter. Just you wait, Kuonji, he thought with a growl. You'll pay for making me have to suffer so, tracking you down for my vengeance!

"Why don't you take one of the trains?" asked the old farmer. "I'm sure you could find one going to Tokyo from Kobe. The station's just down that road." The old man pointed off to the west. "All you have to do is turn left at the fork over there."

"Thank you," said Ryoga, bowing slightly in gratitude. He headed off down the road following the direction the farmer was pointing and promptly turned right at the fork.

"There's something not right about that boy," the old man muttered as he scratched his head. "Oh well, we're on an island. He'll reach Tokyo one way or the other, sooner or later."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lord Daisho Kuno removed his sunglasses as he stepped inside the dimly lit establishment. It was an abnormally warm day for spring, so the sudden coolness of the small tavern was welcome refreshment. He shifted the paired swords riding at his waist casually as he placed his dark glasses in an inner pocket, his garb reflecting the traditional one of centuries past for a samurai nobleman. It was an affectation of his that lulled his more modern-dressed peers at court into thinking that he was hopelessly mired in the past, and few of them even carried the weapons allowed for their station. He inhaled briefly through his nose. The scent of sake was pungent upon the air, bringing back memories of his youthful days long past. The sounds of quiet conversation and clinking ceramic cups filling the air, and soft samisen music emanated from several hidden speakers.

The tavern's owner greeted him at the door, a painted woman seeking to retain her long past youth. Her breath was redolent with the odors of tobacco and alcohol. "Welcome, Milord," she said with a bow, her eyes taking in the richly appointed clothes and fine weapons at his waist. She became even more obsequious at the thought of such a one joining her humble clientele, if even for a single afternoon. "To what might I owe the honor of this visit?"

"I am meeting a friend here, good woman," he said quietly. "Do you know the name of Genma Saotome?"

The woman's eyes glinted as she smiled. That name belonged to her favorite new customer. She bowed and summoned an attractive young woman to her side, dressed in a slinky cheongsam-style dress slit high up one thigh. The outspoken Akemi Roppongi was her most popular hostess, but nothing was too good for customers who looked able to spend a lot of money.

"Akemi-chan here will take you to Saotome-san's private area, Milord," said the woman, bowing low once more. She turned to the young woman, catching her eyeing Lord Kuno with a subtly calculating look on her face. "See that this noble lord and his companion receive only our finest at their table."

"Yes, Ma'am," said Akemi, bowing deeply before leading Daisho to the back portion of the tavern. She knelt, sliding back a partition made of light wood and heavy paper, what was once a pure white now a pale yellow with age and old varnish.

Genma looked up when he heard the partition open, and he smiled at the sight of the nobleman standing there. All too easy, he thought with a smile, setting down his cup of sake. He patted the pocket containing the engagement agreement, pleased to be able to find such documentation readily available at a local office supply house. He had even taken the liberty of writing down the names of the soon to be engaged, happy couple.

"Greetings, Kuno-sama," said Genma with a slight smile, turning aside from the table and bowing. "It was good of you to meet me on such short notice."

"It is good to see you again, Saotome-san," said Daisho as he stepped past the partition, taking one last sidelong look at the young hostess. He settled himself at the opposite end of the small table, removing his swords and setting them near at hand on his left side. "I do confess to being puzzled at your sudden invitation though. Still, it is good to see you again after all these years, my old friend."

"I feel the same," said Genma. "You're looking well."

"A little older and slower than when last we met, but I am still in adequate shape," said the nobleman with a sudden chuckle. He flipped over and held up the empty sake cup, and Genma was quick to pour him a drink.

They exchanged pleasantries as the number of empty sake bottles grew larger in number. Genma was grateful that he had been training for the past several days to raise his capacity for consumption. Even so, he was hard-pressed at first to ensure that the other man drank more than he did. Although things became much easier as the amount of sake consumed by the nobleman began far exceeding his own.

"Your son defeated my son," said Daisho softly, staring a bit glassy-eyed at his current cup of sake. "Despite whatever faults my son may have, Ranma is a fine warrior to have done so. He would be most welcome to wed my Dachi-chan, my old friend." A single burp escaped his lips. "I have worried about her so, that she would find a good husband. So many of these 'proud sons of the nobility' are really nothing more than dishonorable savages in fine clothes. She needs someone to protect her, my sweet and innocent Dachi-chan."

"I understand completely, Kuno-kun," said Genma, feeling the world taking on a rosy glow. He nodded, but then it felt like his head might fall off, so he stopped. He pulled out the contract with a broad smile. Soun Tendo had the right idea, he thought pleasantly. Why bother the boy or Nodoka with the details? This should be an agreement between fathers.

"An engagement contract?" said Daisho, eyeing the paper with interest. A smile broke out across his face, and he wiped away a single tear. "I am relieved that you remember the promise from our youth, old friend. More relieved than you know." The Sanzenins had suddenly begun pushing for him to engage Kodachi to their son, something to do with the recent collapse of the agreement between their family and the Shiratoris.

Personally, he thought Mikado was a little pustule on the backside of the Empire, and the rest of the boy's family wasn't much better. So formally engaging Kodachi to Ranma so easily would come as a gift from the gods themselves, and Daisho Kuno was never one to question good fortune. Before Genma could say a thing, the contract was signed and stamped with Lord Kuno's mark.

Genma was a little overwhelmed, made doubly so due to the amount of alcohol he had been consuming, but he shrugged, signed, and stamped the document as well. Now I just have to keep things a secret for a few more days, he mused. If things here act anything like they do back home, this will all blow up in the boy's face at the worst possible time. After that, I'm sure that the little punk will be kept busy trying to handle things, and it will keep him occupied while I prepare myself to train him as he should be. A month or two, and I'm sure that I'll have this body up to a level that can deal with him.

Genma folded the contract and put it away before picking up his cup of sake. He knew it would not be difficult to persuade Daisho to hide the truth of this engagement from the couple. When it finally did explode in Ranma's face as Genma hoped, then he knew there would be some excellent training opportunities, especially in dealing with three angry young women. That trio will keep him off balance for me, he thought with a smile.

"Here's to a new beginning, Kuno-kun," said Genma cheerily. "To the joining together of our two families." And to getting his hands on the fat dowry that a nobleman's daughter surely had.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kyoko sighed softly, and she could tell that she was developing a headache as she continued listening to her mother on the telephone. If there was one subject that Ritsuko Chigasi never grew tired of, it was lecturing her only daughter.

"I don't know where you got this stubborn streak from, Kyoko," her mother grumbled. "It's been almost two years since Soichiro finally passed away, and I think it's time you moved on. Isn't it about time you stopped mourning? You're still a young woman."

Kyoko felt sorrow wash through her at her mother's careless words, remembering her last few years with her beloved husband. Soichiro had gotten sick only two years after they were married, spending time in and out of hospitals while the best care that Imperial medical science had to offer barely kept him alive. She had been forced to watch him fade away from her, slowly eaten away by cancers that the doctors could only hold at bay for a time.

Sometimes Kyoko wondered if it might have been better if he had passed away sooner, especially since his treatments had eaten away their savings until there was nothing left. But she felt guilty for even wondering that. Would she have been more open to remarrying by now if he had passed away while she was twenty and he first became ill? She was already into her late twenties, still a young woman, but what man would want to marry a widow her age? Her mother's constant harping on it for the last year had finally driven her from home, unable to take being forced into doing something before she was ready.

"What about your new employer, Kyoko?" her mother asked, having finally had enough of her daughter's silence. "I hear that he's a widower himself, and not too much older than Soichiro was."

"I don't want to have this conversation today, Mother," said Kyoko softly. "I'm still settling into my life here. Please, give me a little more time."

"Perhaps a younger man might be better?" ventured Ritsuko as a last attempt before leaving the field of battle. "I can contact a matchmaker and see-"

"Not yet, Mother," Kyoko blurted out. "I have to go now. I'm falling behind on my chores."

"All right, dear," said Ritsuko. "I'll check up on you next week. Take care of yourself."

"Goodbye, Mother."

Kyoko stared at the telephone in her hands after she hung up. Contact a matchmaker? Maybe I'll see how things settle down here before I make any plans. She still had a lot to do to get ready for the upcoming omiai, or marriage meeting, between Nabiki and Ranma.

"Bowf?" came a questioning bark from Soichiro in the backyard, the large white dog lifting his head to watch the girl who was walking past his doghouse. He cocked his head to one side when she did not respond to him, and then he settled back down to watch what she did, his head resting on his paws.

Kyoko watched out through the kitchen window as Nabiki carried her small bundle of supplies to one spot in the backyard. She began wiping off a dish from the sink and set it into the drying rack. Whatever is that girl up to? Some sort of special training, like they do in those kung fu movies Soichiro used to like?

The middle Tendo daughter set down several bags of sweet chestnuts with a solemn look on her face as she went about building a small fire. She fashioned a tower of twigs, sticks, and larger pieces of wood on a flat piece of bare ground, far enough away from any of the buildings so that there wasn't any risk of the fire spreading. In a few minutes, it was done. She knelt down next to it and smiled, confident that it would only take her a few tries at most to get the technique down. After all, her other self had already done it, so it was undoubtedly already written into her motor skills. All she had to do was call it forth.

Pulling out a small box of matches, Nabiki removed one from within. Here we go, she thought, quickly striking the match along the light sandpaper running down one side of the box. The match flared to life with a small, bright flame and Nabiki tossed it into the center of the small tower of twigs and wood that she had constructed. Flames began to lick outwards as the material caught fire. She fed a few more pieces of wood to the blaze, stoking it up to a higher level of flame. It had to be the right size and temperature for the training.

When the flames were casting a yellowish glow across her face, Nabiki picked up the small bag of sweet chestnuts and swiftly cast the contents into the flame. A few seconds passed as they heated and cooked within the flames, and Nabiki readied herself. Time slowed as she felt the glow of her chi rise around her. She knew she would be able to do it on the first try. She just knew it.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she cried, her hands darting into the flames in an attempt to gather up the sweet chestnuts as fast as she could. I can do this! I know I can! Then I'll show Ranma who the better martial artist is!

Seconds later, Nabiki sat blowing on her hands, both of them beginning to redden from the heat. She was grateful at her foresight in wearing one of her sleeveless tunics, or she would have likely lit herself on fire.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" she cried out in pain, glaring at the small fire. She scooted over to the koi pond and dunked her hands into the cool water, feeling blessed relief wash over them. She had not managed to rescue a single chestnut from the flames, hearing them crack and pop within it.

"Okay, fine, so I didn't get it right on the first try," she grumbled, grabbing another bag of chestnuts and moving back over to the small fire to try it again. "Just you wait, Ranma. We'll see who the better martial artist is. Just you wait."

Kyoko shut the open window, shaking her head in wonder at what Nabiki thought she was trying to accomplish. A minute or so later, a stream of unladylike cursing drifted in through the closed window, and she saw Nabiki rushing to the small koi pond to cool her hands off once again.

Leaning outwards slightly on the sill of her bedroom window, Akane watched her sister's antics with extreme fascination. She loved to see any sort of thing that had to do with martial arts, her single greatest passion in life. It looks like some sort of speed training, she thought with a smile, taking note of everything that Nabiki was doing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka gazed in wide-eyed wonder at the enormous mansion finally coming into view through the taxi's windows, thrilled at the opportunity to visit the home of one of the upper nobility like this. I'm certain that things will go well tonight, she thought, turning to look at her son and her husband. Her son looked so handsome in his new clothes.

Here we go again, Ranma thought to himself, seeing the happy look on his mother's face when she leaned back from looking out the window. It had been a bit of a long day for him, and he felt too keyed up to enjoy dinner tonight. He glanced at Genma, wondering what the man had in mind. Ranma wouldn't put anything past him.

"Aren't you excited, son?" Nodoka asked pleasantly.

"Thrilled," Ranma replied with false enthusiasm, forcing a smile onto his face. He just hoped that he could get through this evening without getting into a fight with Kuno, who he was sure would not welcome him with open arms, or getting Kodachi upset by openly refusing to marry her if things progressed that quickly tonight. He did not wish to get married to anyone at this point in his life, and the thought of what could begin if he got engaged to any of the girls now orbiting his life was enough to give him a headache.

Genma dozed in his seat. He had taken some alcohol neutralizer tablets before leaving the bar, but they had worn off, leaving him feeling a little sleepy as the day rolled into evening. He had used the car ride as an opportunity to nap a little.

The taxi pulled up outside the front door of Kuno Manor, and Nodoka got out first when one of the servants opened the car door. It was an impressive sight for her, and she wondered in the back of her mind how difficult it must be to keep clean. She took a deep breath, smelling the sweet scent of cherry blossoms in the air. She simply knew that tonight was going to be a night that she would never forget.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the house, Kenseiko was giving a last-minute pep talk to her nervous daughter. She wanted tonight to go well for the girl, and it was quite obvious that Kodachi was quite taken with the young man in question. She fussed with Kodachi's obi and yukata, adjusting the fit around her daughter's torso, checking that the wooden pins holding her hair up were just right. Presentation was everything.

"Remember to be somewhat submissive when meeting your prospective groom's mother," said Kenseiko. "She is the one that you should strive to impress the most. Be aware of her impression of you."

"Yes, Mother."

"And sit with your back straight. A lady always has good posture. Not to mention it accentuates your femininity. So sit up tall, but remember to be demure." She struck Kodachi lightly across the small of her back with a hairbrush.

"Yes, Mother."

"And don't forget to smile, but not too insipidly mind you. You don't want to give the impression of being frivolous. Smile with a hint of seriousness on your face."

"Yes, Mother."

Kodachi half-heartedly listened to her mother spouting off more words of advice on how to be properly ladylike. There was currently a fountain of butterflies in her belly, and she kept feeling that she might faint from nervousness at any moment. But then she realized that Ranma must be surely feeling as nervous as she was, and that helped her keep herself under control.

"They're here," said Kenseiko, looking down from the window of the dressing room at the rented taxicab. Her gaze narrowed as she studied the woman who had emerged from the car first. There was something oddly familiar about her, but Kenseiko simply shook her head a moment later. Whatever it was, it could not have been that important. She hustled Kodachi to the door, eager to be there to play the part of the gracious hostess that she was when the Saotomes entered her home.

Meanwhile, outside...

"Stand up straight, Ranma," commanded Nodoka, her voice in full mother-mode. "I want to make a good impression tonight. You have an excellent chance to marry a young lady from a noble family, and I don't want you to do anything to spoil it."

"Yes, Mother." Ranma let her straighten his kimono with a resigned expression on his face. I wish something, anything would happen to get her to stop fussing over me tonight, he mused.

Genma swayed very slightly as he stood at the place Nodoka wanted him to stand at the doorway, but said nothing.

At that moment, the door swung open, and they were allowed into the main entry hall. Nodoka ushered Ranma into leading the way, even as she towed Genma in behind her. Somehow she managed to make everything look graceful and organized. She caught sight of the Kunos standing there waiting for them, and her eyes paused on the woman standing next to what must have been Lord Kuno. There was something oddly familiar about her face, and Nodoka was sure it would come to her in a moment.

Standing in the main hallway, dressed in a fine yukata and obi, Kenseiko Kuno stood regally behind her daughter, her husband and son at her side. Tonight was going to be perfect, she just knew it. Nothing could spoil how proud she felt at this moment. She just wished that she could recall why the woman coming into her home looked so familiar.

"Remember, son," stage-whispered Daisho to his heir. "I want you to remain on your best behavior tonight."

"Of course, Father," Kuno replied in low tones, his face a mask without any emotional content. Inside, he was still contemplating his sister's words, his mind slowly deciding what to do about Nabiki Tendo.

Kodachi and Ranma caught sight of the other and each managed a shy smile. She lowered her gaze demurely, feeling a blush suffuse her cheeks at the sight of him dressed so finely. He looked every inch the part of a young lord of the Empire. Ranma felt his nervousness crank up a few notches at the sight of the beautiful girl standing before him and looking like a princess from a fable, and for a moment it was as if they were the only two people in the world.

Nodoka narrowed her eyes. It couldn't be, she thought.

Kenseiko blinked and hardened her gaze. It's impossible, she thought.

"Milord Daisho Kuno. Milady Kenseiko Kuno," intoned the servant. "May I present Genma and Nodoka Saotome, and their son, Ranma."

Kodachi and Ranma were both startled by an unexpected reaction to the announcement of the names.

"You!" exclaimed Nodoka, pointing at Kenseiko with a look of extreme shock on her face. After all these years, she did not believe what she was seeing.

"You!" exclaimed Kenseiko, her eyes wide as she glared at her old arch-enemy. She had all but forgotten how much she hated the other woman.

"Mother, do you two know each other?" asked Kodachi tentatively.

That timid question shocked Kenseiko out of her brief reverie, out of remembering the many indignities done to her by her nemesis, all of the victories stolen from her grasp at the last moments when Nodoka had proven to be just a little luckier (NEVER more skilled) in combat. She blinked and restored the pleasant look that had previously been upon her face with the consummate skills of a politician's wife.

Nodoka took half a moment longer to restore her composure, and to rebury the unexpected feelings unearthed at the sight of the other woman now standing once again before her. She too put a smile on her face, for her son's sake. The settling of old grievances could take place at another time, but it _would_ happen. She had a lot of repressed anger to work out against the other woman, but today she was here for her son.

"Nodoka-san," said Kenseiko pleasantly. "Why, it's been simply ages." She walked forward and held her arms open wide, a mere glimmering of her true feelings showing in her eyes.

"Kenseiko-san," said Nodoka with false charm in her voice. "I simply had no idea you were so close all these years. If I had, then I surely would have visited a long time ago to pay my respects." She stepped forward and embraced the other woman, both of them acting like the oldest of best friends.

"Tonight we will pretend to be friends, you sword-swinging she-devil," whispered Kenseiko without removing the smile from her face. "You're fortunate we aren't alone, or I'd be throwing you through the front door right now. But after tonight, you had best hope that your combat skills are sharp. Agreed?"

"I couldn't agree more, you blue-blooded bitch," whispered Nodoka in a pleasant tone. "I see you haven't changed a bit with that false charm you exude. It will be good to see if you're still as hopeless in a fight as you used to be."

The two mothers stepped apart, still smiling at each other. Each of them was lost in a pleasant fantasy involving beating the other into a bloody pulp. Each of them saw a chance to finally redress a great many old grievances, but that would wait for another day.

"I had no idea that you knew Ranma's mother, my dear wife," chortled Daisho. That would make things all the easier when he and Genma made their little announcement.

"Oh, I haven't seen Nodoka-san since we were both teenagers, dear," said Kenseiko with a smile. "Of course, I'd be happy to rip the heart out of that little- I mean, I'd love to have Nodoka-san as a fellow in-law. She's aged surprisingly well for her years, I must say. Perhaps later, she and I will sit and catch up on old times. It is so very good to see her, I must say."

Her thoughts wandered for a few moments. I wonder if I can still fit into any of my old fighting outfits? She made a mental note to have them pulled out of mothballs and tailored to fit, grateful that she had kept to her rigorous training for all these years. After all, bearing two children had caused changes that no amount of exercise could restore.

The two families followed the servants into the dining room, where a long table rested, laden with the finest silverware, as well as fragile cups and bowls of porcelain. There was even a little name card at each place, so that each person would know their proper seating arrangement.

Dinner began quickly after a brief speech by Lord Kuno, welcoming the Saotomes to his home. He exchanged a brief grin with Genma that went unnoticed by the others. The two mothers kept their eyes on each other, Kuno glared at Ranma, and Kodachi watched Ranma with loving eyes.

Ranma was almost too distracted by the diametrically opposed looks that the two Kuno siblings were giving him that he almost missed seeing the exchange between Genma and Lord Kuno. They're up to something, I can just feel it, he thought.

I can taste my victory over thee, Ranma Saotome, Kuno thought as he sipped at his soup. When my father finally shows me how to perform that technique, then thou shalt surely fall. No mortal man could possess the speed or skill to defy me then. A brief image of both Akane and Nabiki crossed his mind's eye. Then I shall enjoy the fruits of my victory.

Ranma looks so cute when he's nervous, thought Kodachi with a smile as she began eating. Perhaps after the formalities are over, he might like to go for a moonlit stroll with me in the gardens.

I feel naked without a weapon, thought Nodoka as she ate, glaring at Kenseiko while trying not to look like she was glaring. I just knew there was something familiar about that Kodachi girl from the picture I saw, but I certainly wasn't expecting this. Still, she seems a darling child, well-mannered and quite properly demure, much like I was as a young girl. She also appears to have escaped having her mother's worst aspects, like that horrible laugh of hers, and I can see that she cares for Ranma a great deal. Still, the thought of having the woman she was currently engaged in a glaring contest with as an in-law was more than a little unsettling to her.

The boy must take after his father, thought Kenseiko as she ate, even as she tried to bore a hole through Nodoka with her gaze alone, without looking like she was trying to do so. It was a skill mastered at many court functions, where the art of verbal repartee and the subtle glance was as important as combat skill on the battlefield. She found it very hard to believe that such a well-mannered boy could be Nodoka's child. Still, taking him away from that she-devil and making him a Kuno would be a delightsome revenge, she mused.

Ah, children grow up so fast, thought Daisho as he slowly ate, sparing his only daughter fond glances. Dachi-chan seems so taken with Genma's son. I'm glad. Not only will I be gaining control of another one of the Project's Newtypes, but I'm also giving my daughter the man she so obviously desires. And the next generation of Kunos will be gifted warriors without a doubt.

Genma contented himself with eating. Deep thought was not required for that.

Eventually, the meal finally ended and Lord Kuno cleared his throat in order to gain everyone's attention. Nodoka gently elbowed Genma in the ribs to get him to look up from devouring a fine pastry.

"I want to thank the Saotomes for coming to our home this eve, for the announcement of a momentous agreement between our two families," said Daisho grandly. "Years ago, Genma Saotome and I were comrades in arms together."

Ranma glanced at Genma and felt himself go pale. They didn't, he quailed.

"It was a time of foolish and glorious youth, but it was also a time when a friendship was forged," continued the man. "Earlier today, Genma and I met to discuss between ourselves the possibility of seeing the culmination of that friendship, by the joining together of our two children, my beloved Kodachi and Genma's son, Ranma. Towards that end, we agreed that it would be imprudent to push forward an engagement so quickly, so instead we have agreed to give our children six months to decide if they would wish this of their own free will."

The lie flowed easily from his lips, the result of years spent dealing with his fellow nobles at court. What went unspoken was the fact that both fathers would begin pushing for the engagement to be 'freely' chosen by the two children, calling upon their sense of family honor and duty. At least that was how Daisho was looking at things as he went on to extol the virtues of marriage, and his sincere hopes that Ranma would make his little girl happy.

Reactions were mixed.

Kodachi felt her heart skip a beat. She had been expecting tonight to be only the first of several meetings before an engagement might have been formalized. Now, she did not know what to think. She knew she had no real claim on Ranma as of yet, but she also knew that she would have to begin subtly encouraging him to choose her over the others, all far less worthy girls, that were trying to worm their way into his life. Kodachi felt herself to be more than capable of handling the challenge.

I'm doomed, Ranma thought. He suspected that there was more going on than met the eye, but he did not see anything to avoid the trap now laid out for him. Even so, he made a mental note to beat up Genma in the very near future.

Kuno came near to yelling out a denial for such a thing to occur, but one glance from his father stilled that notion. His sense of honor finished what that glance began. You will never become a Kuno, Ranma Saotome, he vowed in silence. NEVER!

"This is truly a proud day for my family," said Genma, lurching to his feet. He held up a cup of sake. "Let us drink to the young couple's future happiness, old friend."

The two fathers toasted each other and drank innumerable cups of sake, and the two mothers went back to glaring at each other while trying to appear pleasant. Ranma was timidly invited by Kodachi for a walk in the gardens, but his thoughts were distracted by the recent revelation, and also by the plan that Nabiki had finally come up with to get what he needed to retrieve out of his lab. A solemn Kuno followed the couple openly, appearing like a grim angel of death whenever he managed to catch Ranma's eye. Needless to say, nothing much happened between the couple, to Kodachi's mild disappointment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

I am in Hell.

Genma stared at the pretty girl standing before him as that thought went through his head.

"Genma Saotome," the girl intoned, her hands dropping to rest on a small satchel she wore resting lightly against her right thigh. "Years ago you promised your son in marriage to me, in a most sacred agreement with my father. And now you are denying my claim? How dare you break your word on such a thing?"

"Now see here, young lady," he began again, his voice rapidly losing the reasonable tone he had started the conversation with. He glanced over at an annoyed-looking Ranma and Shampoo, both currently in their normal forms, before returning his gaze to the girl. The two teenagers had brought this new annoyance to see him when she had arrived at the Saotome household and demanded to meet her promised future husband. He still wasn't sure how she had found them so quickly after their recent move from the Tendo household. "I am simply trying to explain-"

Genma found himself suddenly staring at a wickedly sharp-looking katana made up entirely of folded paper. He blinked at the unexpected sight.

"As the heir to the Okami School of Origami Martial Arts," she growled slowly, "I demand that you honor your pledge to my beloved father to wed me to your son. Now, will you or won't you?"

As tempting as it might have been to point the girl at Ranma to get her to stop waving her paper weapon at him, Genma did not. It was only paper, after all. How dangerous could that be?

"You are not going to marry my son, girl," said Genma firmly. "I am sure you have traveled a long way, but Tokyo is full of eligible young men- urk!" He swallowed involuntarily as the girl quite casually and quickly chopped a nearby stone statue into quartered chunks with her paper weapon, before she brought it back into position. He saw the cold gleam in her eyes and felt an odd urge to 'run for the hills and let the boy deal with this' fill him. He was extremely grateful that Nodoka was not home right now. Explaining this would not be easy.

Ranma, Genma thought desperately. What the hell is keeping you?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"This is going to be bad if we're caught."

"Relax, Ranma-kun. I've done this at least a hundred times with my eyes closed. Trust me, I have very talented hands."

"Nothing much seems to be happening. I feel kind of exposed like this. Have I told you recently that I don't want to get caught doing this?"

"Another thirty seconds and you'll be thanking me. We're almost there. This baby is just a little more difficult to work with than most of those I've practiced on. I'm actually impressed that it's taking me this long. Besides, you don't see Kuno-hime getting down on her knees like this for you, do you?"

"I'll leave such tasks to one more suited for it, Tendo-san."

"I thought you might say that, Kuno-hime. Get ready. We're almost there."

There was a sharp clicking sound, and the padlock on Ranma's lab snapped open.

Nabiki folded her lockpicks away with a satisfied smirk upon her face, and said, "I told you I could get it open, oh ye of little faith. Now, we have a little over forty-five minutes left for lunch, so we need to be out of your lab and ready for training class in that amount of time to keep anybody from getting suspicious. The janitor comes down this hallway in the next fifteen minutes, so I need to get this locked up before he does. Kuno-hime will wait out here with me-"

"I think it would be better to have Kodachi wait in the lab with me, Nabiki," Ranma interrupted. "She knows something about how my other self's equipment worked, so I'd feel better having her watch over it while I'm away. You're the only one who can let us back out, so you can't come into the lab with me."

Nabiki glanced at the other girl, just managing to catch the victorious look that flashed brightly across the young noblewoman's face. Shrugging her shoulders, she let that pass this time. It's a logical idea, but I hate the thought of her alone in there with him.

"Fine," she said neutrally. She stood aside and let Ranma open up the door to his lab. Her face then fell into a frown when the two of them had closed the door behind them. She hastily clicked the padlock shut and concealed herself nearby, just in case the pair in the lab needed her for something.

Inside the room that Ranma could no longer officially claim as his lab, the pigtailed scholar turned on the lights. The fluorescent tubes illuminated quickly, scattering light across the room for what Ranma was certain would be the last time that he ever saw it like this. Even for as short a time as he had used it, he knew he would miss it.

"Let's get started," said Ranma, removing the dustcovers from off of his equipment. He flipped on the main power bar and let the various devices begin to warm up. While it did so, he began rooting around in the trash bin.

Kodachi settled herself on the couch, watching Ranma search through the trash. After several moments, she saw him grab hold of something in the waste bin and hold it up with a grin of triumph. She knew what it was instantly, a quantum flux coil, obviously one of his previous attempts at finding the proper mixture of rare earths for it to function properly.

"I'm glad I didn't throw this away," he said, cradling the small object in his hands like it was the most precious of gemstones. "After we get through, I just substitute this for the working flux coil, as well as replacing the software with this modified version." He patted a pocket containing a datadisk with the important pieces of control code removed. "Then we can get out of here."

The quantum flux coil was the only piece of the equipment that Ranma knew would have given him the most trouble to replicate, only due to the time involved in formulating the alloy it was made from and forming it into the proper shape. Removing it from his old machine would save possibly weeks of effort to create a new resonator, especially with Kodachi's help in obtaining the remainder of the components that he would need.

There was a soft beep, indicating that the system was ready. He handed the defective flux coil to Kodachi and sat down on the couch. He picked up the keyboard and scanned the information on the screen. When he built his next resonator, he made a mental note to improve the coding and ease of use for the software interface. It would help if the girls should feel a need to use it if he wasn't available. His fingers flew across the keyboard, quickly setting everything up.

* QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000008 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

* PLEASE STAND BY...

* MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000008. DETAILS? NO

* SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES

* SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST: 30.00 MINUTES

* WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET

"Be careful, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi with concern evident in her voice.

"I'll be fine," Ranma replied, grinning. "I just need to find my father, inform him of what's going on, and ask him for any advice. It'll be all right."

"I wish I could go instead of you," said Kodachi. She blushed and looked down at the floor. "I'd feel safe knowing that you were watching over me."

"It's just as well that you don't, Kodachi," said Ranma sincerely. "I don't think you'd like your counterpart very much. She's not my friend on that timeline, not like you are here." He smiled at her a moment, before clearing his throat suddenly. "Anyway, uh, I should get going. We don't have much time."

She helped him fit the neural headset on his skull. He then laid back and closed his eyes, not seeing the look of concern that deepened on Kodachi's face.

Be safe, my love, thought Kodachi as she stood quietly at his side, alternating between watching him and the computer monitor.

The computer suddenly spoke, "Initiating upload cycle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Ranma felt the brief nonexistence of self wash across his awareness as the resonator took hold, what he had decided to call the 'null zone.' His eyes cleared a moment or two later, just in time for him to receive a fist impacting hard into his face. He fell down and took several long moments to re-gather his thoughts. The unexpected blow seemed to have scattered his analog's most recent memories, since they weren't flooding across his awareness.

Genma winced at the boy's plight, even as he placed a bandage on yet another one of the multitude of thin cuts on his body. None of them had been very deep, but he was grateful that Shampoo had finally stepped in to deal with the irate young girl. He told himself that he had just needed a moment to gather himself, then that paper-wielding maniac would have been sorry for attacking him. He had just been resting his eyes for a moment to prepare for his counter-assault.

"Ranma leave self wide open," teased Shampoo. "Not good idea when facing Amazon warrior, even when just sparring."

"Uh, yeah," said Ranma, standing up and dusting himself off. He blinked at the sight of Genma, swathed in bandages. What the hell happened to him? the boy scientist wondered, annoyed that new memories still weren't seeping into his awareness. "Give me a sec, would ya, Shampoo? I need to talk to my Pop."

"Okay, but not take too long," said Shampoo, smiling at him. She began working through a kata as Ranma trudged the short distance to Genma.

"Something I can do for you, Ranma?" asked Genma, setting aside his first aid work for the moment.

"Hello, Father," said Ranma in Russian. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get back."

"Ranma," said Genma, his voice hoarse with sudden emotion, happy to have his real son back with him. He quickly restrained himself from leaping up and embracing his son. It would cause unwanted questions, and he also did not wish to risk reopening his cuts. "I'm glad that you're back, son."

"I don't have much time, I'm afraid," said Ranma, sitting down beside his father. "The resonator is only set for thirty minutes."

"Then just tell me what's been happening back home, Ranma," said Genma gently. "How are you progressing at finding a way to get me back into my proper timeline?"

Ranma began telling his father everything that had happened, leaving nothing out. He told of the other Genma's treachery, at his success in preventing the use of the lab, save for this last desperate ploy. The fight with Nabiki was briefly glossed over, but he spoke in more detail about the alliance with the two girls. And lastly, he told his father about how the engagement meetings had gone so far.

When Ranma finished bringing him up to date, Genma sighed once and adjusted his glasses. He turned to look at the sky, watching a flock of birds wending their way eastward. Concern was written on his face. He wanted to give some great words of advice, but they would not appear for him. For a moment, he wondered if this was to be his fate, to live out his life in the body of a martial artist master with a reputation for gluttony and stupidity. It was not a pleasant thought.

"You haven't mentioned much about your mother to me," said Genma quietly. "How is she? Has she noticed that I'm not the same?"

"Mom's fine," said Ranma hesitantly. "As far as I can tell, she doesn't seem to have noticed anything, but Mom can be remarkably unobservant sometimes."

Genma wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry at that. The woman he loved with all of his heart and soul did not seem to be aware that he wasn't the same man. He closed his eyes and sighed once again.

"I haven't given up, Father," said Ranma, trying to encourage the older man. "I will get you home, one way or another."

"I know you'll get me home, boy," said Genma seriously, looking Ranma in the eyes. "Every problem has a solution, and I don't want you to ever lose sight of that fact. Believe me when I say I have faith in you, Ranma. I taught you everything I could, and you were the best student that a father could ever wish for."

Guys don't cry, thought Ranma, feeling a hint of moisture in his eyes. It ain't manly. He blinked and smiled at that echo of macho blustering coming up from the mind of his analog, but it was good advice in this case. He had to be strong now, if only for his father's sake.

"Just hang in there, Father," said Ranma solemnly. "I'll get you home if it's the last thing I ever do." He glanced at the clock on the wall nearby, seeing his time was nearly up. He stood back up and bowed to his father, unable to tell him how much he missed him. But when he looked his father in the eyes, he could tell that he knew.

Without another word being exchanged between the two Saotome men, Ranma walked back over to Shampoo. He saw her looking at him with a question in her eyes. "Promise me you won't ever mention what just happened between me and my father to me again, okay Shampoo?"

The Amazon still looked puzzled, but nodded. "Shampoo promise."

"Then let's spar," said Ranma with a grin, seeing the Amazon return the look. The last thing he experienced was the gray nothingness of recall bringing him back to his own world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Kodachi glanced at Ranma's comatose form lying on the worn couch and sighed, her new addition to her outfit idly dropping down her sleeve and into her hand. It was a white yo-yo with the symbol of House Kuno on either side. She gripped it tightly for a moment, feeling the warmed ceramic-composite alloy against her palm. The rugged material of its construction, like the long polymer line that connected it to the small metal ring on her middle finger, was said to be unbreakable. It had rested in a drawer until very recently, an impulse purchase she had made shortly after arriving in this world. With the list of her enemies and rivals growing longer, Kodachi had felt it prudent to add a ranged attack to her repertoire, so she had started carrying it up one sleeve.

And so is reborn the Black Rose, the young noblewoman thought with a smile, feeling a little silly about taking up the nom de guerre of her combative counterpart. She had tested her abilities with it late one night, and she was pleased to know that a strike from the yo-yo could remove the head from a training dummy with a single flick of her wrist. It made her feel a little better to have a weapon hidden on her person. Distracted by her thoughts, she jumped a little when she suddenly heard a voice.

"Initiating retrieval cycle," spoke the computer. A few moments went by. "Retrieval cycle complete."

Kodachi quickly replaced the yo-yo back up her sleeve and rushed to Ranma's side. She knelt down next to him and slipped the neural headset from off of his skull. Her hand lingered for a moment on his cheek as she set the headset down on the worktable, before she snatched it away guiltily, hoping Ranma hadn't noticed how forward she had been with him. After all, they had not even had a first date yet.

"Well, that's it," Ranma said quietly, looking a little depressed. "I told my father everything that's happened." He got up off the couch and powered down the resonator. He glanced over at her and smiled. "Thanks for staying with me."

"I was glad to help, Saotome-kun, even if I did very little," admitted Kodachi modestly. She was trying to keep her thoughts in line and away from glancing at the soft couch, feeling risqué at being alone with him like this. Soft tingles ran across her skin as her mind wandered away into a brief fantasy of her and Ranma doing this and that together on that same couch. A light blush appeared on her cheeks, and she was grateful that all of his attention was being devoted to pulling the flux coil from his system.

"That's that," said Ranma after several minutes, startling Kodachi out of her fantasy. He turned to her and asked, "Are you all right? You look a little flushed or something."

"I'm fine," she replied in a slightly unsteady tone of voice. She had never felt like this around any other boy before, but she covered it with a shy smile. "I'm just feeling nervous."

"I don't think we're in any danger of getting caught now," said Ranma. "It looks like Nabiki's plan is going to work out fine." In truth, he was a little irked with himself at not thinking up a similar sort of plan himself. He knew that he was smarter than Nabiki was, after all.

They heard the sounds of the door being unlocked. Ranma took the opportunity to recover his now useless equipment and turned off the light, just in case it wasn't Nabiki. However, the light from the hallway revealed the middle Tendo daughter's face, causing both Ranma and Kodachi to relax.

"Time to go," said Nabiki, glancing at Kodachi. She didn't like the look of the other girl's face and wondered if the noblewoman had dared to try something with Ranma. Perhaps I should remind her again who the better fighter is between you and me, Kuno-hime, she thought, briefly standing aside as the pair in the lab filed out. She quickly locked the door back up. Just like it's going to be Ranma's turn, soon enough.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You mean it? It's really for me?"

Nabiki smiled as she held out the ticket to tonight's fights at the Imperial Arena. Getting Akane out of the house while Ranma and his family came over for the engagement meeting only required the middle Tendo daughter to take advantage of Akane's passion for fighting. She handed her sister the ticket, front row center, and one that had cost Nabiki only a few favors from one of her many contacts.

"Just a little thank you gift for all the help you've given me at the Academy for the past couple of months," said Nabiki dismissively. "I know how much you enjoy it, so I thought I'd treat you to something special."

"Thanks, Nabiki," said Akane brightly, almost glowing now with her happiness. "Please tell Dad that I won't be home for dinner tonight, all right? I'm going to have to go straight downtown after classes in order to catch all the preliminary bouts." She hurried off to get ready for school, eager to see if any of the Combat Club would be waiting with a challenge for her this morning. She wanted so badly to join, eager to test her martial arts skill against other strong opponents.

And that takes care of that, thought Nabiki with a smirk. She cared for Akane as only sisters could for each other, but it was still a relief to have her sometimes overly-violent sibling absent when Ranma and his parents dropped by. Nabiki knew she would have to think of some way that she could break the news to Akane about her and Ranma in the very near future, without Akane wanting to try and cave in her skull. But right now she knew she should focus on her morning training.

A little while later, Soun paused in the entryway to the training hall behind the family home, watching his middle daughter training. Akane had already left for Furinkan, desiring to get there a little while before classes began. Why that was, she had chosen not to inform him of. He was grateful that she was apparently settling easily into her new school. Her early departure gave him an opportunity to speak with Nabiki about Ranma. Yet he now stood and watched his daughter do battle with phantom opponents, her attention directed as much inward as outward.

Within the training hall, Nabiki let her body swiftly flow through the movements of her kata, one arising from out of a multitude of forms. This was perhaps the true strength of the Anything-Goes School, a style of fighting that embraced all others into itself, adding to and building upon what was already there, constantly striving to forge the body, mind, and soul into an ever more perfect weapon. She grunted when her flow of motion was disrupted for a brief moment when her leg refused to rise to the proper height, stopping short by two full centimeters. Nabiki quickly continued on, but the limitations still present in her body irritated her.

She knew she lacked the full measure of the power and flexibility of her other self, but her body was getting closer and closer each day. Her failure to master the Amaguriken over the past few nights was an added disappointment, but she knew it would come to her eventually. Without Cologne to guide her, re-mastering her special techniques would be more difficult.

Nabiki continued on in her freestyle fighting kata, a form of meditation done to the movements of battle, but the peace she sought escaped her. She felt certain that it would be like this until she finally defeated Ranma and proved herself worthy of being the true heir of the Anything-Goes School in this timeline. She was better than he was. She knew it.

Soun stood and marveled at what he saw, the graceful and powerful movements of his middle daughter. Yet it was in a style that he was completely unfamiliar with, even after all the martial arts tournaments he had attended over the years with Kimiko during their marriage. The thought of his wife struck him with how much Nabiki reminded him of her at that moment. Each of his daughters had something of his wife in them: Kasumi had her eyes and hair color; Akane had her jawline and general build, but also her temperament; and Nabiki wore Kimiko's nose, as well as possessing the same natural insight and innate physical prowess.

For a moment, despite the differences in physical appearance and fighting style between mother and daughter, it was Kimiko before him. He came very near to weeping at the sight of his wife as he preferred remembering her, lost within the never-ending quest for perfection of her beloved martial arts skills. They were the lover that he had never begrudged her having, and he saw them reflected in their daughter now. Still, despite the iron control he maintained over his emotions, a single tear glistened at the edge of his eye.

"Good morning, Daddy," said Nabiki cheerfully when she noticed him standing there. "What can I do for you today?"

Recovering his composure with a speed born from years of practice, Soun gazed at Nabiki and said, "I trust that you are looking forward to the engagement meeting with the Saotomes tonight?"

"Yes, Daddy." Nabiki smiled as the memory of her brief meeting with Nodoka flashed through her mind. Ranma's mother already approves of me, I can tell, she thought. And the version of Genma Saotome that was running through Ranma's father's head right now was probably dead set on his son marrying a Tendo. Tonight would see Ranma become hers for sure. She could almost feel fate pulling them together once again in this timeline, and this time she knew that there wouldn't be any other girls engaged to Ranma, complicating matters. The only difficulty would be in explaining things to Akane without it erupting into a fight. She just needed to get her interested in someone else. It was a shame that there didn't seem to be any chance of running across Ryoga in this timeline. He would have been simply perfect for Akane if he was anything like his other self.

"That is good," said Soun pleasantly. After many years of waiting, his beloved daughter would finally have the husband that he had spent a large amount of his resources and time in secret to arrange in Kimiko's memory, another child of the Project, and the future for his family was looking much brighter. It was a mild irritant to him that the father of the boy was Genma Saotome, but the troubles that man had caused him so many years ago were perhaps better left forgotten.

"Was there anything else, Daddy?" Nabiki asked, looking at the clock and seeing that she would only have time for a quick wash before heading off to classes.

"No, I merely wanted you to know that I'm very proud of you, Nabiki," said Soun with the barest hint of a smile. "I'm certain that Ranma's engagement to you will go off without a single difficulty. I know that his parents will feel you to be the best match for their son, when you are formally and properly introduced to them tonight." He hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I just wish your mother was still with us to see this."

"Thank you, Daddy," Nabiki said sincerely. "I miss her, too." It was odd to see her father like this, through the memories of her other self. However, that other Soun was a tragically warped reflection of her own beloved father, almost a shell of a man who had long been broken inside by his experiences. Her father could be a little distant at times, but he was always a tower of strength for his family.

"You should get ready for classes," said Soun gruffly after looking at her for several moments. Ah, Kimiko, if you could have only been here tonight to see this, he thought. He nodded once to his middle daughter and headed back towards the house to make sure that all would be in readiness for tonight.

Left behind, Nabiki smiled at the retreating back of her father.

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Later that day, Ranma stood with his family outside the gates to the Tendo demesne, feeling very odd at the thought of a formal marriage meeting to take place within its walls. He glanced at the idiot now posing as his father, not liking the vague hint of a smile that hovered on the man's lips. He's probably lost in some stupid dream of teaching Nabiki about the Anything-Goes School if an engagement agreement does take place, the pigtailed boy thought with a mental chuckle. Won't he be surprised if he ever learns the truth? Although if he does, I can just hear the words "the two Schools will be joined now" coming out of his mouth. Whatever. At least tonight is the last of these things, and if I can get through this one without any formal agreement taking place, then I can finally relax. No fiancées this time around means less stress for the handsome boy genius. He smiled wryly.

Ranma appears less nervous tonight, observed Nodoka with a smile. He must be looking forward to tonight's meeting with that nice girl, Nabiki. I never would have thought his tastes might run towards older women though.

Standing lost in thought with a smile on his face, Genma looked around the walls of the compound before him. It stood on the very same lot that it did in that other world, and it looked very much the same. The training hall was a little small for teaching the students that would surely come, once he got this body into proper shape and the boy firmly under control. I wonder if it isn't too late to consider Akane instead of Nabiki though? Now there was a girl full of spirit, he mused happily. She would have kept this disrespectful whelp in line with a few good whacks upside his head. He remembered fondly the 'training' in pain resistance that his son had received at the youngest Tendo's hands.

At that moment, the gate to the compound opened, revealing Kyoko standing there in formal yukata and obi. She bowed to Ranma and his family, saying, "Welcome to this humble household. The master and his daughter await you within." She stepped aside and let the trio enter.

Genma walked in first, Nodoka following quickly behind, and Ranma came in last. The pigtailed boy glanced around the compound, seeing it for the first time with his own eyes, amazed at the strong similarity to the ones in those other worlds. The only difference that seemed most obvious was that the training hall was smaller, designed only for the use of the family apparently.

Lurking at the wall of the Tendo household compound, a lone figure crouched, hidden from view, taking advantage of the natural cover being provided by one of the trees. The position offered the intruder a clear view of the events now taking place, as Ranma and his family were made welcome at the Tendo home. Dressed in the dark garb favored by ninja, her head covered by cloth save for two holes through which protruded her cat-like ears, Tiger watched the home of her enemy and frowned. Her ears swiveled forward, but she was still too far away to hear what was going on. She gathered herself to move to a new position, curious as to what all the activity and formal clothing signified.

Soon, Nabiki Tendo, thought Tiger grimly, even as she studied the distance she would have to leap. Soon I shall be given permission to engage you in combat. Soon I shall have the pleasure of breaking you before you are to be brought before my beloved Kinnosuke-sama. She waited until the four were inside the house before making her move, watching coldly with slit-pupilled green eyes.

With a blur of motion and a surge of strength from her long legs, Tiger's trim body swiftly covered the distance from the wall to the roof of the house. She landed noiselessly and began making her way to a better position to hear things going on below her more clearly. Her stealthy movements went unheard by all within the house.

Almost directly beneath Tiger's initial landing spot, Nabiki finished her preparations for the engagement meeting and smiled at the results. Dressed in a brand new yukata and obi of the finest materials, her body freshly bathed with scented oils, her hair brushed to a glossy shine, the middle Tendo daughter was certain that Ranma's heart would be caught by her tonight. Nabiki Tendo, you are one beautiful girl, she thought as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror.

Standing in for their mother, Kasumi sat on Nabiki's bed and watched her younger sister admiring herself with an amused smile. She was looking forward to the events tonight, and a chance to see the boy that had apparently caught the jaded-seeming attentions of her sister. She coughed delicately into one fist to get Nabiki's attention.

"Mother would be so proud of you tonight," said Kasumi, when her sister turned to face her. "I'm proud of you too, Nabiki."

"Thanks, Kasumi." Nabiki got up from her dressing table and padded over to the door in her tabi-style socks. "I'm glad that you could come tonight. It means a lot to me, really."

"It's no problem," Kasumi replied, moving up behind Nabiki as the sounds of people arriving was heard from below. "My husband had to work late again tonight, so I far prefer spending my time here with my family than being alone right now." Distracted by her own sudden nervousness, Nabiki did not notice that her sister sounded less than perfectly happy.

Down below, after removing her shoes, Nodoka paused in the entryway as she noticed the family shrine and decided to pay her respects to the kami and the ancestors of this household with a brief prayer for some good fortune tonight. Her son had not been formally engaged to be married so far, but she was hopeful that the third time would be the charm signaling success. As Ranma and Genma removed their shoes and came in behind her, she padded over to the small shrine and put her hands together solemnly, bowing her head and saying a brief prayer in her mind. When she was done, she noticed the small photograph that rested in a place of honor within the shrine.

Kimiko? thought Nodoka with startled shock, feeling odd to see the face of another old rival staring back at her. She felt faint for a moment, but managed to shrug it off quickly before anyone else noticed. She studied the small photograph of her former rival and felt an odd sense of loss, remembering the many battles she had once fought with the other woman, battles that she recalled with pride. Although they had never spoken of it as such, and both would have violently denied that it had been true, towards the end of their youthful days the two of them had become friends of sorts. It was a relationship born out of a fierce rivalry, but Nodoka could now recall times when the two of them had stood shoulder to shoulder as allies.

I will miss you, old friend, thought Nodoka wistfully.

"What is it, Mother?" Ranma asked, coming up next to her to briefly pay his respects at the house shrine. The interior decorations were very different from his memories of this place.

"Nothing," said Nodoka with a smile, turning to look at him. "I was just reminded of something that I hadn't thought about for a long time."

"Ranma, come and meet Soun Tendo," said Genma gruffly, dragging him away from Nodoka quickly.

"Hello, Ranma," said Soun pleasantly when the boy had been brought before him by Genma. "It's good to see you in my home. I feel like we have known each other for a long time already, what with studying your file from the matchmaker."

"Uh, yes," said Ranma, uncertain what to say. He bowed politely to the man, taking in Soun's bearing and stoic demeanor. The sense of déjà vu filling him was intense, even though the man before him was not what he would ever have expected from someone named Soun Tendo. How so very different he is from his analogs, he observed absently.

After making small talk for a while, the group made their way to the dining area, now arranged with the traditional settings for a formal marriage meeting. Ranma and his family were directed to spots to sit, and then he spent a few moments waiting for Nabiki and her sister to arrive.

When Nabiki demurely walked in, trailed closely by her older sister, Ranma was astonished at the sight of her. Dressed as she was in traditional garb, her hair brushed to a glossy perfection, her face made up with a light hint of cosmetics and bearing a look of serenity at seeing him, the pigtailed scholar felt his mouth go dry. He watched her, mesmerized, as she padded over to her designated place and knelt down gracefully.

"My middle daughter, Nabiki," said Soun formally, indicating the demure figure of the girl next to him. The three members of the Tendo family bowed to the Saotomes, a bow that was quickly returned, Ranma being only a little slow due to his recovering from shock. "I welcome you into our home for this meeting to discuss an engagement between my daughter and your son."

Hidden in the rafters outside nearby, Tiger cocked one ear slightly to listen more closely, her hearing picking up everything quite clearly. Engagement meeting with the Saotomes? What's going on? she wondered.

Ranma was still trying to balance the image of the beautiful and quiet girl kneeling across from him with the memory of the same girl trying to beat him up only a few days before. The equation refused to compute, so he remained in a mild fugue state. Most of what was going on passed by him without his notice, as Nodoka and Kasumi discussed the pros and cons of a marriage, and the two fathers remained silent.

He keeps staring at me, Nabiki thought, feeling a light blush work its way across her face as she glanced at Ranma now and then. She was working hard to project the proper image for Nodoka's sake, having been keenly advised by Kasumi on this subject. Even though it made her feel oddly nervous, a feeling she clamped down on hard, she also enjoyed it that he seemed to like looking at her. She smiled slightly at him.

After a time, Kasumi nodded to her father that she was satisfied with the answers that Nodoka had given. Across from her, Nodoka gave a similar look towards Genma. There was a brief moment of hesitation as the four adults turned to look at the two youngest people in the room.

Genma spoke first, having worked out his little speech well in advance. "I wish to begin by thanking you, Tendo-san, for having my family over to your home for such an auspicious evening. I can see that my son and your daughter will make a fine couple, and their engagement has my blessing."

Soun nodded, pleased at how well things were working out.

"However, I do not feel it would be wise to rush our children into something," continued Genma without missing a beat. "So I propose a period that they can get to know each other, one not longer than six months, before a more formal engagement will be had between my son and your lovely daughter."

"I agree," said Soun, nodding solemnly. He had spoken with Genma for a few moments before the other man had brought his son before him. Ranma was apparently quite leery and resistant to being forced into an engagement by his parents, so Genma proposed this bit of subterfuge to give the boy time to get used to Nabiki in a more casual agreement. The two fathers knew otherwise, and Soun had confidence that Nabiki would be able to bring Ranma under control soon enough.

Tiger blinked. This was startling news, and she was uncertain how her master would take it. Still, she entertained hopes that her love would lose interest in Nabiki Tendo, now that she appeared to be soon claimed by another man.

Satisfied that she had observed something that would need to be reported, she flipped back up to the roof of the house and then leaped across the space to the wall. Before anyone realized she had ever been there eavesdropping, the catgirl was several rooftops away and running hard for her home.

Nabiki found herself feeling a little disappointed. She had been hopeful that a formal engagement would take place, but she would settle for this for now. At least it gives me more of a claim to Ranma than that little floozy Kodachi has, she thought with a mental grin. She would have Ranma for her own, and no other girl was going to take him away from her.

Ranma blinked and felt nervous at the looks that Nabiki was giving him, but he felt relieved that he had apparently managed to dodge the threat of an arranged marriage. Although the present setup meant his mother would be pushing him to decide on one of the girls before too much longer.

Still, at least I'm not engaged to them all, Ranma thought with relief.

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A short time later, Tiger stood at attention in her snug-fitting black garb, only the cloth that had covered her head removed. Her ears swiveled forward to listen closely to every word that her beloved Kinnosuke-sama uttered. Every now and then, her eyes would flicker to glare at Lynx, who was casually primping and looking quite smug with herself as she sat at the edge of their master's bed. The smell of an apparently lengthy session of sexual activity permeated the room, a cloying scent of musk and sweat. It set Tiger's teeth on edge to see another woman, even one of the other two catgirls, with him. She sniffed softly in disdain at the leggy, dark-haired Lynx.

Apparently I must teach Lynx her proper place in this household once again, thought Tiger, a savage grin briefly appearing. She was looking entirely too self-satisfied. That little bitch could never be as good as I am with Kinnosuke-sama. I was his first, and I will always be first in his heart out of all of us for that reason.

Lynx smiled lazily at Tiger as she ran her hands back through her hair to straighten it a bit, enjoying the irritated look that appeared on her sister catgirl's face. Ah, Tiger, Lynx thought with amusement. A few more sessions like his last one with me, and Kinnosuke-sama will surely choose to take me as his preferred bedmate over you. Her facial expression was smug as she turned to gaze at Tiger, idly licking her lips. She coolly locked eyes with an annoyed Tiger.

"So the Tendos and the Saotomes are looking likely to be setting an engagement between the two families you say, Tiger?" inquired Kinnosuke softly, currently watching a videotape of the fight between Ranma and Nabiki with the sound turned low. The boom mike on the camera had managed to catch almost every grunt and cry of pain given off by the couple, providing a soft background noise to the room of the sounds of fierce combat. "You are absolutely certain of this?"

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama."

"Leave me, both of you," said Kinnosuke brusquely. "I need to be alone now, to think."

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," said the two catgirls, both of them walking out together. Their rivalry over their master's bed was forgotten for the moment.

When the door closed behind them, the sounds of shattering glass and other items breaking began to be heard.

"What will we do, Tiger?" asked Lynx, looking at the other catgirl.

"What we always do," said Tiger grimly. "We wait for his orders and then we act."

"This news of Nabiki Tendo and Ranma Saotome has hurt him deeply," said Lynx, her ears folded flat against her head. It was obvious how she felt about anyone who would cause her beloved hurt. Although what she was about to say pained her deeply, Lynx felt it was necessary. "He wanted her for himself. This agreement between the Saotomes and the Tendos would likely frustrate that. Both Ranma and Nabiki should pay for that."

"Yes," growled Tiger softly. She looked at Lynx solemnly. "Both of them will pay dearly for Kinnosuke-sama's pain. Come, Lynx, I wish to include Panther in our plans. I think she'll like what I have in mind to do." A wicked smile appeared on Tiger's face.

"What's that?"

"We make them suffer," said Tiger coldly. "And then we make them suffer some more."

"Yes, Tiger." Lynx's voice was soft, her eyes glittering.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.

NOTE: The next chapter takes place right after the first Quantum Destinies side stories: "Roses and Swords" and "Ohtori Academy Blues" which are both by DB Sommer and can be found on this website by searching for his name. You can also find it at his fanfic website:

www hostultra com ~AngCobraFics / dbsommer . html


	13. The Cook, The Spy, The Lady, And

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Once, she had a name.

Once, she had a dream.

Once, she had a life.

Now, Setsuna Meioh sat in a quiet room and drew, her only relief from the whirling torrent of images that overflowed her thoughts. Anonymous men had done this to her, to try and strengthen the gift she had. Instead, their foolish actions had shattered her mind, scattering it across infinity.

Sometimes, she could almost remember her name. Her mother's voice would seem to whisper it to her. Setsumi? No, but that was close. It was not important. It would come to her eventually.

She had a gift for drawing, and she used to amuse her classmates with stories of different worlds. The ten-year old girl she once was had enjoyed bringing her visions to life, tales of angst and adventure, of handsome princes and magical princesses, stories of love, enchantment and romance. All of them from worlds she could see out there, somewhere across time. Different futures. Different pasts.

Men took that from her, greedy men who desired to harness the future to their own ends. Once, her visions were tales of hope, that love would triumph in the end. But for years, after what had been done to her, all she could see was an end to dreams, a yawning nothingness that sought to consume worlds and destroy all that was good.

Her mind had sought an escape from that dark future, where a void of hunger older than the stars snuffed out their lights, both in this world and countless others. Something had to stop it, somehow. She couldn't bear to see her wonderful dream worlds swallowed up like that.

Recently, she had been rescued from her despair by a faint glimmering of hope, tentative paths emerging from where there had once been only nothingness and heading off towards an uncertain future, walked by the unlikeliest group of heroes. On some of them, she even finally became the magical princess she had once imagined herself being, but there was no guarantee of that. The future is always in motion, she remembered someone once saying.

Worlds would live.

Worlds would die.

However, until glimpsing those faint pathways suddenly emerge from the murk of futures yet to come, she had been certain all would perish, billions upon countless billions of lives screaming out their last, before passing away into that horrible nothingness.

Somehow, one last roll of the dice that had not yet revealed its number had now been thrown, a final grasp for hope. She witnessed the coming struggle in her prophetic dreams, down pathways somehow created by one like her childhood heroes, a boy chosen by chance and offered an opportunity to change destiny.

A girl joined him, then another, and still others, both male and female. Magic waited in the wings to enter into this play of passions, to be brought forth by water and an ancient curse set upon a distant land. The same prideful men who had all but destroyed her mind had studied that curse, finding value in it. Their actions, which had been her bane, would offer up salvation.

The one she sought must be baptized by this water, unleashing a torrent of events that might save all the beautiful worlds from her dreams.

All of the actors were not yet upon the stage, and their futures were not set in stone. Each of them still remained stories waiting to be told.

One of her keepers had noticed the pause in her actions. The page that was completed beneath her hands was gently pulled away and replaced with a clean sheet.

"Any changes?" one of them asked another.

"No," the second replied. "She's still lost in those dreams of hers. You ever wonder what it is that she sees?"

"I try not to think about it. A terrible shame though. I was told she wanted to be an artist. Now look at her."

"Yeah. Poor woman. The telepaths say she's not even aware of us. We're only motes in everything else she's experiencing. Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like for her, in another time and place."

"Well, this is the real world, my friend. This is the real world."

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

NOTE: This story takes place right after the first Quantum Destinies side story: "Roses and Swords" by DB Sommer. You can find it at his website.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. That same device has also given the Nabiki of this timeline an accidental copy of the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma. The engagement meetings with the three families are now complete, and Ranma has been engaged to Kodachi, Nabiki, and Ukyo.

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Chapter 13 - The Cook, The Spy, The Lady And Their Fiancé

AFFIANCED, pp. Fitted with an ankle-ring for the ball-and-chain.

- Ambrose Bierce: The Devil's Dictionary

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Genma was trapped, unable to escape from the accusing voices that kept pursuing him. Terror gripped his heart, his breath rasping from his lungs as he ran, the ragged white gi his only protection from the cold in the air, vainly hoping to find escape or succor. But he could discover nowhere to hide.

"You don't belong here," accused Soun, appearing for only a few brief moments, emerging from out of the surrounding darkness like an angry, vengeful god. "You've opened doors that should not have been opened, changed things that should never have been changed. You broke my daughter's heart, Genma Saotome. She was meant to be married to Ranma. Running away to Nodoka won't save you. They'll all figure out that you aren't who you say you are. You think you're so smart, but you and I know different."

"What are you talking about?" Genma demanded, turning around to try and find some means of escape. Another figure emerged from the gulf of shadows that surrounded him.

"Just forget about your old life and embrace this one with both hands, Genma m'boy," said Happosai with a chuckle, his eyes glowing with reddish light. "Become the man that you know you truly are inside, the one your father tried to make you into. Come on, it's easy. You can be just like our Genma. You and he aren't so very different, after all."

"I'm nothing like him!" shouted Genma, but both Soun and Happosai simply laughed in reply. "I'll never be like that!"

"Oh no?" whispered Happosai, quietly. "You think yourself so much better than him?"

"Of course I am!" shouted Genma. "He was a coward, a fool, a liar, and a thief!"

"And you're so much better?" whispered Happosai tauntingly.

"Yes!"

"Then how do you explain this?" came Soun's voice from behind him.

Genma turned and saw his son as he had been so many years ago, a small boy less than five years of age. He was lying on a hospital bed, one among several children of similar age. Each small body was hooked up to an intravenous drip feed, a greenish-golden fluid slowly flowing down tubes leading to their arms. Ranma, as well as many of the other children, was sweating, shivering, and his breathing was labored, as if caught up in the midst of some sort of fevered illness. Genma tried to turn from the sight, but he could not. Shame filled him, and even after all these years, the guilt from what he had done tormented him so much at times. Like now.

"It wasn't my idea!" shouted Genma. Then more quietly, he added, "at least, not at first." A tear rolled down his cheek. "They told me it would make him faster, smarter, and stronger - a more perfect human being. He was my son, my only son, and I wanted nothing but the best for him, for him to be the best that he could be." Genma's voice slowly trailed off as he realized how hollow his words sounded to his own ears. He had watched his son suffer for over two weeks like that, as Imperial science remade Ranma into what they called 'the next stage of human evolution.'

The sounds of cats ravaging a small boy was heard behind him, cries of pain and despair rising from a pit dug into the ground, calls for help going unanswered. Genma didn't want to look. He knew exactly what he would see. The sounds gradually faded into a pitiable sobbing that wrenched at his heart. Tears filled his eyes.

"And how is that so different from this version of you?" suddenly came Happosai's sarcastic voice from another direction. "My apprentice believed it would make his son faster and stronger. Not smarter, but then Genma always felt that intellectual pursuits weren't very manly. Are you really so much better than him?"

"I don't know," whispered Genma, tears streaming from his eyes, unable to think due to the clamor of voices that arose around him, accusing him of wrongdoings. So many things done wrong in this life that he felt obligated to try and atone for while he was here. Perhaps this was even to be his fate, to live with these mistakes, trapped here until the end of his days. A tide of despair rose up within him, even as he was dimly aware of someone shaking him. "I'm sorry. Oh, Ranma, I'm so sorry."

"Genma!" suddenly came Nodoka's voice, somehow penetrating through the clamor around him. "Genma! Wake up!"

Professor Genma Saotome woke to find Nodoka shaking him hard, the nightmare that had enfolded him shredding away. The moon was low in the sky, heralding the coming dawn as it bathed the room in a silvery light. He blinked several times, his cheeks wet with tears. He was uncertain where he was, what had happened, why he felt so frightened. But seeing her face, so very close and familiar to him was a comfort to him. He pulled her into a tight embrace, certain that the nightmare was over.

Just a dream, he thought with a sigh. The whole experience was all just a horrible dream. He snuggled his head a bit against Nodoka's bosom, letting his fears drain from him.

Nodoka murmured soft words to her husband as she saw him quickly regaining control of himself from what must have been a very terrifying nightmare, somewhat guiltily enjoying the feel of his arms around her. She began gently kissing the top of his bald head, rubbing her hands up and down his back as she felt the tension leaving him. "Poor Dearest," she murmured softly. "That must have been a horrible dream."

Genma nodded and held her warm body close. But something was tickling at the edge of his thoughts now, trying to gain his attention. He ignored it for the moment, reveling in the feel of his beloved wife in his arms. He hugged her to him and sighed with relief. The nightmare was over.

"It's all right, Dearest," whispered Nodoka. "You're awake now. Everything is all right. Your family is right here. Me, Ranma, that nice girl Shampoo." She felt him clutch her a little more tightly for a moment.

The nightmare hadn't ended, Genma realized sadly, remembering where he was now as he looked up at Nodoka's face. He pasted a brave smile on his own visage, and he was gratified to see her smile at him in return. He could not think of her as his wife, but it still felt so good to hold her like this.

Then he noticed the see-through negligee that she was wearing, not the first such thing that she had donned around him. He tried to gently release her, but her arms now had him in a solid grip even as she continued to hold him and caress him. It was becoming extremely difficult to ignore her hands.

"Oh, Dearest, I've missed your touch so much," whispered Nodoka passionately, still kneeling and holding him close. She moved in for a kiss and Genma reared back slightly, his sense of honor leaving him uncertain what to do. She was not his wife, not really, despite the yearning signals coming from his body at the smell of her hair, the feel of her skin.

"I'm fine now, Nodoka-chan," said Genma nervously, feeling oddly like he was a teenager again. The sight of the woman before him, dressed as she was in sheer silk that left little to his imagination, was arousing him. And he felt like he was betraying his real wife because of that.

Nodoka sighed. Genma was acting skittish again, and she was tired of it. She put her hands to either side of his face and turned him to look her in the eyes. "Dearest, whatever is the matter? Ever since you returned home, you haven't once taken the opportunity to enjoy your husbandly rights. It's been a week."

"Uh, that is," said Genma uncertainly. He saw her gaze harden a bit.

"There's someone else, isn't there, Dearest?" Nodoka asked, feeling her heart growing heavy in her chest at the painful thought of having possibly lost her husband to another woman. That would explain why he no longer seemed attracted to her. A sense of loss filled her, one that could lead to a deeper sadness or anger in the next few moments.

"No!" cried Genma, surprised at the question. To emphasize his point, he touched her cheek, feeling the first tears rolling down. "No," he said more emphatically when she met his gaze. He lifted her hand in his own and kissed it gently. "From the first moment I knew her, the only woman for me is named Nodoka Saotome, she who is my wife."

"Then why?" whispered Nodoka, her eyes still welling with tears.

"I-I'm just not the same man you knew when we were first married, Nodoka-chan," said Genma quietly. He desperately tried to think of a reason why he would have been avoiding his own wife like this, and then a sudden inspiration came. He looked deeply into her eyes. "He's gone now, and I don't know if he's ever coming back. I didn't want to take advantage of your trust, if you found you didn't want the new me."

"Oh, Dearest," sighed Nodoka, her tone of voice evident that she thought he was being a complete idiot. "Of course I love you, now more than ever. You're my Genma, the man I gave a son to, and the man I grow to care for more deeply the longer that you are back in my arms." She pulled him close into a tight embrace and kissed him on the lips. "I never want this Genma to leave me."

But he may have to someday, you dear, sweet woman, thought Genma sadly. He was coming to realize that if he did, no, when he did, a piece of his soul would be left behind on this world, with this simple, loving woman. She was not his Nodoka, but she was so much like her that it was very difficult for him to not respond to her pain. He put his arms firmly around her and kissed her warmly, feeling her initial surprised resistance quickly melt away into a return of passion, her tears stopping. She needed him, as a woman needed the touch of the man she loved, and he could not in good conscience refuse her any longer. If it was wrong, then so be it, but he did not think it was.

Nodoka felt Genma's hands beginning to roam gently around her body, smiling as they continued to kiss. She felt him touching her in those special places that only her husband had ever explored, and she knew that the man she loved so achingly deep still desired her as a woman.

Two bodies slowly came to rest on the futon beneath them, and kisses and touches gradually became more as passions long denied arose within each of them. Hands groped and fondled. Lips touched, teased and caressed. And after a time, the two bodies became one with each other.

"I love you, Nodoka-chan."

Nodoka knew bliss when Genma whispered those words softly and with sincere passion into her ear, even as his body began to move with hers in that most ancient dance of man and woman.

In another room, Shampoo started awake at the distant sounds coming from somewhere else in the house. It sounded like someone was being tortured or something. It was a woman's voice, but other than that she couldn't be sure. She started to clamber out of her futon when she heard Genma's name being called out, followed by more of those odd sounds. Her lips quirked as she suddenly realized what she was hearing.

"It about time," muttered the Amazon. Nodoka had been looking so longingly at the man for days, ever since they came to this house. It was good that the two of them were acting more like a proper married couple now, but Genma's attitudes for the last week might have explained why Ranma was so clueless when it came to dealings between the sexes. But now that Shampoo was awake, the faint sounds of pleasure kept her from falling back to sleep.

"Stupid Pop," Shampoo growled. "Why he not do this when Amazon warrior not trying to sleep?" She pulled her pillow over her head and tried to ignore the sounds, even as her thoughts kept drifting to the boy lying in the other room.

Ranma, sleeping deeply, was blissfully ignorant of the events taking place around him in the Saotome household.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

In the distance, lightning flashed across a cloud-drenched and darkened sky as two warriors fiercely engaged each other in single combat, their forms remaining indistinct in the gloom. Scattered bodies lay strewn about the field of battle around them, a few of the fallen groaning in a state of semi-consciousness, but most lying quiet, mute witnesses to the brutal struggle now taking place. The grunts of pain-wracked and wearying flesh, and the distinct sounds of fists and feet impacting hard against tissue and bone, sounded across the landscape. One warrior staggered, a blow to the stomach having robbed the victim of breath. Taking advantage of the momentary weakness, the other figure landed a bone-breaking punch across the victim's face. The first figure dropped to the ground, where it too now lay unmoving.

Lightning flashed nearby, illuminating the face of Akane Tendo as she gave a disdainful look to her fallen foe, her breath coming to her in shallow gasps. She stood dressed in a gi made of yellow silk, the cloth crusted with mud and the stains of old blood. Her hands were wrapped with cloth bandages that were once white, but were now dark with blood as well. However, even as battered and bruised as she was, she felt heady at her victory, and a broad smile washed across her face at having finally defeated her remaining foe. She lifted her eyes up to the sky, and raised her arms, as if basking in the storm of lightning and thunder raging as backdrop to this scene. At her feet lay the badly-beaten and unconscious form of Utena Tenjou, the young woman dressed in a dark green gi, her face swollen and bloodied.

"I am the strongest!" Akane shouted to the skies. They responded with another clash of lightning arcing across the heavens. "I have proven myself worthy! The prize is mine!"

"You have defeated all challengers to your claim?" asked a rumbling voice from the skies, a resonant female voice.

"Yes!" Akane shouted, her face upraised and almost blissful. She dropped her arms, but her hands remained locked into fists.

"Then claim your prize, most noble warrior," rumbled the voice, its words punctuated by more arcs of lightning and cracks of thunder. "For your skill and strength have earned it for you."

Several bolts of energy suddenly roared down from the heavens, crashing together in a blast that almost knocked Akane off her feet, before finally solidifying into the form of Ranma. He stood for a single moment, glowing with celestial glory, the image of a god of battle, before the light from heaven faded to leave behind a man. He wore a white, sleeveless tunic of purest silk, loose black pants gathered in at the ankles and waist, and slippers of costly make. A golden sash encircled his hips. A smile that warmed Akane like the sun rested upon his lips when he turned his gaze to her.

With a glad cry, she rushed into his waiting arms in a single bound, her tears of joy at finally having won the man of her dreams filling her eyes. She had fought so hard for him, her love for this man carrying her through battle after savage battle. The pains of her recent injuries faded out, washed away by the touch of his hands upon her. She was content, her body enjoying a feeling of bliss at feeling his warmth against her.

"You have done well, young warrior," rumbled the voice from above, the clouds parting to reveal an angelic being that resembled Kimiko Tendo. "Let no one take your prize from you. Struggle with all your might to keep him against all future challengers, for men like him love women of spirit and strength. Be strong, and he will come to love you as deeply as you love him."

"I will," whispered Akane, turning her gaze upwards to capture Ranma's. For a timeless moment, the pair stood there, as Akane felt her heart thundering in her chest. She closed her eyes as his face moved gently down towards hers, and she held him tightly in her arms. "I'll never let you go, Ranma. You're the warrior I've been waiting for all my life. I love you."

Their lips moved near to forge a kiss together-

-and the beeping of Akane's alarm clock shattered the perfect image as she roused from slumber, her arms clutching her pillow tightly to her chest. She blinked at the morning light from the sun just peeking over the horizon, the happiness of a moment ago now lost. She grumbled at the clock, her hand fumbling to turn off its incessant noise. Her lips curled into a snarl as memories of the events of the weekend filled her thoughts. Her head still hurt a little from the impact of the barbell into the back of her skull, and it had taken her hours to scrub the last traces of manure from her skin and hair.

"That pink-haired bimbo is going to pay for that," Akane muttered, "and she's not going to take my Ranma away from me." She sat up in bed and stretched, feeling her drowsiness fading away to full wakefulness within moments. The image of the girl's face was seared into her mind. She had only seen her for mere moments, before Akane fell from her perch outside Ranma's room the other night, but that had been more than long enough. Akane never forgot a face. She would find out who that other girl was and convince her to stay away from him, since she was now certain of one thing.

Ranma Saotome was destined to be hers.

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"Oh, Dachi-chan," Ranma murmured into the noblewoman's ear softly, his lips brushing lightly against her skin. A shiver of pleasure ran through her at his actions. "How could I have been so blind to your incredible beauty and grace? You are my one, true love." His hand stole upwards to take hers in its grasp as he sat back to gaze lovingly at her, his eyes meeting hers. He was richly dressed as a nobleman of centuries past, in a red and black kimono of fine cottons, his feet shod with sandals. A smile lit his face.

"And you are mine, my beloved," whispered Kodachi softly, feeling her face reddening at his boldness, even as she felt herself yearning for him to do more. Much more. "Never has any man made me feel such sublime, glorious passions." She lowered her gaze, suddenly unable to contain the feelings that the sight of his blue eyes generated within her. Her nose inhaled the sweet scent of cherry blossoms from the blooming trees surrounding them, further heightening her feelings.

She was dressed in an expensive kimono of greens and purples, her delicate feet protected from the rough stones by sandals of her own. Her hand felt so warm in his, and she felt so safe in his presence. It was a perfect moment.

"Is this what your dreams about Saotome-kun are always going to be like?" asked a wondering voice, sounding a little exasperated. "Every time it's the same thing. I would expect them to be a little bit more exciting than holding hands by now."

"Who?" asked Kodachi, looking around. The scene around her suddenly froze in place, and Ranma was like a statue next to her. A movement nearby caught her eyes, and who it was surprised her.

"Just me," replied the figure who stepped out from behind a tree, dressed in the gray and white uniform of Furinkan Reformatory High School on a different Earth. It was another Kodachi, her mannerisms somewhat harder, tougher, but there was a glint of amusement in her eyes as she nodded her head slightly in greeting. "Hello, Kuno-dono."

Kodachi stood up, her hand released from Ranma's unresisting one. He sat where she had left him, like a marionette waiting for the guiding hand of a puppeteer. Kodachi went over to Sukeban-Kodachi and bowed politely. "Hello, Kuno-san."

After a few moments spent with the two just staring at each other, Sukeban-Kodachi coughed once and stepped past Kodachi to approach Ranma's unmoving form. She reached out and touched his cheek gently, saying, "A good-looking guy we've got here, Kuno-dono. I know I'd do a damn sight more with him than hold his hand." After briefly glancing back at the noblewoman with a grin, she knelt down a bit and gave Ranma a passionate kiss on the lips, one that was returned eagerly when the figure of the boy suddenly came alive again, as if the puppeteer had returned. Her hands went behind his head to run her fingers through his hair, tugging playfully on his pigtail, and his hands slid up and down her flanks and sides.

Kodachi blushed to see another version of herself acting so forward with Ranma. It was so scandalous, even if it was nothing more than some sort of dream-simulation version of him. But she did not interrupt and simply watched the other girl demonstrating her kissing technique, one which apparently involved tongues as much as lips.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" calmly asked a now-familiar voice from right behind her.

The noblewoman turned around to see yet another version of her standing there, this one dressed in the blue uniform of an Imperial Academy science cadet. The other Kodachi adjusted her glasses as she studied the scene playing out before the two of them with clinical detachment. She had forgotten she once needed them, and she was grateful that she did not in her present existence. That life as a shy scholar seemed like, well, like it was a lifetime ago. Behind her, soft, animal sighs and deep moans of pleasure could be heard coming from Sukeban-Kodachi.

"She certainly seems to be getting into the proper spirit for her demonstration, doesn't she?" asked Scholar-Kodachi placidly, watching the kissing and groping going on between Sukeban-Kodachi and the Ranma simulacra growing more heated and passionate. "She's definitely a free spirit. I think I'm jealous."

"Who are you?" asked Kodachi, feeling more than a little weirded out at the direction her dream had gone.

"Oh, sorry about that," said the other girl sheepishly. "I was just playing around with you. I keep forgetting that it takes you a little while to remember in these dreams who we all are." She began pointing. "The one currently sating her passions over there you already know, the Black Rose of Furinkan Reformatory High School. I'm the original you that once was, before your first use of the resonator, the nerdy scholar who was intrigued at the thought of seeing alternate quantum realities with Saotome-kun's device. Now I'm just part of the greater whole, the gestalt that was formed by multiple versions of one person all sort of co-existing in one brain. And you're the dreamer, which I guess would make you the manifestation of that gestalt personality. It's all quite interesting from a psychological perspective."

"We've talked like this before?" asked Kodachi hesitantly. "I don't recall-"

"Not to worry," interrupted the other girl placidly. "We've had almost this same conversation at the beginning of every one of these lucid dreams you have. When you're awake, we all merge back into that gestalt personality, composed of memories from every one of the alternate lives we've integrated. It's only when you're asleep that this playground of the subconscious forms, and we can all talk as relative equals. Some memories of that can sometimes carry back into the waking world, but I guess it's not very much." She made a grandly sweeping gesture that encompassed all three versions of Kodachi. "The three of us are the main personas, but there are others that might pop in from dream to dream."

"Like who?" asked the noblewoman.

"Oh, there's also the one who lived under her mother's thumb all her life, never questioning her role and always being the obedient and dutiful daughter," said Scholar-Kodachi. "She's the version of you that once wholly owned this body and mind we all share now. She was terribly lonely, practicing her dancing and acrobatics with all her passion, since it was all she really had. Meeting a man like Saotome-kun, even as merely a part of us, has made her happier than she was for a long, long time."

"Speaking of happy girls, check out the Black Rose getting it on over there with Saotome-kun," said Scholar-Kodachi as she pointed over at Sukeban-Kodachi. She and the Ranma-simulation were both pretty much undressed now, currently involved in some extremely amorous activities that brought a bright red blush to Kodachi's face to see. "She has some powerful sexual needs, and I've learned not to disturb her until she's satisfied them. Whenever you feel the urge to just pin Ranma against a wall or some piece of furniture and have your wicked way with him, that's pretty much her. Anyway, Miss Delinquent over there is almost pure libido, lover and warrior. In a way, I admire her, and watching the memories of our fights with Asuka and Akane is a lot of fun."

"Now me, I'm the planner and thinker," she continued, gesturing at herself. "I observe what goes on around us, but I prefer to concern myself with intellectual pursuits. A lot of me is in you. How much? I'm not really sure, but since you think of yourself as being me, then it's probably a good portion of the gestalt personality." Her little lecture apparently at an end, she turned to watch the activities going on between Sukeban-Kodachi and the Ranma image, and she shook her head in amusement. "She's such an animal."

"Oh my," said Kodachi, turning to look at what was now going on. The two figures had all but ripped the remaining clothes off each other now, both of them struggling like animals against each other with licentious abandon. She could only stare, oddly fascinated to see another version of herself doing such intimate, passionate things with Ranma. "So, she wasn't-" She stopped suddenly, unable to ask her other self.

"Virgin? Unblemished? Unsullied? Pure as the driven snow?" asked Scholar-Kodachi with a straight face. "What do you think?" Seeing the deep blush on the other girl, she smirked. "No, but I believe that Saotome-kun's performance is taken from memories of an old boyfriend of hers from her Earth, Miki something-or-other. I certainly never did anything like that with my version of him, and the Kodachi of this world was too shy to even imagine ever doing that sort of thing with a boy."

"Would Saotome-kun like that, do you think?" asked Kodachi softly. While watching what Sukeban-Kodachi was doing to her companion, she tried to recall why the name Miki sounded familiar, but she gave up when the memory eluded her. The sight of what was going on before her was too distracting, but she could not seem to bring herself to turn her gaze aside from witnessing the spectacle.

"I'm sure he would," said Scholar-Kodachi, looking somewhat flushed herself. Her previous demeanor of cool indifference had washed away as the moans and cries from the other Kodachi finally reached a peak, the two figures on the bench locked together in a sweating tangle of limbs.

When it was finally over, the noblewoman began fanning herself with a large, painted fan she removed from a fold of her kimono.

"Well, while Miss Delinquent over there pulls herself back together," said Scholar-Kodachi slowly. "Have you given any thought as to what you're going to do about this Utena Tenjou situation?"

"We trash the little bimbo!" snarled Sukeban-Kodachi, startling the other two with her sudden appearance. Though only a moment had passed, she was dressed once again in her uniform, her yo-yo gripped tightly in her hand. "Nobody steals a man away from the Black Rose! Especially not my Ranma-sama!" She cast a fond look back at the slumbering form of her recent partner in coital activities, before her face returned to its fierce look.

"Quite," said Scholar-Kodachi mildly, after blinking at her fellow Kodachi-variant's outburst. "After we give her fair warning to stay away from him, though."

"I agree," said Kodachi. "Saotome-kun may have simply been using the little tramp to gain some experience. Men are like that, although his doing it was a bit of a surprise to me." She could not quite hide the hurt she felt in her heart at not being her beloved's first taste of the pleasures of the flesh. Utena's theft of that privilege from her awakened an intense anger from deep within.

"It looks like you've been outvoted this time, Black Rose," said Scholar-Kodachi. "Maybe we can go pick a fight with Akane to tide you over in the meantime."

"That does sound like fun," mused Sukeban-Kodachi with a vicious grin, lashing out with her yo-yo to take the head off a marble statue. It snapped back into her waiting palm a moment later. "She and I still have unfinished business."

"You're so violent, you rage-aholic," teased Scholar-Kodachi. "How I can share a mind with an emotional jock like you is beyond me."

"Can it, geek girl!" snarled the other, although there was not very much venom in her tone. Her grim look faded as she turned to look at the noblewoman. "So when are we finally going to bed the real Ranma-sama? Doing it with these dream images is fun for a while, but a girl's got needs, ya know. There just isn't any substitute for the real thing, and it'll do us all a lot of good to take the edge off."

Kodachi blushed and muttered something incoherent as she stared at the ground.

Scholar-Kodachi came to her rescue, saying, "Stop pushing her, you delinquent. I think once we get Nabiki occupied with Tachi-kun, that'll clear the field for us to claim Saotome-kun's heart. The two of them seem to have some attraction for each other. If I do say so myself, I think it's one of my best schemes. With Akane gone to Furinkan, and after we warn off this Utena tramp, then all will be well. We'll be the only one left in his life. None of the rest of those cows at the Imperial Academy holds a candle to the grace and beauty we offer him."

The trio continued to talk about many things, hours seeming to pass in this dream-world. Despite their strong differences in personality, there were enough things they all held in common that they could talk about. Whenever Sukeban-Kodachi got bored, she would wander off from the other two, either to fight with dream images of Akane, Nabiki, or sometimes Utena. Occasionally she would go for another session of 'wrestling' with the Ranma-image.

After a time, off in the distance a bell suddenly began to sound. The scenery around her faded away, preceded by her other selves vanishing within her as if drawn by a powerful magnet.

Kodachi heard the soft chimes of her alarm clock, waking her from a pleasant dream involving Ranma. The details were somewhat vague, many of them quite erotic, but she felt very refreshed by it. Still only half-awake, her mood darkened as she recalled Ranma had ended his innocence in the arms of another woman. That experience should have been hers.

"Utena Tenjou," she muttered venomously. "No woman steals a man from the Black Rose." Then she blinked, now fully awake, startled at the level of her aggressive feelings for the other girl. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling a few tangles that would have to be combed out before classes.

A sigh escaped her lips once more as she gazed out the window, her mind awash with thoughts of love for the pigtailed boy in her life. She had felt so lonely on this world, a stranger in a strange land. Now she had found someone who understood what it was like for her, and she would fight to her dying breath to have him by her side. She clenched a fist tightly as her thoughts of love faded away, replaced by iron determination to overcome any obstacle in her way. No other woman would have him.

Kodachi was only dimly aware of the other selves within her mind, long ago having subsumed them all into herself. But sometimes she could imagine their voices speaking to her in her dreams, and, like now, occasionally elements of their personalities would emerge from deep within her while she was awake. She had once feared that she might have been going mad, but she was reasonably certain that was not the case. She did know one thing though, and that was that all of the individual selves within her had come to love the pigtailed boy, each in their own way.

As long as I have Saotome-kun, then all will be well, thought Kodachi with a loving smile. After she had come back, almost in tears from what she had heard while visiting his house that night, Sasuke had noticed how upset she had been and had shared a secret with her to try and cheer her up: her beloved Ranma-sama was her fiancé. The noblewoman still did not know if she dared believe it or not, but she would not force the man she loved to marry her only out of some obligation of honor. She wanted him to come to her willingly, to choose her above all the other women now pursuing him. After she had dealt with the unworthy piece of gutter trash named Utena Tenjou, she would tell him how she felt.

Maybe.

If she could find the courage to do it, since her heart quailed in fear at the mere thought of telling him her innermost feelings. If he ever rejected her, she would be devastated.

Drawing her knees up to her chest, Kodachi hugged them and slowly rocked back and forth on her bed. Ranma-sama will come to love me, she reassured herself, and his love will keep me sane.

In the back of her mind, a small chorus of voices, each identical to her own, murmured agreement with the sentiment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ukyo Kuonji spun the naginata around in her hands, feeling the weapon responding to her with ease. Her eyes were closed as she used her other senses to reach out and feel what lay in the area around her. The movements of air against her face, and the slight sounds heard, gave her mind a clear picture of what surrounded her. She deftly cut and thrust with both the butt and blade of the weapon. The balance was quite a bit different from her battle spatula, but polearms had always been her favorite weapons, especially the naginata. She shifted her grip slightly as she spun down into the conclusion of her kata, and she grounded the butt of the weapon with a final flourish.

"Your form is good," Yumi commented mildly from behind Ukyo. "But your thoughts are distracted. If I'd been an enemy, you'd be dead now."

"I was aware of your presence, Auntie," said Ukyo calmly as she opened her eyes and turned around. A workout always eased her mind, and, despite her irritation over the events of the weekend, this time was no exception. She spun the naginata around once more, showing off her control a bit, before ending with the haft of the weapon beneath the pit of her arm.

"Care to talk about what's bothering you yet?" Yumi inquired. "You came back in a foul mood the other night, not to mention smelling of lard."

Ukyo grumbled. She set the naginata down in the weapon rack in the backyard region of her aunt's restaurant and picked up a ninjato. Without replying, she began working through a new kata with the short sword, trying to regain the serenity of a few moments ago.

"I see," said Yumi. "Man trouble, eh?"

Ukyo's precise movements faltered for a split second, and her facial expression changed to a frown as she said, "I went over to Ranchan's house to visit him. Things didn't go too well."

"Did you two have some sort of a fight?" Yumi picked up a second sword from the rack and moved to engage Ukyo. The two of them fell into a rhythm, cutting and thrusting at each other with live steel.

Ukyo sidestepped a lunge that would have impaled her through the sternum, and growled, "No, but there was some bimbo in his room."

"A rival," said Yumi with a slight frown. "I guess I was wrong about him."

"She won't be one for long," Ukyo muttered, her blade ringing against Yumi's. "He's my fiancé." Just the thought of someone else poaching on her 'territory' bothered the young ninja, and she had never felt this possessive about a guy before. But Ranma was pretty cute, fun to be with, not to mention nicer to her than any guy near her age she had ever met. And then there was the engagement to consider; she had never been engaged before, and family honor was also involved. Losing the pigtailed boy to another girl was just not going to happen. She would fight to keep him, using everything she had within her, every scrap of skill and strength.

Ukyo suddenly ducked, her distracted thoughts having let her aunt get through her defenses to nick her hair, trimming off a few stray locks. For the next several moments, both of them were too involved in their duel to talk, but Ukyo felt herself actually relaxing a bit as the sparring match went on. Fights were easy. It was relationships that were hard.

"Where there's one rival, there can be others," commented Yumi a minute or two later. A slightly darker look was upon her face, as if she was remembering something unpleasant.

"Too bad for them," responded Ukyo quietly. "He's my fiancé, and I don't feel much like sharing him." She suddenly leaped at Yumi, her blade moving with great speed. Her aunt blocked, and their blades briefly locked together, the two of them straining against each other.

She's stronger than she looks, Yumi thought. Despite her heavier (what someone feeling particularly suicidal would even call mannish) build, she was actually feeling her strength being challenged a bit by the younger girl. The two of them bared their teeth at each other as the contest of strength continued, but the older ninja took advantage of her greater size and strength to slowly shove a resisting Ukyo back. When her niece was slightly off balance from her efforts, Yumi suddenly slipped to one side and spun around quickly, her sword blurring in an arc of motion.

Ukyo whipped around to defend, but she was a fraction of a second too slow to block the strike. Her vision filled with a galaxy of stars as Yumi backfisted her hard across the face, her aunt putting a fair amount of her shoulder strength into it, as well as her fist being weighted with her weapon. Ukyo backed away, shaking her ringing head to try and clear it. A kick slammed into her gut, but she instinctively rolled with the blow this time, minimizing the damage. A second kick narrowly missed her head as she twisted to one side, but the follow-up sword stroke neatly disarmed her, her weapon twisted from her grip to go flying.

"That old man taught you well," remarked Yumi with a sudden smile, holding her blade just beneath a still dazed Ukyo's chin. It had taken her more effort than she had expected to best her niece this time, and the girl's speed was astonishing for one so young to have. "But you're going to need to get even better if you have any rivals for your fiancé's affections, since I'm willing to guess that the girl you mentioned gave you those bruises you had." And I won't see you lose Ranma, not like I once lost- Yumi quickly quashed that painful memory from her youth. Anyway, I won't see you suffer that pain, not if I can help it.

Ukyo grumbled an affirmative to her aunt's last statement, angry with herself for letting the pink-haired girl surprise her like that. Her hands closed into tight fists, as she growled, "So what should I do?"

"I want you to learn everything you can about the girls you might be dealing with," said Yumi thoughtfully, "starting with the one that bruised up your face. Consider her to be your first assignment. Study her from a distance, learn all of her strengths and weaknesses, and figure out the best methods to defeat her. A ninja strikes best when she strikes at an enemy from surprise, after having studied her opponent carefully."

"I see," said Ukyo tightly. She caught her breath and tried to calm herself. "I'll make you proud of me, Auntie. No way am I going to fail my family and lose my fiancé to some bimbo."

"That's the spirit, Ukyo-chan," cheered Yumi, clapping her niece on the shoulders. "Our ancestors would be proud of you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki's fist slammed into the heavy bag once again, rocking it back on its chain.

"Stupid jerk," she muttered, a sad heaviness in her chest. She hated feeling like this, so weak and vulnerable, all because she lov- liked Ranma Saotome. The feelings from her analog had mixed with her own, and now she could not tell where one left off and the other began. And the clear memory of what she had discovered in her father's desk the other day, while she had been innocently looking for a pen, only increased the pain in her heart.

Ranma had been her fiancé for over a week, and her father had kept this fact a secret from her. Nabiki suspected the fake Genma's hand in this, and she made a mental note to beat him senseless if Ranma wasn't able to rescue his real father. Revealing herself to the man would only be used as a last resort. She did not know what he would do if he learned that she was another heir to the Anything-Goes School.

That their engagement had been kept a secret didn't really hurt, and she assumed that her father had what he saw as good reasons for letting her think she and Ranma were only a 'semi-official' couple. But after learning he was her fiancé, it only made the pigtailed boy's recent actions hurt her all the more, even though she knew he was unaware of their engaged status. Her head said one thing, her feelings another. She felt betrayed. That other Nabiki may have been content to share Ranma with other women, but she hated the idea.

As she retracted her arm, her other fist hit the bag with equal force to the other savage strike. Sweat rolled down her face from the intensive efforts she had been making since long before dawn. She had slept poorly, her thoughts refusing to let go of the image of Ranma inviting Utena Tenjou to his house for the night.

"Womanizer," Nabiki growled, lashing out with a swift series of punches to pummel the bag. She still had not mastered the Amaguriken, but she could feel the knowledge of how it felt within her. Unfortunately, her body lacked the rarefied levels of speed that were the requirement for performing it. But it was only a matter of time until her training built her up to that level and then she would show Ranma who was the strongest, as well as any girl that tried to come between them. He had only gotten lucky in their last fight. She had more experience, heavier training in her skills. The next time they battled, Ranma would be the one laid out unconscious. Her analog never lost, not when it really counted, and Nabiki refused to accept her temporary defeat. She just needed to train harder and then victory over the pigtailed boy would be hers.

Her fists drove hard into the bag in a staccato pattern. It was filled with small, steel ball bearings, and her mother had always made her use it to toughen her hands and feet into weapons. Akane still used this bag daily, and Nabiki was quickly regaining the ground lost to her sister due to her long period of half-hearted training. Her hands were growing tougher, more callused and solid from her efforts, inured to any sort of pain as she dealt out punishing blows. She was grateful for that. She could see that she would have her work cut out for her with the level of competition that was now around, and she needed to be in top shape.

"That little, pink-haired, cross-dressing bimbo," she snarled, switching her efforts back to her legs. Strike after hard strike was hurled into the bag, immense force precisely channeled by her skills. A final kick actually blew the bag off its chain, snapping the links cleanly. Nabiki watched it fly out the door of the training hall to slam into the wall of the yard, and the heavily-abused bag promptly burst open to spill out a pile of ball bearings beneath it. Her breathing was deep as she struggled against the frustrations still welling up within her, the feeling that her property was being taken from her. Finally, her control won out, and she quickly regained her composure as she went over to the other still-hanging bag.

Utena Tenjou was not going to complicate Nabiki's plans for Ranma. He was her fiancé, and no one else's. Kodachi was no real threat to her as competition, and Akane could be finessed out of the way, given enough time and someone other than the pigtailed boy as a target for her passions. Perhaps the marriage meeting taking place this week at Kuno Manor would give her little sister that new target.

That only left one person that she could admit to some concern about, even if only to herself: Ukyo Kuonji.

The okonomiyaki chef had managed to appear in Nerima to complicate Nabiki's life in this timeline, a quite unwelcome and unexpected factor in her plans, and her abilities as a fighter were still unknown. She felt certain that she was probably quite good. Yuka had given her an update on the weekend, covering Ranma's activities that week before his fight with Utena. Among the entries was the status of the other two marriage meetings.

Nabiki felt somewhat reassured to hear that neither of the meetings had apparently resulted in any firm agreement between the Saotomes and the other two families, but she did not trust Genma to leave things well enough alone. And Ranma, that idiotic jerk, had taken the little, cross-dressing, backwoods bimbo out on a date. To make matters worse, only a few days later, he had taken the other cross-dresser, Utena Tenjou, to his home for the entire night. Nabiki found herself wondering about that. Just what was it with Ranma and his apparent attraction to these cross-dressing girls? Did he like that type?

Feeling her levels of frustration rising once again, she began working them off on the other punching bag. Fists and feet began brutalizing its thick leather skin, and she muttered a mantra as she drove blow after blow into it as hard as she could, the muscles in her shoulders and arms burning with each effort.

"Stupid jerk."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"That Utena girl was very nice, Ranma," said Nodoka with a smile as she set out breakfast. Genma began eating from each serving dish less than a moment after they hit the table, earning Nodoka's wrathful gaze each time. But she was more interested in the marked improvements to her son's social life than chastising her husband on his chronically bad habits of late, so she let it pass for now. A wonderful vision of grandchildren that she could help take care of filled her mind, cute pink-haired girls and darling black-haired boys.

"Yeah, she was," Ranma said absently, his attention more on getting enough to eat at the moment. He fought off Genma's efforts to take food from his plate with moderate ease, even stealing from the other man's plate now and then.

"So would you like me to speak to Utena-chan's guardian about arranging a marriage with her?" asked Nodoka, settling down to eat. She kept Genma in line with only a glare from her eyes, allowing her son to focus on what she was saying.

"What?" Ranma yelped. "Of course not!" Judging by his mother's reaction, he thought that might not have been the expected response.

"Well, I suppose I could wait until you try out the other three girls, to see which one is most compatible for you," said Nodoka with a placid expression. "You are welcome to bring any of them home with you, of course. Just try to be a little quieter when you show them how manly you are. All that banging and crashing was quite distracting."

Ranma almost did a spit-take with a mouthful of rice. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what the other girls would do to him if they thought he was trying them all out 'that' way. A vision of a wrathful Nabiki, who he could admit was almost as good a fighter as he was, caused his pigtail to stand out straight from his neck. He swallowed his rice nervously, hoping the conversation would change to something else.

"So when are you taking the other girls on dates?" Genma interjected, apparently enjoying how things were progressing.

Ranma glared at the man, adding a mental tally mark to the list in his mind. It was growing fairly long.

"I'll do it when I get around to it," he growled. "Don't push me, old man!"

"Ranma! That's no way to speak to your father!" Nodoka scolded.

"He's NOT-" Ranma started to shout, before freezing up.

"Yes, boy?" said Genma ingenuously, before munching on a fried egg.

"Sorry," Ranma muttered, staring down at his rice bowl as if it had mortally offended him.

"Nabiki and Kodachi should really be your first choices for a wife anyway," said Genma smugly. "That Kodachi girl's father and I go way back, and the Tendo's connections would make for a good match."

"And that Ukyo girl also seemed quite taken with you," Nodoka contributed, glad to see how many girls desired her son. "But you should date all of them until you make your choice. It's only fair, after all. They all deserve a chance."

"Yes, Mother," said Ranma, hoping that sounding agreeable might stop her from pressing the issue. He was already dreading what was surely waiting for him at the Academy after his loss to Utena in front of the Dean and his coach. The girls could wait until he settled that matter.

Genma smirked and took advantage of Ranma's distraction to steal some more food. Things were going well as far as he was concerned.

"I'm finished," mumbled Ranma as he stood up from the table and went to retrieve his things for school.

"Have a good day, Ranma," said Nodoka with a smile. She would have to remember to give him Utena's panties, the ones that she had found in his room after the girl had left. Returning them would give him an excuse to see his new lover, and Nodoka was sure that he must have been looking forward to seeing the other girl again. After all, he had returned home looking so distracted from escorting the girl to the train station.

Then, her expression darkened as she recalled the challenge letter that had arrived that morning. She would have to train extra hard to ensure that she crushed Kenseiko Kuno's laughable desires for revenge. The idea of that pompous woman thinking she can actually beat me is simply ludicrous, thought Nodoka scornfully. Still, it might be wise for her to consult with Achika or her grandfather to see what they thought. Her friend's grandfather, Katsuhito Masaki, had always been like a wise uncle to her, ever since the day she had first met him.

Nodoka knew she never would have been able to keep ahead of Achika without the old man's assistance, and his knowledge of sword-fighting techniques was astonishing in its breadth and depth. Over the years spent as both rival and friend to Achika, Nodoka had learned of the Masaki's illustrious history, going all the way back through the centuries to the mysterious Yosho, the enigmatic wanderer who once saved an Emperor and did battle with powerful demons. To this day, she could not say why he had decided to teach her, the brawling ragamuffin she had once been, the true art of the sword.

Ranma went out the door feeling like a condemned man. His only bright thought was at least the girls weren't aware of Utena's presence at his house overnight. Training would relax and focus him, and he was sure that this week wouldn't have any new surprises. After all, how many complications could one be dealt?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Manami Minami frowned a bit as she concentrated upon her reflection in her bedroom mirror. Today was an important day for the young Ghost Sweeper, her first day attending classes at the Imperial Academy, so she wanted to present just the right image. She stood nude, save for a slender pair of pale pink panties, contemplating her appearance with mild distaste. The extra kilograms of mass she carried upon her frame had long distressed her, but they stubbornly resisted diets and her occasional short-lived efforts at exercise.

If Minami would have taken the time to ask the average boy's honest opinion of her appearance, then the young Ghost Sweeper might have been surprised to hear herself called 'cute' by them. She did not think of herself that way and was often very critical of her visual appeal, so she was often guilty of a tendency to bolster her self-esteem by being louder and more overbearing than was considered proper in a young lady. This tendency came to the fore most often whenever she was confused with her fellow Ghost Sweeper, Reiko Mikami, who Minami (she disliked using her first name at all) considered to be nothing more than a mercenary, self-promoting relic far past her prime.

On the other hand, Minami looked up to Ayaka Kisaragi, yet another fellow Ghost Sweeper. Of course, this was despite her also being far past her prime for such things as well, at least as far as a girl Minami's age was concerned. Why, Kisaragi-sensei was only just a few years shy of thirty! That was ancient! Still, regardless of that, Ayaka was a woman who epitomized the image of a beautiful, ghost-busting priestess in the girl's eyes. She was looking forward to seeing her old mentor once again, especially when she showed off the 'new' Minami to the boys at the Academy.

Having lived a life that revolved around magic, she possessed powers capable of blasting a demon or other sorts of evil denizens of the spirit world into so much primordial ash. So it was perhaps inevitable that, when her own dedication and self-proclaimed perseverance at diets and exercise had failed to give her the sexy body she yearned to have, she turned to magic. She simply considered it to be a necessary action, especially since she had not had a date in months. Magic would solve her troubles, she was certain of it.

The young Ghost Sweeper's thoughts darkened. If the boys training at the Academy shared similar tendencies to those of their Institute compatriots, then they were likely enamored of trim-bodied bimbos with room-temperature IQs. At the Institute, Minami's rivals for male attentions had been the unfairly attractive, so-called 'magical girls' that populated a portion of the female ranks there. While she knew they were a publicity project on the part of the Institute, an attempt to mainstream Mobius' activities in order to get more funding, having to compete with them for the boys attentions hurt. Even her Gosunkugi-kun seemed to have some brain-dead bimbo or muscle-headed jock girl that he liked better than her; she could almost see it in his eyes.

How could a bright and intelligent girl like herself, who was admittedly somewhat less glamorous and gorgeous than some fuku-clad super heroine with long legs, compete with the likes of a bimbo like Sailor V? It just wasn't fair, but at least there weren't any more of her type around. A team of Sailor Scouts would have sent Minami into a state of deep depression. Give some ditz a totally sexist costume and some magical paraphernalia, and the boys went berserk, she grumbled. Pictures of the particular floozy in question, Sailor V, were adorning the lockers of most of the boys attending the Institute right now, and even some of the girls.

Then again, even the more normal girls at the Institute seemed to have better social lives than she did, such as her oldest friend, Rei Hino. If she closed her eyes and remembered, Minami could still hear the unintentionally-cutting remarks from the other girl, bubbling on endlessly about her new fiancé, Tenchi Masaki. She had been engaged to the guy for weeks already, and her happiness was getting to be grating. As much as she valued having Rei for a friend, sometimes she seemed to border on being a bimbo as well. Maybe that was how she snagged the attention of her fiancé, Minami mused darkly.

Still, if that sort of superficial fluff was what the boys wanted, then Minami would use magic herself to become just as attractive, a magical girl in her own right.

Getting away from the Institute would be good for other reasons as well. Minami looked forward to the fact that, being the only Ghost Sweeper in residence at the Imperial Academy (an older lady like Kisaragi-sensei not counting), she was certain to earn a goodly amount of prestige among her future female classmates that she had not had at the Institute. Not to mention having better luck with the boys. And if the Academy turned out to be crawling with hidden pockets of ghosts or demons, then she could finish earning her status as a fully-licensed Ghost Sweeper in no time at all. So this had been the optimal time to remake her outward image. Finding that book on cosmetic sorcery on a back shelf of the Institute's library had been a gift from the heavens for her and her plans.

Enough standing around, she thought, quickly calling up the memory of the spell from the recesses of her mind. With her arms crossed before her, she closed her eyes and began to chant, the tips of each of her index fingers beginning to glow brightly with greenish-white light.

"In Benten's name, goddess of love and beauty, I summon the power to me," she intoned. The Ghost Sweeper lifted her hands, reaching above herself as her chanting became more commanding in tone. "Let my flesh be as clay that I shall craft by my will. By Benten's grace, I bind the power to my commands."

Above her head, the light trailing from her fingertips did not fade away, but resolved itself into thin traceries of mystic runes and symbols, the bright glow somehow imprinting itself into the very air. She completed the elaborate glyph with a swooping circle that enclosed the other symbols. When that was done, she felt a very faint tugging at her powers, and a transparent column of yellow sparkles now enclosed her.

Her nude form, reflected in the mirror, began a slow series of changes as it altered under the control of her will. The soft, golden radiance clothed her figure as her invoked sorcery changed what nature had given her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as her attention focused upon her torso.

Easy does it now**,** she thought, even as her gaze swept up and down her figure. After all, it just wouldn't do to rush perfection, now would it? Despite being slightly overweight, she was already a cute girl, but she wanted more. She wanted to be more desirable than merely being cute, to become a femme fatale, and her sorceries were about to make it real for her. She had been carefully constructing the image she wished to become in her mind for the last several days, and now she was being equally careful in molding herself into that form.

Minami smiled joyously as her waist, hips, and thighs gradually narrowed, each area of her lower torso losing centimeters off of their respective circumferences. Her breasts had already been a good size for her frame, and nicely firm, but she still took a portion of that excess mass and shifted it up to her bustline, expanding her endowments by a couple of centimeters. The unused mass vanished away. She watched the entire process with glittering eyes, as her body morphed from being plumply cute into one that would have left many typical teenaged boys totally bereft of their wits, especially if they ever witnessed it unclothed like this. A few more changes and then she could finish the spell and lock it into place until the next sunrise.

The adjustments to her figure slowed and stopped, the muscles running beneath her skin having firmed up just enough to satisfy her without giving her too athletic an appearance, her will imposing the semblance of increased tone upon them. The color of her skin took on a lightly tanned hue, just enough to add to the overall image of beauty she was crafting with her flesh. She was rather proud of the fact that she was getting better with this particular spell, and it showed in the smile on her face as she studied her newly-enhanced figure. She felt the tug on her powers as her old shape sought to reestablish itself. She could not take too much longer, but she still had enough time to complete her adjustments.

Now for the eyes, and then I'm done, Minami thought with pleasure. She turned her attention to her face, grateful that nature had already given her attractive features. She was still uncertain enough of the use of her skills with this spell that she did not care to risk modifying the bone structures of her face. That was a much more delicate change than the alterations to her figure, and, if she messed up, she would have to begin the spell from scratch all over again.

Her eyes glowed slightly, the irises changing to an emerald green. She experimented a bit by adding some light flecks of gold to the coloring, staring closely into the reflecting glass. She could not wear her glasses during this part of the spell, so she was standing quite close to the mirror. She blinked at the sight of her newly-recolored eyes and nodded with satisfaction.

The tugging on her energies was becoming more insistent, like an itch that she could not allow herself to scratch without undoing all of her work in an instant.

The young Ghost Sweeper ran her hands through her hair, a playful smile on her lips, deciding to leave it the rich red color nature had given her. Minami was quite pleased at the results of the changes to her appearance. She stepped back a half pace from the glass and began the chant that would seal the spell into place.

"Great goddess of beauty who dwells amidst the heavens," she intoned in a deep voice, her hands sweeping back and forth in front of her body as her fingers went through mystical gestures with grace and certainty. Waves of power emanated from her bare skin with each pass. "I call upon you to bless this work that I have wrought upon my own flesh, to anoint your power upon me and seal it upon my form. I call upon you, Benten, to bless my flesh with thy power. Let this body be as it now is until the next dawning of the sun, in the name of eternal womanhood. Let the pact be now made and the blessing be now sealed. So it is commanded, so shall it be."

There was a brief flash of white light, and then Minami sensed the tugging on her powers abruptly release as the spell completed and locked into place. Feeling a little tension in her upper back, she stretched her arms and shoulders backwards to relieve the kink in her spine. When she released herself from her stretch, she let loose a soft sigh and surveyed her reformed body in the mirror. A smile lit her face as she posed briefly, enjoying the look of herself as she moved.

Her smile returned briefly to a frown as an old hurt reared up in the back of her mind, her hand briefly closing into a dainty fist. That insensitive little jerk, Gosunkugi-baka, will see just what he's missing when I start going out with cute guys at the Imperial Academy, she grumbled. He'll be sorry with the way that he's overlooked me all these years. A girl has her limits to how long she can wait to be noticed as a desirable woman before striking back, you know. Yeah, just you wait, Hikaru Gosunkugi. You'll be begging me for a date before too much longer. And you'd better, she thought venomously, if you know what's good for you. A disturbing sort of feminine laugh rose up from deep within her to fill her bedroom for several long moments.

Feeling somewhat cheered by the planned changes to her social life, Minami pulled out her new Imperial Academy uniform from the closet and laid it over her desk chair. She would miss wearing her traditional Ghost Sweeper robes all of the time, as she did at the Institute, but it was a relatively small price to pay. She had picked up this uniform yesterday afternoon, one of several she had ordered tailored to fit her modified figure. But before she started to put it on, she slipped on her brassiere and adjusted it, feeling it snugging her newly-enhanced figure a little tightly.

"Well, it's a little small on me," Minami considered. "But if I know guys, a little extra up top won't hurt my chances at getting a date. Maybe I'll just let them be closer to their normal size when I have to recast the spell tomorrow." Studying herself once more in the mirror, she made a mental note to pick up some more underwear, maybe some sexy new lingerie to sleep in. She had saved up quite a bit of money for a spending spree, and she was looking forward to using it.

She pulled on her new uniform, starting with the white cotton blouse, tailored to fit her figure, and quickly buttoning it up. Next came the skirt, cut slightly high, but it showed off a satisfying amount of calf to her eyes. After her skirt was zipped up, she flopped down into the chair at her desk and put on her socks, briefly running her hands up her newly-trimmed calves with obvious delight as she did so. Realizing she had almost forgotten something, she opened her desk drawer and pulled out a small box. Within it was revealed a platinum and gold signet ring, engraved with the symbol of the Mobius Institute. She studied it for several long moments before putting it on, noting the subtle markings etched upon it to designate her current status as a Ghost Sweeper trainee.

She could have worn a pin, fastened on the collar of her uniform jacket like most cadets did, but she preferred the ring. It had the added advantage of being modestly functional as well as symbolic, a special enchantment within it allowing her to transform her clothes into the traditional robes of her calling whenever she so chose. She hoped that wearing it wouldn't frighten off any boys at the Academy, but she was required to wear something to identify herself as a Ghost Sweeper by Imperial Edict.

Minami flipped open her bookbag, checking to make sure that she had her standard-issue kit of supplies from the Institute within it. A Ghost Sweeper must be ready to oppose evil spirits and demons at all times, Minami thought, remembering one of her earliest lessons from Kisaragi-sensei. She checked it over a second time to make doubly sure that everything was there and also added a few small wands from her private collection for good measure, just in case she needed some extra firepower. After all, a girl can't be too careful, she thought.

Picking up the hangar with her jacket on it, as well as her scuffed bookbag, she went downstairs to have breakfast. She was planning on leaving pretty early this morning, since she wanted to make a good first impression on her new instructors. Judging by the smell leading her to the kitchen, breakfast was already prepared.

"Good morning, Manami-chan," her mother pleasantly greeted her upon her arrival in the kitchen. The matriarch of the Minami family was dressed in her usual garb as she prepared the last of breakfast, the white and red robes of a Shinto priestess. A rustling of newspaper was heard from the breakfast table, her father's version of a greeting.

"Good morning, Mother," said Minami brightly, her attitude dimmed only slightly at hearing her first name being used. Perhaps equally as bothersome, her parents seemed to take no notice of the changes to her appearance. Seating herself at her usual place, she turned to face the wall of newspaper. "Good morning, Father."

Breaking the usual pattern of morning events, her sire folded up his newspaper and put it down, finally revealing his appearance to view. Dressed in the robes of a Buddhist priest, he looked solemnly at his daughter.

Minami was shocked to see him paying so much attention to her this morning. Normally, he occupied himself with his newspaper whenever she was around, or prayed at the family altar, or busied himself at the small temple he took care of nearby. Any communication from him usually came by means of her mother relaying it. To this day, Minami wondered how such an intensely private and ascetic man like her father could ever have attracted the attention of her mother, especially when they had such strong differences in their religious beliefs.

"Today you are starting school at the Imperial Academy," he said solemnly, every word uttered as if it was of great import.

Swallowing to hide her sudden nervousness as she looked down at the table, Minami said softly, "Yes, Father."

"While you are there, I want you to carry yourself with the utmost of dignity and honor." The patriarch of the Minami family studied his daughter for a long moment. "Your mother and I know that you will not disappoint us in this."

"Yes, Father."

"I am glad that you understand. You have a responsibility to carry on the traditions of our family as its heir." He paused and studied Minami's mother. "This is a great day of new beginnings for our daughter, honored wife."

"Yes, honored husband," she replied. The elder Minami turned to smile at her daughter. "Your father and I know that you will make a fine priestess someday. When you take over my duties at my shrine-"

"You mean at my temple, don't you, honored wife?" her father quickly interjected. He glared at Minami's mother irately.

"My daughter is going to carry on after me and become a shrine priestess and spirit exorcist, Husband." She stalked over to the man as Minami sighed and began getting out of the line of fire, serving herself breakfast as the argument began its usual escalation.

"She will most certainly NOT!" roared her father. "MY daughter will serve this community as a guide along the path of the Buddha and become a holy nun, as well as destroying the odd demon or two if needs be."

Both of her parents began summoning their powers to back up their respective points of view. Minami gulped down her breakfast on the run and grabbed her things before hightailing it out of the house at high speed. Bright flashes could be seen in the vicinity of the kitchen. The occasional muffled shouts of anger could also be heard.

"Shrine priestess!"

"Holy nun!"

"Shrine priestess!"

"Holy nun!"

"You don't care anything about my feelings, you insensitive lout! Take that!" There was a blast of yellow lightning from one side of the house.

"You harpy from hell! My father warned me about taking up with you! Take this!" Another gout of lightning, this time in a bright green, briefly illuminated the other side of the house.

"I'll have you know that I had my pick of men when I was younger, you ingrate! Try some of this!" Purple lightning flashed out through the windows this time.

"Every day it's the same old argument between them," sighed Minami as she briefly watched the flashes of power roar back and forth before heading off to her new school. "I hope I'm adopted," she muttered. Luckily, in addition to the regular protection spells employed upon the house as a whole, her room was heavily warded to safeguard it from any sort of damage. Nothing short of the magical equivalent to a tactical nuclear warhead would harm its contents. Another loud blast was heard behind her, and she shook her head. "When will they ever learn?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Fuyutsuki-sensei, might I have a moment of your time?"

The older man turned around to see just who had addressed him, almost instantly recognizing Cadet Kashuoh standing there before the boy bowed briefly in greeting. The three strikingly attractive young women with him made this particular cadet rather hard to forget, even without the catlike features they all had. The boy's grandfather had pulled quite a number of strings to have the trio allowed to accompany him on campus as his bodyguards. He smiled at the boy, and said, "Yes, Cadet?"

"Word around the campus is that Saotome-san lost us an important match over the weekend," said Kinnosuke, sounding sad at that.

"Yes, Cadet Saotome did not do as well as I had hoped he would," admitted Fuyutsuki. "But what concern is that of yours?"

"Well, I am wondering if a rematch against Ohtori might be in order?" asked Kinnosuke ingenuously. "As a loyal cadet at our fine institution, I feel obligated to see that the honor of the Imperial Academy is restored."

"A rematch?" Fuyutsuki considered the idea. "I suppose that something could be worked out, but I still don't see how this concerns you, Kashuoh-san."

"Oh, I was thinking that if a rematch were to take place, then Saotome-san will need to do extra training to prepare. Right?"

"That's true," admitted Fuyutsuki, still wondering where this was all going.

"Then I wish to offer to you the services of my bodyguards for this honorable endeavor," said the boy, smiling charmingly. He gestured at the three catgirls. "Pick any one you want, and she'll be Ranma's sparring partner."

Fuyutsuki blinked, astonished at the thought of using a Genom-made lilith, a replicant, as a sparring partner for Ranma. But it was a very intriguing idea. He turned to study the trio, all of them dressed smartly in highly-modified versions of the standard female security cadet uniform. They stood in a state of parade rest, gazing back at him. Each of them looked quite fit and capable.

"Kashuoh-san, they each look to be excellent examples of Genom's mastery of bio-engineering," said Fuyutsuki. "I assume these are the new prototype models to replace the Puma series?" Receiving a nod from the boy, he continued, "I confess that I am not familiar enough with their different performance specifications to decide myself. Which one would you suggest?"

"I think Tiger would be the one best suited for this assignment," said Kinnosuke, after a moment spent in apparent contemplation of the question. He was rewarded to see the redheaded catgirl's eyes shine a bit brighter at his words. "Consider her to be at your disposal for as long as you need her."

"Very generous, Kashuoh-san. You have my gratitude."

"It is the least I can do to show my support for the Academy, Fuyutsuki-sensei," said the boy with that same charming smile. He turned to the trio of catgirls. "Tiger?"

"Yes, Kashuoh-sama?" Tiger answered, stepping forward a half pace.

"I am placing you in Fuyutsuki-sensei's service," said Kinnosuke. "I want you to follow his orders as if they were my own. Do you understand your assignment?"

"Yes, Kashuoh-sama," replied the redheaded catgirl. She stepped over to the older man and knelt down for a moment. "It is my honor to serve you, Fuyutsuki-san." She stood up and smiled.

"I thank you again for the loan of your bodyguard, Kashuoh-san." A faint smile appeared on Fuyutsuki's face, and he found himself to be looking forward much more to his meeting with Ranma. The young catgirl offered up a number of wonderful opportunities. Her enhanced strength, speed, and physical durability would be perfect for a sparring partner for the boy. "Good day to you now." He turned and walked off, Tiger marching along behind him.

When they were alone once again, Kinnosuke turned to the other two catgirls and smiled wickedly.

"I am puzzled as to why you did that, Kinnosuke-sama," said Lynx. "Why did you choose Tiger?" Next to her, Panther nodded in agreement.

"After the news she gave me the other day, I gave the matter some careful thought." A brief memory flashed in his mind, of his temper tantrum upon learning Ranma once again stood in the way of his plans. "I chose Tiger because she knows what I have decided to do about Saotome, and I trust her to carry out my desires." His hand firmly grasped Lynx's chin, tipping her face upwards slightly to meet his gaze. He smiled at her.

"I want him to know pain," he continued softly, "and Tiger will soon administer that pain to him in carefully measured doses, all under the guise of training him. You see, I want him to grow stronger than he is now, Lynx, and pain is an excellent teacher. Defeating him as he is now would be too quick, too easy. I want to savor the memory of his fall for the rest of my life. Saotome is enhanced, as I am, though my dear grandfather chose to gift me with far superior abilities to those offered by those inane fools who now run Project Phoenix. I am faster, and a more powerful warrior than he will ever become, despite his new levels of skill." His finger stroked along Lynx's jawline, caressing it, as he gazed into her eyes. He noted with pleased satisfaction the rapturous look she gave him in return, in response to his touch.

After a moment spent admiring her features, he continued, "Her upgraded status is also why I chose Nabiki Tendo. Although she is admittedly an inferior being when compared to my own abilities, she is still a most exquisite woman, both intellectually and physically superior to normal humans. She will become my consort, the mother of my future children, and I will be her undisputed lord and master. Once I have crushed her organization and broken her anticipated defiance to my will, she will then be eager to take her proper place at my side. As for Ranma, like all the rest of those so-called Adams, he is unworthy of her."

He studied the two catgirls calmly. "Lynx. Panther. You can't know how long I've waited for an opponent like him to make my claiming of Nabiki Tendo complete. His defeats of my chosen agents showed me his hidden strengths, as did his battle with Nabiki. When the time comes to reveal my true self, my true talents, I want an opponent who is worthy of my efforts to try and stop me, as futile as that will be. I have chosen him to be that opponent, and I will bide my time and watch him until I judge him to be sufficiently capable. Then I will crush him utterly, like I would any other of those sad and pathetic pretenders to true eugenic supremacy. When Ranma Saotome lies completely broken before me, then I will rightfully claim my beautiful prize from over the remnants of his beaten body. Destiny calls to me, and it tells me that it will be glorious."

Mesmerized in the spell of his charisma, their eyes shining with unshed tears, both catgirls softly whispered, "Yes, Kinnosuke-sama."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Scattered cheers filled the air as Akane finished off her current opponent, one of the upperclassmen in the Combat Club, a brutal-looking figure at least ten centimeters taller than she was and thick with heavy ropes of muscle. Her fists struck hard across the boy's face, each powerful blow slamming into toughened flesh. After the abuse her body had suffered during their fight, she was dealing back as much payback as she could.

"Tendo! Tendo! Tendo!" chanted the crowd, truly awed to see her pulling a victory from what had seemed like a certain defeat at first.

Akane's nose oozed blood in a slow-moving stream from one nostril, and her face felt puffy under one eye. She was aware of the cheers of the crowd, but it was an unimportant thing to her right now. All that mattered was keeping herself moving, striking and winning. Seemingly her will alone sustained her as she rained blow after heavy blow into the slab of human meat that she had been fighting for the past several minutes. One last uppercut sent a spray of blood and spittle geysering upwards from the boy's mouth before falling and splashing across her cheek. His knees finally buckled, the brain inside that shell of heavy muscle and dense bone finally seeming to realize that it was defeated. As he fell over with a crash, Akane stepped back and breathed heavily, gazing at her handiwork with satisfaction, like a master craftsman studying a completed work.

"I won," Akane muttered, a broad smile appearing on her face as she brushed the back of her hand against the crimson fluid still streaming slowly from her nose. Her body ached now, her face numbed by her foe's blows, but her blood seemed to sing within her. She had been hard pressed by her opponent's strength, but she felt almost exalted now to be the last one standing.

"Congratulations, Akane." Sakura handed the other girl a clean towel to wipe the blood and sweat from her face. Despite the number of fights (not to mention victories) under Sakura's belt, she was pretty impressed with what she had just seen.

"Thanks," replied Akane, wiping her face gingerly. She felt the glow of her victory fading somewhat, but her body still seemed charged with excitement right now. Even so, she could hardly wait to take a long soak in a nice hot bath. Luckily, her challenge matches had been taking place early enough in the mornings that she could spare a half hour for a soak before classes. She grinned at her friend, the two of them having discovered a great deal they had in common since their first meeting. "I'm one step closer to joining the club. Only one more fight to go, and then I'll be a full member."

"Which is why I want your final fight to be with me, Akane," said Sakura gently, a smile on her face as she spoke her challenge.

"W-what?" exclaimed Akane, a little surprised at her friend's words.

"After what I saw you do today, I know that a battle with you would be glorious." Sakura's voice was soft, her eyes bright. "I'll give you a few days to prepare, as many as you feel you need, but I want your promise that I'll be your next opponent." A grin crossed her features. "After all, I want to make damn sure that you're worthy of the honor of becoming a member."

"Okay." Akane smiled back. She held out her right hand.

"Thanks, Akane," said Sakura. "I know we'll have a wonderful fight with each other." The two clasped hands with a firm grip. It was a gesture of mutual respect between warriors that other martial artists at Furinkan used.

"We will," said Akane, her eyes tearing up. Sakura was rated as the best female fighter at Furinkan Academy, even though she was only a first-year cadet like Akane was. To be challenged by her like this was a singular honor. She could hardly wait to fight the other girl.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki noticed Ranma passing by as he entered the campus while she was conducting some business with a few of her lackeys, underclassmen wearing gray uniforms. She left them after giving out a few last orders.

"Care to explain what happened over the weekend, Ranma-kun?" she asked as she caught up to him in a few strides. "I heard you lost your big fight in less than five minutes." Not to mention the fact that you and that pink-haired bimbo were doing the kami knows what in the showers and at your house, you womanizer, the Tendo girl thought angrily. Despite her feelings, she still smirked at seeing her verbal barb strike home as he stiffened his spine and whirled to face her.

"I _didn't_ lose," Ranma growled. "And I don't want to talk about it." He turned away from her and started stalking towards the main building. He left a rather irritated Nabiki behind him, both of them ignoring the whispers taking place in various groups of cadets.

"Jerk," she muttered towards his departing back. Quickly regaining her composure, she coolly surveyed the cadets who had witnessed her brief exchange with Ranma. All of them pretended that they had other things to do than meet the gaze of the Iron Bitch. Satisfied, she stalked over to where Yohko was talking with some of their agents. A little time spent focusing on business would help calm her.

Standing off to one side, Kyosuke snuck glances at Yohko, glad that they finally seemed to be on the road to making up. The young Devil Hunter perplexed him at times, and he wished that she wouldn't get so jealous. Of course, he could admit to himself that he was a little weak in showing initiative when it came to women, so perhaps a more possessive one like Yohko was better for him. And she also had such a marvelous pair of legs, and the nicest figure, from her training.

"Hello, Kasuga-senpai," Minami greeted him from behind.

Startled out of his ponderings about Yohko before they got too perverted, Kyosuke turned to see a very attractive redhead addressing him. It took him a moment to figure out where he had heard that voice before. "M-Minami-chan?"

"It's been a while, senpai," said Minami pleasantly. "Today is my first day here at the Academy."

"And who is this, Kasuga-kun?" suddenly purred an ominous-sounding voice from behind him. "Please, introduce us."

Kyosuke turned to see Yohko standing right behind him, her eyes tight with suppressed anger. He was amazed at how quietly she could move when the mood struck her. He had not even been aware that she had been watching him that closely. "Uh," he said in reply, his brain appearing to have locked up for the moment.

Minami eyed the taller girl behind Kyosuke speculatively. This must be Kasuga-senpai's girlfriend, she thought. The Ghost Sweeper bowed to the Devil Hunter. "Hello. My name is Minami."

Yohko eyed the ring on the other girl's finger, her grandmother's training having covered such things and allowing her to recognize it. She returned the bow. "You're a Ghost Sweeper. It seems we share a common interest." Just so long as it isn't in my boyfriend, Yohko thought, studying the other girl's figure and feeling a little jealous.

"Oh?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," said Yohko, noticing that Kyosuke still seemed a little out of it. "My name is Yohko Mano, the 109th-generation Devil Hunter, at your service."

"Aren't you the one that killed that oni a few weeks back?" asked Minami. "The one that was tearing up that restaurant in downtown Nerima?"

"That was me, all right," Yohko nodded, a smile appearing on her face. She had managed to defeat the creature after a hard fight, her soul sword finally running it through the chest while she narrowly avoided getting eviscerated by its claws. Her grandmother had even praised her for dispatching it so quickly.

Minami was impressed, and an idea occurred to her. Having a Devil Hunter to team up with would make her ghost sweeping missions a little easier, especially one with a growing reputation at the Institute like Yohko Mano had. Although she normally loathed 'magical girls' with a passion, Minami could see definite advantages to having some doughty Devil Hunter around to draw fire, er, join forces with. And with her brains combined with Yohko's brawn, they could make an unbeatable pair.

The two girls fell into a conversation, both of them quickly finding a kindred spirit in the other. Yohko's initial impression of Minami as some man-stealing bimbo was dispelled when she was quickly informed by the other girl that she had no interest in Kyosuke. That eased Yohko's insecurities when it came to her boyfriend a little, the last few relationships she had been involved with having ended badly. The Devil Hunter could also see value in having someone handy with magic at her back, so she talked with Minami about their common interests and treated her like a newfound friend.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short time later, up in Fuyutsuki's office, Ranma stood rigidly in a semblance of military posture. Coach Fujinami was seated to one side of the room, glowering unpleasantly at him, the large man's gaze promising unhappy things for Ranma's future. Fuyutsuki himself was seated behind his desk, his elbows and forearms resting on it, his hands folded together as he studied Ranma placidly.

"I was quite surprised at your poor performance, Cadet Saotome," Fuyutsuki said calmly. Far too calmly for Ranma's tastes. "Quite surprised indeed. The match between you and Utena Tenjou should have taken far longer to resolve itself than barely five minutes, based on what I have seen of your capabilities against Tendo-san. Perhaps I was wrong to think you were the one who could carry the honor of this institution. Perhaps I should have given that chance to Cadet Tendo. I'm sure that she would not have folded up quite so quickly in a match against the Tenjou girl."

"Sir, I-" Ranma started to say. One look at the unforgiving look appearing on Fuyutsuki's face halted his words in mid-speech.

"Our Academy has lost a great deal of face due to your debacle, Cadet Saotome," said the older man, his posture having not changed one iota since Ranma first stood before him this morning. "Until that failure of yours, that black stain, is removed from the sacred reputation of the Imperial Academy, I am going to see to it that you have your mind and body focused on nothing less than perfection. Perhaps I have been too easy on you, Cadet."

Ranma started a bit at that one.

Without appearing to notice, Fuyutsuki continued. "In truth, the time you have spent in your young life learning at the various institutions you visited around the world has already covered everything we could teach you, at least in your first year here. Your instructors quite consistently give you the highest of marks in all subjects, and have ever since you began here. I must say that you have outperformed even my expectations when it comes to your scholastic achievements here. You consistently outscore even Ami Mizuno, our former star prodigy before your arrival, and that's no mean achievement. Your mind is obviously a well-honed instrument."

Ranma could almost hear the unspoken 'but.'

"That being said," the man looked intently at Ranma now, "it is obvious now that your physical training has been lax somehow. Despite our efforts to train you, the intensity of the regimen you have been undergoing, Ohtori has done even more with young Utena than we have done with you. Now-"

"I want a rematch with her, sir," said Ranma quickly, interrupting Fuyutsuki's slow buildup to the point that he was surely going to make. The man had already made himself quite clear the other day, shortly after the match with Utena. Something about 'training night and day' to be exact.

"You aren't in a position to make demands, Cadet," growled Coach Fujinami. His fellow coach from Ohtori had taken great pleasure in rubbing his nose in the swiftness of Ranma's defeat as he collected his winnings. "You were a disgrace."

The pigtailed boy winced, the urge to shout back at the man barely reined in. Giving into the impulses that came from his analogs would be foolish at this time.

"You'll have your rematch, Cadet," said Fuyutsuki, the very faintest of smiles on his lips. "I trust you won't fail me again."

"No, sir."

"Excellent. After this meeting is concluded, I'm going to inform your parents that you will be remaining at the Academy day and night until the time of your match."

"What?" To say that Ranma was startled was an understatement. The retrieval of his father seemed to be getting further and further from his grasp, pulled away by complicating circumstances.

"You heard me, Cadet," said Fuyutsuki, frowning now. "The dorms have just added a new building, and I am going to place you and your training partner in it. You will work night and day to improve your abilities, stopping only to sleep, eat, and bathe."

"Training partner? Do you mean Nabiki or Kodachi?"

"No, Cadets Kuno and Tendo will be retaining their current training schedules," said Fuyutsuki calmly. "The Academy has obtained the use of an opponent who will test your abilities to their limits." He pressed a button on the intercom on his desk. "Tiger-san, please come in here now."

Tiger-san? Ranma felt a creeping fear scuttle up and down his spine.

The side door to the room opened and Ranma blinked at the sight of the redheaded catgirl standing in the doorframe, not realizing her to be anything other than a normal girl at first. His eyes traversed her body instinctively, starting at her booted feet. She was tall, almost taller than Ranma himself was, and broad of shoulder. Her figure was nicely proportioned though, her chest endowments balancing out her build and giving her a quite noticeably feminine appearance, especially since her outfit was tailored to emphasize the fullness of her bosom.

Then Ranma's gaze found its way to her face. His mind froze at the sight, or he would have run to hide behind some furniture. The fear that hit him was almost like a palpable force.

Tiger smiled, exposing her slightly enlarged canines as her ears swiveled forward to direct her attention at Ranma. The vertical slits of her luminous green eyes focused on him.

She's a c-c-c- Ranma could not complete the thought.

"Hello, Saotome-san," said Tiger pleasantly, the purring undertones in her voice not helping out his attempts to calm himself. "I am looking forward to the time that we will spend together." She stepped forward gracefully into the room, her eyes casually studying the young man who had thwarted several of her master's plans so far. She was looking forward to hurting him because of the pain she had caused her beloved.

Ranma managed to shake himself from his stupor, sheer will forcing the fear back down into his hindbrain and locking it up temporarily. That the intense fear of cats from his counterparts had taken root in him so strongly was annoying, to say the least. However, he was certain that he could cure himself of that phobia with sufficient time and effort, though even now he could feel raw terror clawing at the walls erected by his will. Realizing that he had been staring at the catgirl during his struggle for control, he lifted a hand to the back of his head and chuckled nervously, before saying, "N-nice to m-meet you."

"Tiger-san here is on loan to us from one of your fellow cadets," said Fuyutsuki. He glanced over at the catgirl. "Tiger-san, please introduce yourself to the boy. I think your beauty has him flustered."

Tiger's ears flattened ever so slightly for a moment, her green eyes taking on a dangerous cast, before quickly returning to her former pleasant-appearing state. "Certainly, Fuyutsuki-san. Saotome-san, I am a Genom Tiger, the experimental prototype for this particular model, serial number 0001-TX1-1. I have been in service since my date of inception for four months, one week, and three days. I am programmed to act as a bodyguard and personal companion, as well as to provide security for any premises that I am stationed at. As I am now to be your sparring partner for the time being, I must inform you that I am hardwired with a significant repertoire of barehanded and armed combat techniques. My strength and neuro-reflexive capabilities are also far beyond the norm for a human. I am confident that I will be able to provide you with a challenging opponent." Her hands flexed slightly at her sides, her mind filled with a very brief fantasy of closing them around his throat and squeezing until his trachea was crushed.

Ranma blinked, his mind not working at normal efficiency right now. They wanted him to spar with a lilith? Now that the initial shock had passed, he could study her somewhat more dispassionately, but the fear generated by her catlike features kept him feeling edgy. The part of his mind he was controlling for the moment kept stuttering about 'cat demons' and such things. He saw her simply standing there, watching him.

"An amazing piece of genetic engineering, isn't she?" commented Fuyutsuki, forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to be acting stern right now.

"I'll say," replied Ranma, feeling leery of the catgirl, but also hating finding such a weakness in himself. But if she meowed at him, he would be out the nearest door without bothering to open it. He was vaguely familiar with her model, having read through its technical specs in one of the bioengineering journals. He knew that the catgirl somatype was an especially popular lilith style around the world, which was why Genom (the undisputed leader in the production of humanoid replicants) had made almost their entire fortune off of the Puma series. The two-meter tall, amazonian catgirls were adored by the rich and powerful as status symbols. High-level corporate executives often enjoyed having a Puma bodyguard/companion as a company perk.

A Tiger model's strength was capable of pressing upwards of half a ton over her head at full maturity. Since this one had apparently been decanted and activated prematurely, before achieving her full height and stature, he would guess that she could lift somewhat less than that. Still, a blow from her fists would probably hurt as much as ones from Ryoga Hibiki did. As to how fast her neuro-reflexes were, Ranma could only guess that they were fast enough to give him a hard time, especially with his body's limits holding back his downloaded skills.

"After your homeroom period is over, you will report immediately to Coach Fujinami," commanded Fuyutsuki. "He will get you and Tiger-san set up with bunks in the dorm building, and your training will begin immediately after that. I will request a rematch from Ohtori against Tenjou-san to be tentatively set for six days from today. I would suggest that you take advantage of Tiger-san's presence as your new sparring partner to use that time preparing yourself. You're dismissed, Cadet."

"Yes, sir." Ranma spared one last look at the redhead. Her catlike eyes and ears, not to mention her canines when she smiled at him again, left him feeling twinges of fear.

After Ranma had left, Fuyutsuki paused and turned his gaze to look at Tiger. "Tiger-san?"

"Yes, Fuyutsuki-san?"

"You are dismissed as well. I would suggest that you take the time to set things up at the dormitory for this week's activities. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, sir. I am very familiar with the campus."

"Excellent. Coach Fujinami will join you shortly at the dorm. You may go now."

"Yes, Fuyutsuki-san," said Tiger, bowing respectfully before she turned and departed.

When she was gone, Fujinami said, "She will be an interesting test of young Saotome's abilities."

"I agree," replied Fuyutsuki. He turned to look at Fujinami. The other man had a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared at the door Ranma had just departed through.

"What do you think of his chances, Coach?"

"I thought they were good before, sir."

"So did I. Ranma had best not fail me again, for his sake."

"Don't worry, sir. Tiger and I'll have Saotome whipped into shape for his rematch against the Tenjou girl. She won't win again."

"Going to bet on the boy again, Coach?"

"How did you-?" Coach Fujinami stared at the man, surprised at his knowledge of the wager.

"Did you tell your wives how much you lost last time?" asked Fuyutsuki mildly, smiling a bit more broadly now.

"Ah, you know women, sir," replied Fujinami with a slight chuckle. "Kei and Yuri only agree on a few things, one of those being how little to give me back from my paycheck. I'd saved the money I used for that bet for weeks, and I was positive that Ranma would win."

"Marrying two women." Fuyutsuki shook his head in wonder. "I know that a man can have more than one wife under Imperial law, but I've seen those two together. How did you ever keep them from killing each other?"

"By marrying both of them," replied Fujinami ruefully. Perhaps dating two women at the same time when he had been attending Tokyo University had not been the smartest thing he could have done with his social life, but after some twenty years of marriage to them, he no longer regretted it in the slightest. "I love both of them, and they've since learned to tolerate each other."

"You're a braver man than I, Coach," said Fuyutsuki with a smile. "Well, you should get ready to supervise Ranma's intensified training. I want daily progress reports on his improvement. Utilize Tiger to stretch Cadet Saotome's abilities to the breaking point."

"Yes, sir. What do you want me to do about Kodachi and Nabiki?"

"Leave the two of them in Coach Takami's care," replied the older man. "I want you to focus on Ranma. A week spent apart from the girls might help him concentrate. And I've noticed that they've both been showing some competitive spirit around each other."

"You could call it that, sir."

"Anyway, keep me informed on Ranma," said Fuyutsuki, picking up some papers from a stack on his desk. "I want him to be a champion, Coach. I'm counting on you."

"He won't fail you, sir." The coach stood up and headed for the door in answer to the unspoken dismissal.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma stared out the window in his class, his eyes tracking Tiger's progress as she strolled across the campus to the dormitory area. The building she was heading towards was brand new, to handle increases in the number of students housed on campus. Watching her lithe figure stride along, Ranma was starting to wonder at times if the only other people in his life would all be female. He was even beginning to think that he would welcome the appearance of Ryoga, or maybe even having Kuno show up more often to harass him. That would at least be like having a semblance of guy friends. His mother had once mentioned, along with her annoying efforts at securing for him a wife, that her friend Achika had a son, Tenchi.

Maybe after things calmed down a bit, Ranma thought. Still, the idea of kicking back and relaxing with some males his own age was fairly attractive. With the memories of his other selves to judge from, his male identity was going to atrophy if he didn't make some guy friends, and soon.

"Class, today we have a new student joining us," announced Ayaka from the front of the room. "Minami-san, please take a moment and introduce yourself."

Ranma's head jerked around at the sound of the name. He stared at the girl standing in front of the class and almost leaped out of his chair. She can't be a Ghost Sweeper on this timeline, he thought. After all, he was quite different from his own analog on that other Earth. He noticed she was thinner and appeared to be in much better shape, so he forced himself to calm down.

But the thought kept running through his mind, I ain't afraid of no ghosts.

"Hi there, everyone!" Minami greeted the class with a cheery wave. "Minami's my name, and ghost sweeping's my game!"

Ranma almost fell out of his chair. Luckily, no one had apparently noticed. I do not believe this. Who's next to walk into my life? I hope she's not here to bust some damn spook. That'd be all I need right now.

Smiling at the class, Minami's ego exulted in the many interested looks she was getting from the boys. She had sensed some odd energies swirling around the campus, even stronger in this room. She swiveled her gaze among the students, quickly noticing one boy (a really good-looking one too, she saw) who seemed to recognize her. There was something rather odd about his spiritual aura though.

Ranma and Minami locked gazes for a few moments. He suddenly looked nervous and her expression became even more intense.

Gosunkugi, seated in the back of the class and enjoying anonymity as was his preference, blinked and frowned deeply at the sight of the two looking so intently at each other. An odd feeling suffused him, but he was positive it wasn't jealousy. That would be nothing less than a betrayal of his feelings for Akane. But in ten days was the next new moon. Then Saotome was really going to get it.

"He's possessed!" Minami suddenly announced, fumbling in her bag for her pad of ofuda (anti-evil wards). She whipped one out, letting a small portion of her magics charge it with power. It snapped straight in her hand, burning with sorcerous flames that did not consume the paper. With a skill born of many hours spent in the target ranges at the Institute practicing such maneuvers, she flipped her wrist and the flaming strip of paper sailed across the room to affix itself to Ranma's forehead.

The whole class seemed to hold its breath as one.

Ayaka took a moment to sense Ranma's aura, but she did not detect anything really out of the ordinary in him. His spirit was a rather strong one, like a torch fire when most people were mere candle flames, but he was not possessed. She sighed, realizing that Minami had just mistakenly read the boy as possessed when he was simply a strong soul, perhaps a very old one with many lives under its proverbial belt. The two sorts of energy patterns were very similar.

Ranma blinked, having been too startled by her announcement to even try dodging out of the way. He plucked the ofuda from his face with an annoyed grimace.

The class exhaled as one. Several of the girls glared at Minami. The boys seemed to be concentrating more on the Ghost Sweeper's figure, and a few of the cadets in blue uniforms appeared to be attempting to calculate her measurements. All but Ranma, who had seen several naked women in the past few weeks that would put even Minami's figure to shame.

"Are you through embarrassing me to my classmates now?" he asked sarcastically, crumpling the ofuda into a ball and tossing it into the trash can next to Ayaka's desk without getting up. He did not appear to notice, or care about, the angry glare he was receiving from the young Ghost Sweeper.

Minami was blushing as red as her hair, mortified at the thought of how she must have appeared. A second glance at Ranma with her spirit senses showed her that her initial reaction had been overly hasty. Nobody laughed though, an awareness of what a former Institute cadet might be capable of doing was muting that reaction.

"Well, perhaps you should take your seat now, Minami-san," Ayaka said, feeling sorry for the girl. "There's one near the back, next to Gosunkugi-san."

Ranma blinked and slowly turned around to see the sunken-eyed boy, a bit surprised at never noticing him before, then he muttered something under his breath and turned back to face the front of the classroom.

Her spine ramrod straight, Minami walked stiff-legged to the rear of the classroom before dropping into her assigned seat. Her gaze at the back of Ranma's head was glaring. She briefly glanced over at Gosunkugi and narrowed her eyes into a glare at him as well.

"You say one word about what just happened, and I'll make your life a living hell," Minami stage-whispered to the thin boy. That Saotome guy had just made a fool out of the wrong girl, she thought. She would find a way to get him back.

Ayaka shook her head in bemusement. When the class had finally settled back to normal, she began her lecture on the latest chapter in the textbook, how it was the duty of every young citizen to marry and raise law-abiding children who would further strengthen the Empire.

Ranma sat in his seat and tried not to twitch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tiger prowled the dormitory building while she waited for Ranma to show up for their first training session, investigating the many rooms to see what they contained. The second through fourth floors had a number of identical bedrooms, each with a pair of bunk-beds that had a thin mattress wrapped in plastic and a pair of small writing desks with hookups for computer terminals. At one end of each hall was a fairly large-sized tiled room with bathing fixtures, including a large tub for soaking, one big enough for a dozen people. At the other end of the hall were the lavatory facilities.

The more interesting things were located on the first floor. The building had a small kitchen facility and pantry, and a communal dining room. There was a room set up with connections for television hookups, as well as tables and chairs for studying. Tiger was uncertain how a person could study with other people watching television in the same room though. There was even a small laundry room available.

The place that caught Tiger's attention most was the small gym area, currently empty of weight machines. It was large enough that it could be used for sparring indoors, since the weather at night could get quite cold and Tiger did not much care for that sort of thing. If she was going to be spending several days beating the stuffing out of the Saotome boy, then she wanted to be comfortable while doing it.

She chose one of the rooms on the second floor near the bathing facilities for her own, setting down her small travel bag on the bed and ripping off the plastic sheet covering the mattress. She had brought it with her to the Academy after Kinnosuke had explained his plan to her. It contained enough clothes for a week, mostly underwear (and Tiger had an admitted fondness for lacy, see-through things), since she was mainly going to be wearing a gi for most of the week while she performed her assignment. The laundry facility was going to come in very handy.

Ranma stood in his Chinese-style clothes on one side of the mat the coach had provided, finally done with loosening himself up. Coach Fujinami had provided it, having several cadets drag the pieces in here and set them up. A twelve-meter square of blue padding now rested in the center of the dining area.

Standing across the mat from Ranma was Tiger, her body clothed in a light green gi made of tough silk, her namesake animal stitched into the cloth with golden thread and running around her torso. She was currently smiling at him rather unpleasantly, her enlarged canines clearly visible as she popped her knuckles, her head rolling for a moment from one side of her shoulders to the other accompanied by faint pops.

"Ready, Saotome-san?" asked Tiger, taking up her position on the mat.

"Yeah," said Ranma, already fighting down the fear that the girl generated in him. It was not bad enough to trigger the Nekoken, but it could provide enough hesitation in his movements to prevent him from winning. Not that he thought he would lose, since she was only a girl, despite whatever modifications science may have done when creating her.

Tiger moved towards him across the mat in ground-devouring strides, her long legs bringing her to him quickly. Her fists flashed out at him, but her powerful blows were blocked or evaded. Seeing a frontal assault was getting her nowhere, Tiger crouched down and sprang over Ranma's head, her body flipping over behind him. A kick slammed into the small of the pigtailed boy's back before he could fully turn around, and his body hurtled into the wall to impact with a crash. Tiger retracted her leg, bouncing up and down lightly on the balls of her feet.

Fujinami clapped his hand over his face and groaned. If that was the best that Ranma was going to do, he was going to need something to drink. He got up from his position and walked over to Tiger.

"Yes, Fujinami-sensei?" Tiger asked.

"I'm going to make myself some tea. I want you to put Ranma through his paces while I'm gone. But remember, this is only the first day. We have an entire week ahead of us."

"Yes, Fujinami-sensei," said Tiger, nodding her head. She noticed Ranma standing up, a glint appearing in her eyes. "I will do as you say."

The coach grunted, before going into the kitchen area to make himself some tea.

"All right, ya just got lucky that time," said Ranma as he stepped back on the mat. "I'm ready for you now."

Fujinami heard what sounded like a body being slammed around, but he ignored it. This intensive training was for the boy's own good, after all.

Ranma slid down the wall he had impacted hard into once again, his body upside down as it crumpled into a heap at the baseboards. "Ouch," he muttered. This may be more of a challenge than I thought, he mused.

And so it continued throughout the day, and on into the evening.

"That was pathetic, Saotome," said Fujinami, standing up. "I'm going home and to bed. Tiger, work with him for another hour and then put him to bed. I'll be back in the morning."

"Yes, Fujinami-sensei," Tiger purred, a happy smile on her face.

After watching the man leave while he gathered himself, Ranma struggled to stand once again. I hate this. I hate being beaten up by a girl!

"Ready for another try, Saotome-san?" Tiger asked, kneeling down next to him. The purring undertones in her voice were not helping Ranma's efforts to control his fears. He added a few more check marks to his list concerning beatings to be administered to the fake Genma.

"Ye-" was all Ranma got out, before his body was picked up and slammed down on the mat. Tiger's knee came crashing down into his stomach a moment later, knocking him unconscious.

Pathetic weakling, Tiger snorted in her thoughts. She went to fill up the bucket with cold water again. It amused her to see her foe wake and immediately take stock of his parts, as if looking for something and being surprised each time when he failed to find it.

Ranma lay where he was, his bruised and battered body looking as if it had been worked over by experts.

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Hinako Ninomiya frowned at her computer screen. I'm no closer to breaking this damned encryption lock than I was days ago, she thought with annoyance. Many hours of her free time spent on this, and she still had nothing to show for it. All of her personal decryption algorithms, some of them she was not even supposed to have, had just come back again with the same answer they had been reporting to her since she first began her fruitless quest to unlock the secrets contained on the silvery disk. I just know that bastard Tendo is laughing at me. He knows something that he's not telling. But, what?

Shutting off her computer system, she sighed. The sounds of the shower had stopped a few minutes ago, so she forced herself to relax and mentally prepared to enjoy the remainder of her night. She got up and softly padded over to the mirror in her bedroom, taking a moment to loosen her light robe and adjust the fit of her silk nightgown, one cut just right to show off her trimly athletic figure to best effect, the length of her well-toned legs, and the fullness of her breasts. She smiled softly at her reflection as she slowly ran a hand up along her torso, feeling the solid muscle underlying her very womanly curves, like warm velvet covering steel. She was pleased as always with the striking image staring back at her. Random memories from the path that had led her to this point flashed across her mind even as she made minute adjustments to her outfit.

Born a sickly child with a weak constitution, Hinako never would have imagined at that young age the athletic and sultry figure of the woman she would eventually mature into. An orphan from her birth, a ward of the Empire, all she could remember of her youngest childhood was a nameless hospital being her home. But then, at the age of five or so, an unexpected miracle had come into her life. She was adopted by a mysterious patron, taken away to a new home deep in the mountains of central China, where her life began anew.

She remembered little of those years before her time spent in her new home, one among nearly a dozen young Japanese, Chinese and Korean girls. On her first night there, she had been subjected to a dunking in a vat of some water-like fluid, a scary experience where it had felt like her entire body was melting, but she summoned her will and refused to submit to it. When she emerged from the tank afterwards, her body was changed, growing stronger and healthier than it had ever been before, and she started her new life. It was a life that was as cruel as it was occasionally enjoyable, but she came to realize that it was a gift from heaven as she grew strong and capable from the trials she underwent.

After emerging from the tank, her younger self had been introduced to the first of several women who would make the next decade of her life a living hell. She was a withered, ancient crone who rarely smiled, a martial arts teacher who was only ever addressed as 'Sensei.' Hinako had also been introduced to a man who their teacher only referred to as 'Doctor,' an older man of somewhat sinister appearance with a ragged scar on one jawline. Her days in the Directorate later informed her of his identity, a man who would become infamous as an international terrorist and renegade scientist over the intervening years since then.

Keel Lorentz.

He would appear like a phantom, watching the progress of Hinako and her fellow students, rarely if ever speaking, sometimes taking samples of their blood and urine, and then he would vanish off elsewhere into the vast depths of the vast mountain fortress that she came to call home. She was never even told its name or location.

Years passed.

The group of girls training with Hinako maintained a distance from each other, viewing their peers as rivals for Sensei's rare praise. And a rough sort of pecking order established itself over time. She could remember many nights spent recovering from beatings at the hands of the other girls, until her own strength and skill finally grew great enough to bring her up from the bottom of the cadre to the top. Pain taught her to be strong, and she used it to force herself to be better and faster than she had been before.

When Hinako was thirteen or so, she finally began to mature into a most strikingly beautiful young woman. The years of intensive training had given her an athletic grace that was quite remarkable. Each of the other girls in her cadre grew to be beautiful, but Hinako considered herself to be the loveliest. Keel began to visit more often to check on their progress, and Sensei began bestowing old scrolls containing special techniques to those whom she felt were worthy.

To Hinako, she gave one that she avoided using much after mastering it, despite the rush it gave her, due to the many questions it could raise in her present calling. It was a chi draining ability that left few warriors able to stand against her, one that added even more strength and speed to her body while the charge lasted. The only limitation was that she required a circle of some sort to act as a focus for her abilities.

Late one night sometime after mastering that technique, Sensei appeared with a strange man and woman in tow, their faces masked, instructing her that the next stage of her training was to begin. The woman was utterly intimidating, her gaze like a tigress, but the man was even more so, with a piercing gaze like a predator. She was ordered to strip, and her indoctrination into physical intimacy began that night. Frightened of their wrath if she even attempted to resist, she allowed that man to take the last of her innocence from her while the woman watched from the other side of the room with an enigmatic look. The experience was painful at first, but he was not cruel to her and he taught her how the act could be quite pleasurable. She later came to welcome his attentions to a certain degree.

Growing up with as little caring human contact as she had, she treated his attentions as a form of love. It gave the little orphan girl she once was a feeling that someone cared about her welfare, perhaps even loved her. It was a pleasant fantasy, but one she valued highly to maintain her own sanity. She cultivated a hope that someday she would meet a man who could indeed love her, but it was a feeling now deeply buried within her.

Shortly before she turned sixteen, the Doctor and Sensei sent all of her cadre back out into the world, telling them to find places for themselves until they were called for. Before leaving, they each swore an oath of loyalty to the organization the pair belonged to: Shadowlaw. She could still remember Keel's eyes locked with hers as she spoke the words to him, the vow that she would loyally serve Shadowlaw someday. And then she left, carrying with her a powerful repertoire of martial arts skills and the fruits of a well-rounded scholastic curriculum. In the years since, she had become an even more capable fighter, all the while waiting for Shadowlaw's call.

Hinako, an orphan once again, was accepted to study at the Imperial Academy. It was there she took her first steps to becoming an elite operative of the Security Directorate. At the Academy, she was exposed to a much larger world, one that challenged her mind and body to their limits. She matured into a woman, tall and strong, and her skills grew ever greater with each passing day.

Hungry to claim a place in society that no one would ever dare take away from her, she exploited this opportunity as much as she could, honing herself and her abilities to razor sharpness. She dedicated her life to her security training. As a sort of hobby, she began ferreting out every secret of her peers and her instructors that she could, for she knew quite well even then that information was power. And it was also there at the Academy that she had first learned how easy it was to utilize her burgeoning femininity as a potent weapon, charming males both old and young alike with the beauty of her body and her sexual skills.

After a time, and a few early, somewhat fumbling mistakes, no male could resist eventually succumbing to her will. Her potent skills at learning valuable secrets, backed up by an increasingly seductive body as she matured into an adult, proved far too formidable a combination to overcome for her rivals. And, after her graduation with honors from the Academy, she then quickly rose through the ranks of the Security Directorate, sometimes undercutting and ruthlessly crushing the careers of anyone who dared oppose her.

Now she was within reach of her final goal, the only real competition remaining for the Director's chair being a man named Soun Tendo.

Hinako frowned at the thought of him, her nominal equal despite some ten years in age difference between them. He was one of the rare men who had proven able to resist her rather considerable feminine wiles. It was quite irritating to her in a number of ways. Still, there was also a sense of excitement, an intensity in the game that they played with each other, a duel of minds and wills. In a way, it was oddly satisfying to her to have there be at least one man who was able to resist her so ably, even if she sometimes hated him with a level of passion that burned like a fire within her.

Studying the sensuous beauty of her face reflected in the glass, Hinako was mildly annoyed to see it marred by her look of anger, and she quickly smoothed her features with the skills of a consummate natural actress. My ambitions will not be thwarted by that cold bastard, she thought, holding her anger beneath the surface. After all, I deserve to head up the Security Directorate more than any man. I've worked hard to get where I am, sacrificed so much to rise so far in the service of the Empire. With a sigh, a brief thought of having Soun Tendo permanently removed from her path was discarded, after being idly considered with a certain amount of relish.

The door to the bedroom suddenly opened, interrupting her musings, and she smiled seductively at the shadowy figure of the man standing there, backlit by the light from the other room. It was almost a genuine smile. She had learned long ago that her body possessed strong needs that required her to play such parts as this from time to time. It would have shocked some of her underlings at the Directorate to know, but there were times when she simply needed to feel the gentle touch of a man. There were moments when she needed to just be Hinako, the flesh and blood woman of passions and desires, and not the mask she had carefully crafted over the years called Assistant Director Ninomiya.

Yet being so vulnerable like that with a man was an uncomfortable thing for her, so she chose her few sexual companions carefully. To her, they were living toys, simply an easily-manipulated means for her to satisfy the powerful animal lusts that welled up within her, demanding their satisfaction. So, with these desires filling her mind and a seductive sway to her hips in her walk, she languidly strutted over and pulled him into the room.

"I've missed you, Hinako-chan," he whispered, his face hidden to view as he nuzzled at her neck.

She gasped with delight as he found the spot on her neck that sent shivers of pleasure through her. "H-how long will you be back this time?" she whispered, passion making her breathing heavy.

"I've been given a new posting locally," he whispered. Drawing back, the face of Gendo Rokubungi became visible. "I'm to become the new Headmaster of Furinkan Military Academy. They felt a younger man would be best, since the Empire's war machine seems to be gearing up for a campaign again. We'll be able to be together more often, eh?" Without waiting for an answer, he held her close and crushed his lips against hers.

Reveling in the feel of his kiss, she still had enough presence of mind to remember how it had begun between the two of them. Shortly after her promotion to the rank below her present one, a function at the Imperial Court had required her attendance. It had been there that she had first seen Major Rokubungi, still only a captain then, but one who was on the fast-track to the senior ranks of the military.

A dance had turned into two. Then, before she realized it, an entire evening had passed. They ended up in bed together, but nothing more was expected to come of it. Both of them had their careers to concern themselves with.

Over time, their relationship had matured. It was a very casual thing though, something that waxed and waned with their moods. After rising to her present rank, Hinako was amazed at how similar Gendo was to her new nemesis. Sometimes, she even went so far as to pretend Gendo was Soun, and she would have been hard-pressed to say why. Both of them were stern figures of men, hardened by their lives, but Hinako refused to believe that she was looking for some sort of father figure.

There were other people in their lives, of course. Gendo had a roving eye, and she had other men that she cultivated relationships with. However, when he announced his intentions to marry Yui Ikari, the woman he claimed to have fallen in love with, she felt unexpectedly angry. The girl had been assigned to her section less than a month after graduating from the Imperial Academy, and she had taken Yui under her wing.

Arranging for pictures of him to be taken with one of his other women was child's play. After Yui had received an anonymous batch of photos, their relationship was off. Hinako had been happy to play the consoling woman to him, as well as the older sister to a devastated Yui. Gendo had taken a temporary posting on the Russian border, but now he was back. After several months spent freezing in Siberia, he was surely over his fascination with Yui Ikari.

Afterwards, she lay staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom, Gendo sleeping contentedly on his stomach, one arm loosely around her waist. She sighed discontentedly as her naked body cooled down from their recent activities. Despite over two hours of amorous exertions, she still felt vaguely unsatisfied. Frowning for a moment at Gendo's body slumbering away in her bed, she pondered why she felt as she did, for it had been this way for many months. Physically, she was quite satisfied by tonight's activities, a number of rather intense orgasms having taken the edge off of those particular tensions in her body.

No, she did not have a single complaint about that, but she still felt somewhat empty inside, perhaps even... lonely? With a frustrated growl, she rolled over onto her side, cuddling against the sleeping figure as if he were one of the stuffed animals she kept hidden in the back of her closet, and tried to fall asleep. As she drifted off, the feelings of aloneness continued as she held onto the man in bed with her.

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Special thanks go out to DB Sommer for his permission for me to use characters from his story (Ghost Sweeper Minami and the entire Shampoo 1/2 world).

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	14. The Eye Of The Tiger

*** Heaven 0.000, 0.000

The Goddess of the Future was bored.

Skuld sat at her usual terminal in Yggdrasil's datacore, one festooned with small personal touches that she had added to it ever since she was first assigned here, to assist her older sisters in maintaining the central computer that sustained the functioning of reality. Several stickers adorned the front of her monitor, with pithy little sayings on them such as: "There is no such thing as too much firepower," or "When the going gets tough, the tough call for an air strike." There was even one that simply said, "Genius at work."

A small doll that looked like a super-deformed version of Belldandy, her beloved older sister, sat atop the monitor with a beatific smile resting upon its face. Next to it was a similarly-sized doll of her other older sister, Urd, only this one wore a much sultrier grin on its face. On the real thing, such a look had caused men to forget their own name, at the very least. Skuld had gotten the two dolls at the last God-Con, a gathering (not to mention the party to end all parties) of the gods and goddesses from the different pantheons. They were a gift from one of the younger gods of the Hindu pantheon for her birthday, which had happened to occur during the week-long period of festivities this time.

A yawn escaped her lips and she rubbed gently at her eyes, a reminder that she'd gotten up way earlier than she would have liked. This morning, as had happened with all mornings in recent memory, she had been troubled by disturbing dreams. Some of them had been prophetic, giving her brief glimpses into the future. Others had simply been the result of her sampling Urd's cooking. The rest had just been dreams. Sometimes it was hard to tell them apart, especially when they were disturbing ones. Take the one that had Belldandy marrying a lowly mortal, for instance. That horrifying vision had to be a result of eating Urd's cooking.

Skuld's dreams of prophecy were an ability that Belldandy had once told her were a sign of her emerging powers. The jumbled weavings of an uncertain future were both Skuld's birthright and her dominion, a realm that some had called the undiscovered country. And through her dreams, the young goddess could catch glimpses of possible tomorrows.

Her most recent dream had unsettled her, but it was a nightmare she had experienced many times before, in as many variations. It was never a coherent vision, only disjointed flashes of imagery, but it still had the power to terrify the young goddess into wakefulness each time.

This latest nightmare had been slightly different from all the others, but she had still awakened that morning from restless sleep, the incomplete nightmare having left her unable to return to slumber. On those days when the dream came to her, Skuld knew that sleep was no refuge. So she had come in to work several hours earlier than was usual for her.

The young goddess found it peaceful and relaxing here, and it helped her to forget the horrible visions, half-listening to the system as she sat and tapped away at her terminal. Around her, Yggdrasil's datacore hummed, the immense, crystalline matrix processing untold enormities of data every moment. As it did, the systems gave off a faintly soothing sound. Adding to the serenity of the work environment, soft music was constantly being piped into the room as well, vaguely hymnal and low enough to be almost inaudible. She was in danger of falling back asleep.

Her two older sisters were not due to come in for a little while, not that Urd was ever really very much help, at least as far as Skuld was concerned. Her oldest sister had once again thrown herself headlong into yet another relationship, in a foredoomed attempt to recover from her last spectacularly-failed one. At least her present mood would be better for a while. Every time one of her relationships inevitably tanked, it tended to make Urd surly. Whenever she was surly, she drank. However, whenever she was happy, she drank then too. Skuld just could not understand her sister, so she rarely tried. Luckily, Belldandy was always there to keep Urd in line, providing her usual comforting shoulder and listening ear.

However, Belldandy had been showing some traces of melancholy around the eyes for a while too. Skuld wasn't sure what was wrong, but she was worried about her favorite big sister.

To occupy herself, and to hopefully keep her mind off of worrying about both of her older sisters (not that she would ever admit to caring what happened to Urd), Skuld was running some of her semi-authorized system monitoring tools, unique algorithms programmed during her idle moments. Her access clearance was sufficiently high enough to let her try them out, in the hopes of improving system performance, as well as flagging potential errors before they could manifest themselves as full-fledged bugs. She hated bugs with all the fiery passion of her youth.

The Goddess of the Future hummed softly as she started up one of her newest debugging tools, entitled "Skuld's File Analyzer - Mark 4.0" to examine one of the secondary processing areas. It was checking on one file archive of personal interest to her, purely as a test case. It was one she had discovered by accident during a slow period in her labors. What had initially caught her attention was that it was deeply buried into the system architecture, practically part of the core operating system. It rested behind a highly-secure, multi-layered collection of some of the cleverest and nastiest sorts of intrusion countermeasures and firewalls that Skuld had ever seen before. She just knew that whatever was behind it had to be particularly juicy. All of her hacker instincts had told her so from the level of protection surrounding it.

Those same defenses had eventually fallen to her efforts, another obvious sign of her incomparable genius, or so she had complimented herself after finally cracking through them. Behind that formidable set of barriers rested a single archive of data, but it was enormous. It seemed to have ties into the primary operating system processes on a multitude of levels. That only inflamed the young goddess' curiosity.

Skuld had carefully opened up the archive to see what it contained and had been amazed to discover within it a large number of datafiles, each one detailing a specific mortal. They had been tagged by Yggdrasil for special attention, by means of a subroutine with the rather impressive-sounding identity of the Destiny Protocols. The system designated each of these mortals in its master index as Probability Nodes, categorized by how much attention Yggdrasil paid to their actions.

Once chosen by the Destiny Protocols, these select individuals guided changes within the system. Each was a soul touched by Fate, their choices shaping the course of human history. In a loose sense, they acted like a figurative lightning rod for causality. Their reactions to events would then trigger other events, in a sort of force-feedback loop. History was the reflection of their accumulated choices, with new possibilities forged at every juncture.

Odd things tended to happen around Probability Nodes, especially those who were ranked as Class One. Reality seemed to be more flexible in nature around them, certain supposedly immutable physical laws became less so, and sometimes were ignored completely. Lucky, unlucky, and even preternatural occurrences were more commonplace around such individuals. Even physical injuries that would outright kill or permanently cripple an ordinary human were often not as fatal or serious to them. This is not to say that they could not be killed or critically injured, just that it was more difficult to do. This effect also spread out to a lesser degree to those with whom these individuals come into regular contact with.

Who they were was kept about as top secret as secrets go in existence, known only to such higher-order beings as Kami-sama, and conceptual entities such as the Princes of the Universe or the Four Zoas. In fact, their identities were so highly classified that perhaps only Belldandy among the three sisters, being the System Administrator for Yggdrasil itself, possessed sufficient clearance to learn who they were.

Those special mortals who had finally fulfilled their purpose for being on the list, or died (a depressingly common way to be removed from it), triggered the selection of a new person to replace them on the master index. The means of that selection process was the detailed set of guidelines, programmed into Yggdrasil long ago, that were now known as the Destiny Protocols.

Skuld had never told anyone about what she had done. She checked the master index every now and then for her own curiosity, to see who was on it, noting changes in names as if she was following the roster of a professional sports team. She thought it a relatively harmless hobby.

Her new program tool hummed along peacefully, examining the processing codes on each of the individual datafiles within the central one. It beeped at her after it came to the end, bringing to her attention a single item of note discovered among the mountains of data that were contained in the file. The young goddess hummed a sprightly tune as she examined the log file generated by her software, pleased to have found something to occupy her mind.

Yggdrasil had recently upgraded two lower-ranked Probability Nodes to Class One status, surprisingly close in physical proximity to each other. However, neither one had fit the Protocol's set criteria at the time of the change. And that meant the changes had been done outside their purview, a bypass that was simply inconceivable to Skuld. Still, both files contained the proper authentications for their new status, which Skuld confirmed. And even a detailed analysis showed that they were legitimate, at least by every test she could conceive. Yggdrasil denied generating them, yet there they were in the files. So where had they come from?

There was also a more serious matter. Somehow, the destiny matrices of this particular pair were overlapping, duplicating, and sometimes even interfering with each other on a number of levels, requiring Yggdrasil to employ some rather novel solutions in an attempt to resolve things. Currently, it was generating a paradigm shift of unknown magnitude to incorporate the conflicting data into the reality matrix, currently at twenty-eight percent completion. However, its rate of progress was climbing, and its burgeoning effects were already beginning to be felt in the mortal world.

Skuld called up the datafiles in question, to learn more about the two mortals. When she saw their images displayed, she felt her heart skip a beat, for she knew them. Both had been in her latest dream. A stray thought occurred to her at that moment, that perhaps their change in status hadn't been an error after all. Then she shook her head. No. It had to be some sort of a glitch. Right?

Her tongue became wedged between her lips on one side of her mouth as she began examining the two files in much greater detail. The first was a highly-skilled technologist (a vocation that Skuld heartily approved of), and the second was well on her way to becoming quite a capable spy. However, those former selves had been profoundly altered. Both their mental and astral patterns had somehow been reconfigured, through some sort of mnemonic transfusions. The boy had received two such transfusions and the girl one. The changes done to their astral patterns had also induced similar alterations to their files in Yggdrasil as well, causing the system to now regard them as being Class One Probability Nodes. This mnemonic transfusion had apparently also occurred in two others, the technologist's father and another girl, but their status remained unchanged.

Yggdrasil's efforts were causing a convergence event to form, with the duo standing right at the center of it, and it was causing a gathering of other probability nodes to join them. Even as Skuld studied the files, new links began appearing to other files, cross-indexing at a dizzying rate of speed. When a sufficient number had been gathered, the paradigm shift would be complete, and the future would change forever.

While Skuld continued her examination of the files, she decided to hold off on any mention of this to anyone else. After all, as uncertain as the future was, it was hers to deal with. But she planned to watch these two mortals more closely, to see what sort of things happened both to and around them. They were the epicenter of the commencing change in the reality matrix. Remembering her latest, incomplete vision, Skuld felt something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Hope.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

NOTE: Before reading this chapter, please read "Roses & Swords" and "Ohtori Academy Blues," both written by DB Sommer, side-stories set in the QD universe. They can be found on this website by looking for his name.

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. He has just recently become engaged to three familiar girls: Nabiki Tendo, Ukyo Kuonji, and Kodachi Kuno. And now, after a loss suffered at the hands of Utena Tenjou from Ohtori Academy, Ranma has begun to train for his rematch.

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Chapter 14 - The Eye Of The Tiger

Whatever does not destroy us makes us stronger.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Ranma was growing more and more perplexed by his father's actions. He was currently watching Genma perusing the newspaper, wondering what was going through the man's mind lately. Dinner was already over, and Ranma would normally now be doing his evening training with Shampoo about this time. But the Amazon was helping his mother out in the kitchen right now, leaving him with nothing to do but wonder about his father's motives. He just wasn't acting like himself at all, and it bothered the pigtailed boy, like an itch he couldn't scratch.

"Something I can do for you, Ranma?" asked Genma, glancing up from the business section of the newspaper. The boy had been studying him for several minutes, and all the scrutiny was perturbing.

That was one of the things that bothered the pigtailed boy. His father seemed to avoid calling him 'Son' or 'Boy' anymore, instead just using his given name all the time.

"Nothin', I guess," admitted Ranma. "Just wondering what sort of crazy scheme you got cooking now. I mean, you went out and got yourself a job, without being asked by Mom or nothing. That just ain't normal for you, Pop."

Genma sighed. Doing nothing but sit in this house for the past few days and wait for his real son to contact him again had been getting on his nerves. He could only train for so many hours in a day to occupy himself. He also wanted to feel like a productive member of society again, not sponge off of Nodoka's meager income. Besides, he needed an income of his own for some projects that he had been considering.

A little careful reading at the local library over the past weekend had brought him up to speed on the current state of this Earth's technology base. He had been right in his initial assessment. It lagged behind his home in several areas by as much as twenty years, and he could use that gap to profit through a few patents. Even so, he didn't feel very comfortable with giving this world anything significant, like fusion power, but there were other things he could share. Patents from those would give this family a more comfortable life, but creating prototypes required some seed money. He felt it would be better to earn the money himself.

"Ranma," said Genma, setting his newspaper down. "A man takes care of his family, so I thought it would be a good idea for me to get a job. It's as simple as that."

Ranma frowned. "Yeah, but this is you, Pop. You've never done any honest work in your whole life, as far back as I can remember."

"People change," said Genma with a slight smile. "I would think that you'd be proud to have a father who was more like other fathers."

Ranma thought about that. "Yeah, but it ain't normal for you. And then there's that whole thing with the Tendos."

"You wanted to be engaged to marry one of those girls?" Genma studied the boy in front of him, dressed in Chinese-style clothes like his own son had begun wearing lately. While he was unquestionably a brilliant fighter, this Ranma was unpolished and ignorant of the world. Still, he wasn't stupid. Genma knew it wasn't fair of him to treat the boy as if he was, but it was difficult sometimes to do otherwise.

"No! Of course not!" Ranma blurted out in reply. "But I just don't understand you nowadays, Pop. You always got some scheme hatching up your sleeve, and I just don't want you to hurt Mom if you do."

Now it was Genma's turn to frown. "Ranma," he began. "I would never do anything to cause your mother harm. You have to believe that."

"I don't know what I believe anymore, Pop," said Ranma, standing up. He should be happy that his father was acting responsibly, right? Why did it feel so wrong? Why did it feel like something out of a dream, one that was going to end when he least wanted it to?

"Ranma?" Shampoo called out from the doorway to the kitchen. "We go practice now, yes?" She came over to the table and smiled at both men.

That was the other thing that bothered Ranma. His father was treating Shampoo nicely. Before, the man had seemed indifferent to the Amazon. Now, Ranma didn't sense that from him. It was something else that just felt wrong. Not bad wrong, since it was good to be home and to have her there with him. But it was wrong in a way he couldn't seem to explain.

"You run along and train with Shampoo, Ranma," said Genma with another paternal smile. "If you slack off, she might get better than you."

"Heh, like that's really ever going to happen," grunted Ranma, before he realized what he had just said.

As Shampoo proceeded to show the pigtailed boy how she felt about that hastily-spoken opinion, Genma chuckled and picked up his newspaper once again. The boy was unpolished and blunt, but it was refreshing in some ways. Still, it would be good when this nightmare was over, and he was back in his own life.

"I didn't mean it like that, you crazy Amazon!" yelled Ranma as he tore off towards the backyard with Shampoo in hot pursuit.

"Ranma see how good Shampoo is, any second now," the girl promised ominously.

As the sounds of battle erupted in the backyard, Genma chuckled. The boy definitely needed to work on his social skills.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane Tendo was an unhappy girl right now, so she did what she normally did when she was unhappy.

"Damn him," she muttered, her fist impacting into a cinder block. It shattered beneath her blow, joining the remnants of perhaps a dozen others. She still felt unsatisfied even as she stopped to catch her breath. "How dare that jerk be so calm when he left! Like it meant nothing to him. Like I-" Akane felt her eyes filling with tears once again, as they seemed to do ever since Ranma had left with his father, and that Chinese bimbo, Shampoo.

Ranma's departure should have been a relief, and it was, in certain ways. But it had all been so unexpected. And now everyone at school was talking about it, not to mention that she had Kuno pressuring her again. How could that jerk have just up and left her, without even a backwards glance? She hated him for that, for acting so indifferent to her the last time she saw him, both him and his worthless father. Once she had blurted out her usual response to her feelings about the engagement, Genma had ended it. A happy ending for her, right? Now her own father hadn't left his bed in days as a result of that, and it was tearing Akane up inside. How dare that jerk just leave with that Chinese freak?

From outside, Cologne had been watching the youngest Tendo demolishing things. In the course of a single night several days past, Shampoo had up and disappeared, apparently moving on with the two Saotome men. The Amazon matriarch was admittedly perplexed at the unexpected change, and the Tendo family still seemed to be in varying states of shock over the whole matter, the father being the worst. Cologne realized she would have to put off her current plans for her wayward kinswoman until she could learn the child's location.

Cologne started to depart, but then she paused. The youngest Tendo girl might prove to be more amenable to assist in her present state of mind. At the very least, she could be a useful source of information. The elderly Amazon bounced across the yard, landing inside the dojo.

"Greetings, Akane Tendo," said Cologne, eyeing the sniffling girl.

Akane whirled around, her eyes reddened from crying, her hands held tightly into fists. When she recognized Cologne, she smiled nastily.

"If you're looking for Shampoo, she's gone."

"I can see that with my own eyes," said Cologne mildly. "Tell me where she has gone, and I will leave you to your grief."

"I'm not grieving!" Akane growled. "Especially not for that two-timing jerk!"

"Where is Shampoo?" asked Cologne gently. The girl seemed to be in a more fragile state of mind than she had initially suspected. To push too hard now would be to provoke a fight, and Cologne had no wish to waste the effort. "What happened here, Akane Tendo?"

"Ranma left!" shouted Akane. "His father just dissolved the engagement between that jerk and me, and all of them left!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't know where they went, and I don't care."

"I know where they went," said a solemn voice from the doorway.

Cologne glanced over to see Nabiki standing there.

Akane went back to destroying things, to ease her inner pain.

"And what would be the price of such information?" Cologne inquired with a neutral look. She moved away from Akane.

"Come with me, and I'll tell you," replied Nabiki calmly.

Cologne bounced out of the dojo area, following a quiet Nabiki to a side area of the house. Akane remained behind in the dojo, but the sounds of smashing items became a little more energetic-sounding. In a few moments, Nabiki suddenly stopped and turned around to face the Amazon matriarch.

"Do you want to hear the price before or after I tell you Shampoo's location?" A hint of cold anger escaped Nabiki's self-control.

"Either way, I will pay it, if I feel it is fair," replied Cologne.

"Shampoo and the others went to live with Ranma's mother," said Nabiki evenly. "I can give you the address, and even directions."

"And the price?" asked Cologne, curious to see what the middle Tendo daughter would ask for.

"Do whatever you want with Shampoo," said Nabiki coldly. "Take her back to China to fall on her sword for getting cursed for all I care. I only ask for two things in return. First, I want to see both Ranma and his good-for-nothing father suffer. But I want Ranma to suffer most of all. The three of them blew in here, disrupted all of our lives for weeks, and then just as suddenly left. Now my father doesn't leave his bed, Akane is angrier at life than I've ever seen her before, and even Kasumi is withdrawn. I want to see them all suffer for hurting my family. I can provide you with any information you think is helpful, and that brings me to the other request."

"I take it you have given the matter some thought," said Cologne dryly.

"As a matter of fact, I have," Nabiki replied sarcastically. "I want Akane to help you when you deal with Ranma and his father. She wants to hurt someone, and I want to see them hurting. Think of it as a form of closure for her. Get the idea?"

"You want me to train her," said Cologne with a brief nod, finding the terms troubling but acceptable. From the sounds of things, Akane might be quite motivated to help capture Shampoo. The elderly matriarch had a technique or two come to mind that the Tendo girl would find useful in her quest for revenge. It was a tempting bargain.

"Do you agree to my terms?" Nabiki asked quietly.

"Yes, Nabiki Tendo," said Cologne with another nod. "I find the price you ask for your aid in this to be one that I am willing to pay."

Nabiki nodded. "Good," she said evenly. She gestured towards the training hall. "Your student awaits. Just let me talk to her first."

A heavy rain began to fall. It suited Cologne's present mood as she waited for the middle Tendo girl to finish explaining things to her sister. However, she was troubled. Something wasn't adding up here, and she intended to find out what that something was.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

At the Imperial Academy, classes were over for another day.

In one of the sub-basement rooms of the Academy, where the maintenance staff seldom went, a private gathering was occurring. By design, only a select few were in attendance here. But there was also one uninvited guest.

Minami stood quietly on one side of the room, an amulet of invisibility she had borrowed from the Mobius Institute concealing her presence. Casting her spiritual senses around the room, she felt more of that same energy that she had been detecting since her arrival. It was like a slight fluctuation in the background mana, and she hoped that it was a sign of some spiritual activity. She wasn't sure what to make of this gathering though. Shrugging her shoulders, she continued to scan, while ignoring those present in the room.

"I now call this inaugural meeting of the Ranma Saotome Fan Club to order. I'm pleased that you all accepted your invitations."

The Ghost Sweeper's awareness snapped back when she heard that. These girls were gathered for _him_? How could any girl like that arrogant jerk? He had obviously enjoyed making her look like a fool, and she would never forgive him for that. Still, she began paying more attention to what was going on. Perhaps she might learn something that would let her pay the pigtailed boy back.

Nanami Jinnai set down the small gavel she had just used to rap upon the table in front of her. She tugged down once on the front of her gray uniform jacket, and then she smiled her best politician's smile at the assembled faces in front of her. The group was composed of some twenty or so girls, all dressed in either Science blue or Security gray. However, despite being even in number, the two parties were not mixed, and both sides had been exchanging glares with each other before the meeting had even begun.

"I'd like to begin by taking this opportunity to welcome you all here," Nanami said with another smile. She could sense the tensions in the room rising as each side wondered what the other group was doing here. Her brief welcome speech was interrupted when one of the science cadets suddenly stood up.

After looking pointedly around the room, Ami Mizuno gently cleared her throat and asked, "Why are you jackbooted thugs attending this meeting? The invitation I received by email made no mention of having any of _you_ present. After all, Saotome-san is a science cadet." She gazed at Nanami quite coolly, and the other girls in blue uniforms vigorously nodded their agreement with her words.

"That's a very good question, Mizuno-san," answered Nanami pleasantly, skillfully hiding her resentment at the 'jackbooted thugs' remark by some nerdy little geek. "While it is true that Saotome-san is part of your branch of the Academy, he is also a member of the full student body. With that in mind, isn't it fair to admit both sides to this meeting? Not to mention the added benefit of having us present, to assist in maintaining our privacy from those parties who might seek to hinder our activities."

Minami wondered who that might be.

It went unspoken by every other girl in the room who those parties might be, but they could agree on the identity of at least one of them.

"Fair enough," acknowledged Ami, nodding once after considering that for a moment. "I can see the logic of having security thu- er, cadets present. Do I take it that you are the one responsible for sending the invitations? They were untraceable as to their point of origin." She paused. "Believe me, I tried."

Nanami gave a slight bow and said, "Thank you, Mizuno-san. That is high praise indeed to come from one of your reputed expertise. I made every effort to gather this group together in secret, while maintaining absolutely tight security for our mutual protection."

"And now that we are here?" asked Ami archly, raising an eyebrow.

Nanami tapped a button on a small remote unit in her hand. Around the room, several posters of Ranma, each one a candid shot of him, unfurled. There was a collective, involuntary sigh of appreciation at the sight. Even Ami, who prided herself on maintaining a calm, logical façade, felt her heart skip a beat or two at the sight of him.

"We are all here for one reason only," said Nanami, her politician's smile returning, "to share in our admiration of that quintessential pinnacle of manhood who walks among us here at the Academy, Ranma Saotome."

Minami shook her head in wonder at that. Quintessential pinnacle? Ranma was hardly that. She glanced around the room in mild disdain at these foolish girls, but she noted the effect that the pictures were having on them. Admiration mixed with lust for the pigtailed boy could be seen in their eyes. Still, each girl who was here, inexplicably pining after Ranma, meant one less girl in competition with her for the attentions of the rest of the boys attending the Academy. Minami grinned in anticipation. She had already received a few requests for dates since her arrival and was enjoying a growing popularity with the boys. But she was also a little irritated that her new admirers weren't spurring that idiot Gosunkugi into paying more attention to her too.

Coughing once into her fist, Ami quickly brought her emotions back under control. The slight blush on her cheeks at the nearby sight of a life-sized image of Ranma, clad in just a towel wrapped around his waist, hindered those efforts. Around her, several cadets gazed raptly at the sight of male musculature on display before them. A few girls were even drooling a little at the sight.

"As the first order of business at this meeting, I feel perhaps it would be best if I offered to share the leadership of this meeting," said Nanami pleasantly. "Do I have a nomination for co-president from our sisters in the science branch?"

It was with little surprise that the previously-outspoken Ami Mizuno was quickly elected as co-chairwoman, representing the science cadet contingent. Nanami quickly made skilled use of her abilities as a would-be politician to cement herself as the representative for the security cadets present. When the elections and the congratulations were over, the meeting returned to a semblance of order. One change was that Ami was now seated at the head of the room with Nanami.

Ami flipped open the slim laptop she had, glad that she had thought to bring it with her. As Nanami began to orate once more, Ami occupied herself with calling up the datafiles she sought. She was sure that the others would find them very interesting.

"Now that the preliminary business is over," said Nanami, "I thought it would be best to dispel some of the rumors that have been floating around the campus of late about Saotome-san." She smiled when she saw that she had their complete attention, and basked for a moment or two in being the center of attention. She congratulated herself on coming up with the idea of organizing a club such as this, giving a mere first-year cadet like herself the beginnings of a power base to unseat the current queen of the campus, Nabiki Tendo. She ignored the twinge of resentment she felt at having been snubbed by the older girl when she had sought to join Nabiki's faction at the beginning of the term.

"I'd like to interrupt, Jinnai-san," said Ami suddenly, setting her laptop to one side. "I took the liberty of analyzing the information that you emailed me with your invitation, and I think it would be prudent to inform our sister cadets of my findings."

Nanami blinked, but she yielded the floor to Ami. Luckily, Nanami had staged her meeting in one of the planning rooms used for security cadet simulation missions, since it contained a video projection system that Ami was able to hook her laptop up to with a minimum of fuss. Nanami heard the other girl clearing her throat nervously as Ami signaled that she was ready, and she smiled as she dimmed the lights. It wouldn't be too difficult to reduce a mousy computer geek like Ami Mizuno to a mere figurehead leader, given enough time.

"The subject: Ranma Saotome," intoned Ami a little nervously as she began, clearly not used to speaking before a large group of people. A still image from her small picture archive appeared on the screen in front of the room, taken from Ranma's own Academy ID card. "To begin, Saotome-san is the first cadet ever, in the century-long history of the Imperial Academy, to have attained a perfect mark on the entrance exams." Text scrolled up next to Ranma's picture, brief listings of the universities and other institutions of learning that he had studied at during his young life. From the audience, a few scattered whistles and appreciative remarks were heard.

Minami shrugged. All that intellect and he was still a jerk. She tuned out on Ami's lecture and went back to letting her spiritual senses spread out. She could still feel something in the air.

"Saotome-san's academic record speaks for itself," Ami continued, glad that the darkness hid the blush that had returned to her face. "He is a brilliant young man, and an accomplished scholar. Many of you have had the pleasure of reading some of his few published works on such varied subjects as non-Euclidean mathematics, quantum mechanics, superstring theory and even cosmology. They show the workings of an agile mind, one possessed of eloquence and a capacity for deep thinking, a quality which is vanishingly rare in a boy his age."

She advanced to a new picture, one that Fuyutsuki would have been very surprised to see one of his own cadets have, since it was taken from his personal files. "Then there are Saotome-san's physical abilities." The text now scrolling upwards and overlaying part of the image were also taken from Fuyutsuki's files. "Since his arrival at the Academy some few months ago, Saotome-san has been improving his physical performance ratings to a remarkably high level. The numbers you see here represent a detailed breakdown of Saotome-san's current combat capabilities. It clearly shows him to be in prime physical condition."

There was another collective sigh from the audience when the picture switched to a brief film clip of Ranma in action. Ami's involuntary sigh was among them.

Minami rolled her eyes. All this admiration for Ranma was starting to seriously grate, although she could admit that the pictures of him in various states of undress were rather intriguing. He had quite a nice physique.

At the side of the room, Nanami glanced around and smiled as she saw the worshipful gazes taking place around her. Taking a risk like hacking into Fuyutsuki-sensei's private system and liberating these files had been a challenge, but she was pleased to see it had been well worth it. Selling photographs of Ranma from her growing collection should net her some tidy sums for her coffers. She only had to evade attention from Nabiki's henchwomen in order to do it. In truth, Nanami relished the challenge, especially since Nabiki's recent preoccupation with Ranma was beginning to cause a decline in her enterprises. It wasn't much so far, but a little effort would allow Nanami to wedge into that gap. Nabiki's time in the sun was fading. The other girl just didn't know it yet.

"What is interesting to note is the sharp increase in his abilities only a few weeks ago," Ami continued, wiping away the text with a few keystrokes and replacing it with a chart overlaying another image of Ranma, the pigtailed boy frozen in mid-motion. "His combat statistics altered significantly, his totals jumping upwards by several hundred points, primarily due to large changes in his offensive and defensive ratings, perseverance, and his adaptability during combat. Physically, there were no appreciable changes in Saotome-san's capabilities, other than a rise in his neuro-reflex rating, but the skills within him were somehow greatly enhanced. An analysis of the data, taken both before and after the event, yields no apparent explanations for it." A new picture appeared, this one taken during Ranma's victorious, last-ditch effort against Nabiki. There were a few scattered chuckles from the audience.

Minami considered that. Perhaps he wasn't possessed, but something was weird about Ranma. Nobody became a martial arts superstar overnight.

"However, the files provided by Jinnai-san also reveal several new dangers that we should all be aware of," said Ami in more solemn tones. "I congratulate her on obtaining them at apparently some personal risk."

"It was nothing," Nanami said modestly. Luckily, she had been able to obtain her own copies of the photographs taken by Nabiki's own people, by means of a circuitous route she had devised, rather than risking herself on reconnaissance.

Three images appeared on the display, replacing Ranma's. There was a muted grumbling from the audience.

"Saotome-san's family is currently in negotiations for him to marry one of the three girls that you now see before you," said Ami. Her voice trembled for a moment as she spoke the names. "Kodachi Kuno. Ukyo Kuonji." She paused for a moment, but all present recognized the last girl even before the name was spoken. "Nabiki Tendo."

There was a collective gasp of shock. One girl in a gray uniform in the back immediately fainted. A few others in the room were not far behind. The remainder simply looked stunned.

"But that's not fair! He's the most eligible boy on campus!"

"Yeah! And an arranged marriage is just so archaic."

"I thought it was strange that a noblewoman should transfer to this school in mid-session."

"He can't marry Nabiki," sobbed one girl. "She's all wrong for him. He can't marry her. He just can't."

"Ladies!" Nanami called out loudly, holding her hand up for attention as she raised the lights. It took her three more tries to restore a semblance of order. "Thank you. I'm afraid there's worse news."

"Worse? How could it get worse?" yelped the same girl who had finally recovered from fainting.

"My sources indicate that Utena Tenjou spent the night at Saotome-san's home after beating him in their match," replied Nanami.

Minami raised an eyebrow and blushed slightly at the implications Nanami was making. Kissing a boy was as far as the Ghost Sweeper had ever gone.

There was another collective gasp from the audience. The girl who had just fainted and recovered earlier passed out again. After a moment or two of this new knowledge settling in, the mood of the crowd turned darker.

Ami briefly flipped through her notes and announced, "Before coming to this meeting, I had begun compiling a psychological profile on Saotome-san, in an attempt to determine what sort of girl might have the best chance of earning his affections. This news about Utena Tenjou, while admittedly most distressing, possibly serves to confirm my theory."

"What?" shouted several girls. "Tell us!"

"Lights please," said Ami. When the room lights dimmed, she brought up one of the pictures.

"The first subject: Ukyo Kuonji," said Ami. "Research into her past shows that this girl has been highly-trained in both the arts of stealth and combat by the eldest of her shinobi clan, Genji Kuonji, her own great-grandfather. The most interesting thing about Ukyo is that her records from her old school list her as being male, and she apparently has a preference for wearing masculine clothing. I suspect that she has numerous gender issues to work through." Ami tapped a key and the picture changed.

Minami blinked. What sort of a freak dressed in boy's clothes?

"The next subject: Kodachi Kuno. Only daughter of one of the wealthiest and most influential of the families in the nobility, she is perhaps best known for winning a gold medal for the Empire in the last World Gymnastics Competition in France. At Whitehall Academy, she recently became embroiled in a series of fights with another student before transferring here, fights that Kodachi always won." Ami changed the picture once more.

"The third subject: Nabiki Tendo. Middle daughter of Soun Tendo, a high-ranking officer in the Security Directorate, and Captain Kimiko Tendo, missing and presumed deceased, formerly of the Imperial Special Forces. Both parents excelled in their chosen fields, Captain Tendo having been decorated numerous times for her actions in combat. She also holds several athletic records that still remain unbroken to this day from her time at Furinkan Military Academy." Ami tapped a key.

"The fourth and final subject: Utena Tenjou. She is best-known among her classmates as the 'Prince of Ohtori,' a designation no doubt earned due to her preference for wearing masculine clothing. I suspect that this girl also has gender issues to work through. There are several information sites dedicated to her on the Imperial Datagrid, complete with numerous pictures of the girl and listings of her combat records. She is ranked at the very top of Ohtori's duelists, although she is not part of the student council as the rest are."

Ami signaled Nanami to bring the lights back up.

"Based on this information," Ami informed the audience, "it is my theory that Saotome-san subconsciously seeks to pair himself with a strong woman. All four women here are strong fighters, and I believe it is beyond coincidence that this should be so. I propose that his recent assignation with Utena Tenjou confirms my findings." Ami's fingers stabbed out at the audience. "Therefore, the key to winning Saotome-san's heart is to defeat him in combat. I believe he would expect no less from the woman who would seek to win his love."

"Uh, what about Akane Tendo?" asked a voice in the back. The rest nodded. Akane had beaten Ranma up on numerous occasions, after all.

Ami smiled. She had been waiting for such a question. "Each of those beatings took place before this extreme change in Saotome-san's combat abilities. I believe that there has also been an alteration of his psychological profile to a similar degree. Therefore, the previous incidents involving Akane Tendo do not matter. However, if she returns to face him and manages to defeat him in a fair fight, then we shall have to see if that supports my findings or not."

"So what is it that you're saying, Mizuno-san?" asked one of the girls in the front row. "We should begin challenging Saotome-san in order to get a date with him?"

"Exactly," said Nanami with a nod, gently shoving Ami aside and taking her place behind the microphone. She now saw how she could rally these women. "Two things are obvious here. One, Saotome-san deserves a strong woman, so we should find it within ourselves to give him one. And, two, these four girls need to be driven away from him. So, who is with me in this noble cause?"

Every girl in the room cheered loudly. For the sake of winning Ranma Saotome's love, they would train hard, strengthen themselves, and begin challenging him to prove their love.

However, dealing with the fighting abilities of the young women who already had an interest in Ranma caused concern in many of them, but others were not as deterred. Viewing her as the most obvious target, a few of the strongest and most athletic of the girls discussed how they would deal with Nabiki and who would go up against her first.

As the meeting broke up, Minami strolled out of the room, unseen by anyone. She was happily contemplating the potentials for mischief that she could do to a certain pigtailed boy with a wicked grin on her face. She wondered if she could get Gosunkugi to help her. It promised to be a lot of fun, not to mention giving her an excuse to spend some time with him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yawning, Ranma trudged the short distance down the hallway to the bathing area. He grumbled at the faint twinges of pain reporting in from various spots on his body. He was still discovering muscles that were not used to the sort of effort he was making them do, but those pains were becoming less frequent. His body still hindered in its fighting movements, but that too was gradually fading as he continued to adjust to having his new skills. The limiters on his skills due to his lower conditioning compared to his martial artist analogs were annoying.

Tiger was proving to be as difficult to deal with as he had suspected she would be from his initial meeting with the catgirl. Most of the aches now present in his body were due to her dedicated efforts over the past couple of days. He couldn't help but feel irritated with himself about that. Being beaten up for two days straight was bad enough, but being beaten up by a girl was somehow making it feel even worse. It also didn't help matters that he knew he could defeat Tiger, even in his current condition, if only he wasn't being handicapped by his fears at the same time as he was battling her. She was inhumanly strong and lightning fast, but her innate fighting skills lacked that unpredictable creativity that a true martial artist was capable of, not surprising to him since her skills were hardwired into her neurology.

He stripped off his clothing and tossed them into the hamper behind him without looking at it, distracted by his thoughts. While wrapping a towel around his waist, he stared into the mirror, briefly noting that the bruises on his face from yesterday were almost gone. He had always been a fast healer, and he was grateful for that now. This training was proving to be a challenge, more than he had anticipated, but he was confident of one thing. When he was done with it, his physique would be closer to his analog's physical abilities, which combined with his downloaded skills should improve his lead over Nabiki in ability, and that was an extremely satisfying thought.

Grinning at that pleasant musing, Ranma slid open the door leading to the bathing area, looking forward to nothing more than soaking his body in hot water before he had to start training for the day. He stopped dead in his tracks after taking a single step into the room. The towel wrapped around his waist dipped down a centimeter or two.

Tiger, gloriously naked, stood in the furo. She had been enjoying a hot bath as a little treat to herself before the day's activities began. Not bothering to cover herself like a normal girl would have done at this time, she instead glared at Ranma as the pigtailed boy stood there in shock. Her eyes glanced downwards briefly when Ranma's towel slipped off his waist, and then her gaze returned once again to meet his, her irises like chips of frozen jade.

"It's considered polite to knock, Saotome-san," Tiger commented dryly. The sight of Ranma's naked body before her was reminding her that it had been several days since she had last enjoyed her master's tender attentions. The unpleasant thought that Lynx and Panther were both undoubtedly enjoying it in her place was irritating. And now to be ogled by this pathetic boy was changing that irritation to anger.

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered, averting his eyes from staring at the beautiful and naked catgirl, both fear and attraction triggered by the sight. "I-I didn't know anyone was in here." He started to back up when a wooden bucket suddenly slammed into his forehead, the force of the impact propelling him backwards several feet. Ranma fell over, stunned, as Tiger gracefully emerged from the furo and stalked towards him. Several versions of his life flashed before his eyes at the sight of the catgirl's ominous approach. Fear froze him in place.

"Don't let it happen again, Saotome-san," growled Tiger, slamming the door shut in his face. "I won't go easy on you next time."

Ranma, his mind swimming in images of cat-demons that were shaped like human females, continued to lay there on the cold tiles. It was going to be a long day in what was looking to be an even longer week.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka absently noticed the play of the breeze across the grass, as well as the scent of cherry blossoms tickling her nose. The haft of her bokken rested snug in her grasp, both hands closed loosely around it, the blade angled downwards. As her opponent stepped closer, her mind snapped into crystal clarity. At that moment, she felt truly alive.

The breeze stopped.

Achika Masaki launched into a textbook-perfect assault upon Nodoka, the blade of her own weapon lancing inward. There was the sharp crack of two pieces of hardened wood meeting as they clashed. Achika immediately rebounded from Nodoka's block, her weapon arcing around in a reverse stroke into another solid strike, only to be met by Nodoka once again. Riposte followed parry, and a counterstrike flowed into a dodge as each blow was turned aside and responded to. The two women displayed a level of combat skill born of many years of sweat and toil.

"Not too bad for someone your age," murmured Achika during a brief lull in the action, her weapon briefly locked with Nodoka's. The two pushed hard against each other, struggling for advantage, strain evident on their faces.

Nodoka grinned. "I could say the same." She gathered herself and surged forward hard against Achika, the sudden move knocking the other woman off-balance. Nodoka moved in for the win, her weapon aimed right for Achika's ribs.

Sudden pain exploded in Nodoka's midsection, Achika's brief act of weakness enough to lure her into a trap. Her breath escaped in a single gasp, the air forced from her lungs by her spasming diaphragm from the strike to her ribs. She slumped momentarily, her weapon bracing her body to keep from falling. Her friend's wooden blade came to rest firmly against her throat for a moment, and then withdrew.

"Your form is sloppy, Nodoka," said a voice from one side. It was mild in tone, yet the reproof was clear. "You let yourself lose focus and become distracted."

Blinking back reflexive tears from the pain, Nodoka looked over at Katsuhito Masaki, sitting on a rock nearby. She saw him adjust his glasses and study her, his expression grim. Despite the protests of her stomach muscles, she stood up to her full height once again, the pain already beginning to fade.

"If Achika had been a real enemy, she would have left you with more than a temporary injury," he observed. "If the two of you had been fighting for real, you would now be dead. How does it feel to be dead?"

Nodoka frowned, angry at herself for falling for such a simple ploy. She could not afford to be less than her absolute best when the time came to face Kenseiko once again. Her warrior pride demanded it of her.

"Sorry, sensei," said Nodoka, turning to face Achika once again. She raised her weapon to a ready position.

"That's the third time I've struck you in the last half-hour, Nodoka," observed Achika, a hint of concern on her face as she raised the blade of her own weapon. "We should take a break."

"Very well." Nodoka winced slightly as she sat down. She hid the movement well, only Katsuhito appearing to notice. "But I don't understand what's wrong."

"You're trying too hard," observed Katsuhito, pouring himself a cup of iced tea from the thermos he had at his side. "A warrior's movements should flow from a central core of stillness and calm emotions. This challenge has been the first you've faced in many years. It seems to have damaged your focus."

"Grandfather is right, Nodoka," said Achika, setting her weapon down and taking an offered cup of tea from the elderly man. "Twenty years ago, you would never have let yourself be bothered by a challenge from that witch."

"Remember one of the first things I taught you, Nodoka?" said Katsuhito as he gazed at her. When she looked blankly at him, he sighed once and shook his head. "How soon the student forgets." He tapped her forehead. "Don't think so much. If you have time for thinking in a fight, then you're moving too slowly. When in combat, a warrior must let go of the conscious self and act on instinct alone."

"I remember."

"Good. Now, keeping that in mind, let me see how well you do after we rest here for a little while." He smiled gently at her and then turned to watch a hawk circling above a far corner of the park they were using as a makeshift training ground.

Achika relaxed after passing a cup of iced tea to Nodoka. She picked up her towel and wiped the sweat from her face and the back of her neck. She was grateful that the weather was cool as she sat back and enjoyed the breeze against her skin. She could tell that Nodoka was worried about Ranma, and her thoughts wandered to her own children.

Now that Tenchi was finally settled down with a fiancée, Achika felt it was time to start working on her other child's future again. However, she did not relish the task. Her daughter was often as bullheaded as Achika could admit to being at that age, but the girl would not prevail in this. That their last discussion on the matter had prompted the girl to decide to go off and train in the mountains by the Masaki Shrine for the past several weeks was utterly beside the point. At least her very headstrong daughter enjoyed improving her skills as a warrior.

Achika sighed inwardly. What was she going to do about Ryoko? The girl took after her namesake ancestress far too much sometimes.

At least Ryoko wrote now and then while she was off training, and she had promised in her last letter that she was returning home soon. A smile briefly appeared on Achika's face as she briefly reminisced on the follies of her own youth, and what a trial she must have been for her own mother. Ryoko had been a handful from birth, but Achika was secretly proud of how strong she was and loved her deeply.

Due to her daughter getting into too many fights at her last school, Ryoko had been sent to Achika's and Nodoka's alma mater, St. Hebereke, to try and instill some discipline in her before she got totally out of control. Despite being a reformatory institution, the attendance rules were somewhat lax when it came to taking time off for combat training, just as it had been when Achika and Nodoka had been Ryoko's age. The school had gone co-ed two years ago, receiving grant money from the government to fix the place up and paint it. Most of the students there were orphans, wards of either the Empire or the Church.

When one spoke of the Church, in the Empire they were referring to the Church of Christ the Warrior, although it was sometimes called more derisively the Church of Violence. Founded in the wake of the numerous decisive victories won during the so-called "Christian Rebellion" led by Shiro Amakusa over four hundred years ago, the Church had grown and evolved, becoming a rather curious blending of traditional bushido ethics combined with the trappings of more traditional Christianity. In the centuries since its birth, the Church had grown to eventually come to stand alongside Shinto practices and the teachings of the Buddha. Together, they formed a triad of faith that supported the Empire among the people, and its teachings portrayed the Emperor as God's divine emissary upon the Earth.

Achika sometimes feared that the only way she was going to get the girl to submit to an arranged marriage would be by force. She glanced over at Nodoka, envious of the woman for not having a daughter to contend with. A son was much easier to manipulate for a mother. If only Ranma were stronger, then she would have asked Nodoka for an engagement between their two children. But Ryoko would be far too much for the boy to handle. She sipped her tea and pondered the matter.

While quietly drinking her own tea, Nodoka's thoughts went again to her son. He was training hard for his upcoming match at Ohtori Academy. She smiled at that. It would give him a good opportunity to visit again with that nice Utena girl while he was there, and Nodoka hoped that he would. She had genuinely liked the girl, who reminded her so much of how she remembered herself being at that age. Well, except for the cross-dressing and Utena's odd hair color. Nodoka smiled at the thought of the girl and her son together. They made a fine couple.

Nodoka also hoped that Ranma's training was going better than hers. The Academy had been keeping quiet on his progress, so she was concerned that he was doing all right, and that he was eating well without her cooking to sustain him. Yet it had been several days, with little word. Genma, when she had broached the subject with him that same morning, actually accused her of trying to coddle Ranma. That totally unexpected remark both hurt and surprised her, adding to her present level of distraction.

Ranma was her son, and, Nodoka could admit to herself, she was still adjusting to the fact that he was a warrior in his own right. She was very proud of him for that, and it made her love him all the more. Still, she considered it her right as his mother to worry about him, even though she was confident that he was making good progress. After all, as her son, the path of the warrior was his birthright, just as the path of the scholar had been bestowed upon him by his father. Ever since Ranma's birth, she was positive he would someday walk both with honor, and he would never know true defeat.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Feeling a little dejected at his latest failure to deal with Tiger, Ranma sat up against the wall. The ringing in his ears reminded him that he was also on the edge of having a concussion, but that was beside the point. He dug into his rice hungrily, grateful at having a whole plate of beef and steamed vegetables all to himself to accompany it. After all, he needed to eat to keep up his strength.

It was now day four of his training.

Tiger paused in eating her own meal, enjoying the early afternoon sun on her face. The spring air smelled pleasantly of cherry blossoms and fresh-cut grass from the athletics fields, an enjoyable aroma. She gobbled down another piece of raw salmon, enjoying the combination of sensations that her meal and her environment provided for her.

"Meow?" called out a timid-sounding voice behind the catgirl.

Hearing the sound, Ranma froze in place for several moments, only his eyes continuing to move. Once the initial shock was over, he started twisting his head around, trying frantically to determine the source of the sound. He froze again when he caught sight of it.

Tiger looked around, seeing a tawny-colored cat sitting on the wall near her. It was eyeing the fish in her bowl hungrily. She smiled at it, unselfishly pulling off a chunk of meat from the piece in her bowl and offering the tidbit to the creature. She had always liked housecats.

The small animal sniffed at the morsel of fish held out to it, before snatching it from her grasp and happily consuming it. The nameless feline began to purr while it ate. Tiger was still smiling at it, but she glanced for a moment at Ranma, absently noting that she had detected no motion from him for several moments.

Ranma's attention was locked onto the small housecat, a gibbering now taking place somewhere in the back of his mind. When he realized that the gibbering was his own mental voice, he shook his head to banish it and laughed nervously. Then he noticed that Tiger was studying him. He quickly went back to consuming his lunch, not looking at the catgirl or her furry companion.

The catgirl wondered at Ranma's reaction, absently feeding another morsel of fish to her new friend when it nudged against her hand. After it had eaten a good portion of her lunch, it consented to her picking it up, and she stroked her hand down its back as it rested in her arms. The cat purred its contentment at that, having just been fed and now being held and petted. She stood up with it in her arms and began walking over to Ranma.

Ranma locked the gibbering part of himself that had started up again in the back of his mind and tried to act casual. He smiled nervously at the approaching catgirl, trying to ignore the fear clawing at his guts.

"C-can I do something for you, Tiger?" asked Ranma, smiling, but with a wild look in his eyes.

She smiled back. "I noticed you watching my new friend here. I was wondering if you liked cats? They're so soft and cuddly." She stroked the cat some more, and it sleepily blinked its eyes open and stared curiously at Ranma.

C-c-cat, Ranma's thoughts stuttered, even as he mustered his control and continued to smile. Having the catgirl and the small cat in her arms both eyeing him with slit-pupiled eyes was re-awakening his fears. He sprang back involuntarily, food bowl still in hand.

"L-like c-c-cats?" babbled Ranma. "O-of course I like them. Who wouldn't l-like a c-cat?" He saw Tiger studying him with an odd smile on her face, vaguely predatory, and that wasn't helping matters.

Tiger set down the cat and watched it scamper away. She turned back to face Ranma and bared her fangs a little when she smiled at him once again. Seeing the pigtailed boy visibly blanch at her confirmed her initial suspicions, and she patted Ranma on the cheek.

"Relax, Saotome-san," she said with a purring undertone to her voice. "You seem a little tense."

"Oh, I-I'm just eager to get back to training. Let me just finish this." With a blur of speed, he consumed the bowl of rice and several large chunks of beef. "I'll see you inside." He dashed into the dormitory building before Tiger could even blink.

"Interesting," murmured Tiger, her predatory smile returning. She had a fun, new game to play, and she liked to play with her chosen prey.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How is the training going, Coach?" asked Fuyutsuki as he sat behind his desk, studying Fujinami seated across from him.

"Fairly well, sir," Fujinami replied. "Even though it's only been a few days, Ranma's skills are showing some definite improvement. Perhaps not as quickly as I'd hoped for during such an intensive program as we have him on now, but he's getting better. Pain has always been an excellent motivator for improvement in the martial arts, and Tiger is working the boy harder than Nabiki ever did. I'm quite confident in saying that he should defeat Utena Tenjou and regain the Academy's honor. Saotome's a good kid, and he deserves that win after what we've been putting him through."

"Excellent news, Coach," said Fuyutsuki, a smile briefly crossing his face. "How are your other two special students doing? I assume that Coach Takami has kept you apprised of their progress?"

"Well, his reports say that without Ranma around, the two of them are acting much more openly in expressing their mutual dislike," replied Fujinami. "He also says that Nabiki seems to enjoy lording her superior skills over the Kuno girl a bit much, but that's apparently making Kodachi work even harder to close the gap. However, there's still a large difference between their relative skill levels, and, from the reports I get from Takami, I don't see that gap dwindling soon."

"Why is that, Fujinami-san?" asked Fuyutsuki with interest.

"Well, Nabiki has apparently been pushing her personal training even harder than ever before," replied Fujinami, smiling a little. "I think her own loss to Ranma shocked her deeply. Takami also reports that she's been showing up at classes with her hands bandaged. He isn't sure what exactly she's doing on her own, but her speed is showing marked improvement. Ranma's going to have his hands full when he gets back. He's getting better, but I think Nabiki's new level of speed is going to give her the edge over him. I see the two of them having another challenge match not long after Ranma finishes his business at Ohtori."

"Interesting developments, indeed, Coach," said Fuyutsuki, as he folded his hands together on his desk. "Have you heard Ranma mention anything about this fighting style he's using?"

"Just the stories I hear from the cadets." Fujinami flipped open the folder on his lap. "I have it written down somewhere."

"The Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts?"

"That's the one, sir. The same one that Nabiki Tendo apparently uses."

Fuyutsuki paused, and said, "I did some research, and I discovered the school was listed. But my initial search found it in the archives of the Security Directorate, of all places."

"The Security Directorate, sir?"

"Yes," answered Fuyutsuki, nodding. "I did some further investigation into the matter and discovered many intriguing, perplexing things. The Anything-Goes School is designated as a variant of Kempo, and scattered records of it indicate that it first came into existence sometime over a century ago. Yet, other than a few records about its founder's petty criminal activities, it was apparently never passed on to any students. The school's founder is listed only by the singular name of Happosai, but he's not listed on any family registers. I suspect that he wasn't even of Japanese ancestry, perhaps Chinese instead. To double-check that I wasn't missing anything, I even did an in-depth search for the name using the genealogical archives at the Ministry of Information, but I found nothing. As near as I can tell, this Happosai person was never born, never attended formal schooling of any sort, and he had no record of any military service. Other than a criminal record that ends at the turn of the century, the only thing Happosai ever did that was of any significance to the Empire was to be credited with the founding of this school of martial arts."

"Next you'll tell me that he never died," said Fujinami with a slight smile.

"No," said Fuyutsuki with a smile of his own. "There you would be in error. According to the records at the Security Directorate, Happosai once molested the Empress of that time. He was tried, convicted, and executed for treason, all in a single day, in the year 1901. There is no record of the school having resurfaced since."

"Until now," said Fujinami, a little stunned.

"Yes," agreed Fuyutsuki with a slight smile. "Until now."

"I've been watching both Ranma and Nabiki very closely ever since you brought me in to supervise their training," said Fujinami, a hint of wonder still in his voice. "Frankly, their style is like nothing I've ever seen before, so I'm at a loss as to how to teach them. Oh, I can work their physical skills, set them loose upon each other in freestyle sparring, but they need a better instructor than me to train them. And that's something I never would have expected to hear myself say."

"I know," said Fuyutsuki, standing up from his desk and moving to look out the window. "However, because of the delicacy of this situation, the Tendo girl being the daughter of a highly-ranked official in the Security Directorate, I have decided to proceed with a good measure of caution. The skills that they both now possess lead me to wonder how they came to learn them. I have a few theories, but I confess to being even more intrigued by the mystery they represent to me, now more than ever. I have decided to play a waiting game for the present, and I'll watch how things proceed for just a little while longer, before I make a decision."

"Yes, sir."

"Carry on, Coach. I have the utmost faith in your abilities."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Then two men exchanged bows, and then Fujinami departed. Fuyutsuki turned to face the window once again, his thoughts on Project Phoenix, and the implications of these startling new developments upon it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The small fire blazed away, crackling merrily as Nabiki fed it several small twigs and a few larger sticks. She sat back on her haunches and considered the flames. As she did so, she slowly began to un-wrap the cloth bandages from around her hands, letting them fall into a pile. She had been pushing her body to its limits to increase her speed, and enduring the pains of her burns stoically. Perhaps only Ranma could understand why she was doing this. That thought brought an amused smile to her face, since it was because of him that she was here right now, attempting to master the Amaguriken technique.

She had been training hard at it for over a week, but it continued to hover somewhere just beyond her grasp. Her analog had done it faster, but the conditioning gap between them explained the difference. It was narrowing significantly because Nabiki had been pushing herself so hard lately, but it was frustrating that mastering this one technique was taking her so long when her other self had done it so much more easily.

Nabiki closed her eyes and began to meditate, to calm and focus her mind before trying once again. But her thoughts refused to be still, drifting to contemplations about her counterpart, blissfully living out her own life on another version of Earth. That other Nabiki was a far more action-oriented girl, and equally far too impulsive for her own good. But aspects of that analog lived in her now. It had changed her in ways she was still discovering. She wasn't fully the cold-hearted girl she had once been, but she also wasn't the impetuous jock that her analog was.

Just who was Nabiki Tendo anymore?

Losing to Ranma had been quite a blow to her ego, and her decision to train herself in the Amaguriken had been an admittedly impulsive reaction to that loss. But Ranma was not a better fighter than she was. Before his own experiences with the resonator, he had been less of a fighter than even her old self had been. She could admit to feeling angry at Ranma for beating her, and in front of the whole Academy yet. She knew she was his superior, and she intended to prove that to him. But, each time she failed to master this technique, it only further aroused her desires to succeed.

Nabiki's thoughts paused. How did she really feel about Ranma?

Fact: Ranma was her fiancé.

Fact: Ranma was her rival.

That was the core of her present emotional dilemma. Her counterpart was not one for self-analysis, a product of her free-wheeling upbringing, but gaining that other Nabiki's experiences had caused her to conduct a re-evaluation upon herself, her feelings about Ranma and how she wanted to live her life from now on. Things were also changing around her, in so many ways.

How did she feel about the pigtailed boy? And why did her thoughts keep coming back to him? Nabiki growled deep in her throat at feeling so out of control of her emotions. Before gaining her analog's memories, she had possessed an almost total mastery over her feelings, emulating her father's cold nature in some subconscious quest for his approval. But things were different now. Intellectually, she knew she didn't have to go through life alone, but it felt scary to open herself to someone, to drop her defenses and be so vulnerable.

Ranma Saotome. He had been such a quiet sort before, devoting himself to his research project and his studies, never even associating much with his fellow science cadets. As far as she knew, he still didn't have any friends to speak of, other than herself and her rivals for his attentions. Yet, was she much different? Sure, she had her own little entourage, sometimes going out with them to clubs and such, but only Yohko Mano came close to being what Nabiki would call a friend. "Trust no one," had long been her credo, and so no one had been permitted entry into Nabiki Tendo's innermost private life.

That had been true until that night in Ranma's lab changed her forever.

There were also her rivals to consider. Akane was getting involved with Furinkan's Combat Club, and she was sure to find a boy there who suited her tastes. Kodachi was proving to be quite irritating, bringing Ranma sumptuous lunches and subtly enticing him with her wiles. Ukyo was a relative unknown, and it had been a complete surprise to see her at Ohtori Academy earlier that day. Still, Nabiki truly doubted that the cross-dressing hick would be any sort of challenge. That brought her to the last rival to contend with.

Utena Tenjou, the so-called "Prince of Ohtori." She refused to believe that Ranma had slept with the girl, but something had happened between the two of them that night. Nabiki's quest to find Utena and explain things to her in no uncertain terms had been an utter failure. All she had gained for her efforts had been to get into a meaningless conflict with one of Ohtori's cadre of security cadets, a girl by the name of Haruka Tenoh. She had been dealing with the crop-haired brute fairly well, until the other girl's underlings had shown up. If it hadn't been for Toga Kiryu intervening, things could have become a bit difficult.

Nabiki opened her eyes when she felt a blush flood her cheeks. Toga had possessed a certain charm, and a presence that was undeniable. His touch had been electric, very similar to the sensations she felt when Ranma had held her hand. It would serve him right if she flaunted another boy in his face, especially a handsome one like Toga Kiryu.

She shook her head. She was getting off track.

Ranma's current sparring partner was another concern, a bio-mechanical love doll with combat skills. A tremor ran down Nabiki's back at the thought of what she was, a catgirl. Tiger was her name, part of an impressive trio of females that accompanied one of the underclassmen around, a boy named Kinnosuke Kashuoh, a science cadet from a wealthy family. Nabiki had once considered him to be her secret nemesis, but had ultimately rejected the notion. After all, why would someone that rich want to bother with taking over her business enterprises? He had loaned Tiger to the Academy to prepare Ranma for his upcoming rematch at Ohtori in a few days. It had been the talk of the student body this week.

Nabiki had seen Tiger around campus for months, strutting along behind her owner like a faithful hound. The boys on campus envied Kinnosuke for having his own harem, and the girls were jealous of the trio for their looks. Nabiki shivered again at the thought of them, a clear sign of the Nekoken asserting itself within her. Since she hadn't seen Ranma running around the campus in terror, either his counterpart hadn't undergone the Nekoken training, or he was somehow keeping it under control.

The fire was burning down, so she fed it a few more sticks. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Nabiki realized that she was as ready as she ever would be. She flexed her hands, her focus narrowed upon the flames before her. She would not fail again. She had to be the best. Picking up the open bag of sweet chestnuts next to her, she tossed the contents into the flames.

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Nabiki's hands became blurs, streaking in and out of the flames. When it was over, she raised her fists to the sky, her hands unburned. A throaty chuckle bubbled up from deep within her. She looked forward to showing Ranma just who truly was the better fighter between them. The next time she faced off against the pigtailed boy, she would be the winner.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*

Kuno stood still, his blade poised in his hands, as his father watched for the slightest flaw in his technique. He eyed the target, his hand shifting his grip ever so slightly. For days he had been perfecting his skills with the sword, and dealing with his father's blunt teaching methods. He was a far different instructor than his former teacher had been, harsher in manner and offering fewer words of praise.

Daisho tapped his bokken against his knee and looked a little bored, but it was all an act. His son had proven to be a very apt pupil, and he could confess that it had been enjoyable to train the boy in the finer aspects of the Kuno style of swordsmanship. Memories of time spent with his own father had come back to him during the last few days, before his own youthful rebelliousness had driven a rift between father and son. It was a rift that had never fully healed even at the time of his sire's death. His obligations at court had acted to prevent him from performing his paternal duties to his own son and heir, but he was resolved to correct that oversight now that he had awakened to its existence.

"Focus your will on the point of your blade, my son," said Lord Kuno, almost gently. "Let the power of your chi flow through it."

"Yes, Father," said Kuno, as a soft, bluish glow began to emanate from his body. He gathered his will to a single point at the tip of his blade, and then he released it as he thrust forward, the energy somehow accelerating his blows even faster than he had ever performed them before.

"Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!"

The wooden target disintegrated under the power of Kuno's rapid-fire blows, and even the wall behind it began to buckle and warp from the air pressure generated by them. The wood and stone were reacting as if caught by the focused force of a hurricane. With a last shattering wrench, a two-meter wide hole was ripped through the wall, scattering chunks of stone and shards of wood out across the grass outside.

"Excellent, boy!" cheered Lord Kuno in congratulations. In truth, he was both pleased and astonished that his son had managed to master the technique so quickly. Less than a week had gone by, after all.

The last traces of chi fire fading from his bokken, Kuno saluted his father with the weapon. Never before had he felt so powerful. No, he was now invincible. Ranma Saotome would fall to this new technique, and Kuno was eager to demonstrate it to him. After his inevitable victory over his foe, and with Ranma's beaten body in tow, Kuno would be in a much better position to demand that his sister have nothing further to do with the pigtailed boy. But there was a more immediate concern for the young heir to the name of Kuno.

Tomorrow night was to be the marriage meeting with the Tendos. A vision of the two sisters filled his mind, inciting him with desires for them. The two girls were certain to be enamored of him, when they saw the wealth and power that would be theirs by joining themselves to him, especially when combined with his magnificent physical appearance. It was a most glorious time to be Tatewaki Kuno.

Lord Kuno wasn't sure why his son suddenly broke out into a gale of laughter. He could only attribute it to youthful exuberance at having mastered a new combat technique.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kenseiko paused in her workout, feeling her shoulder muscle spasm a bit. She gritted her teeth at the brief pain, a sign she wasn't quite as young as she used to be. Sometimes, she felt she might be getting too old for such a childish thing as revenge, but then she remembered the anger that Nodoka's re-appearance in her life had resurrected from the dead. She was still young enough to close the book on her business with that particular she-demon. She eyed the results of her handiwork as she kneaded the muscle in her shoulder with one hand. She absently noted with approval the precision of her strikes upon the training dummy. As she studied it, one of its arms came loose and fell with a clatter, and she smirked. She had gotten much better with her chosen weapons, and Nodoka would soon enough learn who the superior warrior was.

"There is a flaw in your technique, my dear wife," said Lord Kuno from the doorway suddenly. He quirked his lips slightly at the glare she gave him in reply, before she realized who he was. Rubbing the sweat from his neck with a towel, he stepped into the room. His training with his son was done for tonight, and he had been on his way to the baths when he heard Kenseiko's efforts.

Her lips a little tight, Kenseiko asked, "Perhaps Milord would care to show me where this flaw is?" She took up a stance, her warfans firmly gripped in her hands. "I confess that I don't see it."

"If you insist, Milady." He coolly eyed Kenseiko in her workout clothes: skintight leotard pants and a loose top, done in greens and purples, and black boots on her feet. He took a moment to admire her sculpted shapeliness, and how well she had kept her figure all of the many years that they had been married.

Without preamble, they engaged in combat, his bokken versus her twin warfans. There was the sound of weapons clashing as they fought each other fiercely, the ring of steel and the crack of hardened wood. It was a battle of skill, and it re-ignited memories of their past youth.

"My Lord has lost none of his famed skill," Kenseiko noted with a sultry smile. It had been months since they had last dueled, and she was pleased that he was still as capable as ever.

"You are too kind," replied Daisho, as he circled his wary wife. She had improved since last time, but he could still see the old flaw in her technique.

Kenseiko said with a broader smile, "Perhaps my lord and husband imagined the flaw that he claimed to see." She rushed to engage him, sensing a momentary weakness in his defense.

"No." He swiftly ducked under one of her warfan attacks and narrowly evaded a solid kick aimed at his gut that would have disabled him if it had connected. "I can still see it, and the flaw is still there." As he spoke, he struck out, the point of his bokken passing through the minute opening in her defenses. He succeeded in tapping his wife's shoulder quite easily, and she blinked.

"I-it's true," Kenseiko said in a small voice. She slumped to her knees, looking upwards at him. "How long have you known?"

He knelt down and put an arm around her, surprised to feel her trembling. He said gently, "You've always had it, my dear wife, for as long as I can remember. I kept it to myself, an old habit from my youth whenever I found a flaw in an opponent's defenses. I am sorry if I have hurt your feelings."

She went from trembling, on the edge of sobbing, to gradually giving off a throaty, almost seductive chuckling. She looked up at her husband through lowered eyelashes, the sultry smile back upon her face.

"Help me eliminate this flaw in my technique, Milord," said Kenseiko huskily. "I have a very old score to settle, and this would aid me greatly."

Caught by surprise by the violent passions in his wife's gaze, Lord Kuno could only nod. He was knocked off-balance when she suddenly flung herself at him, their bodies coming to rest with her astride him. She bent down and kissed him passionately.

"OHHOHOHOHO! My lord has earned his wife's gratitude." She began removing her top. "Let me show you how wondrous a prize that is." In the back of her mind, she imagined how sweet her victory over Nodoka would be, after all these years of delay.

Feeling passions bubbling within her like she was a teenager again at the thought of the revenge finally to be hers, Kenseiko began to show her husband just how grateful she would be for his help. The servants thoughtfully closed the doors to the training hall, to give the pair some privacy as she did so.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With night fully settled upon Tokyo, Fuyutsuki strolled down the streets of Nerima, a small leather satchel under his arm. He nodded politely at the pair of peaceforcers in their little booth and briefly sniffed the air. A fair number of restaurants lined both sides of the street here, a neighborhood known as having some of the best in the region. Each of them added their own touch to the scents in the air. Foot traffic was lightening, the dinner crowd fading off.

He passed a vacant lot, stopping in front of the building next to it. Inhaling, he caught the distinctive aroma of cooking okonomiyaki, and nodded at finally having located his destination. The Yu-chan was relatively new, about a year in business at this location, and getting to be pretty famous locally, but Fuyutsuki had never eaten there before. He was looking forward to sampling the cuisine while he discussed the nature of his visit with the owner. He slid open the door and stepped inside.

"Welcome to Yu-chan's," said Yumi reflexively, briefly looking up from her cooking to see a stranger standing in the doorway. She flashed a friendly smile. "What can I get you?" She swiftly flipped two fresh okonomiyaki onto plates for her other remaining customers.

"A shrimp okonomiyaki would be nice." Fuyutsuki settled himself at the counter.

Yumi nodded at him. "One shrimp special coming right up."

Fuyutsuki smiled back at her and watched as she poured a puddle of batter on the grill. The smell coming from the cooking okonomiyaki was tantalizing, reminding him that he had skipped lunch again. He watched her mix in a healthy portion of shrimp even as the dough began to simmer, and he was rather surprised to find himself admiring Yumi while she worked. He noted that she was tall for a woman, possessing an athletic build overlaid on a solid frame. But, she still moved lithely, with a dancer's grace. He was a bit surprised at himself for gawking like an adolescent at a woman, considering himself to be too much the detached scientist, as well as a confirmed bachelor, to pay much attention to such things.

"Nice place you have here," he said somewhat inanely, glancing around the room. The other two customers, salarymen on their way home after a long day at work, ate without talking.

"Best food you'll ever find anywhere in the Empire," said Yumi proudly. She flipped over the cooking okonomiyaki at exactly the perfect moment by well-trained instinct, letting the other side begin to brown.

"Sounds like I'm in for a treat." Fuyutsuki sniffed the air, the smell of the food bringing back memories. "You're Yumi Kuonji?"

"You got it, handsome," said Yumi with a twinkle in her eyes. She had noticed him studying her, and it was flattering to know that she could still catch a man's attention. "Yumi's my name, okonomiyaki's my game." Her ponytail bobbed as she moved to casually flip the finished product of her efforts onto a plate. She slid it in front of him and waited expectantly.

Fuyutsuki inhaled the aroma rising with the steam. "Smells delicious." He took a bite and blinked. The taste was extraordinary, and it actually was the best he had ever eaten.

Yumi smirked with pride at the look of enjoyment on his face.

Fuyutsuki continued to eat, savoring the flavors, as the two salarymen finished gulping down their own meals. They paid and left, hurrying to get home. His was also finished a short time later, but he wasn't in any rush to leave until he had taken care of his business.

"Anything else I can get for you?" asked Yumi pleasantly. She waited for his reply, briefly glancing at the clock. Ukyo still hadn't gotten back from her little hunting trip at Ohtori yet, and Yumi was beginning to get a little worried about the girl. But, a moment later, she realized how motherly she was sounding and shook her head ruefully.

"Well, I did have some business that I wanted to discuss with you," said Fuyutsuki as he picked up his satchel and unbuckled the straps. He pulled out a picture of Ukyo from within it, taken at her last school, and laid it on the counter. "It concerns your niece. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Kozo Fuyutsuki, Dean of the Imperial Academy." He handed Yumi one of his business cards.

"Shouldn't her parents be the ones to talk to about something like this, Fuyutsuki-san?" Yumi asked, glancing at the card. "Ukyo's just staying with me."

He nodded. "Well, Ukyo was already offered a spot at the Academy several months ago, but she was still involved in training with her great-grandfather at the time and couldn't accept. So, when I heard that she was in the area, I decided to come meet her in person. Is she here?"

"She's out taking care of some personal business tonight," replied Yumi evasively. "I'm not sure when she'll be back."

Fuyutsuki nodded, picked up the picture and put it back in his satchel. "I understand," he said. "But have her call me in the next couple of days. Your niece has a lot of potential, and I truly feel that the Imperial Academy would offer her more opportunities than she could get anywhere else. I'll also leave some forms for her to fill out, if she decides to attend."

"I'll pass them along, Fuyutsuki-san," said Yumi, taking the small stack of papers that he offered her. She watched him close up his satchel bag and set some money on the counter. She bowed to him, a slight smile on her face. "Perhaps you could return sometime. I would be honored to cook for you again."

"Thank you, Kuonji-san," said Fuyutsuki with a bow of his own. "I would like that. Until next time." He picked up his bag and departed.

After he had left, Yumi flipped the sign in the window from 'Open' to 'Closed' and pulled the shades. She took a deep breath and let it out, then bopped her forehead once with her fist. She reviewed the recent scene in her restaurant and shook her head.

"I would be honored to cook for you again, Fuyutsuki-kun," said Yumi to the empty air, her voice sugary and her eyes wide and innocent-looking. Returning her expression to normal, she wrinkled her nose and shook her head again. "Where the hell did that come from? That didn't sound like me at all." Watching her niece go all soft in the head over some boy must have started to affect her too. She snorted and continued to lock up.

Ukyo came in the back door while Yumi was finishing up in front. As she locked the door, the young ninja was startled to suddenly sense a presence behind her, and she swung around a fist in reflex. The blow was turned aside, but no counterstrike was thrown at her.

"You're late, young lady," said Yumi calmly.

"Sorry," Ukyo mumbled. She tried to avoid showing her aunt the bruise she wore under one eye, replacing the healed one that Utena had given her a few days ago. All she wanted to do was to go to her bed, fall in it and sleep.

"I take it that things didn't go so well?" Yumi turned Ukyo's face to better see her niece's blackened eye. "Utena again?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," said Ukyo sourly. Seeing her aunt's sudden frown, she gulped. "Sorry, Auntie. Can we talk about this later? I'm really tired."

Yumi nodded and said, "I understand, Ukyo-chan. I was young once, too. Just call me the next time you're going to be so late, okay? If you don't, I might have to get medieval on you. You wouldn't like to see me when I'm really angry." She grinned disarmingly.

"Okay, Auntie," laughed Ukyo, already feeling a little better. She headed off to bed, thinking of nothing more than blessed slumber.

Behind her, Yumi smiled and shook her head. Her niece reminded her all too much of herself at that age, when all she cared about was cooking, fighting and pursuits of the heart, not necessarily in that order. Ukyo was heading down the same path, and all Yumi could hope was that she could give the girl the benefit of her experience. She shook her head again.

"We're both idiots."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma absently picked at the food on his plate, wondering once again why he was letting Fuyutsuki-sensei put him through this abuse. He glanced over briefly at Tiger, seeing the catgirl comfortably perched on a chair as she consumed her own dinner. She chose that moment to flick one of her catlike ears, and Ranma gulped involuntarily at the sight. Quickly busying himself with the task of consuming his meal, Ranma tried to keep his mind off of his sparring partner. His match against Utena was in just a couple of days, and he had to focus on that thought to keep the fear at bay. When that was all over, then he could turn his full attentions back to rescuing his father. Who knows what sort of chaos could be besetting him in that other world?

Tiger sensed Ranma's attention dropping away from her, and she smirked for a moment. Even after five days of time spent with the pigtailed boy, she had yet to grow bored with tormenting him. It was a very pleasant diversion.

Pathetic coward, she thought disdainfully, before quickly consuming another large chunk of raw tuna. To think that a great warrior like her beloved Kinnosuke-sama would even consider a mewling weakling like the pigtailed boy to be any potential challenge at all was just utterly laughable. Still, she was following his orders to her with the utmost diligence. The bruises she could see on the pigtailed boy's face were the signs of just how dedicated she had been in obeying them.

I'm a scientist, not a warrior, Ranma mused, eating his meal with more vigor. I should be in a lab, not getting my body beaten black and blue by some c-c-c- by some weird girl with ears. What the hell was I even thinking? Do I really care if the world thinks I lost to Utena? He stabbed at the meat on his plate, impaling it on his chopstick. The morsel quickly disappeared into his mouth.

Her own meal finally finished, the catgirl set down her bowl and stretched her body luxuriantly. A few minor kinks in her shoulders and lower back worked themselves out, and she briefly sighed with pleasure. She was looking forward to another invigorating session of beating Ranma unconscious a few more times, followed up by a snack, and then a nice, hot bath. The look of terror she could sometimes see in his eyes when she sparred with him was an added bonus. It appealed deeply to her catlike nature, the thrill of tormenting her chosen prey.

Ranma swallowed another mouthful of food, and then blinked when he realized that he was done with his meal. He set his bowl down and relaxed for a moment, while keeping his eyes turned away from Tiger. He had gotten this stupid phobia from the version of himself that had gone on a decade-long training trip from hell. The pigtailed boy closed his eyes, once again reminiscing though memories not his own to try and bring them all into some semblance of order.

Days spent fighting to control this fear, while also trying to fight Tiger, had been wearing away at his nerves. But Ranma ardently refused to surrender to it. His logical side kept telling him that he had absolutely nothing to fear, even as his emotional side wanted to run away in terror. The combination of stresses was getting to him.

He wasn't a coward, something he had to remind himself of now and again, and he was certain he would conquer this fear. He just needed to simply hold out against it for long enough, to build up his mental resistance like he would strengthen a muscle. But there lurked that constant temptation, to just give up and let the Nekoken take him. After all, it was supposed to be an invincible technique, one that the catgirl would not be able to match. The problem would be in explaining it afterwards. No, he would have to deal with this without resorting to the Nekoken.

"You ready for another round, Saotome-san?" asked Tiger pleasantly, her half-purring tones interrupting Ranma in mid-thought. She came over and stood in front of him, almost striking a pose, her fists resting against her hips.

"Gimme a minute, okay?" Ranma replied. When she didn't move from in front of him, he risked a brief glance at her. "What?"

"You're really not much of a warrior, are you?" Tiger observed. "You just don't seem to have the stomach for it."

That casual statement hurt, surprising Ranma. How was it that words spoken by someone else, even ones similar to his own recent thoughts, could make him feel a wound to his pride? It didn't make sense to him.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said quietly, looking away once again. He couldn't even explain the vacillations in his own thoughts to himself. Sometimes, he felt eagerness within himself for the challenge of a strong opponent, to have another chance to test his skills against another. Then there were times like now, when he just wanted things to go back to the way they once were. But the pigtailed boy could admit that his periods of regret were becoming fewer. And his life was continuing to evolve in ways that brought with it a sense of wonder. In a certain way, he liked what he was becoming, enjoying the new skills he had, and the self-confidence they gave him. But it also sometimes bothered him, deep down inside, to see how easily he was adapting to being this new Ranma Saotome.

Tiger snorted disdainfully at his words. She glanced at the clock, noting that Coach Fujinami wouldn't be back for a short while yet. She returned her gaze to Ranma, who was still avoiding looking at her.

"After spending a few days with you, I think I have a good idea," she said with a grin. "You don't like fighting, do you?"

The mocking tone in her voice bothered Ranma, more than he would care to admit. Whenever Coach Fujinami was around, Tiger was very polite, cheerful and even deferential to them both. But whenever he was alone with her, the catgirl displayed more personality than Ranma had ever suspected a replicant could possess. It was as if she was toying with him for some reason, but he couldn't figure out why she would ever want to torment him. Until a few days ago in Fuyutsuki-sensei's office, he had only ever seen her from a distance, her and the other two catgirls who acted as bodyguards for one of his fellow science cadets.

Her words also brought Ranma back to his own musings, about how he really felt about fighting nowadays. Losing oneself within competition against another was fun. It was something that Akane Tendo had once told him, but to find himself in agreement with it was perplexing. It bothered him to learn that he could feel that way about an activity as primitive as fighting. It went against his self-image. But was that self-image still true?

Who was Ranma Saotome anymore?

"You're wrong," he said softly.

Tiger cocked an ear forward and leaned down a little. The maneuver would have given Ranma an excellent view of her cleavage displayed within her gi top, if he had lifted his gaze from the floor.

"Am I?"

"Yes," he growled. The sudden surge of anger within him brought his eyes up reflexively, the goal being to give her a defiant glare, but the up-close view of Tiger's bosom stopped him in mid-motion. A slight trickle of blood leaked from one of his nostrils, and Ranma gave off a sort of squeaking, swallowing sound.

Tiger took that as her cue. She hauled the pigtailed boy up by his shirt before he could react, and hurled him as hard as she could in the general direction of the training area. The solid wall that had once separated them from it acquired a new opening, pleasing the catgirl.

As she strolled towards the training area, Tiger was delighted to note that Ranma hadn't already lost consciousness. She smiled as she watched him groggily regaining his feet, absently cracking her knuckles for a few moments. The catgirl then launched into a devastating series of punches and kicks against the pigtailed boy. After all, she had been instructed to toughen him up, and it amused her to see how few of her blows he could take before falling. As much as her beloved wanted a strong opponent, she just could not see it as ever being the boy in front of her.

To his credit, Ranma managed to sustain a fairly credible defense by sheer reflex alone, even while half-stunned. But it only lasted for a few seconds before it was torn down, allowing the catgirl to begin pummeling him with impunity. His second to last thought before consciousness left him was to wonder what the girls had been up to while he was training. The last one was to wonder why he would think that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soun Tendo had heard many startling things in his life when it came to his daughters, going all the way back to when Kimiko had announced that she was pregnant with Kasumi. This time was no exception. Luckily, he was well-schooled in hiding his emotions, so his startlement was not at all apparent.

"I'm sorry, Kuno-dono," said Soun calmly. "But, what did you just say?"

Lord Daisho Kuno looked a little bit uncomfortable. He glanced over at his wife, noting the firm set to her jaw, and he sighed internally. He hadn't thought that Soun Tendo would agree to anything like this, but he had to follow through for form's sake.

"My son desires to take your two youngest daughters as his concubines, pending his marriage to a daughter of noble blood," he said.

Kodachi grinned, ever so slightly, as she regarded her rivals for Saotome-kun's attentions with an otherwise detached look. This was very entertaining for her.

Akane blinked. The subtle smile that Kodachi was giving her from the other side of the table was not helping her mood. Her gaze slid over to meet the lustful regard that Kuno was giving her at that moment. A frown crossed her features, and her hands tightened into fists beneath the table top, bunching the cloth of her yukata. How dare this pompous lordling look at her like she was some sort of sex object? Besides, she knew she was destined to be Ranma's wife, not this idiot noble's plaything, if she had any say in the matter.

Nabiki's attention focused briefly on Kenseiko, meeting the older woman's gaze. The two regarded each other coolly, and Nabiki was satisfied when she saw the other woman break eye contact first. She smirked slightly at that.

Seeing that expression on Nabiki's face startled Kenseiko, but she hid it well. Still, the girl was reminding her more and more of Kimiko, and that was raising up unpleasant memories. She's got her mother's smug attitudes, the noblewoman thought sourly, her face still betraying no sign of her feelings.

Nabiki turned her gaze to Kuno, not quite glaring at the young nobleman. The urge to toss him through the nearest window was tempting, but she resisted for now. Her expression remained calm.

Seeing the two Tendo sisters looking at him, Kuno basked in their regard. He noted that both were obviously speechless with gratitude at the chance to become his concubines, and he resolved himself to proving worthy of their combined love. They were both so beautiful, so utterly desirable; he wondered how he could live without possessing them. He had to have them both.

"While I am honored that your son would seek to make such an offer to my daughters, Your Lordship," said Soun in his best diplomatic tones. "I am afraid that I promised their departed mother that I would see to it that all of them became wives. I hope Your Lordship can understand my situation."

Kuno blinked as his pleasant fantasy involving himself and both Tendo sisters imploded with an almost audible pop.

"Of course, Tendo-san," said Daisho magnanimously, grateful at having been offered a chance to save face. He turned to look at his wife.

"The wishes of a mother should be paramount when it comes to the future happiness of a daughter," said Kenseiko grandly. She was grateful that Nabiki would never become a part of her household, even if only as a concubine to her son. The girl's eyes were clever, too clever for her tastes by far. She could also see quite a bit of her old nemesis' thuggish tendencies in the younger daughter. The thought of her beloved son ever siring children on these two was a repellant notion, now that she had met them. She was glad that their father was rejecting the matter. That would leave her free to put all of her attentions on getting her little Tachi-kun engaged to a girl that would be far more suitable to him.

"Tendo-san!" cried Kuno in dismay. He glanced at his father and mother in shock, before returning his gaze to Soun. "I offer your daughters an honored place amidst wealth and splendor! How can you refuse this?"

"Some things just aren't meant to be, Kuno-kun," said Nabiki, rising from her seated position. "Perhaps it will happen in another life."

"Yeah," said Akane, also rising to her feet. "Thanks, but no thanks." There was only one man for her, and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way of claiming him, especially not a weakling like Kuno. After all, he hadn't even beaten her in a fight. How could she love a man so weak?

Kodachi watched her brother visibly deflating as his dream faded, and she was suddenly inspired. Her brother never could resist a challenge.

"Alas, Brother Dear," said Kodachi, looking at Kuno with false sadness. "I fear your desires shall remain unfulfilled. Even if Tendo-san were to change his mind, you would still be unable to possess them. They both require a strong man to be with. Isn't that right, Nabiki Tendo?"

"That's right," agreed Nabiki with a nod, and then glanced at Kodachi, noting the guileless look on her face. The noblewoman had played her well, and she was irritated that the other girl had been able to do so.

"I am a strong man!" roared Kuno.

"Then prove it, my dear brother," said Kodachi with a calm look. "Nabiki Tendo here fancies herself to be a strong fighter. Challenge her and prove it."

Nabiki glared briefly at Kodachi for her remarks, and grimaced slightly when she noticed Kuno looking her over. If he did decide to challenge her skills, she was obligated to accept, for her counterpart's code of honor required no less. It was annoying to find herself bound to obey such bushido rhetoric, but she accepted it philosophically.

Sometimes you just can't fight fate, she mused. And this seemed to be one of those times. Still, the thought of fighting with Kuno was kind of intriguing, since she did find him to be attractive on some deeper level, something she was still a little surprised at herself to feel. Not that he would be any real challenge, especially with her new speed, but it might be fun for a minute or two.

"Very well," said Kuno, calming down. "Nabiki Tendo, I challenge you."

"I accept your challenge, Kuno-kun," said Nabiki. She smirked as a sudden inspiration struck her. "If you win, then I'll go out with you on a date. If I win, you'll leave me and my sister alone for at least a week."

"Done!"

"Your Lordship," said Soun, hoping to regain control of this situation. "I respectfully ask that you put a stop to all this."

"Don't worry, Daddy," said Nabiki confidently. "I'm not going to lose this fight."

"We shall see, Nabiki Tendo," murmured Lord Kuno, ignoring Soun for a moment to study the girl. "We shall see."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki watched Kuno limbering up with a lazy look. After all, Ranma had defeated this version of him several times now, so he wasn't very tough. She was contemplating ways that she could prolong the match a bit, since she didn't want to utterly humiliate him. Nabiki absently fingered the borrowed gi she was wearing, one of Kodachi's, as she thought about it.

"Good luck, sis," said Akane with a sincere smile, clapping her on the shoulder. "I'll be rooting for you." The youngest Tendo was genuinely looking forward to watching her sister fight, but she also had ulterior motives. Since Nabiki still refused to teach her any of this new style she was using, Akane realized she would have to learn it by watching it in action. It would be a challenge to do so without her older sister realizing what she was doing, but she had always possessed a strong gift for picking up new combat techniques. She would memorize her sister's movements and break them down later, analyzing each one's strengths and weaknesses to add to her own repertoire.

Her own fight with Sakura Kasugano was set for this Saturday, only two days from now, and she had been training hard to be as ready for it as she could be. She wanted to join the Combat Club almost as badly as she wanted Ranma, and she had never before imagined that she could ever desire a boy more strongly than her love of fighting. She had also been mulling over her disappointing trip to Ohtori, and the unfinished business she still had with a certain pink-haired bimbo. She was still puzzled as to why Nabiki had been there, since her sister's answers during the ride home were unsatisfying. She stepped away when their father approached.

"Are you sure about this, Nabiki-chan?" asked Soun, concern leaking out through his emotional controls. While waiting for his daughter to change for the match, he had already smoked several cigarettes, but they had done very little to calm his nerves. He hadn't felt this nervous for a long time, but he could admit to also feeling proud of her too. She looked fit and ready to take on the world, so much like her mother had once been. He absently pulled out another cigarette and lit it up.

Across the mat of the training hall, Lord Kuno studied the Tendo girl and noted the confident casualness of her stance. She was ready for a fight, without looking ready. It was a most difficult technique to master, and the sign of an almost preternatural skill in the martial arts. He was interested in seeing how his son fared against her.

Kenseiko was torn in her desires, watching both sides of the training hall with equal interest. While she didn't want her beloved son losing to a daughter of Kimiko's, the thought of her little Tachi-kun sullying himself in the embrace of one was equally as concerning. As a loving mother, one who only desired the best for her little boy, who should she root for?

Seated off to one side, Kodachi was enjoying the little drama unfolding before her when Akane Tendo came over and stood next to her.

"I don't understand what your game is, debutante." Akane remarked in greeting. She dropped down onto the chair next to Kodachi without waiting for an invitation and helped herself to some of the tea from the pot. She studied the young noblewoman as the other girl quietly sipped her tea, studiously trying to ignore her.

Kodachi inwardly restrained herself from attacking Akane for acting so familiarly with one of her social betters. She made a mental note to pummel the girl for her rude impertinence at a more opportune time. Ignoring her did not appear to be working, since Akane was making no moves to leave her presence.

"Your sister is a skilled fighter," she said with reluctance. "But so is my brother. I am curious to see how they fare in a match-up." She smiled at her own wit, a double meaning that she was certain a baseborn dullard like Akane wouldn't pick up on. It truly astonished the young noblewoman how such a muscle-bound barbarian could possibly think that she could take Saotome-kun away from a woman of her wit and obvious refinement.

"Ranma beat him," Akane pointed out. "And, as much as I hate to say it, even though she's my own sister, I think she's as good as he is. Your brother is going to get pounded." She paused for a moment and lowered her voice. "Just like you're going to get pounded, if I catch you going near Ranma." Akane glared at Kodachi.

Kodachi snorted dismissively. "As if I fear you, my thuggish nemesis. Saotome-kun is far too good a man for one such as you."

"Why you arrogant-!" The remainder of Akane's remarks were set aside as the match between Nabiki and Kuno began.

Nabiki dodged aside as he immediately went on the offensive, and she was a little surprised to see that he wasn't holding back against her. Combined with the pleasant tingling that Kuno's nearness was causing within her, that upped her interest level in the fight a little. She evaded his strikes by only centimeters on purpose, supremely confident in her skills. It made their duel look more dramatic, after all.

Pausing in his attacks, Kuno studied Nabiki as she gracefully settled in one place after evading his efforts to strike her. She fought like that accursed Ranma Saotome did, dancing around him like he was almost standing still. It was extremely annoying to be taunted by her like this, but that was only fanning the flames of his desires for her. He yearned to take her down, to prove his masculine superiority to the smug-looking girl. He would defeat her. It was time for him to unleash his new technique on the girl, the one he had been saving for use on that insufferable peasant, Ranma Saotome.

"Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!Strike!" Kuno's bokken stabbed through the air, appearing to be everywhere at once.

Nabiki was pleased in a way to see that Kuno had a little more fighting ability to him than he had previously shown her. She could feel her body straining a bit as she dodged through the storm of rapid-fire weapon strikes coming at her, and there was a moment of intense pain as one of them actually glanced across her lower ribs. Her body still wasn't quite up to a level of performance that would have made this fight look as effortless for her as it would have been for her analog, but her intensive training lately was helping. However, the pain of the strike had quickly ended her amusement. Kuno was going down as soon as she got a moment to counterattack.

Lord Kuno was amazed at Nabiki's capabilities, demonstrating both speed and agility that bordered on inhuman. He watched the girl dance like some sort of elusive phantom between the high-speed strikes of his son's weapon, somehow evading almost all of them. She was well-skilled, but he noted that his son had managed to get at least one blow in. That was cold comfort, at best.

Suddenly dropping down below Kuno's guard as his attacks wound down, Nabiki snapped her body upwards in a blur of motion. A rapid-fire series of punches impacted into Kuno as her body rose, each strike moving slower than an unleashed Amaguriken would have done, but she was saving that maneuver for Ranma. She swiftly completed the acrobatic move and flipped backwards, landing a short distance away from the young nobleman. She grunted a bit at the intense pain coming from her ribs, but she could tell nothing was broken.

Kuno suddenly toppled over, an astonished look upon his face.

"Awesome," Akane blurted out, before getting up and hurrying over to her sister. She had barely been able to follow Nabiki's movements during that last maneuver; her punches had been moving so swiftly.

"Your daughter is a most skilled combatant, Tendo-san," said Daisho with icy calm. "I feel certain that her abilities shall bring your household great honor."

"Thank you, Your Lordship," replied Soun absently, still surprised at his daughter's extraordinary display of fighting skill. Kasumi had told him all about her recent improvements several days ago, but it was another thing to witness his little girl in action. He felt a tear welling up in one eye, born of a father's pride, and he made no effort to wipe it away or hide it. She had reminded him so much of her mother while she was fighting, with the same fierceness and courage.

Kodachi casually strolled over to Nabiki. She noted that both sisters turned to eye her, Akane being more open in showing her dislike for the approaching noblewoman. Kodachi tipped her head slightly to Nabiki, acknowledging her rival's skill. She had hoped that her brother would have done a little better against the insufferable girl, but his loss played into her hands as well. He would never accept such a defeat gracefully, and he was certain to challenge Nabiki again. With a little careful maneuvering on her part, she was certain that she could gradually steer the pair into a relationship, for they already had a certain amount of passion towards each other. Her scheme was working out well so far.

"Congratulations on your victory, Tendo-san," said Kodachi with diplomacy. "How is your own injury?"

"This?" scoffed Akane, quickly ramming her hand against Nabiki's side, to show the pompous noblewoman that a Tendo girl was made of much sterner stuff than other women were. "This is nothing. Right, sis?"

Nabiki blinked back tears for a moment before replying. "Sure, Akane. No problem." Gathering herself, she stood up straight and smirked at the young noblewoman.

"I see," said Kodachi, smiling slightly. She turned when Kuno came up behind her, impressed at his recuperative abilities.

"Nabiki Tendo," he intoned, gazing at the object of his desires intensely. "Know that I shall not rest until my skills can overcome thine." He then turned to look at Akane. "Ah, fair lioness, thou art the equal in charms to those of thy lovely sister." He turned back to study Nabiki, then once again to Akane. Suddenly, he leaped at the startled pair, crying, "I must have you both!"

Nabiki felt Kuno's arms clamp shut around her and Akane for a moment or two, both of them caught up in his unexpected hug. Her ribs flared painfully from the embrace, quickly prompting her to slam her would-be paramour to the ground. She saw Akane finish him off with a kick to his face, sending Kuno back into slumber.

Lord Kuno shook his head and sighed. Days spent training him, and the boy gets taken down by a slip of a girl nearly a head shorter than he was. But he wasn't finished with Nabiki Tendo, not quite yet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Coach Fujinami sighed as he watched Ranma sail across the room once more, his body propelled by a solid kick to the chest. He winced as he saw the pigtailed boy slam into the unyielding, hardwood walls. Glancing at Tiger, he thought he saw a brief grin cross her face as she surveyed the results of her latest handiwork, but he could not be sure. She was still an enigma to him, even after almost a week spent watching her spar with Ranma. She displayed far more personality than he had expected from a lilith combined with a very gung-ho attitude.

The match against Ohtori was tomorrow, and Ranma was looking about as ready as he would ever be this week. The boy had improved a fair amount during this intense training, so Coach Fujinami was going to give him the remainder of the day to recover. His recuperative abilities were impressive, so a good night's sleep should leave him in good fighting shape.

Remaining at her position on the mat as she dropped her leg, Tiger quietly enjoyed the sight of Ranma's plight, happy to be fulfilling her master's wishes. She was also beginning to wonder at the pigtailed boy's combat abilities. For the past week, she had kicked him, punched him, body slammed him and generally spent her time knocking him around with only ineffectual resistance on his part. Admittedly, her Genom-bioengineered speed and strength gave her a tremendous advantage over any mere human (except, she quickly amended, for her beloved Kinnosuke-sama), but there was a nagging uncertainty in the back of her mind.

Ranma was improving.

Of course, that had been the general idea, and the very reason why her beloved master had loaned her to the Academy, to assist in the pigtailed boy's training. But there was something troubling about his response. It bothered Tiger to discover that each savage beating she administered to him seemed to strengthen something intangible within Ranma, building it a little bit more each day. It was inconceivable to Tiger that someone like him could ever pose a credible threat to her, let alone to her beloved Kinnosuke-sama, but she still felt a little distraught by what she sensed in the boy.

Shrugging her shoulders, Tiger banished the worrisome thought to a back corner of her mind. She took a moment to relax, stretching her spine a little as she replaced her previous, worrisome thoughts with pleasant ones about her beloved. She missed him, especially late at night while she lay all alone on the bed provided for her. Tiger's right hand closed into a tight fist as she imagined how Lynx and Panther must have been taking advantage of her absence. The sooner she returned to her master's side, the better. However, until she was released from her labors, she would continue to follow her orders.

Besides, she thought with a brief purr in the back of her throat, she had already learned of one crippling weakness that the pigtailed boy had, a surprising phobia that she had been using to her advantage for several days. At first, she had thought he was afraid of her, being that she was a replicant, but it turned out that he was afraid of felines. She purred softly once again as she remembered the stray kitty that had been prowling around the back, coming up to her during a mealtime break as if sensing a kinship. The look of stark terror suddenly appearing on Ranma's face at the sight of the cat had been priceless.

Since then, Tiger had been playing up her own feline nature, testing out her theory before she presented it to Kinnosuke-sama for his decision. Even as little as a flick of her catlike ears at the right moments, or a sharp glance at him from her slit-pupiled eyes, could induce a hesitation in Ranma during a sparring match, making it even easier to pummel him. Tiger only wished that it could have been Nabiki instead. To have her hated nemesis too terrified of her to resist would be true justice, not to mention a quite delicious irony. The thought of the Tendo girl cowering before her was a sight Tiger would enjoy sharing with Lynx and Panther, even as they exacted their vengeance upon Nabiki for attracting their master's attention away from them.

Oh, if only you did fear me, Nabiki Tendo, thought Tiger with regret.

"Tiger?" said Coach Fujinami. He stepped up next to the redhead.

"Yes, sir?" replied Tiger, standing in a pose of relaxed readiness.

Fujinami gestured at Ranma's semi-conscious body with his thumb. "Put Saotome through his paces for another hour, and then you can consider your assignment here finished. I'm giving the boy the rest of the day off, so that he'll be fully recovered for the match tomorrow."

"Are you leaving, sir?" Tiger's eyes brightened a bit.

"Yes. I have some paperwork to deal with that I've been putting off, so I'll be working in my office if you need me for anything. Do you have any questions?"

"No, sir," Tiger replied with a smile. "I understand."

"Farewell, Tiger." The Coach turned and walked out the door.

Now all alone with Ranma, Tiger paused to crack her knuckles. An hour? She could inflict a significant amount of damage in an hour.

Across the room, a battered-looking Ranma slowly slumped to his knees, his face sliding down the wall. He blinked as consciousness slipped in and out of his grasp. His training was almost done, he mused. Only one more day until he finally faced Utena again, if Tiger didn't kill him first.

"Get up," suddenly said a voice from his right. "You've gotta get up, bookworm. You beat Nabiki, and you can win here. So get back on your feet."

Ranma blinked and tried to clear the fog in his head. Leaning against the wall felt pretty good right now. His thoughts continued to drift.

"You're just a punk kid playing dress-up," he heard Genma's voice say. "You're not a real martial artist."

"You're a wimp, Ranma," Ranko's voice taunted.

"You can be my sidekick, Ranma-kun," said Nabiki mockingly. "I heard you lost your big fight in under five minutes."

A surge of anger shook away some of the cotton enfolding his mind. He placed his hands on the floor and began struggling up. He was not defeated. He would get up as many times as it took to prove that. He would find a way to win, both against his fear and against Tiger.

The catgirl flicked an ear forward, as she watched Ranma getting up. She waited at her place on the mat, her eyes studying him. When he began coming towards her, she raised her hands into loose fists, her body moving into a defensive stance. She shifted her position as he circled her, a glint of amusement in her eyes as she saw the slight trickle of blood still coming from his nose.

The fear filled Ranma's guts, sapping his strength. However, he could feel something else rearing up in the back of his skull, a slight buzz. It was somehow pushing the fear aside as it rose up, and he smiled grimly when he realized that. He had almost forgotten that he had another option, aside from the Nekoken. Ever since his fight with his two assailants from the Wolf Pack, he had been aware of it. Something powerful coiled in the cells in the back of his brain, only waiting to be unleashed.

He could feel the buzz moving through his brain, releasing an almost erotic sensation in its wake. It was building in strength within him, yearning for release. He savored the feelings, his mind instinctively cataloging each passion for future reference. In those last, blessed moments of clarity, his fear left him. The buzzing finally became too insistent to ignore any longer. It reared up and demanded release-

-and Ranma boosted.

His heart raced, and blood roared through his head. The subliminal control programs buried in his brain were triggered by the awakening of this primitive self within him. His system flooded with adrenaline, endorphins, and other complex serums from the genetically engineered glands laced throughout his body. His muscles surged with vitality, his senses expanded, and his thoughts flew lightning-fast and clear in his mind.

Tiger could see the change in Ranma's eyes, the flexing of his muscles and she knew she was finally in for a real fight. That was fine with her. An opportunity to cut loose was always welcome. Fighting was what she was designed for, after all. She was planning to enjoy this.

No words were spoken by either combatant, and none were needed. They charged each other, each instinctively recognizing the other as an opponent that needed to be taken down as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Witty banter had no place in that. Instead, they conversed in movements, a symphony of combat taking place between them.

Ranma struck out at the catgirl while simultaneously blocking and evading her own attacks. His earlier pains were gone, wiped away by the cocktail of biochemicals now filling his bloodstream. Every motion was born of reflex, leaving his conscious thoughts disconnected in a way from the rest of his body, free to enjoy the fight. Doubt was gone, and so was fear. For these precious moments, he felt invincible.

Tiger's jaw came close to becoming dislocated when Ranma's fist came in and penetrated her defenses. Only her beloved Kinnosuke-sama had ever struck her before when she was fighting in full combat mode. Her subliminal combat programming reacted far faster than her conscious mind could absorb, shifting to a more defensive mode. It was only a single blow. It meant nothing. Her neurology contained an expansive repertoire of pre-programmed, hardwired maneuvers capable of dealing with anything. It could deal with Ranma Saotome.

Dodging aside from Tiger's kick, Ranma felt her blow graze him. His elbow came down at the catgirl's knee but missed, and a brief moment of disappointment filled him. It was gone in the next instant, his body already reacting to a blow that Tiger had barely begun to throw. He could feel what she was about to do, rather than see it, sensing the flows of her energies somehow. Since his conscious mind was only along for the ride, it was difficult to explain what he was experiencing, even to himself.

Tiger maneuvered their battle over to the wall, pressing hard against his defenses and forcing him to give ground. He ducked at her next punch and her fist went through the cinderblock wall like it was paper. The fraction of a second that delayed her enabled him to land another blow, this time into her midsection. She back-flipped away from him before he could inflict any more damage.

The clock on the wall had hardly moved, a single glance from Ranma showed, barely thirty seconds having passed. He charged the catgirl, driven now by an irresistible need to conquer her. With each passing second, the two exchanged a flurry of blows.

After a minute, he felt something happen to him. His body suddenly dropped out of boost, the result of the subliminal limiter within his brain kicking in. Even as the accumulated stresses hit his system all at once, a solid blow from Tiger's fist knocked him across the room, and his body slammed into the wall hard enough to leave an impression in the cinderblock this time. He sagged down on the very edge of unconsciousness.

Tiger staggered where she was, shaking her head. She felt her ribs and grimaced. One of Ranma's punches had bruised or possibly even cracked some of them. She was astonished to learn that Ranma had the boost, like her own master did. Luckily, his body must be unused to it, or he would still be fighting. Her Kinnosuke-sama could sustain it for several minutes, but he needed to rest and eat soon afterwards to recover. It burned through the body's reserves at a prodigious rate.

Rising back to his feet by sheer willpower, Ranma was slammed back against the wall and held there by Tiger. His feet left the floor as she lifted him aloft by his throat. He grasped at her arm with both hands, struggling to catch a breath.

Tiger growled. "You. Hurt. Me." Her eyes blazed with an intense fury, her ears flat on her head.

Staring down at the catgirl, Ranma saw his nightmares personified in her at that moment. Struggling to breathe, he tried to summon up the boost once again, but it had gone away somewhere. His fears surged up as his vision slowly turned gray, his brain beginning to starve for lack of oxygen.

"Wake up, Saotome-san," purred Tiger, slapping her hand hard back and forth across his face. "It's time to die."

The pain helped Ranma to focus on a single notion.

Cat.

A cat had him trapped.

Cat equaled pain.

Ranma shuddered in Tiger's grasp, held fast against the wall by her iron grip on his throat. Fear filled him, flooding all corners of his being. His hands dropped away from her arm as his mind went away somewhere, his eyes rolling back into his head. Battered from the fight and drained by the boost of any reserves he might have had, the fear he'd been barely holding back over the past few days finally broke free. His last conscious thoughts, before the numbing warmness washed over his mind, was to curse Genma Saotome, and to hope to hell whatever was happening to him worked.

Slamming Ranma back against the wall, Tiger sensed the pigtailed boy weakening in her grasp. It was almost over. All she had to do was to tighten her grip, and he would cease to be a concern for anyone. He had hurt her surprisingly badly, and he could be a serious threat to her beloved Kinnosuke-sama. Her hand began to squeeze his trachea. Ranma seemed to be trying to say something, and she released her grip long enough to hear what his last words would be.

"Meeeooowwww," growled Ranma-neko.

"What?" Tiger blurted out in confusion.

Lashing out at the catgirl holding him by the throat, Ranma-neko batted her away with a reverse swipe of his hand.

Tiger landed gracefully on her feet, surprised that he still had any strength left to resist her. She felt her jaw, almost dislocated for a second time that day by the boy standing in front of her. She saw him crouch down and growl.

Ranma-neko eyed the female in front of him. She had been hurting him, and he didn't like that. It was time to teach the female who the dominant one around here was. With a leap, he tackled Tiger, taking her down like she was an unruly kitten. A brief struggle ensued, only ending when he finally pinned her underneath him. He batted away her efforts to free herself, and grasped the back of her neck in his jaws, his chi forming fangs that pressed against her flesh.

Tiger froze, surprised and a little frightened at how easily Ranma had overcome her from his beaten state. She reflexively ceased struggling when she felt his fangs on the back of her neck. She blinked in sudden surprise when she felt his tongue beginning to groom her.

Pausing in his grooming efforts, Ranma-neko batted aside the silly female's renewed efforts to free herself. When she continued them, he pinned her firmly and grasped the back of her neck once more. He held on until she relented. When she did, he went back to grooming her.

Tiger felt Ranma's breath tickling the back of her neck as he groomed her, gently licking the back of her neck and the side of her face. After a while, she was surprised to find herself purring from his attentions, responding to him as her instincts demanded. She closed her eyes and relished the sensations, something that Kinnosuke-sama had never done for her. Now, here she was in his designated foe's grasp, submitting to him like a female cat would to a male cat, a prisoner of her biological imperatives. It was irony at its best.

When the female began shifting underneath him, he growled in warning, but she didn't seem to be trying to escape. He felt her lips begin nuzzling against his face, her tongue caressing across his skin. He rumbled a purr low in his throat, enjoying the new sensations and continuing to groom the female now that she had accepted his dominion over her.

Life was good.

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Cherry paused in preparing his afternoon meal, the small fire burning in front of him choosing that moment to spit out a few sparks. The little pot suspended over the flames bubbled over as the monk eyed the skies, a few grains of rice falling to burn in the fire beneath. He could sense something in the air, as if a faraway storm was announcing its presence with a faint breeze.

Unsure whether or not to trust his own instincts, the diminutive monk pulled out a small ivory bowl, and a matching set of small, ivory sticks. He picked the sticks up in one hand and scattered them into the bowl. One of them bounced out and almost landed in the fire. He scooped it off of the ashes before it could be damaged.

"A bad omen," whispered Cherry, studying the errant stick. His rice cooker bubbled over some more, and he immediately snapped back to more important matters. Ominous fates were one thing, but his lunch was far more important.

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Tiger was pensive as she stood outside the gates of Kashuoh Manor, her uniform resting immaculately upon her body, her military-style cap upon her head. A stray lock of her hair blew past her eyes. Absently, she tucked it back behind her ear. She pulled open one side of the heavy, wrought-iron gates and stepped inside, closing it behind her. She trudged up the driveway to the mansion, her little carry-bag in hand, briefly stopping to sniff the flowers. A melancholy smile appeared on her face as she remembered when her beloved master had presented her with one of these flowers on her first day in his service. She still had it, pressed between the pages of a little scrapbook she kept. She stood up when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Tiger," greeted Lynx, smirking a bit. "So, how went your mission? I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that Panther and I kept Kinnosuke-sama satisfied while you were gone. Although it was mainly me."

Tiger's gaze suddenly hardened. Before Lynx could even react, she uppercutted the other catgirl hard across the face, knocking her back into some shrubbery. Picking up her small bag, she nodded to the stunned Lynx.

"My mission went satisfactorily."

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Ranma awoke sometime during the night, finding himself alone in his bed in the dormitory. He couldn't remember how he had gotten there. That last fight with the catgirl was nothing but a blur in his mind. He sat up and turned on the lamp, wondering how he had gotten in bed. His stomach rumbled demandingly with hunger.

A tray of food was on the desk, calling to him. He ate it quickly. It was delicious.

There was no sound from Tiger's room. The bedding was folded up and her bag was gone. He breathed out a sigh of relief. His nightmare was ending at last. He briefly wondered what Nabiki and the other girls had been up to while he had been involved in his training. He undressed himself, noting the rips in his clothing from the intense training.

After bathing and soaking away some of his aches in the bath, Ranma returned to his room. Once he completed his match tomorrow, he would finally be returning home, to sleep in his own room. Rebuilding the resonator would be his next task after his rematch with Utena, a project that had been too long delayed due to the extra training Fuyutsuki had forced upon him.

Ranma flipped open his notebook and studied it. He had been giving his father's rescue a great deal of thought this week, those few hours when he wasn't getting beaten up or spending unconscious. An analysis of the data left him with depressingly few options, but at least he now understood what had happened.

While the two Earths had been linked through the resonator, a brief period had occurred when the superspace paraequipotential flux energies reached a state of hyper-alignment. It was during that window of opportunity that the resonator's capacitor had chosen to overload and spontaneously discharge. The power surge reversed the polarities of the system, casting his real father into that other world and bringing that Genma Saotome to his own. A lesser version of hyper-alignment would also explain the downloads of analog experiences into an operator's mind.

The problem was that it was extremely difficult to pre-determine when the next window of opportunity would occur, due to the immense number of variables involved. There was even a possibility that there wouldn't be another one for years, if ever. Even more discouraging, Ranma was certain there also existed an excellent chance that any such procedure could wipe clean the minds of both men, leaving them as vacant husks. Shuddering at that notion, he struggled to avoid being pessimistic in his thoughts. The concept that his real father could be marooned forever in that other world was unthinkable. There had to be a way to bring him back safely.

Ranma dropped the notebook onto the desk and rubbed his eyes. He was going to find the answer to this problem. Every problem had a solution to it. That was one of the lessons his father had taught him. If the first method wasn't working, try attacking the problem from a different angle.

Glancing down, he noticed that his notebook had fallen open to the incomplete equation and circuit diagrams that he had purloined weeks ago from his female counterpart's Earth. He idly studied the equation that filled one page, losing himself in the flows of numbers, a method of relaxation for him. The final part was missing, the incompleteness tantalizing him. He examined it a little more closely, and the solution suddenly seemed to leap off the page at him. Setting pen to paper, he wrote in the final piece of the equation, and then he stared at it. He began to laugh.

Ranko had been wrong. Her device wouldn't generate an anti-gravity field at all. Instead, when the paraequipotential flux aligned just so, activating it would punch a hole from an originating timeline tangent into an alternate one. But, without some method of charting a course, the results would be random. This quantum tunnel would only last a short while before collapsing again, when the flux finally moved out of the proper alignment. Ranma sincerely hoped that she had discovered this risk before testing her device, otherwise the chances of her ever seeing her home again would be vanishingly small.

Luckily for his needs, his own work provided a method for charting a course to a destination. A much less sophisticated variation of the quantum flux coil could be set up to emit a broadband signal that would be detected from across superspace, acting as a sort of transponder beacon. Circuitry installed in the quantum tunneling device could lock onto that signal, allowing the portal to open to the desired tangent. And by leaving a functioning transponder on his home Earth, he could return safely.

"I'm a genius," Ranma muttered to himself. Creating this quantum tunneling device would not be difficult with his world's technology, and he was certain that even a much less technologically-sophisticated world, such as the one his real father was on, could provide the needed materials for a transponder.

He would, of course, have to test it before getting his father's hopes up, but he was confident it would work. He even noticed an obvious synergistic refinement to Ranko's device, by combining aspects of his own work with it. He scribbled down modifications for adding a digital readout to the device, by having it analyze the paraequipotential flux energies and calculate the time remaining until the next window came about.

Sitting back, Ranma closed the notebook and smiled. He felt confident that his father's rescue was near at hand. And once that was finally done, he could turn his attentions back to exploring other worlds, both through the windows of the resonator and the doorways that the quantum tunneler would open for him.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	15. The Good, The Bad, And The Lost

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Kozo Fuyutsuki tapped a few times on the keyboard of his computer and watched the information scrolling across his screen with interest. An image of Ranma, captured by one of the hidden cameras that had been hastily installed in the walls of the dormitory before his special training began, froze in mid-motion on the screen. The boy's scores showed a definite increase in several areas, and Fuyutsuki was pleased. He leaned back in his chair and stretched.

The screen finished scrolling, printing out one final line while a soft beep was heard from the system. He leaned forward again and read the words on the screen.

* PHYSICAL ANALYSIS COMPLETE. UPDATING FILES.

"Today is the day we see how much you've improved, my boy," he murmured absently. "I'm counting on you, so don't fail me."

It was finally the day of Ranma and Utena's rematch, to take place on the grounds of Ohtori Academy this time. Unable to sleep due to his anticipation about the outcome, he had gotten up before dawn to analyze the boy's data. Ranma was proving to be a most fascinating case study, along with Nabiki Tendo and Kodachi Kuno. He was looking forward to seeing what developed if Ukyo Kuonji could be added to the mixture. But the grouping also needed another strong male or two to balance things out, as well as give Ranma some competition from others of his own gender.

Unfortunately, from what Fuyutsuki had observed of the few visits to the Imperial Academy grounds by Mikado Sanzenin and Tatewaki Kuno from Whitehall, those two did not appear to be offering much of a challenge for the boy. But there were other testing sites available in the local region to draw from, such as Furinkan. A few Newtypes were undergoing training there at that facility, and the recently-transferred Akane Tendo was already interacting with one of them. Furinkan had newly acquired a new headmaster, and Fuyutsuki reminded himself to schedule a meeting with the man and acquaint him with the special students he would be held responsible for instructing.

He had been spending the pre-dawn morning comparing Utena's and Ranma's scores, the girl's having been provided by her own overseer, Professor Hiro Fuji, the headmaster of Ohtori Academy. Though they were friends and had been colleagues for many years, the smug look on the other man's face when he had handed over the datadisk was still irritating. Despite their friendship, Fuyutsuki was not about to lose a second time.

However, the girl's numbers still remained within fifty basis points of Ranma's, a result of some hard training that Fuji had apparently put her through in the past week, and that left the situation in doubt. She was a very strong contender, but then so was he. Still, Fuyutsuki had a good feeling about Ranma's chances. The final sparring session with Tiger had been most enlightening in that regard.

Ranma had utilized the boost.

Tapping a few keys on his keyboard, Fuyutsuki advanced the time-index for the recording at high-speed. The images rushed forward and then paused on the desired moment. Frozen in recorded time on the screen, Ranma was just getting back to his feet. The boy's face was bruised and battered, but there was a glint emerging in his gaze as the boost began to take hold of him, his physique swelling slightly. He unpaused the image and let it begin to play at normal speed from that point.

The computer began scrolling a new set of numbers, showing the effects of the boost on Ranma's body. The boy's strength and speed shot up tremendously, surpassing even the enhanced physique of the lilith's for the duration of the boost's effects. It was a truly awe-inspiring sight to watch the boy in action, an almost inhuman fighting machine.

Roughly a minute later, the boost subsided, switched off by subliminals imprinted into Ranma's brain that monitored his metabolism. Without them in place to limit the physical stresses placed on a human body, the boost would eventually burn it out completely, despite even the physiological abilities of a Newtype. That had happened to a number of test subjects in the prior stage of the Project. Once aroused, only one of monumental will could put the genie back in the bottle on their own.

Fuyutsuki paused the images on the screen and turned his chair to face the window. He hadn't thought much about the Mark-I's in a while, what with the Project now giving most of their attention to the Mark-II's. The Project's scientists had produced a potent group of individuals, each one superior to normal humans in every aspect, both physical and mental. The problem was that they had egos to match. That stage of the experiment had only produced a quarter as many subjects as the present one, and over half of those died before they finally solved the problem with the boost.

The small handful of remaining Mark-I's had been allowed their freedom, using them in a final experiment to see how they would interact with ordinary humans, and if their genetic gifts were inheritable by any offspring they had. However, it was quickly discovered that most normal women could not conceive children from a Newtype male, due to how the enhancement process was done. The only exception to this had occurred in one particularly remote village in China.

Five of the Mark-I subjects had settled quite peacefully in such out of the way corners of the Empire, where they all still remained to this day. Three had chosen to volunteer as janissaries in the Imperial Army in order to gain full citizenship; two dying in the Emperor's service, and the last one mustering out at the end of his tour of duty as a citizen.

The final one of the group had also been the youngest, barely into his adolescence upon his release into the world with the others. But this one was special, created using genetic material taken from the previous century's greatest warrior and general: Shishio Makoto, a hero of the Empire. The original had been responsible for many of the Empire's greatest victories during the Colonial Wars, almost a century and a half ago. Spanish-supported insurgent elements had even attempted to assassinate him several times, and one such attempt resulted in General Makoto suffering horrific burns over his entire body that would surely have killed a lesser man.

The original finally died in one of the War's final battles several years later, but his body had been preserved in the Mobius Institute's vaults by Imperial Decree. The Empire's first (and only) attempt at cloning a human had even been given the name of the original by the Project's scientists, as well as being eugenically enhanced. The Institute attempted to contribute to the resurrection of this long-dead hero by trying to transfer all of the original's skills and memories into the cloned body, but they reportedly failed and further efforts were halted. He was the only one of his kind, further work on cloning having later been banned by Imperial Edict, and all research materials destroyed.

After his release into the world with the others, young Shishio Makoto II had initially traveled with two of the males and one of the females who had finally ended up settling in China, but his youthful wanderlust drove him onward. He then vanished for several years. An Empire-wide manhunt for him eventually ended in abject failure, the boy somehow managing to evade the Security Directorate's efforts at finding him. That had been no surprise to the scientists who knew Shishio, for he had clearly been the best of the best. Despite his youth and relative inexperience, he was an extraordinary specimen, even by the very high standards of his peers.

When Shishio finally reappeared, having grown into young manhood, he visited his former traveling companions and had even spent some time in their village. When word finally reached the Security Directorate that he had resurfaced, Shishio was already long gone, but he had not departed alone. A young woman from the village traveled with him now, said to be extraordinarily beautiful and strong enough to hold his interest for an extended period of time. The two of them then vanished once again, but Fuyutsuki was certain that the world had not heard the last of Shishio Makoto II.

What great wonders had been brought into being in the last century, marveled Fuyutsuki. He stood up and gazed out the window, his hands folded behind his back. The Empire was leading the world into a new era of human achievement, but its successes had spawned a number of imitators. Project Phoenix was not unique in the world; other nations struggled to duplicate its successes.

The efforts of the German Human Instrumentality Project had come the closest to achieving a rough parity with the Empire's successes at eugenics, but their method had turned out to be severely flawed. While it produced charismatic and physically attractive men and women, they had damaged psyches. The results of the Germans' efforts were arrogant, borderline sociopaths at best and megalomaniacal psychotics at worst, each of them possessing superhuman mental and physical abilities.

The Germans had reportedly killed all of their initial test subjects when they grew to be uncontrollable, and the Empire's operatives had terminated the scientists responsible as well as destroying all the research. The world could rest much easier knowing that those twisted monsters were all dead and buried, along with their mad creator, Keel Lorentz. But that madman had been reported dead before, several times, as had his most faithful assistant, a pale-skinned girl known only as Rei Ayanami. She was reportedly the mad doctor's first success in his attempts to create his 'Children of Instrumentality' and reportedly a cold-blooded killer of supreme martial arts skill despite her apparent age.

It would not surprise Fuyutsuki very much to learn that modern-day version of Doctor Frankenstein and his pale-skinned maidservant had somehow turned up alive again, but he hoped that the man was finally in his well-deserved grave. The world was better off without his insane 'vision' of the ultimate human. However, the rumors persisted that Lorentz had managed to spirit away one or more of his later creations. If they still survived, they would be approaching adulthood in the next few years.

Fuyutsuki watched the sun rising as his thoughts returned to the early days of Project Phoenix. He had been a much younger man when he was recruited, full of wide-eyed wonder at the Empire's daring, eager to assist in the forging of a new breed of humanity. Now that dream was finally coming true, but each passing day he spent studying Ranma and the other adolescents in his charge made him wonder how he might have been as a father.

A brief image of Yumi Kuonji interrupted his reminiscing, and he shook his head. Her invitation for him to return had only been an attempt to gain a new customer, and he should read nothing more into it. Still, her cooking had been flavorful and masterfully created. A good meal was heaven-sent to a lifelong bachelor like himself.

The computer beeped once, reminding him of its presence, so he returned to his desk and resumed playback. He was astonished by what he saw next. Tiger had come close to killing the boy, lifting him up by his throat with one hand, but then Ranma turned into what appeared to be some sort of feline atavism. He had quickly subdued his adversary, pinning her down after a rather brief wrestling match. When Ranma began grooming her with his tongue, Fuyutsuki raised one eyebrow at the sight. He glanced at the boy's scores, noting that they were now even higher than his boosted capabilities, if not by much.

Fuyutsuki stopped the playback at that point, unwilling to play voyeur. He could guess what must have happened next between the two, especially when the lilith began to respond in kind to the boy, with gentle kisses and lingering licks of her own. After all, Ranma was a healthy human male, presumably with a normal sex drive for his age, and Tiger was a comely humanoid female. The odds were excellent that the pair had engaged in intercourse, but Fuyutsuki respected Ranma's privacy, at least in that area of the boy's life. However, he had better not have worn himself out playing with the catgirl. The match against Ohtori was only a few hours away.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Nodoka and Kenseiko prepared themselves to renew their rivalry. Ranma has finally completed his training for a rematch against Utena, and also unleashed the power of the Nekoken against Tiger. Nabiki finally mastered the Amaguriken, after a very disappointing visit to Ohtori Academy. She now waits to face off against Ranma when he finally returns. Also, the rescue of Genma Saotome from the "Shampoo 1/2" Earth draws nearer.

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Chapter 15 - The Good, The Bad, And The Lost

In order to create a hero, you must first create a villain.

- Mission Impossible II

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Kinnosuke Kashuoh sleepily blinked his eyes open when morning sunlight impinged on them. He yawned and stretched, feeling the muscles in his lower back ache slightly from the intensive efforts of the previous night. Tiger had returned, and so he had declared that a celebration was in order. They had eaten a delicious meal, and Lynx had performed the tea ceremony for them.

When he had finally eaten and drunk his fill, they had retired to his bedchambers, where all three liliths had received the bounty of his personal attentions. After all, who was he to deny his faithful servants a sampling of his supreme virility? While it had been an enjoyable evening spent satisfying his physical appetites, it only eased his longings for Nabiki Tendo temporarily.

Most of her associates had by now been 'persuaded' to leave her ranks, swelling those of his own burgeoning organization, though they still acted as if the Tendo girl still retained their loyalty. That left only the Devil Hunter and Nabiki's two closest henchwomen as her true followers, and they could be dealt with easily enough by his trio of beautiful assistants. He knew that all three catgirls desired to present him with a beaten Nabiki as a gift, and he was sincerely touched by the thought. But even so, he desired that pleasure for himself, to prove to the Tendo girl his masculine superiority.

But first, as an appetizer, he would enjoy himself by breaking Ranma Saotome right before her eyes.

Everything was all going according to plan.

Feeling invigorated by thoughts of his inevitable victory, Kinnosuke leaned over and deeply kissed the sleeping Tiger, his hand moving gently to caress her flank. She had received the majority of his efforts last night, a reward for her faithful service. He had noticed her lingering looks at him throughout dinner, interpreting them as a longing for his touch. All three of them were such needy creatures. He smiled as he enjoyed feeling her smooth skin quiver gently beneath his touch.

Lynx watched her beloved's actions in the mirror on the ceiling, her eyes merely slits. Tiger had been the favored one last night, and Lynx simmered with jealousy over that. Kinnosuke-sama had only made love to her once last night. Panther had received the same. But Tiger had received his attentions three times! It wasn't fair, she thought with a slight pout of her lips.

Panther cuddled against Kinnosuke's back, her arm wrapped around him as she smiled in her sleep. She had loved wrestling with him last night, her favorite form of foreplay. As physically strong as she was, she enjoyed knowing that her beloved master was stronger still. Sighing contentedly in her sleep, she rubbed her breasts against his back and unconsciously hugged him like a favorite stuffed animal.

"Good morning, Kinnosuke-sama," whispered Tiger sleepily when the kiss was finally broken. "Thank you for last night." She gazed solemnly at his handsome face and felt guilty, the emotion triggering memories that troubled her. Something had happened between her and Ranma that she never would have suspected could have. While she could not clearly recall what had taken place after he defeated her and then began grooming her with his tongue, she remembered waking up in his arms.

Shocked at this, Tiger had left Ranma asleep in his cot, tarrying only long enough to bathe, change her clothes back to her uniform and fix him a good meal for when he awoke (shying away from pondering what that act might imply). Recalling these memories began confusing her, but Tiger's personality governors quickly reasserted control. The emotional conflict caused by these memories was dealt with by suppressing them, returning her to her previous state as Kinnosuke's loyal servant.

"Did you learn anything interesting about Saotome, Tiger-chan?" he asked her gently between lingering kisses.

"He's afraid of cats, Kinnosuke-sama," she whispered, wondering why her stomach experienced a brief fluttering sensation when she said that. She decided it could not be anything important.

Lynx smiled when she heard that. She had been following Nabiki the other day and saw her nemesis shy away from several during the girl's walk home. It had been interesting to learn, being part cat herself.

"Indeed?" Kinnosuke whispered against Tiger's neck. "Lynx has told me that Nabiki shares such a fear. A curious coincidence." He kissed her throat slowly. "Perhaps you three can be a help to me after all." He sat up a little bit, Tiger's arms still gently draped around his neck. He looked at the two slumbering catgirls. "Panther. Lynx."

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," replied the duo in stereo. Panther stretched out her arms, causing her assets to bounce in an inviting way from the motion. Lynx merely gazed at her beloved master with attentive eyes.

"I have a plan to ensure my victory when the time comes, my fierce beauties. Listen closely," he said, and then began giving them their instructions. The trio smiled as they listened.

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Ranma was munching on some breakfast in the Academy cafeteria, one of only a few cadets present in the room at this hour. His attention was on the notebook in front of him. Every now and then, he wrote down some brief notations on the formulae and diagrams within its pages, a smile occasionally appearing on his face.

Entering the room at that moment, Kodachi carried a small book of poetry under one arm as she gazed about the area searching for her beloved. The ninja spy she had assigned to follow Ranma had reported his current whereabouts to her, that he had finally emerged from his training on the day of his rematch against Utena Tenjou. She had rushed over to the Academy to keep her eye on him, and she intended to travel with him to Ohtori as his own personal cheerleader. She also wanted to ensure that a certain pink-haired slattern kept away from her fiancé. Not to mention that it would be nice to possibly see Miki again.

The young noblewoman's steps faltered for a brief moment, and then they quickly resumed their previous graceful pace. In her youth, Miki Kaoru had been a dear friend. Seeing him again during her otherwise-failed mission to Ohtori earlier this week had been a pleasant surprise. The boy she knew had matured into a most handsome young man, and he had taken care of her when she had been injured by that brutish animal. It was nice spending time with him and catching up on each other's lives while they drank tea together.

If only Ranma was more like Miki when it came to her. The young nobleman would be a faithful fiancé, a woman could tell these things.

Kodachi's thoughts stalled once more. Why was she thinking as much about Miki as she was about her fiancé? She shook her head as if to banish the errant thought, her heart catching her by surprise with being able to care so strongly for two men. No. It was Ranma she loved. Miki was just a friend, a good friend from her past.

"Hello, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi with a smile, brushing her hair back from her face. "May I join you?"

Ranma blinked and looked up to see her standing there. She had just asked him something, but for the life of him, he could not recall what she had said.

"May I join you?" Kodachi asked once more. He looked very fit and healthy today, and she found her thoughts wandering into uncharted territories again. Images from some of the romance novels she read now and then sprang to mind, and she could easily picture him as the dashing hero from one. Wait. Had he said something to her in reply? She reeled her thoughts back in from a brief fantasy that involved her, Ranma, and a large, silk-sheeted bed on some island paradise.

Ranma raised one eyebrow when Kodachi kept staring at him somewhat glassy-eyed, an odd smile on her face. "You can sit down, Kodachi," he repeated.

"Uh, thank you, Saotome-kun." She gave him a brief bow and then sat down, her chair quite close to his. Her brief fantasy had given her a marvelous idea. Her family owned an expansive plantation in Hawaii that would make a nice getaway vacation for the two of them, and she could surely cement her relationship with him if she could only get him away from the other trollops who unworthily sought him and kept getting in her way. The mid-term break was coming up, so it would be a perfect time.

Ranma went back to working on his breakfast and making more notes, but he occasionally glanced at Kodachi. She seemed content to smile at him and sigh every now and then, her gaze filled with a hearts-and-flowers look. It made him feel an odd mixture of contentment and a quivering of fear. Nabiki never looked at him that way. He was certain that she would be happy if he just fell into ranks at her heels like a good little sidekick. And why the hell was he thinking about her? To take his mind off that line of thought, he gulped down the remainder of his breakfast.

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Kasumi Ono moved through her morning workout at full speed, her eyes remaining closed as she reached out with her other senses to 'see' her surroundings. Her graceful movements were a study in perfection of form, without the distraction of sight. For over fifteen years, she had practiced such skills, to improve herself to ever greater levels and hone her body so that it could flawlessly move in any way she might require it to.

The sparring match with her sister over a week ago had shown Kasumi that she must have grown lax in her training, a potentially fatal error that would have earned her a severe dressing down from her mother when she had still been alive. So, the eldest Tendo daughter had doubled her efforts, drilling herself every day since then to regain the ground she must have somehow lost. It also helped to keep her mind off of the other concerns in her life.

As her body flowed through the ancient patterns of attack and defense she had first learned as a child, she took a moment to allow her mind to recall the many lessons learned from her mother on the way of the warrior. Her mother had instructed her, in a seemingly endless litany, that a warrior must be ready for combat at all times. So her unexpected loss to her younger sister was a sign that she must have somehow been slacking in her efforts, and that was a grave insult to their mother's memory.

Opening her eyes, Kasumi was pleased to see that she had managed to successfully navigate the backyard of her home, bringing herself to the training dummies. With a kiai yell, she began striking hard at each of the two dummies in rapid succession, alternating punches with kicks. In the back of her mind, she intended to train until she felt she was ready to challenge her younger sister once again. Having a goal like that provided her with a distraction to keep her mind off of her other worries of late, such as her mother-in-law's constant harping about grandchildren.

"It's not like I'm not trying to get pregnant," she mumbled under her breath. After all, she had wanted to become a mother ever since she could remember, and she was certain that she would be a good one, just like her own had been with her. And having a child around the house might also improve things between her and Tofu.

Kasumi paused in her activities as she thought about her husband. He was a good man, kind, and he provided a nice home for her. But there was something missing from her life with him, an emptiness within her soul that Tofu did not seem to fill. She kept telling herself that she would come to love him in time, even as he became more and more distant to her ever since their marriage. A tear came to her eye. It was her fault. She was failing him as a wife for not being pregnant yet. A few more tears welled up in her eyes.

Her fists cracked into a training dummy, again and again. The violence helped her forget her worries, and there was also something distinctly satisfying about having the ability to defend herself if she needed to. As she continued her training, sweat dampened her plain yellow gi. She ignored the minor distraction, her mind struggling to focus on nothing, reaching for the bliss she used to feel when using her skills. But the more she strained, the farther away it was.

Then, one of her mother's old instructions suddenly came back to her, "Be, do not do." Kasumi took a deep breath and let it out, allowing herself to simply be.

As she embraced that quiet, infinite potential within her, her cares faded from her awareness, and she broke out into a beatific smile. Her strikes increased in speed and precision. Her other concerns about regaining her place as the best also faded away from her mind, even as she obliterated both training dummies. She spun, leaped, and struck out at them with fist and foot repeatedly, feeling a little better.

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The newly-installed headmaster of Furinkan Military Academy, Colonel Gendo Rokubungi, stood framed in the window of his office, gazing down on the activities of the cadets below. His hands were clasped behind his back as he unconsciously stood at parade rest. He nodded as he studied his new charges, a slight smile of professional pride on his face. He was looking forward to his new assignment with enthusiasm, to provide these cadets with the kind of firm leadership that had been lacking since the retirement of the former headmaster.

Gendo was also looking forward to renewing his pursuit of Yui Ikari, the love of his life. It was true that they had not parted on the best of terms (and he planned a very slow and painful death to whoever had given Yui those photos of him and another woman), but he was confident that he could charm his way back into her life. She preferred the company of dangerous men, like many women did in his experience, and he could use that for his own plans.

In the meantime, it was satisfying to spend time with Hinako Ninomiya as his current bed partner. The busty and leggy Hinako possessed a torrential core of passionate sexuality buried beneath her surface, like nothing he had ever experienced before. If his desires to have Yui's love were not so strong within him, he might have considered making a play for Hinako's. But he knew a relationship with the woman would never succeed. Both of them were far too strong-willed to make something like a marriage between them work. No, what he had with Hinako was only a sharing of carnal pleasures, mutually enjoyable, but not a relationship.

Still, until Yui finally came to her senses and dropped the pathetic man she was seeing now, he would use the beautiful Hinako to satisfy his physical needs. She was using him for the same thing, so it was a most equitable arrangement between them. But he made a mental note to get her some flowers. Even a hard-nosed bitch like her still had a softer, more feminine side securely hidden within her. And such little gestures on his part ensured continued access to her bedroom, which was all that concerned him when it came to her.

Looking downward at the cadets had caused his glasses to slip downwards a little bit, and his previous look was replaced with a grimace. He was still unused to wearing them, but they had become a necessity that he was determined to get used to. He had evaded wearing such things for a number of years, interpreting their presence as a sure sign of physical weakness. And there was also the matter of maintaining his accustomed air of quiet menace. How could anyone be intimidating while wearing a pair of glasses? Since he got them, he had been practicing in front of his mirror at home, trying out different ways of adjusting them to convey his moods. He was certain he would get it right eventually.

There was a knock at the door; his next appointment from among the Academy's faculty was here. Experience had shown him that it was a good idea to meet with one's subordinate officers one-on-one, to determine the best ways to motivate them. He sat down in the large chair behind his desk and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Enter," said Gendo, and then waited for his next appointment to come in. He smiled coldly for a moment. This one promised to be fun.

Outside, his hand resting on the door handle as he composed himself, stood a somewhat nervous Lieutenant Yusaku Godai. He had been assigned to Furinkan only since the beginning of the current term, teaching Japanese Literature and Imperial History. He enjoyed teaching, even though it could be difficult at times to hold some of the cadets' interest in the coursework, since it involved non-combative activities.

The newest addition to his class, Akane Tendo, was a prime example of that sort of attitude. If it didn't involve fighting in some way, she was less than interested. He wasn't looking forward to his first home visit to the Tendo household, but it was part of his duties as Akane's homeroom instructor. He planned to make his trip there a brief one.

His calm restored, he opened the door to the headmaster's office and walked in. The room beyond was darkened, only the sunlight coming in through the window behind the new headmaster affording any light. Even so, there was an air of shadowy menace in the room, and Godai stifled a quiver of fear before it could be noticed. He marched the distance across the room to the desk and halted, snapping his hand up in a salute.

"Lieutenant Yusaku Godai, reporting as ordered, sir!" he snapped out, grateful that his voice had not cracked. He held the pose as the new headmaster eyed him for a moment or two.

Gendo stood up slowly, returned the salute, and reseated himself. "At ease, Lieutenant," he said calmly. "Have a seat."

"Yes, sir!" Godai snapped out, falling back on long-ingrained habits of discipline to hide his continuing nervousness. He had heard the stories about the man behind this desk, a fast-rising star in the Empire's war machine. He sat down in the chair next to him, and waited as the new headmaster opened up his personal dossier and perused the contents.

"You have a good record, Lieutenant," said Gendo after several moments of paging through the file. "And it seems the cadets like you."

Godai blinked and said, "Uh, thank you, sir." The compliment had caught him off guard. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as he had feared.

"But the instructors here are not supposed to be liked," said Gendo coldly, raising his gaze and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with one finger. "They are meant to be respected, even feared."

Godai felt a chill go down his spine at that look. "Y-yes, sir."

"Furinkan Military Academy exists for one reason only, Lieutenant," intoned Gendo solemnly. "To turn undisciplined boys and girls into efficient fighting machines dedicated to serving the divine will of the Emperor. Someday, they will fight, and quite possibly die, in order to fulfill that purpose."

"Yes, sir."

Gendo smiled coldly, and continued his lecture, saying, "Your teachings are as important to these cadets as those of their combat instructors. You have a noble purpose, Lieutenant, to instill within these cadets a sense of their glorious heritage. Once, we were limited to a few small islands in the Pacific, and now our Empire covers much of the globe. The Japanese people have been given a divine calling. It is our manifest destiny to extend the reach of the Emperor until every man, woman, and child on Earth submits to his will. And it is that goal that you should retain in your mind as you instruct these cadets, for they are the ones who shall fulfill that destiny. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Godai replied, more crisply this time.

"Excellent." A cold smile appeared on Gendo's face. "You are dismissed, Lieutenant. Please keep my words in mind in the days and months to come, and we should get along fine."

Godai leaped to his feet, almost levitating out of his chair. He snapped off a quick salute, which the older man returned more sedately, and then he left the room.

Alone again, Gendo turned his chair to face the window again, steepling his fingers together. The muted sounds of the cadets drifted up from below, and he allowed himself to smile a bit more broadly. This was only the beginning.

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Akane Tendo warmed up while she waited for Sakura to show up for their scheduled duel, stretching out every muscle in her body. She was in a small clearing past some trees bordering one side of Furinkan's campus. The other girl had told her that it was one of several locations that members of the Combat Club used for their duels, reserved for more private matches.

The youngest Tendo was wearing an outfit composed of a pair of blue shorts and a white T-shirt, both emblazoned with Furinkan Academy's emblem. It was one of several that Kyoko had picked up for her. A pair of white socks and blue athletic shoes completed her ensemble.

The morning air felt brisk on the exposed skin of her arms and legs as she went through her preparations for the upcoming fight. She was going to give it her all against the other girl, proving her strength to Sakura Kasugano. Akane flexed her hands as she moved her limbs about her body, folding them into tight fists and then releasing them back open, the tightly-packed musculature on her frame readying itself for her needs.

Akane had already added a few maneuvers to her repertoire from watching her older sister in action, and she was eager to learn more. Nabiki fought with incredible skill now, a level of martial arts talent that Akane had never known her older sister to have, and she hungered to possess such skill for herself. But that was a mission for another day. She had something more immediate to focus on now.

She was looking forward to today's match, to finally overcoming the last obstacle preventing her membership in Furinkan's Combat Club. Her injuries, incurred during her visit to Ohtori Academy, were now healed. Akane felt herself to be in prime fighting shape as she drove her hands and feet through the air, her body answering to her commands with ease.

The distinctive sounds of a fight drifted to her ears, causing her to pause in her activities. She turned around for several moments, trying to locate the source of the clamor. It was not far away, she decided, already heading towards it at a lope to see what was going on. She still had a little while until Sakura was scheduled to arrive, so she could spare a few minutes to watch.

Akane halted when she came within sight of the commotion. It was a fight taking place in one of the nearby clearing, two teenaged boys battling each other. She goggled briefly at the sight, then quickly hid herself and began to watch. One combatant was obviously getting the worst of it from his opponent, a muscular adolescent with an unruly shock of black hair, held out of his eyes by a khaki-colored bandana. He wore camouflage-style pants and a Furinkan Academy T-shirt. Both his taughtly-muscled build and his fighting skill quickly drew Akane's attention. She closely studied the trimly-built boy with interest, analyzing his combat ability. She licked suddenly dry lips as she watched the fight continue.

"What are you doing?" suddenly hissed a voice behind her ear.

"What-" Akane started to ask in surprise, before she was roughly grabbed and held fast against a tree, a hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She struggled for a moment against the figure holding onto her before she realized that it was Sakura. The other girl was dressed in a highly-modified version of a Furinkan girl's fuku-style uniform: a pleated, knee-length skirt in blue, a white, short-sleeved top that left her midriff bare, yellow neck scarf, and a red, high-collared sports bra. She looked angry with Akane, which surprised the youngest Tendo.

The sounds of the boys' fight did not pause, and Sakura breathed out a brief sigh of relief. She risked a quick glance around the tree and then turned her attention back to Akane, releasing her tight grip on the other girl's mouth and gesturing for her to follow. The pair slipped away quietly, Akane following along behind a grim-faced Sakura.

When they got back to the other clearing, Akane turned to Sakura and asked, "So what's the big idea? Who was that?"

"That was the captain of Furinkan's Combat Club," the other girl replied calmly. "And it was a private duel that you almost interrupted. I couldn't let you disturb Ryu-senpai." Her voice lost its usual cool military manner when she spoke the name, and she blushed for a brief moment as she quickly corrected herself. "Er, I mean, Kumon-san."

"He's a good fighter," noted Akane, looking back the way they came with a hint of longing in her gaze.

Sakura definitely did not like the look that her friend had on her face. "Kumon-san only fights the best. That fight was to help him prepare himself for his upcoming exhibition match in the Arena. Besides," she paused, looking the other girl over, "you aren't good enough to challenge him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Akane. She paused, a look of puzzlement suddenly coming over her face. "Exhibition match?"

"Never mind," said Sakura, a hint of irritation in her voice. She stepped a pace away from Akane and calmed herself. Anger had no place in a test of combat skill. "My sensei once told me that one never truly masters the martial arts, that there is always something new to learn." She suddenly took up a stance, and a light breeze caused the tips of the long white bandana holding back her hair to flutter. "So, Akane Tendo, do you have anything to teach me?"

Akane narrowed her gaze at her new friend and a predatory smile came across her face as she took up her own stance. Her hands tightened into fists, her knuckles cracking.

"Let's find out, Sakura. Allow me to instruct you."

Without any further words, the two girls charged each other, launching into a furious display of martial arts skill.

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The early morning weather was cool as Nodoka emerged from the subway station and eyed the place selected by Kenseiko for their duel. She inhaled, enjoying the faint tang in the air from the thunderstorm that had just passed through the city before dawn. A cloth bag slung over her shoulder contained her bokken. Her outfit was functional for a fight, though more mannish than she usually enjoyed wearing nowadays. She had discovered it in the back of her closet and was pleased to see that it still fit, if a little snugly, when she had first tried it on. That was easily enough fixed with some sewing though.

Nodoka was wearing the traditional garb of a kendo fighter, complete with black, hakama-style pants and a loose-sleeved shirt in teal. Her feet were shod in soft leather boots that came up to her shins, also in black, for she didn't like to fight wearing sandals. She felt twenty years younger to be wearing this outfit, even if it had garnered a few odd looks during her trek over here.

Her destination was a small park that had been her favorite dueling ground years ago. It was out of the way of regular foot traffic, surrounded by tall trees that gave it a sense of being cut off from the world, like a small piece of an ancient forest somehow transplanted into the center of Nerima. She imagined that it was still used for that purpose by younger fighters in the area, to settle their differences in the traditional way of the warrior.

As she walked through the trees, the sounds of the city became hushed and distant. Nodoka smiled as her boots thudded softly against the packed loam, caught up in memories of her past. She missed those glorious days, when life had been simpler for her in many ways. Now she was a wife and mother, and those days of battles and adventures seemed so far away.

Nodoka emerged from the trees and saw Kenseiko waiting for her; the other woman's face a mask of cold regard when they spotted each other. She walked the remaining distance to the noblewoman, unzipping her bag and removing her weapon as she did so. She tossed it aside and stopped two paces from the other woman.

"You're punctual," said Kenseiko calmly. "I like that in an opponent."

"I'm here, as you requested." Not interested in making small talk, Nodoka took up a ready stance and waited.

Kenseiko sneered slightly, regarding her foe's stance, and said, "For one who purports herself to be a bushi, and a follower of the old ways of honor, you have little sense of drama, my old enemy." She studied her adversary for a moment, remembering their past struggles together. "You should not have come back into my life."

"I'm here to fight, not listen to you," growled Nodoka, feeling her old angers for the pompous noblewoman rising up to the surface. "Nice to see that some things haven't changed about you, Kenseiko." She then smiled more darkly. "A shame that the same thing can't be said about your hips." That sort of remark had always goaded the other woman into making stupid mistakes when they were younger, and Nodoka hoped to end this quick.

Kenseiko's nostrils flared, but she held her temper, barely. There was a snarl in her voice when she spoke next. "When we last met, I was still much the novice." She brandished her warfans dramatically for a moment. "Now, I am a master. Prepare to fall before my might, Nodoka."

Nodoka yawned broadly. It was as if the last twenty years had never happened, and Kenseiko was still trying to talk her to death. At least Kodachi didn't seem to have inherited her mother's pompousness.

"Less talk, more action," she taunted, shifting her feet slightly.

"DIE!" screamed Kenseiko, unable to maintain her calm any longer. She rushed at her foe, attacking in a fury.

Nodoka ducked and evaded the other woman's attacks, and quick parries with her bokken completed her defenses. Kenseiko had gotten better, Nodoka had to give her that, but so had she. The pompous, ponytailed young noblewoman who had once bedeviled her youth was still very much alive in the mature woman trying to defeat her now. Some things never changed.

Their weapons clashed as the two women struggled for dominance, fierce looks on both their faces. Nodoka quickly spotted the opening that Kenseiko always left vulnerable on her left side, a weakness in her technique. She chuckled in her thoughts as she launched an attack at the opening-

-and was abruptly blocked.

Taking swift advantage of her foe's surprise, Kenseiko earned first blood, a slash by one of her warfans opening a thin cut across Nodoka's neck, just above her shoulder. It was swiftly followed up by a reverse spin kick that slammed into Nodoka's ribs. Watching her foe staggered by the blows, the noblewoman felt almost blissful. This was how it should have been years ago. She took a moment to savor the sight of her enemy's pain.

Nodoka shrugged off the aches of the wounds she had just received, having been hurt much worse in her youth and still won. She surged forward and slammed the other woman's arms aside with a quick strike of her weapon and used the brief opening in her defenses to slash upwards across Kenseiko's body with her wooden blade. The savage strike left a fiery red welt running from the noblewoman's gut to her throat, but her adversary recovered much too quickly for Nodoka to press her advantage, forcing her to back off with lightning-fast swipes of her warfans.

The two circled, each eyeing the other with more respect.

"You've improved, Kenseiko," admitted Nodoka reluctantly, briefly touching the wet spot on her neck. Her hand came away sticky with blood, and she absently wiped it off on her shirt. "But I'm still going to beat you."

Despite the pains of her injuries, Nodoka was surprised by how much she was relishing this battle. Her sparring matches with Achika had lost the fierce edge they had once had in their youth, replaced with a less intense form of rivalry that didn't stir the soul like how she felt now. Forgotten passions within her heart were rekindling now, and she smiled.

"Come and try, if you dare," taunted Kenseiko, adrenaline letting her ignore the aches in her body. The blood was singing in her veins now, and she could not remember the last time she had felt so alive. Not even a lover's embrace could replace this feeling, the glorious exultation of combat. She was a warrior, like generations of her ancestors had been before her, and she was locked in savage battle with her oldest, fiercest rival. Winning no longer mattered to her, only prolonging the fight and savoring the passions flowing though her.

The two women came together in a clash of arms, dancing to a symphony that only they could hear. Not even in their youth had they fought so fiercely, and their skill and strength was never as evenly matched as it was now. It was glorious and exhilarating, testing themselves to their limits.

Nodoka backed off after several minutes of furious fighting went by, astounded that the noblewoman's skills had gotten so much better over the years. Sweat dripped from her brow, falling to the grassy earth at her feet. She shifted her grip on her weapon, her eyes analyzing Kenseiko's stance for the slightest weaknesses. She still had a number of tricks left to try. She had never lost to this woman before, and she was not about to lose now.

Circling around her adversary, Kenseiko studied Nodoka as the other woman shifted the position of her feet and her grip on the bokken held in her hands. She panted a bit, attempting to replenish her strength, while she made a mental note to thank her husband for his assistance in her training. The look on her foe's face had been priceless when she finally realized she had been tricked. Victory was within her grasp. She only had to reach out and take it.

"You fight well, old enemy," grunted Kenseiko with a modicum of respect.

Nodoka nodded and replied, "You too." Her vision blurred for a moment, and she shook her head to clear her eyes. She suddenly felt a slight queasiness come over her.

Seeing the sudden weakness appear in her foe's stance, Kenseiko darted forward. Her knee drove upwards into Nodoka's ribcage, and she was startled when her adversary abruptly crumpled to the ground, retching up her breakfast. She held off striking the finishing blow due to her shock at the ease of her enemy's fall. This was not how it was supposed to happen. This was too quick. She was being robbed of her rightful enjoyment of her conquest! Suspecting some sort of a devious trick on Nodoka's part like had often happened in their youth, she roughly nudged her with a foot, but her old enemy only moaned softly.

"Nodoka!" she hissed, nudging the other woman with a foot again. "Get up! I won't be cheated of my satisfaction like this!"

Her foe hardly stirred. Cursing under her breath at the unfairness of life, Kenseiko kicked Nodoka's weapon aside, not even token resistance showing on the fallen woman's part. She warily knelt down and set her warfans behind her, but still left them near enough to grab quickly just in case she needed them after all. Her fallen adversary moaned rather piteously as the noblewoman lifted her head, the cut on her neck oozing a little blood. She barely responded, even when Kenseiko began slapping her across the face.

"Nodoka! Curse you, woman! Wake up!" Kenseiko's hand left red marks on both of Nodoka's cheeks, but she did not stir. Despite knowing that she was probably going to regret her next actions, the noblewoman gently put her arms underneath her fallen enemy, struggled a bit, and then finally lifted Nodoka from the ground into a fireman's carry.

"It appears that I'm not the only one who has gained a few kilos over the last twenty years," she grumbled. Staggering at first from carrying the limp mass of Nodoka's unconscious body, the noblewoman quickly adjusted to the load. Continuing to grumble under her breath at the indignity of her situation, as well as the unfairness of being forced to carry a woman to find medical aid that she loathed with all her soul, she marched from the clearing towards where her chauffeur-driven car waited. This was not the outcome she had in mind when she woke up this morning, and it was all Nodoka's fault, the weakling.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You're pretty good," noted Akane, panting slightly as she circled her opponent.

"So are you," acknowledged Sakura, watching the other girl closely.

Her friend was proving to be a very challenging opponent for Akane, but she was really enjoying the intense struggle. The other girl was an incredible fighter, as a fair number of injuries on Akane's body could attest, but she was not about to give up. It was all going to come down to whoever wanted the win more, and the Tendo girl knew that was going to be her.

One of Sakura's cheeks was bruised, and she had a few rather serious contusions in other places, but she was nowhere near defeated. This was what she lived for, to strengthen her fighting abilities, and battling against strong opponents was the only way for her to do that. She was the strongest female fighter among the ranks of Furinkan's Combat Club, as well as being the second-best overall, next to the boy she secretly admired from afar, and had for some time now.

She had been holding back her full might, to test how good her new friend really was without ending the fight too quickly, but now it was time to end the charade. She began raising her chi, feeling it flowing into her from her surroundings and down into her hands. Only another few moments and this battle was going to be over. She was a little disappointed, but she had never really doubted her eventual victory.

"It was a nice try, Akane," Sakura remarked, her voice sounding almost regretful. The energy built to a peak within her. "But I'm going to win. I'm afraid you just don't have the strength to take me down. SHO-O-KEN!"

The Tendo girl went wide-eyed as Sakura launched herself at her, winding back a fist that was suddenly glowing with cerulean light. Desperate, Akane raised her arms up in an attempt to block, but she failed to deflect the blow. Sakura's 'Cherry Blossom Fist' impacted solidly into her. There was a brief flash as the energy of the strike surged into Akane's body, lifting her completely off her feet and blasting her backwards into a tree and unconsciousness.

"YES!" shouted a victorious Sakura as she landed on her feet, studying her friend's fallen body with a brief grin, before the emotional rush began to fade. Akane had been the first girl able to come close to challenging her fighting skills in nearly a year, but she had ended up beaten like the others. But, then again, even most of the boys in the Combat Club weren't capable of giving her much of a challenge. It was a shame really. Sakura knew that she would never be able to get any stronger unless she could battle against much more capable opponents.

That was what had drawn her to befriend Akane in the first place, for she had sensed a kindred spirit within her. And she had been amazed at how quickly the other girl won her first two challenges, giving her hope that the Tendo girl could really give her fighting skills a real test. However, when push came to shove, Akane had not been the opponent she was searching for, a strong rival to walk with together to higher levels of martial arts mastery. It was a disappointing discovery to make, and it looked like it was going to be her and Ryu-senpai reigning undefeated among the local martial artist populace for the foreseeable future.

Sakura moved towards Akane's fallen form and knelt down next to her. She carefully checked over the other girl's injuries, pleased that her skills had been good enough to leave her friend with nothing worse than some scrapes and bruises. Satisfied that Akane was not badly injured, she picked the unconscious girl up and headed off in the direction of the infirmary.

After an unknown amount of time, Akane snapped awake and immediately wished she hadn't. Her body ached all over. Even though no bones seemed to be broken, she could not remember ever feeling as beaten up as she was now.

"Welcome back, Akane," said Sakura with a smile. "How do you feel?"

"Hurt," she grumbled. Akane patted the bandages around her ribs. "I guess I lost."

Sakura tried to cheer her friend up. "But you gave it a good try. I'm sure that you'll be able to get into the Combat Club when you fight one of the other members."

Akane studied the other girl for a moment, and then said, "But I want to fight you again. A rematch."

"No," said Sakura, shaking her head. "I've seen what you have to offer me now. You aren't the challenge I'm looking for."

Akane growled at the slight. So, her skills weren't good enough?

"Don't take it so hard, Akane. We can still be friends, right?" Sakura held out her hand.

Akane swatted it aside. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you, Akane," said Sakura more seriously. "I honestly do like you, and I still want to be friends. You've got a lot of potential, and I'd like to help you bring it out." She held out her hand again, smiling.

Akane studied the offered hand for a moment. She genuinely liked the other girl, even now. Friends had always been few and far between for her, and here was someone who could help her improve. If she got better, then she would stand a better chance of dealing with any challenges to her desires for Ranma Saotome. That decided it for her. To be able to stand at Ranma's side, she would do anything. The depths of her passion for him would sustain her through any efforts needed. She took Sakura's hand in a firm grip and shook it.

"Okay," said Akane, looking Sakura squarely in the eyes. "Help me get better."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Get up, Kodachi," said Nabiki with a smirk. "You aren't much of a challenge, but I need the practice."

Knocked down to her knees during their latest sparring match, the young noblewoman growled softly at the mocking remark. The sheer impudence of the Tendo girl was infuriating, but it also spurred her to get back onto her feet. She was a Kuno, and Nabiki Tendo would someday learn to respect that if she had her way. And she planned to do just that, as soon as she fully regained her senses.

Nabiki suddenly tumbled backwards gracefully, when Kodachi launched a new assault before she had fully risen to her feet. The kick breezed by her face by a fair margin, the blow dodged before she had even been fully aware of it coming. She grinned as she rolled back to her feet, letting herself move as instinct directed her, her reflexes alone guiding her body as she ducked and weaved around the other girl's attacks with an almost casual ease.

Coach Takami watched the latest exchange with interest. He could see that the older girl was dictating the flow of the match on her own terms, and the smirk on her face was a sign that she was enjoying every moment of it. The young noblewoman was getting frustrated, especially since it was pretty obvious that Nabiki just wasn't taking her very seriously.

Sitting next to the coach, Ranma studied Nabiki's technique closely. She had improved while he was involved in his own training, especially her speed. His overall ability was better than when last they faced off against each other, but so was hers. And the smirk on her face was practically a promise that there would be another match coming up between them. Well, that was fine with him. Unlike his wimpish counterpart from the world her skills came from, or the one from where his own skills originated, he had no problems treating a girl as an opponent. In a way, he was more like the other version of himself, from the world where Shampoo was cursed to turn male when hit with cold water. He treated the Amazon as a serious opponent.

That thought reminded him of the matter of returning that other world's version of Genma Saotome and getting his own father back. That was his next priority, and Nabiki would just have to wait until he finished with that. When his father was restored to his proper life, then Ranma would cheerfully kick Nabiki's ass all over Nerima, no matter what improvements to her technique she may have made. He was Ranma Saotome, and he was the best.

However, those concerns were for the future, and he would deal with them as they came. At least for today, all he had to worry about was dealing with Utena.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I wonder what he's like."

Saionji Kyoichi only grunted in response to his companion's statement, and grimaced as he attempted to flex his hand within the cast. He cursed the fates for bringing him to his current state, but most of all he cursed the one who had done this to him. Him! Saionji Kyoichi! Now he couldn't even hold a sword until it healed. He was going to find the little bitch that had done this to him and make her suffer. Oh yes, how she would suffer.

"You haven't been paying attention to a thing I've said, but I can fix that."

Pain suddenly lanced up Saionji's arm when his companion reached out and slammed her palm down on the back of his hand. For the second time in a single week, his cry of tortured pain echoed across the length and breadth of Ohtori's campus. He turned hate-filled eyes upon the young woman seated next to him on the highest balcony on the Tower of Roses, her red hair blowing backwards gently in the wind.

Juri Arisugawa merely raised one eyebrow in response to the glare she was receiving. She brushed her fingers across the front of her white uniform, the picture of total nonchalance. Annoying Saionji always made for a pleasant way to spend time.

"He must be quite inspiring, even in defeat," Juri observed. "Whoever this Ranma Saotome fellow is, he certainly made an impression on our Tenjou-san."

"Indeed," noted Touga Kiryuu, stepping forward and posing majestically next to the railing. The shapes of roses were etched into the metal of the railing's bars, as they were into the chairs that Juri and Saionji were seated upon. "Perhaps his visit will be as interesting as the others were."

Juri took a sip of her tea before speaking. "Perhaps. But, be that as it may, it will be rather interesting to see what manner of man he is." Glancing once at her two companions, she coolly observed, "There are so few real men in this world." Despite the physical attraction she felt for her two companions, she utterly despised their personalities. Saionji was a swaggering bully, and Touga was an arrogant playboy. Her parents had once suggested engaging her to Touga, but she had quickly shot that idea down. She wanted someone who would be faithful to her alone, since she should be woman enough for any man's needs.

Hearing her words, now it was Touga's turn to raise an eyebrow, but he refused to be baited by Juri.

Saionji was not so composed, and he asked, "Just what did you mean by that?"

"Why, nothing, Kyoichi-kun," said Juri. She patted his injured hand. "Although, if you feel at all slighted by my comments, you may seek satisfaction in the usual manner." Her hand gripped his once more, a warning gesture from a dangerous woman. After a moment, she let go and smiled. "When you are healed, that is."

Saionji grimaced angrily at her taunting of his present state. In his rage, he made a fist and slammed it down on the table. There was a soft cracking sound from within his cast, and a blank look crossed his face as the pain quickly made itself known.

The other two members of Ohtori's student council winced slightly at the bellow of pain that emerged from Saionji. They exchanged a look as the green-haired youth cradled his broken hand and cursed.

Today was already promising to be an interesting day.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Ministry of Health boasted of having the largest and best-equipped hospital in all the Empire, and its doctors were the finest to be found anywhere. So it was there that Kenseiko brought Nodoka for treatment, grumbling all the way. Her hated foe's unconscious form kept falling over to rest against the noblewoman's shoulder, and being that close to her mortal enemy was making her feel twitchy. So upon reaching the Ministry, she quickly opened the door and got out, waiting impatiently as her chauffeur picked up the limp woman.

When the man had Nodoka in hand, Kenseiko turned and swept past him, striding towards the front door of the Ministry. The chauffeur followed along in her wake, the woman in his charge held in his arms like a sleeping child. They made quite a sight, Nodoka and Kenseiko both blood-spattered, as they marched the length of the distance towards the main entrance to the Ministry's hospital.

The doors slid open and the trio entered. There were only a few people present at this early hour: a couple of security guards, a nurse, and a tall man that appeared to be a doctor or administrator. She went up to him promptly, her body posture in her most imperious mode.

"You," Kenseiko snapped out, addressing herself to the man in the white coat. "Are you a doctor?"

Tofu Ono, who had just been getting a cup of tea from the nurse before making his morning rounds, turned around and adjusted his glasses. He eyed the blood-spattered figure standing arrogantly before him for a moment, the unconscious woman being carried in the uniformed man's arms also being noted out of the corner of his vision.

"Yes, I'm a doctor," Tofu replied. "What seems to be-"

"This woman is Nodoka Saotome, and she requires treatment," Kenseiko said crisply. "See to it." She snapped her fingers, pointed at him, and her chauffeur very promptly dumped Nodoka into a startled Tofu's arms. "Know this, physician. I am Kenseiko Kuno, wife to Lord Daisho Kuno, and I command you to find what ails this woman and treat it with utmost speed." She then folded her arms and gave Tofu her most commanding glare, looking every inch the part of a high noble of the Empire at that moment.

Tofu hesitated for only a moment, before quickly summoning an orderly and a nurse to assist him. Together, they placed Nodoka onto a gurney and swept her away to one of the examining rooms, leaving the noblewoman and her chauffeur behind.

Kenseiko, seeing that her orders were being carried out with adequate promptness, strode over to the nurse at the main desk. She eyed the girl haughtily for a moment.

"I will require a comfortable room to wait in while that woman is being treated," she snapped out. "Make it so."

"I'm sorry, but this is most irregular-" began the nurse, but a cold glare from Kenseiko froze her voice.

The noblewoman said, slowly and clearly, radiating menace, "You will do as I bid. Now."

While the nurse hurried to comply with a stern-looking Kenseiko's demands, Tofu began examining Nodoka, who had already begun to wake.

"What? Where?" she said, shocked to find herself in a strange room somewhere. She struggled to sit up.

"Take it easy." Tofu spoke soothingly, even as he gently but firmly held her down so that he could continue examining her. The cut on her neck was superficial, but it was still going to require treatment to prevent infection. "You're at the Ministry of Health, Saotome-san. My name is Tofu. Can you tell me what the last thing you remember was?"

"I was fighting," said Nodoka, feeling him prod at her torso. "I felt dizzy all of a sudden, then the woman I was fighting with hit me, and then nothing." She winced when he poked at the injury in her side, and tried not to squirm as he quickly found every other one on her torso.

I lost, she finally realized, staring up at the strange ceiling. I lost to that blue-blooded witch!

"Please remove your shirt, so I can treat that cut on your shoulder and deal with the bruise on your ribs," said Tofu in his best professional voice. He waited as she complied, noting clinically from his visual inspection of the bruise on her side that it was not as bad as he had first feared.

Nodoka was almost in a state of shock. Nobody had ever beaten her in a fight when she was younger. Had age finally finished her as a warrior? No. She just had to retrain and prepare herself to retake her position of supremacy. She had always been better than any of her old rivals, and she still was.

Working quickly, Tofu's fingers thrust against shiatsu pressure points, easing her pain and greatly enhancing her body's healing abilities. He cleaned the cut and sealed it with a strip of synthetic skin which held the wound closed, almost as if she had never been injured. The strip would fall off in a couple of days, leaving her fully healed. He also noted clinically that she was in excellent shape for her age, aside from her present damage.

"I'm going to need to take some blood now," he said, pulling out a syringe.

"Uh, that's quite all right," she replied, snapping her out of her shock. She eyed the slender length of surgical steel. She had never liked them.

"It's procedure." Tofu quickly tied a length of surgical tubing around her arm. "We'll need to do a blood work-up to see what might be wrong with you."

Nodoka shook her head and pulled her arm back, or at least she tried to. The doctor seemed to have her limb pinned in a painless joint lock of some sort, and she absently realized that he had to be a martial artist of some skill to do so with her, even in her present condition. She turned her head away when the needle was buried into her arm, a brief pain that faded as he filled the syringe with her blood.

"There now," said Tofu soothingly, untying the surgical tubing and putting a bandage against the puncture. "All done. I'll send this down to the lab." As if by magic, a nurse appeared and took the tray with the syringe.

Nodoka held her arm and nodded. "Thank you, Tofu-sensei."

He smiled at her and left with the nurse. Nodoka put her shirt back on, reclined back, and closed her eyes.

"So, are you still alive, old foe?" suddenly came Kenseiko's voice, having entered the room shortly after Tofu and the nurse departed.

Nodoka growled as she snapped her eyes back open. "Come to gloat?"

"Why Nodoka-chan, my oldest and dearest rival," replied Kenseiko with a smile. "Would I ever do such a thing?"

Nodoka said, through gritted teeth, "What do you want, Kenseiko?"

Noting the expression on her foe's face, the noblewoman decided to up the ante a bit and said, "I'm feeling magnanimous after my victory." She saw a twitching in the other woman's jaw muscle begin. "Age has apparently taken its toll on your skills, a sign of your obvious inferiority when compared to a woman of my own incomparable breeding." There was now a vein pulsing in Nodoka's temple. "So I'm calling a temporary truce and allowing you time to try and recover what the years have cost you."

Nodoka blinked.

"Farewell now." With a smile, Kenseiko then swept back out of the room in grand fashion.

"What?" Nodoka muttered. She hopped off the bed, felt her knees wobble a bit for a few moments, and then she stomped to the door. A quick inquiry, before the nurses hustled her back into her room, showed that the arrogant noblewoman had left the building. She felt her teeth grind at the thought that her old adversary had one-upped her with those parting remarks. She gazed into the mirror for a time, studying her profile intently, flexing her arms and studying her muscle tone. She was not old. A blue light surrounded her for a moment as she pictured their next battle.

"Kenseiko," she grumbled. "Just wait until next time."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A mélange of conversations swirled around the front courtyard of the Academy from cadets chatting with each other before heading home for the day. Most of them were formulating plans concerning what they would do with the remainder of the weekend. The girls were gathered together in small clusters, some giggling about having been asked out by this or that boy, and others discussing upcoming tests or the latest gossip. Groups of boys were gathered together as well, talking about girls and sports, and making plans to go out and have fun during this brief time of freedom.

Kyosuke tuned out the voices of his classmates as he walked alongside his girlfriend, Yohko, and their mutual friend, the redheaded Ghost Sweeper, Minami. The two young women were happily chattering away, but he was not paying attention, being pre-occupied with other thoughts. In only a week, the two girls had become good friends, and he was happy to see them getting along. But he was a little bit surprised too, as different as they were. Minami could display a rather abrasive and overbearing personality at times, and she hungered for the spotlight. On the other hand, Yohko was generally more demure in her bearing, and her life was built around living up to her mother's example as a Devil Hunter.

They were two very different girls, like two others he had come to know better in the last week, Madoka Ayukawa and Hikaru Hiyama. Somehow, through some odd quirk of his Esper powers, he had exchanged physical places with another Earth's version of himself. It had been an eye-opening experience, and he was still getting used to the fact that he was back home, that the bed he had woken up in this morning was his own. During his time here, his counterpart had managed to patch things up with Yohko, a far cry from how things had been before. That made his life quite a bit easier.

He adjusted the weight of the bookbag slung over his shoulder and considered the life of his counterpart. Such a different world that other Kyosuke lived in. His own training in undercover work had enabled him to blend in while he studied that other life, and dealing with his analog's family had been most educational. He had finally managed to return with the aid of his counterpart's grandfather, but it left him with some interesting memories of his visit to that world, ones that he would not soon forget. And it also made him re-evaluate his own feelings about Yohko.

When he had first seen pictures of the Devil Hunter, he had been almost spellbound by her loveliness. Her body was well-built, with everything that a young man could desire in a girl, and her facial features were equally pleasing. But his initial ardor had cooled somewhat after he began reading through the reports on the unpleasant fates of Yohko's last four boyfriends. Two had been possessed, one was killed, and the fourth had seen something that drove his mind over the brink of sanity. So it was with some admitted trepidation that he had first approached Yohko.

However, their first date had been a surprise. Nothing supernatural had occurred throughout the entire evening, and talking with her had left him with an impression of an intelligent mind behind her very comely exterior. Later dates had brought him face to face with the realities of her life as a Devil Hunter, but his Institute training and his Esper powers allowed him to deal with them. But, over the past several weeks, what had begun as an assignment was now something more and that left him feeling confused. And his problems did not end there.

When Madoka Ayukawa (having learned her name from his analog's sisters) had caught his attention during a date with Yohko, he had seen first-hand just how jealous a certain Devil Hunter could become where he was concerned. It had not been an enjoyable experience at all, the angry hurt in her gaze being far worse than anything physical she might have done to him. But he had felt drawn to the delinquent girl for some unknown reason. His visit to that other world had only deepened his confusion, and he wondered if he was just perceiving a subconscious echo of the feelings from other versions of himself dealing with other versions of Madoka. With Esper powers involved, who knew what was possible?

Upon his return home two nights ago, he had voluntarily submitted himself to a full analysis at the Mobius Institute concerning this strange experience, as per regulations. His grandfather, Director Kasuga, had personally taken charge of the debriefing, telepathically scanning him, sensing the very faint lingerings of his own analog's powers. Only his mother and his grandfather knew the truth, and the entire matter was now placed under Institute Seal.

It was just as well. Who could he talk to about such a thing? Yohko was not part of the Institute, and it would likely just complicate his relationship with her now that it was back on track. No, there was no one on the planet who could understand what he had just been through.

"Kasuga-san, I was wondering if I could speak with you briefly."

Kyosuke, his musings about the lovely Devil Hunter interrupted, turned his head to see who had addressed him. Over by one of the trees near the main gate stood Ranma Saotome, Nabiki's boyfriend according to what he had heard from Yohko lately. He nodded politely to the science cadet.

The Ghost Sweeper paused in her conversation with Yohko to send a withering glance at the pigtailed boy. When it was ignored, it only further incensed her. She sniffed lightly and turned her gaze from him.

Yohko nodded a greeting to Ranma, which was politely returned by him. There was an interesting dynamic building up between Nabiki and Ranma lately, and the secret romantic in Yohko found it quite fascinating to observe her best friend and the pigtailed boy, like something out of a girl's comic.

"Saotome-san," Kyosuke greeted the other boy. "What can I do for you?"

"I had a couple of questions I was hoping you could answer for me," said Ranma quietly as he walked over. He stopped within a single pace of Kyosuke, sparing the two girls nearby a glance, and his voice lowered even further in tone. "About Espers and their abilities."

Intrigued, Kyosuke responded, "What sort of questions?"

"Can an Esper with telekinetic powers use them without realizing it?" Ranma asked without preamble. "And can that be detected by another Esper?"

Kyosuke thought about it for a moment before responding, "Yes, to both questions. Why do you wish to know, Saotome-san?"

Ranma looked around. His gaze briefly met Nabiki's and paused for a few moments before moving on. He nodded to her during the brief time that their gazes were locked, receiving one in return. He observed that she was holding court at her usual place, catching up on how her business interests were doing and listening to the reports of her associates. She was too far away to hear anything. He turned around as he thrust his hands in his pockets. No one else seemed to be paying much attention to them, and he slowly turned back to face Kyosuke.

"I have a rematch coming up against Ohtori's champion," said Ranma in a more conversational tone, satisfied that no one was eavesdropping on them. "The last time I faced her, an Esper interfered, but I was told it was not done consciously."

Kyosuke was surprised, to say the least. Interfering in such a matter was against Institute regulations outside of any assigned mission parameters. He glanced at Minami, and he could tell that she was as startled by this as he was.

"That's terrible," said Yohko sincerely. Ranma had suffered a measure of public humiliation over his rapid loss to the Tenjou girl, and she suddenly saw a way that she could help him, especially since he was practically Nabiki's boyfriend now. Besides, her school pride was also involved. She turned to the Esper boy. "Kasuga-kun, I want you to accompany Saotome-san to Ohtori."

"What?" Kyosuke asked, blinking for several moments at this sudden turn of events. "But we have a date tonight."

"Please?" Yohko asked, unleashing the full power of her soft-eyed gaze at him. She upped the ante by stepping closer and tracing her index finger up and down his chest, her chest almost touching him. "For me? I promise to make this evening special if you do."

Minami made subtle gagging noises behind Yohko, and Ranma stared at the scene, fortunately having only caught the edge of the effect.

Any words of resistance vanished before they could be voiced, in the face of Yohko's fawn-like gaze looking up at him. Kyosuke swallowed down a suddenly dry throat and nodded mindlessly.

"That's my Kasuga-kun," said Yohko with a smile. "I want you to keep an eye on Saotome-san while he's visiting Ohtori. Make sure that nothing happens to either of you two, okay?"

Kyosuke nodded again.

She gave him a hug, and she whispered, "I'll be waiting for you upon your return." She then stepped back, and the two girls walked away, Yohko walking with a slight sway to her hips.

"I guess you're coming to Ohtori with me," commented Ranma dryly. He was grateful that he was made of sterner stuff when it came to girls. No woman was going to wrap him around her little finger like the Devil Hunter had just done to the Esper boy. The pair headed off to retrieve Ranma's bag from the locker room.

Hidden in a nearby tree, Ayako Mitsui regarded her chosen prey as he walked away. Even though she looked identical to her pathetic cousin Yohko, this boy had refused her advances. Why? Seducing him should have been easy, an enjoyable and fun way to drive a knife deeply into Yohko's heart, but he had somehow known she wasn't his precious girlfriend, perhaps due to his Esper abilities. His refusal had somehow backfired the whole matter upon her, leaving her deeply envious of her cousin for having such a loyal boyfriend.

However, she wasn't prepared to abandon Kyosuke yet. No, not just yet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryoga paused to wipe the sweat from his face onto his sleeve, and then adjusted the weight of his backpack. He was wandering around another mountain, and grumbling under his breath when he finally realized he had lost the road somewhere. Again. Life was just so unfair. All he wanted to do was find Ukyo Kuonji, beat the smug ninja boy to within an inch of his life, and then return home. Instead, here he was, still tramping around Japan, lost and unable to even find Tokyo, let alone that accursed Ukyo. Sleeping on the hard ground every night was really getting old fast, and having had nothing to eat for two days, his rice supply finally gone, had only added to his misery.

Thinking about food caused Ryoga's stomach to rumble, increasing his fury. Vengeance drove him now. Ukyo was going to suffer for this. That is, as soon as he was found.

"Where the hell am I now?" Ryoga shouted out loud, but there was no reply to his question. It was around noon, and here he was, starving to death in this wilderness. Glaring about at the unhelpful trees around him, he pulled out the tattered map of Japan a farmer had given him and studied it intently. He turned it first one way, and then another, before sighing once and putting it away. The anger deep inside him had been burning white-hot for days now, and he was growing to savor the anticipation for when he could finally unleash it in all its glorious fury.

When, not if, he found the wretched Ukyo Kuonji, he was going to break the ninja boy into numerous little pieces and then stomp all the pieces flat. After all, his troubles were all Ukyo's fault. He shivered with rage at the memories of their meetings over the past few years, feeling attracted to the other boy. He very quickly turned away from that horrifying line of thought, redirecting it towards a more personally acceptable one.

"Do you hear me, Kuonji?" Ryoga suddenly shouted up at the heavens. "How dare you do this to me! This is all your fault! Just you wait! I'm going to kill you for this! I swear I will!"

There was no answer but a shifting of the breeze in the trees. He lowered the fist he had been brandishing at the heavens, just as his nose caught a trace of a tantalizing odor. It was roasted chicken.

Ryoga's stomach growled at the scent, his mouth watering. He took a hesitant step forward, fearful of going the wrong way. He could still smell it, so he took another step. The mild breeze threatened to shift, so he threw caution to the winds, and plunged into a headlong dash in the direction he hoped the smell was coming from. He knew his luck was finally changing. Perhaps whoever it was roasting a chicken out here could even help him find Tokyo. And Ukyo.

Heavy branches slashed Ryoga across the face as he ran through the trees, but their feeble blows were meaningless. The scent of chicken was growing stronger, and so he kept following his nose. He quickly accelerated his pace, crashing through the dense forest at full speed. More branches tried to impede him, but he ignored them, intent upon finding the source of that delicious smell.

After several minutes of running, Ryoga broke clear of the trees, and his inertia carried him right off the edge of a cliff. His fading words carried back into the trees.

"Curse you, Ukyooooo!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ahhhhh! I'm late!"

Even as the cry of dismay left her lips, Ukyo came bursting into her aunt's restaurant at a dead run, her arms laden with shopping bags. She could not believe that it was already so late in the morning, and that shopping for uniforms could have taken her so long. Luckily, since this was the middle of the term, there had been a terrific sale on them at the local department store, and she had picked up an entire week's worth of outfits for school. It had used up all the money from her parents, but she was all set for classes on Monday.

Yumi watched Ukyo blast by her, the older ninja's ponytail wafting to one side in the breeze kicked up in the wake of her niece's passage, the girl leaving a trail of dust behind her. She smiled at Ukyo's retreating back as it vanished up the stairs to the living area on the next floor, and she began cooking up some lunch for her. Her niece had been so excited by the opportunity to attend school where her fiancé was going. It was nice to see her so happy.

After opening the door to her room quickly, Ukyo tossed the bags on the floor and slammed it shut again. She sprinted to the weapons closet, having left her large battle spatula behind while she went shopping. Carrying around a polearm made it difficult to blend into a crowd, and it was harder to get good service while walking around heavily-armed. She pulled her weapons out of the closet, slipping her bandoleer of throwing spatulas on. She was heading into enemy territory today.

Yumi's ponytail wafted over to the opposite side when Ukyo went tearing by her again, heading for the door at full speed. The girl did not even break stride as she snatched up the delivery box, laden with several okonomiyaki.

"Bye, Auntiiiieeee..." came Ukyo's fading farewell as she sprinted outside.

Yumi shook her head. Ah, to be young again. Having the girl around was like reliving her own youth, and she chuckled as she got the shop ready for the lunch crowd.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was a tremendous splash of water when a man-sized missile ended its descent trajectory only a few feet away from the shore. The impact generated an impressive volume of water from the lake, and hurled it across the short distance separating it from dry land, soaking down a nearby campsite.

Ryoga surfaced at the edge of the small lake that had broken his fall, struggling with the weight of his pack in the water, to see two girls staring at him. His head hurt, apparently from the blow it had taken when his skull hit a submerged boulder, and he was now seeing double. He blinked. The girl (girls?) had soaked clothes on. Seeing what the cold water had done to the clothes and the body (bodies?) beneath them, he felt a surge of blood in his nose. When the iron skillet hit him squarely in the face, it was a mercy blow, and he passed out.

Glaring intently at the fallen boy, who had been pervertedly staring at her chest before her well-aimed throw had ended that, was a teenaged girl named Ryoko Masaki. Before the lake water soaked her down, she had been dressed in loose garb of heavy cottons, but the outfit was now clinging to every curve on her body. She stood there in disgust, her hands brushing futilely at her blue-green hair, feeling the algae from the lake water clinging to it. She glared at Ryoga some more. When she finally gave up on that, seeing his body half-drifting in the water before her, she waded in and began to haul him out with a weary sigh. With any luck, judging by the way he had been staring so fixatedly at her body's endowments through her soaked clothes, he wouldn't remember seeing anything odd.

After a while, Ryoga groggily returned to consciousness. The last few things he remembered had been nearly drowning, then seeing some sort of water spirit with blue-green hair. Then, nothing. His clothes felt a bit chilled, and he heard them squish when he moved around. However, to someone who had once spent most of an entire day standing beneath a waterfall composed of snowmelt as part of his training, damp clothing was nothing.

"I see you're alive," said a female voice. It was difficult to tell if it was relieved or annoyed.

Ryoga's eyes snapped open. He glanced around and saw that same girl with the odd-colored hair, dressed in dry clothes as she pulled a brush through her blue-green tresses. He started to sit up, wondering if he was hallucinating. Women did not have hair that color.

"W-where am I?" he asked, glancing around to see where his pack was. He relaxed a little when he saw it nearby.

"You're not far from the Masaki Shrine, just outside the village of Kurashiki." Ryoko continued to brush her hair. Seeing the blank look on the boy's face, she added, "We're about twenty kilometers or so from Okayama."

"Is that near Tokyo?" he asked hopefully.

She stared at him, uncertain if he was putting her on. Nobody could be that ignorant of basic geography, could they?

"No, we're about six-hundred-and-fifty kilometers from Tokyo," Ryoko replied after shrugging her shoulders. Perhaps he was still feeling stunned by the two blows to his head. Pounding out the sizable dent in her iron skillet that the strange boy's head had left in it was not a task she was looking forward to. "Now, who are you?"

"I'm Ryoga Hibiki," he said with a nod of his head. "Sorry about dropping in on you like this." He put his hand behind his head and chuckled nervously.

"I'm Ryoko. Ryoko Masaki. Now, give me one good reason why I shouldn't pound you into mush for getting me and my camp all wet, not to mention staring at me like you did." She folded her arms across her chest.

Ryoga stammered, "I-I'm sorry. I fell off the cliff up there. It was all an accident. Honest."

"Are you lost or something?" she asked, unfolding her arms. She stood up and went over to tend the fire, grimacing at the remains of her lunch and mentally debating what she would fix to replace it. She was starting to feel sorry for the guy, and smirked when she realized it. Maybe it was because he reminded her of her brother during one of his more hapless moments.

"I-I'm looking for someone." Inside, he cursed himself for sounding like some sort of an idiot. He knew exactly what his problem was, that he was talking to a girl, a very pretty one. Girls had always been so difficult for him to talk to, even back in his home village, especially the good-looking ones. Guys were easier for him to relate to. He could talk to another guy without any troubles, so why not a girl?

"Well, you found someone," Ryoko said calmly as she tossed the remnants of her ruined meal away. "Are you hungry? I guess a little company for lunch would be all right." She decided to forgive him for staring at her chest.

Ryoga's stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. He looked embarrassed.

"I guess that answers that." Ryoko grinned and shoved a pot into his hands. "Fill that with some water from the jug." She pointed at the small purifier unit behind him. "I'll build up the fire and cook us some stew."

"Th-thank you," he said, bowing to her. He quickly moved to fill the pot with water and handed it to Ryoko. "I've been living on nothing but rice gruel, nuts, and berries for days. But I ran out of rice two days ago."

"Whoever it is you're looking for must be pretty damned important to you," said Ryoko as she knelt to place sticks on the fire. She plopped down on a flat rock when she was done and looked at him. "So, what's the story?"

"Not much." Ryoga stared for a moment at the flickering flame. "It just involves a man-to-man fight."

"And this person is in Tokyo?" Ryoko glanced at the pot suspended over the fire. She dropped a few chunks of beef into the water and added some spices.

"Yeah, and his name is Ukyo." There was a hint of a growl in his voice. "I need to find him."

Ryoko nodded. "Well, I'm heading back to Tokyo tomorrow. You can come along with me for the trip."

"Really?" he said hopefully, not daring to believe his good fortune.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I don't have the money for a train ticket, so I was planning on walking and hitchhiking anyway. I figure it should take about a week unless we get lucky and someone can take us the whole way."

A week, Ryoga mused. Soon, his quest would be ended.

"Anyway," she said suddenly. "I suggest you change out of those wet clothes. The nights get cold out here, and you smell like bog water."

"Uh, sure." He reached out and grabbed his pack, grateful that it was waterproofed. He started to get up, and then fear filled him. What if he couldn't find his way back after changing his clothes? The woods seemed to be mocking him with their trackless depths.

Ryoko looked up from tending the stew. "What's the matter, Hibiki?"

"I-I have this little problem."

Ryoko sat back on her haunches and regarded him. Then she snapped her fingers. "You're from Kikaitani, right?"

Startled, Ryoga nodded.

"I thought your name was familiar," said Ryoko with a grin. "One of the Wandering Ones in my camp. How about that?"

"It's not funny," he muttered. Ukyo had often teased him about his family's direction problem too, but at least the other boy had always made sure that he got back to the guide rope that would take him home.

"Sorry." Ryoko shook her head and stood up. She reached out and took him by the hand and tugged him to follow after her. She led him off a distance into the trees, but near enough to still see the camp.

Ryoga felt like he was floating. A girl was touching him. He stumbled along behind the young woman with odd-colored hair, his thoughts in a slight fog. When they stopped, he almost ran into her.

"Change your clothes here, and then call out my name," ordered Ryoko. "I'll be back to come get you and lead you to camp. Don't take too long and don't move from this spot."

"S-sure thing," he murmured, watching the girl head back to her camp. When he was alone again, he shook his head. He needed to focus on finding Ukyo. After the ninja boy was beaten, then he could think about other things.

He's sure a pathetic sort, Ryoko thought with a smile. Cute too, in a silly sort of way, like a puppy that eagerly wanted to please. With a snort, she settled down and stirred the bubbling stew, adding some dried vegetables from her supplies.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The journey to Ohtori was an uncomfortable affair for Ranma, riding in the back seat between Kodachi and Nabiki. Kyosuke was sitting up front with Fuyutsuki, and Ranma envied him. Sitting back here between two unpredictable young women was making the pigtailed boy feel very nervous. The Esper boy did not know how easy he had it, with only having one girl to worry about. In an idle moment during the trip, he mentally slapped himself once again for his foolish coveting of his analog's life with girls competing for him. He should have been wiser and learned a lesson from it instead.

At least Ukyo was absent, he mused. The trip to Ohtori with all three girls present would have been 'Asking For It.'

While hiding in the trunk, Ukyo wondered for the umpteenth time why she was sneaking around like this, but she realized it was force of habit. She looked on it as doing reconnaissance. After all, she had observed two of the same girls she had encountered at Ohtori hanging around Ranma, much too close to him as far as she was concerned. But she would fix that easily enough in a couple of days. After all, he was now her fiancé, and no soft, city-bred girl was going to steal him away from her. Still, she was almost hoping that there would be a fight, not that either girl looked like much of a challenge to a ninja of her combat capabilities.

Kodachi, quietly seated on Ranma's right, was half-lost in one of her usual romantic fantasies about a certain pigtailed boy, brought on by his physical proximity. Her body almost seemed to hum with energy, and she felt tempted to just throw herself on top of him and satisfy the carnal cravings that were bubbling up from deep within her. But a lady did not do such shameless things in public, she kept reminding herself. There was also the very unpleasant matter of the Tendo girl's presence cooling her ardor a bit.

The young noblewoman's gaze watched the city streets passing by as she let her mind drift. She sat demurely, occasionally glancing at her fiancé, her hands resting folded in her lap. The only sign of her mental state was the twisted length of her embroidered handkerchief, held tightly in her grip.

Nabiki, seated on Ranma's left, was also staring out the window. There was an undercurrent of excitement running through her, an equal mixture of anticipation for battle and desires for the boy seated next to her. Her right hand unconsciously folded into a fist and relaxed back open in an uneven tempo, her thoughts skipping back and forth between Ranma and the growing number of rivals for his attentions, such as Utena Tenjou.

The pink-haired cross-dresser was going to be told, in very definite and certain terms, to stay away from Ranma after today. Then Nabiki would be magnanimous and allow him a few days to rest up before she issued her own challenge to him. She could hardly wait to show him the fruits of her training, when she would prove to him that she was the better fighter, and that she always would be.

Ranma kept alternating his attention between the two girls, struggling to keep his mind focused on his upcoming match and failing. He could feel the warmth of their bodies against his sides, and he smelled a very delicate fragrance hovering in the air. It was making him feel edgy. And his resonator-acquired memories were not any help in this situation, unless perhaps a fight broke out in the car.

Tingles like biochemical sheet lightning kept surging up and down his nerves. It was quite distracting, especially when his hearing also detected an occasional, almost inaudible sigh coming from either Kodachi or Nabiki. So, for the present time, he kept his hands in his lap to hide the evidence of his body's more obvious responses to the input that kept assailing his senses. Eventually, he managed to control his raging libido, forcing his mind to focus on the upcoming fight by sheer willpower.

Fuyutsuki kept glancing into the rearview mirror with a slight sense of nervousness. There was a strong undercurrent of sexual tension going on in the back seat that you could almost cut with a katana. All of the players involved in the little drama seemed to be ignoring each other, not even talking amongst themselves, but it was still there. He hoped that Ranma could maintain his focus on today's goal despite his present distractions. Defeating Utena Tenjou was all that mattered today.

Kyosuke spent the entire car ride with a slight grin on his face, his thoughts on his Devil Hunter girlfriend.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"They're here."

Utena Tenjou glanced up at Miki Kaoru, the boy having just arrived with his news. She watched him thumb the button on his stopwatch and glance at the time.

"They're four minutes early," he said. "If we hurry, we can make it to the front steps in time to greet them."

Utena smiled, nodded, and stood up. As she did so, she tugged slightly on the front of her uniform jacket. Classes had been finished for over an hour, so she had been occupying herself with her homework, trying very hard not to think about her opponent. But her studies were a poor distraction from her musings about a certain blue-eyed boy. Maybe after the match was over, she could console him over his upcoming loss by treating him to dinner. She also owed him repayment for the dinner she had received at the Saotome's residence the night of their first match.

"Let's go, Miki," she said with a smile, heading out of the library with her gym bag in hand. She strolled along at an even step, the pace of her coltish legs unhurried.

As she walked, two other members of the student council emerged from a side hallway to join her: Juri and Touga. She exchanged a nod with each of them, and they solemnly fell into place a single stride behind her and Miki. The sound of their combined footsteps echoed outwards into the distance of the marbled halls of Ohtori, even as the sun sparkled on the floors and picked out the rose imagery that was an integral part of this place.

The front doors swept aside as Utena straight-armed them open, and she smiled broadly to see her friend Anthy waiting for her on the front steps with the headmaster of Ohtori Academy. The pair greeted Utena and the three members of the student council who accompanied her with a nod, Anthy smiling brightly at them all.

"Now we shall see what manner of man is this Ranma Saotome," muttered Touga softly, loudly enough that only Juri could have possibly heard him. But if she did, she gave no sign.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the car carrying Ranma and his entourage passed through the open gates to Ohtori, a stealthy figure slipped out of the trunk and then re-secured it, clinging for a moment to the rear bumper. At the proper instant, she detached herself from the car and landed to one side of the road with a tuck and roll, swiftly vanishing into concealment behind some shrubbery. In a moment, the figure was back up and moving, flitting from shadow to shadow with uncanny skill.

Nabiki watched the sun sparkling off the waters of the nearby bay as the car wended its way clockwise up the path circling the hill that Ohtori stood upon. There was a no-nonsense expression on her face. Today she was finally going to meet Utena Tenjou face-to-face, the girl who had spent the night at Ranma's house, the girl who had seduced her fiancé. Her hand tightened into a fist at that thought, a cold feeling of rage coming over her. The tramp was no better than a common thief.

Glancing out the windows on both sides of the car, Ranma was impressed by what he could see of Ohtori's arrangement. Gothic architecture was mixed with elements of the Western Renaissance, creating a facility for learning that was as much a cathedral as it was a school. Roses were an integral part, and it combined with the architectural styling to awe him with its beauty.

Kyosuke felt a whisper of something cross his senses as the car began ascending the hill, an odd energy of some sort. It tingled upon his awareness like the hint of ozone after a lightning storm. He felt it again, a few more times, as the vehicle looped around. Curious, he cast his senses outward, regretting that using the Power in such a way was not his forte. In his mind's eye, he saw the currents of power that flowed through Ohtori's demesne.

Several of these lines of energy converged here. Kyosuke recalled from his classes at the Institute that they were known as geomantic flows, what the ancients called chi lines. The odd architecture of Ohtori was somehow enhancing the flows, giving the place very powerful feng shui. Nerima was also particularly rich in such flow lines and juncture nodes, partly why the Mobius Institute had been built near one edge of it, where a Shinto temple had once stood. It was a rather intriguing discovery to make, and he realized that it might also explain why an Institute cadet was here.

Kodachi broke free of her imaginings as the car came to a halt, and she smiled when she spotted Miki waiting amid the small group on the steps. He looked quite handsome in his uniform, almost sparkling in the light of the sun. She blinked, and the effect was gone.

"I want you all on your best behavior, Cadets," warned Fuyutsuki. "I know you won't disappoint me. Right?"

"Yes, sir," replied all four quickly.

Fuyutsuki smiled for a moment. "Excellent." He opened the door and got out, a signal that the rest of them could exit the vehicle as well.

Miki spotted Kodachi emerging from the car, and he smiled. He gave the others with the noblewoman a brief once-over, before his gaze quickly returned to Kodachi. He wished he had known she would be coming with the Imperial Academy's champion. He was glad to see that she appeared fully recovered from her ordeal, standing proud beneath the sun, her bearing marking her as nobility as much as her beauty did. His breath caught for a moment, but no one else noticed.

Catching sight of Nabiki when she came out of the car, the only sign of Touga's interest was the gleam that suddenly appeared in his gaze. He was pleasantly surprised to see her, feeling confident that she had intentionally come here to meet him again. She walked around from the far side of the car, and Touga's gaze took in everything about her with great interest. Even the confident manner in her walk was appealing to witness. She came to a halt next to one of the two boys who came with her, presumably the Imperial Academy's champion, Ranma. The other one was wearing a Mobius Institute pin, so that could not be him.

Juri studied both Ranma and Nabiki. She could see the subtle signs that marked them both as being highly-capable fighters in the way they moved. She was looking forward to watching today's match between him and Utena. After all, a fight between two equally-skilled opponents was a creation of beauty to be appreciated, like an ephemeral work of art.

Utena's eyes locked onto Ranma the moment he became visible. He was just as handsome as the last time she saw him, when she had kissed him goodbye in the train station. Her cheeks suddenly felt warm, and she coughed into her fist to hide her unexpected response to seeing the pigtailed boy. Besides, he was here to challenge her, and she fully intended to send him home in defeat, along with her telephone number.

Anthy glimpsed a familiar face exiting the vehicle, with a Mobius Institute pin on his collar that was identical to her own, and she was pleased to see her old senpai. She somehow managed to smile even brighter.

The two groups spent several moments eyeing each other, and Kodachi was oddly reminded of two rival gangs sizing each other up before engaging in a battle over turf. It was a disconcerting thought, and she felt Sukeban-Kodachi briefly rise within her before subsiding once again.

The two headmasters broke the brief impasse, stepping forward to meet each other between the two groups. They bowed to each other.

"Thank you for agreeing to a rematch," said Fuyutsuki sincerely.

"Your boy is a glutton for punishment." Fuji had a slight twinkle in his eye. "I've had Utena in intensive training this week, just in case. She'll put him down even faster than she did before."

Fuyutsuki's gaze narrowed, ever so slightly. "We shall see. Won't we, old friend?"

"Yes," said Fuji as he turned back briefly and gave a fond glance at Utena. He turned back. "Yes, we will."

The two groups approached each other, intermixing as introductions were exchanged. Miki immediately stepped over to greet Kodachi and talk with her, earning him Ranma's attention. An unpleasant feeling came over the pigtailed boy as he watched her smiling at the other boy's words, and he resisted an unexpected urge to push himself between them. A similar emotional response came over him when Touga came over to Nabiki, like an ache in his chest. He couldn't be jealous, could he? But, how did the two girls know these guys? And the two Ohtori cadets were much too suave and self-assured for Ranma's liking, reminding him of his own weaknesses when it came to dealing with girls. And what was that one jerk doing to Nabiki?

"Hello, Saotome-kun," said a female voice.

Ranma's head whipped around to see who had spoken to him, after having just watched Touga take Nabiki's hand and brush his lips against her knuckles. He saw Utena standing there in front of him, her blue eyes bright as she smiled at him, her long, pink hair flowing softly in the breeze. Seeing her, Ranma realized that he could play the same game that his female companions were. He smiled back at Utena and bowed in greeting.

"Hello, Tenjou-san," he said pleasantly, but the tone of his voice belied the formality of his greeting.

Nabiki and Kodachi both heard Ranma's voice speaking another girl's name with subtle fondness, and they were briefly distracted from their own conversations.

Fighting down the sudden hurt welling up inside her at her fiancé's actions by taking Miki by the arm, Kodachi tried to use the subtle play of pleasant sensations his nearness to her generated to drown out the ache in her heart. How dare Ranma Saotome act so friendly with that wretched tramp? That pink-haired harridan was to be his opponent, not his date to a social event! She would show him!

"Will you be my escort to where the match is being held, Kaoru-kun?" she asked coquettishly. She resisted an urge to stick her tongue out at Ranma and the vile creature he was with. That would not have been ladylike.

Nabiki's thoughts were running in similar patterns, as she gazed at the smiling girl standing near her fiancé. Her insides churned with hurt and anger, but she held any sign of her true feelings from her face with the consummate skills of an actress. Instead, she offered Touga her arm and asked with a smile, "Interested in escorting me, Kiryuu-san?"

Both girls swept by Ranma without looking at him, leaving him standing with Utena and a smirking Juri, who had been enjoying the show. Anthy and Kyosuke had already left, the two Institute cadets having departed without being noticed.

"Your friends?" asked Utena, eyeing the two girls who had just gone by her. There was something about them that struck a dissonant chord deep within her.

"Something like that," he muttered, wondering why he felt as he did. Neither girl was his fiancée, so why did he feel so possessive of them? His feelings towards his two classmates confused him, especially when he was standing here with a pretty girl like Utena. "Uh, how've you been?"

Utena could tell that Ranma seemed nervous, and it helped ease her own sudden case of shyness. He was different from the boys at Ohtori, with thoughtfulness about him that reminded her of Miki's gentle nature, but also a strength that was appealing. "I'm well, Saotome-kun."

Juri pursed her lips slightly to keep from breaking out into laughter. This Ranma fellow was an amusing sort, and so typical in many ways of others of his gender. She turned and followed the foursome that had just left, shaking her head at the shy duo behind her.

Fuji and Fuyutsuki watched the duo talking with interest. They stood far enough away to prevent their presence from interfering, but near enough to observe and comment quietly with each other.

"Fascinating," murmured Fuji, watching the two children out of the corner of his eye.

"You had something like this in mind from the beginning," replied Fuyutsuki in quiet tones. "Seeing how two of the strongest Alphas would interact, if they were of opposite genders."

Fuji continued to subtly watch the couple. "Yes. Quite interesting, isn't it? And think of the children they could produce with each other."

"I think Nabiki and some of the other girls in my group might object to that notion," commented Fuyutsuki dryly. He had not missed the dark looks that Nabiki had given the Tenjou girl.

From the concealment of a nearby shadow, Ukyo watched Utena and Ranma together. Her teeth ground together as she saw the pink-haired floozy take him in hand and lead the pigtailed boy inside, acting far too familiarly with him for the ninja's tastes. The two older men followed in after the couple, and she snuck in right behind them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The elevator bell dinged when the car reached the top floor, and the doors opened. Ranma turned around at the sound, having spent the brief ride watching the ground drop away beneath him, the tinted glass of the elevator's exterior wall giving an impressive view. He walked out with Utena at his side.

Releasing her hold on the bottom of the elevator car, Ukyo swung her body to a nearby handhold. Over ten stories of empty space yawned beneath her as she clung to the wall. She glanced down between her feet and briefly marveled at the height, feeling a thrill as she flirted with death. But she was here to watch over her fiancé, not sightsee, so she reached up, grasped a firm handhold on one of the rose sculptures, and hauled herself upwards.

"This is a special place, Saotome-kun," said Utena as she tugged on Ranma's arm. "I just know we'll have a thrilling match here."

His gaze swept the room, located in the highest tower on the campus, and he was impressed. Circular in design, the room was large and clear of obstacles, ideal for a straight-up fight. Very detailed sculptures of stone roses ran the entire length of the chamber, where the walls and ceilings merged. Large windows on one side were designed to let in the morning sun, but shadows were already beginning to deepen in corners since the sun was now on the opposite side of the tower. It gave the room an ominous air that startled Ranma.

However, perhaps the foreboding feeling was due to the two young women who were gazing at him with matching expressions as he emerged from the elevator. Both Nabiki and Kodachi had paused in their conversations with their escorts, and the not-quite-glaring look in their eyes made him feel a little nervous. But, a moment later, they relented and returned their attentions to the two Ohtori cadets, presenting their impromptu escorts with fresh smiles on their faces that somehow made Ranma feel even worse than dealing with the iciest glares they could have offered him.

"There is a small changing room over there, Saotome-san," Fuji said as he pointed to one of the shadowed corners. "Utena, you might as well begin warming up while he changes."

She nodded, the smile gone from her face as it assumed a more serious expression. She removed her jacket, revealing a plain white T-shirt beneath that did very little to hide her lithely feminine frame. The form-fitting red shorts she normally wore as part of her uniform showed off her coltish legs to good effect.

Both Kodachi and Nabiki sized up the competition out of the corner of their eyes, without missing a beat in their conversations, and they were both a bit dismayed. While slender, Utena's body was rounded in all the right places to catch a boy's fancy, and athletically muscled beneath her curves. That she was also a powerful fighter in her own right was not forgotten by either girl.

Ukyo had managed to work her way around the outside of the tower until she finally found a vantage point that would allow her to see inside. She lifted her body up by her fingers as she felt around for a firm toehold, the muscles in her shoulders straining only slightly. Her great-grandfather had made her climb cliffs with her pack completely filled with rocks, so this was nothing.

Having secured a toehold, she raised herself up to peek in through a lower corner of the window, pressing her face against the glass to see. She studied Utena going through a kata out in the middle of the floor, and she saw the other two girls who had come with Ranma standing with some cadets from Ohtori. She also saw the redheaded bitch who had tried to kill her. She owed that one some serious payback in the near future, ninja style.

Kyosuke stood next to Anthy, the two of them conversing with each other mentally. Luckily, Anthy had a small measure of telepathy, otherwise they would have been forced to talk like mute-minded normals.

Anthy, I'm going to be watching over you during the match, he told her telepathically. You know that Institute regulations forbid the use of the Power to interfere in such things.

Yes, Kasuga-senpai, Anthy thought back solemnly. She looked a bit downcast.

Cheer up, Anthy-chan, Kyosuke thought. I'm sure it was just an accident, but the Institute does have a reputation to uphold. Here, link your Power to mine, he thought as he held out a hand. That should prevent any accidental usages while I'm monitoring you.

Anthy took Kyosuke's hand, and there was a brief, faint glow of light that surrounded them both as his Power synchronized with hers. He was a bit in awe as he felt the level of Power within the girl. There was a faint echo of her thoughts resonating in his mind, as she also felt his in hers. It was a level of intimacy that he regretted being unable to share with Yohko, but it was also a honeyed trap. The Institute had stories of telepaths losing their individualities forever in the bliss of melded Power. Luckily, with Anthy's own telepathic abilities being almost as weak as his own, they would not be able to maintain the merge for long enough to be dangerous, but it should last a sufficient time to ensure that the fight between Ranma and Utena was honest.

Emerging from the changing room after a handful of minutes, Ranma was now dressed in his fighting clothes, a red Chinese-style shirt and black gi pants. He saw Utena still warming up, and his gaze fell to study her backside of its own accord. A slight smile appeared on his face.

He's a dead man when we get home, Nabiki swore in her thoughts. That other Ranma never gave her analog such troubles. He was a loyal and true fiancé, not a philandering jerk like this one. Her right hand closed tightly into a fist at her side as she felt a soft ache form in her chest. After she defeated him, she would lay down the law as to how things were going to be from now on. He was her fiancé, and it was past time that she let him in on that little secret.

Kodachi frowned at the sight of her Saotome-kun eyeing the man-stealing hussy, but it only further firmed her resolve to win his heart. She glanced at the boy standing next to her, and a flash of memory unexpectedly assailed her, of Sukeban-Kodachi being played like an instrument of intimate pleasures by another Miki Kaoru. She quivered for a brief moment as she regained control of herself. He was just a friend. Yes, she had to keep telling herself that.

Ukyo almost lost her grip on the wall when Ranma began warming up, an unexpected heat rising to her cheeks as she watched him stretch out. She pressed her face tighter to the glass, grateful that no one was standing in front of her chosen vantage point. She smiled as she watched her fiancé limber up, rooting for him in her thoughts, as she studied every move he made intently.

"Let us begin, you two," said Fuji. He stepped to the center of the room, Ranma and Utena on either side. "You know the rules. No time limit and no breaks. This continues until one of you is knocked unconscious or is unable to keep fighting. Understood?"

"Yes," the pair said, almost as one voice.

Fuji stepped back, and the match began.

Ranma allowed Utena to go on the offensive first, testing the strengths of her technique against his defenses. He saw her immediately take him up on the unspoken invitation, launching a probing attack with her bokken at his front and sides. He watched her search for the slightest weaknesses as they almost flirted with each other. Both of them wore serious expressions, but there was a hint of something else behind both their gazes.

"What is he waiting for?" Nabiki muttered. "He's holding back."

Touga briefly glanced at Nabiki, her words registering on his awareness. He was following the contest going on between the pigtailed boy and Utena with interest, but it was not fully distracting him from the presence of his charming companion. There was something about the girl that called to him, a strength of mind and will within her that was very appealing. He would have her for his own.

Utena had noticed Ranma's diffidence. She hissed, "What's the matter with you? I know you can show me more of a challenge than this."

"If you insist," he said with a sudden smile, his posture changing. He launched into a broken-rhythmed sequence of high and low attacks, pummeling away at her defenses in a manner that left breathless more than one girl watching him.

"Whoa," breathed Ukyo, her face almost plastered to the window as she watched her fiancé cut loose in an acrobatic display of grace and strength that she had never seen a martial artist perform before. He was incredible, almost hypnotic to watch. She licked suddenly dry lips.

Nabiki blinked at the sight of Ranma's prowess, and she was astonished at how much he had improved in a single week. Once she defeated him, she could tell that holding her edge would require dedicated training on her part. But she would not have had it any other way. A warrior's skills were measured against the level of her opposition, and the pigtailed boy was looking to be growing into quite an excellent opponent. She now looked forward to her next match with him even more.

Watching the struggle building between Ranma and Utena with great interest, Juri judged the two fighters almost evenly-matched in skill. This was art made from bodily motion, a dance of combat that stirred her soul to witness. She felt honored at being present, and she looked forward to her next bout with Utena, to see what new challenges the pink-haired girl would offer her then.

As the battle raged towards a climax, Kyosuke suddenly felt Anthy's Power trigger within her, launching it into the fray. He immediately responded, deflecting the telekinetic grab away from Ranma without either fighter being aware of it. He grappled with her mentally as their telekinetic abilities clashed and struggled. She was unbelievably powerful, but luckily her Power was not being used by her conscious mind.

Standing as they were at the back of the group, no one else noticed when faint streamers of Power spread out and dissipated into the marble walls as their abilities battled. Kyosuke nearly lost control of her several times, and he let out a breath he had been unconsciously holding when he felt her Power finally subside like a tide going out. He had averted a potential crisis, and he knew his grandfather would be proud of him.

Miki glanced at his stopwatch, still running after over twenty minutes of intensive combat, and he was amazed. Utena had never had to fight this long against anyone before. He lowered his arm and returned his gaze to the match, after looking briefly at his lovely companion.

The two combatants broke apart, both of them breathing heavily now. A thin trail of sweat ran down one side of Utena's face, dampening her hair. The two of them circled each other warily as they briefly catalogued their injuries. This was a far different fight than the last one.

Fuji was growing concerned. He had seen Utena trade a multitude of blows with Ranma, and he could tell that she was tiring from her injuries faster than the boy was. The difference was miniscule, as Utena had dealt out just as much punishment as she received, but a battle such as this could end on a single blow.

Fuyutsuki was pleased. Despite suffering a number of hard strikes from both Utena's bokken and her kicks, Ranma appeared to be slowly gaining the upper hand. He nudged his friend.

"It doesn't look good for young Tenjou-san," he said solemnly, trying not to sound like he was gloating.

"It's not over yet." Fuji winced as the two young fighters engaged each other in a devastating exchange, leaving both looking much worse for wear when it was over.

"Ouch," muttered Nabiki, noting that the pigtailed boy must have bruised a rib or two from the way he was moving. Utena was proving to be a skilled fighter, but Nabiki didn't like the way she was looking at Ranma.

Utena sucked in a breath through her mouth, trying to appear less injured than she was. She was coming to the end of her bag of tricks, and her opponent had managed to counter everything so far. But a smile lit her face, one returned by him.

"One last dance?" said Ranma teasingly. This had been fun, but it was time to bring it to a conclusion. His body hurt a lot, but he could still function. He began moving in on his adversary.

"I'll lead," replied Utena with a wolfish grin. They rushed at each other, and both of them took to the air in a leap.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's very unbecoming for a scientist to gloat."

"Sorry. But it was an excellent match, old friend. Both of them fought with inspiration."

"Yes, they did. We'll have to do this again sometime soon. Perhaps for higher stakes next time, and broadening the competition? After all, we both have the makings of a good team this year for the Imperial Youth Games in the fall."

"An intriguing notion."

"Yes."

The two headmasters turned to look at their charges, watching the two groups saying farewell to each other. Now that the fight was over, it was time to return home. A bandaged Ranma and Utena stood off to one side of the group together, both of them looking like refugees from a war somewhere. Fuyutsuki noted that both Kodachi and Nabiki seemed to be rather tense, both girls keeping a rather possessive eye on the pigtailed boy.

"I guess this is goodbye again," said Utena with a smile, putting her hand behind her head and chuckling nervously.

"Yeah." Ranma grinned back, unsure what he should say. "Uh, you did pretty well today."

Utena's cheerful look faltered a little. "Yeah, but I still lost." Her smile regained its luster, and she stepped a half pace closer to Ranma. "You're a good fighter, Saotome-kun. It was fun."

Now it was Ranma's turn to chuckle nervously. "Uh, heh. Well, maybe we could do it again sometime. Or maybe something else other than a fight."

"I might take you up on that," replied Utena, feeling her heart soar in her chest. She noticed the two girls who came with Ranma were now giving her unfriendly looks. She purposely ignored them.

Nabiki stepped up next to Ranma, subtly nudging him backwards to put a little space between him and Utena. "We should get going, Ranma-kun. It's a long ride home."

"Yes, Saotome-kun," agreed Kodachi, taking up a mirroring position to Nabiki's. "We should leave now."

"But I was just-"

The two girls ignored his protests, each of them taking firm hold of one of his arms and half-dragging him to the car.

Touga watched the newest object of his affections depart with a neutral look. He idly fingered the slip of paper in his pants pocket, Nabiki's telephone number. It was obvious that Ranma did not realize what a precious gem he had in her, and he felt it was his duty to show the other boy the folly of his ways. Yes, it promised to be a most interesting diversion.

Miki was less amused as he watched Kodachi depart with the brutish Ranma. He thrust his hands into his pockets as he saw Kodachi demean herself so, all because of the Saotome boy. It was obvious to him what he had to do. Sweet and innocent Kodachi needed to be rescued from her infatuation with someone so utterly unworthy of her affections. And Miki Kaoru was just the man to do it, he vowed silently.

As the two girls dragged Ranma off, Utena glared at the pair. If she had not already sustained numerous injuries, she would have been quite happy to teach those two proper manners. The poor guy was obviously too much of a gentleman to resist being bullied by the duo. He needed a girlfriend who could watch out for his interests, and also keep bullies like Nabiki and Kodachi in line. Besides, the pair had as much as slapped her in the face with a declaration of war, so war was what they were going to get.

Off in the shadows, Ukyo studied the situation with dismay. It was obvious to her that Utena was only one threat to her own future happiness. Those other two city-bred girls would have to be dealt with as well. But she was not overly concerned. She would deal with them soon enough, as only a ninja of her abilities could do.

Forgotten in the midst of the melodrama taking place around Ranma, Anthy and Kyosuke said their telepathic good-byes in peace.

Thank you for coming to visit me, Kasuga-senpai, projected Anthy with a shy smile. And I'm grateful to you for helping me keep my promise to Utena-san.

The Esper boy smiled back and mentally replied, I'm glad that I could help, Anthy-chan. But you might want to take a couple of days off and return to the Institute for some more lessons in control.

Yes, Kasuga-senpai, she projected docilely. That's good advice.

He looked at the two girls who were all but stuffing Ranma into the car and winced slightly in sympathy. He turned back to face Anthy. Well, it looks like the others are about ready to go, he thought. Take care of yourself, Anthy-chan. Remember, you represent the Mobius Institute to these people.

Yes, Kasuga-senpai, she replied mentally. Farewell.

With a last smile at the girl, Kyosuke turned and walked to the car. He watched in amusement as the two young women ganged up on Ranma in a united effort. He was glad that Yohko was the only girl in his life, although he still wanted to help Madoka get free of the biker gang she was in. That was no life for a teenaged girl. She just needed a friend who could help her through the transition. It should be easy enough to do.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The afternoon sun painted a rosy glow on the walls of the Saginomiya's private dojo. Within, Asuka, proud daughter of that line was training in solitude, a singular desire within her driving her ever onward in her efforts. Almost like a living thing, the ribbon held in her hands snapped out to encircle the neck of a training dummy. Without breaking its tension, her other hand snatched up a razor-sharp hoop of metal and launched it at the target, promptly severing the head cleanly from the shoulders. A number of such grim effigies were strewn about the hall, and she visualized each one destroyed bringing her one step closer to her final goal.

"Oh, how you will pay for the many indignities I have suffered at your hands, Kodachi Kuno," Asuka muttered. Angry tears clouded her vision for a moment, but she continued lashing out with her ribbon in a staccato pattern. If she had fought using the deadly skills of her chosen art, rather than bare hands like her brutish foe, then the Kuno bitch would never have defeated her. That had been her mistake. After all, was she not the undefeated champion of rhythmic gymnastics and captain of Blackhall's team? She should never have descended to her adversary's level like some back alley brawler.

The blonde continued her tirade by saying, "I swear I shall repay you a hundred, no, a thousand-fold for my humiliation. I live for the day that I will see you kneeling before me, begging for mercy." A cruel smile crossed her lips as she slashed rents into yet another training dummy with the long ribbon in her hand.

The afternoon sun continued to shine outside, but one could almost hear a distant riff of thunder. Asuka neither noticed nor cared, continuing to rage at the injustices of her life. To think that she, the beautiful daughter of an illustrious warrior heritage such as the Saginomiya's possessed could be beaten by a cow like the Kuno girl. It was inconceivable. It was unfair.

"I swear to the gods that I will have my vengeance upon you, Kodachi!"

"A mighty vow," observed a dry voice from behind Asuka.

She spun around, bringing her ribbon up to a guarding position, her chest heaving slightly from her efforts. Trails of sweat ran down the back of her neck and between her breasts, even as she growled at the unexpected interruption. Her gaze narrowed.

Standing before her a short distance away was a tall man, wearing a dark brown cloak with a deep hood, the shadows hiding much of his face. His clothing was simple yet sturdy, the garb of a farmer, or perhaps a monk. Well-worn boots protected his feet. He carried no weapon save for a simple staff of wood, metal-shod at both ends. One end rested lightly against the ground.

"I mean you no harm," said the figure with a slight bow. "I simply could not help overhearing your words. You might say they struck a chord within me."

Asuka did not move, uncertain what to make of the stranger before her. She suddenly felt a little foolish, but that brought her anger back up full force again. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Forgive me," said the figure, his lips curling into a half-smile below what was concealed by the shadows of his hood. "My name is Nanashi."

Asuka frowned. No name? That was his name?

"You are on private property, peasant," said Asuka coldly. "I suggest you leave now before I summon the house guards and have them throw you out."

"There's no need for that." Nanashi was calm as he stepped towards her. "You see, I can help you reach your goal. I sympathize with it."

There was something about his manner, supreme confidence that bordered on arrogance, and something more, that caused her to hesitate. She knew that a single shout from her would quickly bring a dozen armed men to her aid, so she let the stranger continue to approach her because his words intrigued her. As he did so, she saw him reach up and casually flip back his hood, revealing handsome features beneath.

He was young, perhaps eighteen at the most, with a short mane of black hair that flowed down to halt above his shoulders. He was a foreigner, his skin lightly-bronzed, his face having Caucasian aspects, and he was large of build without being ungainly. Yet he spoke Japanese with a modest accent that she could not place. Almost despite herself, she was captivated. There was just something about him, an almost palpable presence that she had felt in the vicinity of few other men. His profile carried with it a sense of nobility, and the hawk-like clarity of the gaze in his clear blue eyes was electric.

"How did you get in here?" she demanded.

"I have my ways, Saginomiya-sama." Nanashi stopped a short distance from her. "I would offer you my services. I think they might prove useful to you."

Asuka blinked, shifting her position slightly. She willed herself to continue to meet his gaze, refusing to lower it from his face like some vapid girl. "And just what sort of services are those?"

"I am knowledgeable in the martial arts," he said calmly. "I can improve your skills manyfold."

"And what do you ask for in return?" Asuka dropped her arms a little, but she remained wary of any tricks. After all, she trusted no one in this life, not since her mother's death.

"An exchange of favors," he replied, capturing her gaze with his once more. "I will help you with your vengeance, and you can help me with mine. I can sense great strength within you, My Lady."

"How do I know your teachings are worth my time?"

Nanashi smiled. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order." He flipped his staff back and released it from his grasp, the length of hardened wood landing upright against the wall without rebound. He then placed his hands together for a moment, as if in prayer. "You may attack me, if you so choose."

Grinning wolfishly, Asuka launched herself into an attack. Her ribbon slashed for his face, but the attack was almost casually dodged. She reacted in a single instant, swiftly whipping her body around in an upthrusting kick.

"Speed, strength, and adaptability are all necessary aspects of a capable martial artist," explained Nanashi as he dodged aside from her blows. He did not change the pacing of his words as she continued to attack him with even greater fury, frustrating her as he dodged and evaded every attack with apparent ease. "I can improve your abilities in all of these areas, Saginomiya-sama. I can also offer you much more."

When she did not reply and simply kept attacking him, he slipped a swift palm strike past her defenses. The blow struck hard against the young noblewoman's chest, landing high on her ribcage, and the heir to the Saginomiya name was utterly shocked to feel her heart abruptly stop. Asuka staggered back, dropping her ribbon, her body convinced that she was already dead. Feeling sheer panic rising within her, she tried to breathe, but could not draw any air into her lungs.

"I can offer you the means for your revenge," Nanashi said gently as she struggled. "I too know what it is like to suffer ignoble humiliation at the hands of another."

Surging forward suddenly, he struck another blow to her chest, this strike landing just to the right of where his first blow had impacted. She dropped to her knees, still trying to catch a breath, even as her heart lurched back to life. She fell forward, almost onto her face, grateful to experience breathing once again. She stayed in that position for several moments, sucking in life-giving air as she heard the stranger step away from her to retrieve his staff.

"W-wait," said Asuka, raising herself to a kneeling position. Her voice sounded horribly weak to her ears. She saw him turn to face her, his hood lifted to cover his head once more. "What did you do to me?"

"A killing technique that I might someday instruct you in," he answered simply. "If you are interested in learning from me, that is."

Such power, Asuka thought with a cold smile. Power enough to defeat Kodachi Kuno where she stood, to destroy her utterly, the next time they faced each other. The young noblewoman managed to force herself to stand upright, facing the man with no name. She coughed briefly as her body dealt with the last remnants of shock.

"I would hear more of this, Nanashi-san," she said with a wolfish gleam in her eyes.

"Excellent, Saginomiya-sama." Nanashi spoke with a half-smile upon his face. "I will teach you as much as you are strong enough to bear."

Asuka smiled. If the stranger possessed such powerful techniques that a single blow could kill a human being where they stood, what else could his teachings hold for her?

"Then instruct me, Nanashi-sensei," she said pleasantly, kneeling before him and looking upwards. "Let me become your apprentice, so that I may have my revenge against my enemy."

"Of course, Saginomiya-sama." Nanashi gave her a slight bow. "It will be my honor to forge your skills into a lethal weapon against all who would dare stand opposed to you."

Asuka smiled a cold, evil smile. She had no thought as to why this mysterious stranger would suddenly appear and be willing to train her, but she was pleased that he had. Her previous plans for hurting her enemy would have to be revised, she mused. She might still seduce Kodachi's lover away from her anyway. Despite his being of the lower classes of the nobility, there was something undeniably attractive about him. At least enough for some fun in her bedchamber.

"But, before we begin," said Nanashi suddenly, "perhaps you might do me the honor of requesting whoever it is observing us to reveal himself."

"What?" Asuka blurted out. "Who dares to spy on an innocent young girl without her consent or knowledge?"

"Somehow, I don't think that innocent is a description that applies to either of us, my dear Asuka," said a male voice. Stepping into the doorway came Mikado Sanzenin. He smiled at her and leaned against the frame. "Do you?"

Asuka glared at the intruder and growled. "Sanzenin, you vile pervert."

"Does your offer of instruction apply to others, Nanashi-san?" asked Mikado, ignoring a furious Asuka for the moment. Teasing her was a game he enjoyed playing. Up close, he sensed the mysterious, older boy's power. This was not someone to be trifled with, but he could not resist an opportunity to learn more of what he offered. Knowledge was its own weapon.

Nanashi quirked his lips into a smile, and replied, "If the student intrigues me enough."

"Then I submit myself as a prospective pupil," said Mikado with a flash of a grin at Asuka. "I have a score of my own to settle with someone."

Asuka's glare increased in its intensity, and she growled dangerously, enunciating each word as she spoke. "How. Dare. You. Do. This."

"I am Mikado Sanzenin," the boy replied with a roguish smile. "I dare many things." He walked over to stand near the fuming girl. "Besides, it might be fun." He smiled more broadly when he came to within a few feet of the athletic blonde's proximity, feeling that odd tingling of excitement that few other girls had ever made him feel. His true love, Kodachi Kuno, was one, and then there was also that lovely commoner girl, Nabiki Tendo. Asuka was the third he knew of, and he so enjoyed taunting her.

"Lowlife, pleasure-seeking scum," she growled out. "You have no idea how much I utterly despise you." She fought down the sensations within her. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he was getting to her.

"Ah, Asuka-chan, my sweet." Mikado chuckled. "I would think that you would welcome my aid in this, in case you run into difficulties." He stepped a little closer to her and allowed his gaze to briefly dip down for a momentary study of her chest. "Besides, think how enjoyable it will be to spend some time together again, you and I."

Her cheeks flushed crimson, but her gaze met his without yielding in the slightest. She continued to growl low in her throat.

"A man never forgets his first time, Asuka-chan." Mikado's voice was soft. "Does a girl?" His hand brushed against her face.

The sound of a slap echoed around the dojo like a rifle shot.

"If you two are quite through," said Nanashi rather dryly, breaking the impromptu tableau that followed Asuka's open-handed strike across Mikado's face. "I accept you as a student, Your Lordship. We will begin tonight."

As an aside to the blonde noblewoman, Mikado said, "My only desire here is for revenge upon that peasant, Ranma Saotome, lovely Asuka-chan. I would also most strongly suggest that you do no permanent damage to Kodachi Kuno, for your sake. However, anything short of that, and I will not interfere with you. Do you understand?"

"OHHOHOHOHO!" she laughed. "Why Mikado-kun, you make it sound as if I plan to kill Kodachi-chan." Her voice was a mockery of sweetness that dipped deeper into venom as she continued to speak. "Why, nothing could be further from the truth. All I desire is to see her humiliated as I was, defeated and broken. Why, I would never seek to do the Kuno girl any permanent damage. What would be the fun in that?"

Mikado frowned, his poise broken for a moment. "Make no mistakes about this, Asuka-chan. This is only an alliance of convenience. Nothing more."

"Of course, Mikado-kun," she replied, all sweetness once more. She quickly elbowed him in the side, hard. While he glared at her, she continued to speak as if nothing had happened. "And please cease to ply me with your roguish charms while I am forced to spend time in your vile presence. I may have yielded to them once, but I am quite immune to them now. Do we understand each other?"

"Of course, Asuka-chan, my sweet." He spoke pleasantly through gritted teeth. "You know well my reputation. After partaking of a beautiful flower once, I do not return to it again. You should know that, my dear White Lily." He smiled coldly at her, each of them holding the other's gaze in a figurative deathgrip, as the two glared at each other for several moments.

Prepare yourself, Ranma Saotome, the Sanzenin boy thought coldly. First, I will shatter your body for the humiliations you have done to me, then I will take that dear girl Nabiki Tendo for a single night of intimate pleasures. Perhaps two, he quickly amended. And then, finally, I will achieve my ultimate goal, and Kodachi Kuno shall be mine.

Just you wait, Kodachi Kuno, thought the White Lily. For I, Asuka Saginomiya, descendant of generations of samurai, will see you humbled before me, begging for my non-existent mercy. This I swear, and no one had better attempt to stop me.

Arising from two throats, the training hall echoed once again with the sounds of laughter. It was a sobering sound.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kyosuke's trip to another world, and the adventures of his counterpart on this one, are detailed in the QD Side-Story "Temporal Thunder."

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	16. Born To Be Wild

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma found himself standing inside the grounds of the Tendo Dojo, its gates shut behind him. As he looked around for a few moments, his ears picked up the sounds of a fierce commotion coming from within the training hall. Curious, he headed towards it, hearing a furious battle going on within the dojo, and he saw indistinct figures flashing back and forth past the opening, engaging each other in brutal hand-to-hand combat. A body was suddenly hurled out with a loud crash through one of the walls, landing almost at his feet in a bruised tangle of limbs.

"H-hey there, bookworm," groaned the familiar-looking figure lying at his feet, another Ranma. The doppelganger got up and dusted himself off, but he eyed the dojo with a hint of nervousness on his features. More brutal combat could be heard in the dojo.

"Hey yourself, tough guy," said the pigtailed scholar with a grin. "So, what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much," said Martial-Ranma. "Excuse me a sec." He charged back inside.

A voice was suddenly heard clearly, a female voice. "Oh, so you're back for more, you macho jerk?" said the mystery girl. Another intense battle was heard for several seconds, to Ranma's continuing puzzlement.

"What the hell is going on in there?" he wondered out loud.

The sounds of combat culminated with a scream of female anger and the sound of a body hitting the dojo's floor. Hard. An eerie silence fell as he crept towards the entrance of the building. Peeking in, he beheld a pair of his doppelgangers busily tying up a familiar-looking girl. Both were wearing the same outfits: red silk shirt and black pants. The girl's mouth was gagged, but her gaze promised much pain to the ones who were binding her. With no noticeable lowering of intensity, her glare found Ranma. He goggled a moment before entering.

"Uh, what's going on?" he asked, not bothering to try and hide his confusion.

"It's nothin' you need to worry about, bookworm," said one of his doppelgangers, quickly slinging the redhead over his shoulder and carrying her away into the house, her muffled screams of rage trailing behind them as they sprinted off with her.

"What the hell?" asked Ranma, stopping suddenly. "This is a weird dream."

A few moments later, from somewhere in the house, there came the firecracker-popping sounds of ropes snapping. A surprised-sounding male voice suddenly shouted, "AHH! She's loose again!" That cry was quickly followed up by the quite distinctive sounds of somebody getting brutally clobbered, and then a pair of figures was blasted through the roof of the house and sent hurtling upwards into the sky. Ranma tracked their trajectory until he lost sight of them against the sun.

"Serves you right, you jerks!" came a shout from within the house. A familiar female figure appeared in one of the windows, looking quite angry. She eyed him for a moment, and then she smiled nastily.

"Damn, she's strong," muttered Ranma, seeing what the redhead had done to his martial artist doppelgangers.

The girl's gaze remained focused on him as she bounded out of the window, heading right towards the pigtailed boy. Ranma had reflexively readied himself for a fight, but she landed just short of him. He and the girl studied each other for a long moment. She suddenly grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and he blinked as she hauled him down to eye level with her.

"Uh, hello?" He saw her studying him more closely.

"I thought so," said the redhead, suddenly releasing her grip on him. "You're him, the moronic, perverted male version of me who jumped into my body, felt it up, and got us all into this mess."

"Ranko?" asked Ranma, surprised to see her.

"Who else?" she replied sourly as she turned away from him for a moment. When she turned back and saw the stunned expression on his face, she rolled her eyes and softly muttered, "Idiot."

"That's right," he agreed without realizing it. He had been rethinking his experiment and his trips. "You were another download."

"Bingo." Ranko got a smug look, pointing at him. "You're cute, but you're also kind of slow on the uptake. Must be from all that testosterone soaking into your brain you have to deal with."

Ranma studied her for a moment, pointedly ignoring her goading remarks, and then asked, "So, why haven't you shown yourself before?"

"Well, duh," she said with a shake of her head, "it's because that microencephalic Neanderthal that you downloaded into your skull has been keeping me suppressed with the help of that philandering actor version of you. Every time you dreamed, you only talked with one of them. I was," she looked down at the ground before casting a quick glance to the side, "elsewhere. The only time we saw each other before this, without either of them butting in, was when you were having that perverted dream." A memory bubble of the scene suddenly appeared in the air nearby, showing him passionately kissing with a girl that seemed to be a composite of the girls he knew, her voice and hair color constantly shifting as he held her in his arms. Both Ranma and Ranko reddened at the sight, and her cheeks blushed even redder when the girl briefly looked and sounded like her.

"Er, anyway," she said quickly, recovering first. "The cursed one of them has been keeping me locked away in your subconscious, like he's scared of me or something. I don't know what his mental malfunction is, but I'm not going to be bullied by any guy." She paused in her tirade to glare at him with ice in her eyes. "You got any problem with that?"

"Uh, no. No problem," said Ranma very quickly, waving his hands in negation. "It's just a surprise seeing you."

"Well, get used to it," she huffed. "Since it looks like we're stuck with each other, likely for good."

"Yay." Ranma's tone was rather sarcastic, earning him another dark look from her lighter blue eyes.

"I still haven't worked out all my frustrations, you know," she said rather menacingly. She made a show of cracking her knuckles. "Care to help me out with that?"

"Not right now." He briefly studied his female analog. She looked exactly like the cursed form of the other Ranma, especially dressed as she was, although maybe a little taller. Realizing he had been staring, he quickly said, "Uh, I guess maybe we got off on the wrong foot, Ranko. It's just weird, seeing you here like this. I mean, short of getting cursed like that other version of me did, I think I'm getting a little too much in touch with my feminine side."

"Well, how the hell do you think I feel?" she retorted huffily. She briefly waved her arms around, like his real father sometimes did whenever he was lecturing. "This isn't even my brain. I'm just some kind of mnemonic ghost of the real me, a copy you made of her memories and personality, just like you did with those macho jerks. But you don't seem to mind having them around, oh no. Instead, I'm the one that gets treated like some kind of a pariah by this fusion of a psyche we're all sharing."

Ranma wasn't sure what to say, so he acted on impulse and held out a hand. Ranko looked at him suspiciously.

"I'm sorry for what's happened." He smiled hesitantly. "Can we start over and try to be friends? Like you said, we're going to be together for, uh, for a long time, I guess."

Ranko continued to gaze suspiciously at this male version of herself for several moments as she thought it over. The scientist within her was quite curious to talk with him. After all, this 'Ranma' was her male reflection in a quantum mirror, and she had to admit that his resonator invention was a fascinating concept. After a few brief moments spent considering the matter, she suddenly reached out and took his hand.

"Okay." She even gave him a tentative smile as they shook hands. Up close to Ranma, she spent some time studying him, noting he was several centimeters taller than she was. She also noticed that he was studying her as intently as she had been studying him, and her eyes narrowed. "It's rude to stare."

He blinked, and he said defensively, "You were doing it too."

"I was not!" She quickly yanked her hand from his grasp and turned away. Behind her back, she heard him muttering something under his breath, and she whirled back to face him.

"I AM NOT A TOMBOY!" she shouted. She swiftly marched up to him and punctuated her words with her finger poking him in the chest. "Take. That. Back."

"Make me," he said, with a sudden, taunting smirk.

Annoyed by the look on his face, she attacked with a lightning-fast punch, knocking him to the ground. She followed it up with an axe kick, bringing her heel down hard, but he was already rolling away and back to his feet, a moment before it impacted where his ribcage would have been. But she was faster than he expected, already leaping at him with a flying dragon kick.

Ranma blocked the kick, setting her up for a grappling hold. They wrestled intensely for a bit, rolling around on the ground as each of them struggled to subdue the other. Their battle alternated between being playful and serious, but it finally ended when he managed to pin her. She briefly struggled some more, but finally yielded when she could not budge his hold. Both of them were panting now, their eyes bright as they studied each other again.

"That was fun," Ranko admitted with a sudden grin.

He grinned back. "Yeah, it was."

The redhead's face became more serious as she suddenly felt nervous at being held down by him like this. She glared at him suspiciously. "You aren't getting any perverted ideas, are you?"

"Sorry!" he yelped, getting off her in a flash. He stood slightly turned away from her in a very suspicious looking half-crouch. "No, not me." He quickly reiterated, "No perverted thoughts here!"

"Take it easy, dummy," she said, getting up and dusting herself off. Her expression shifted back to a grin. "I was just teasing you."

The pigtailed scholar turned back to face her, put his hand behind his head and chuckled for a moment, before he quickly said, "Uh, reflex action, I guess. From that other analog."

"Well, at least I know one of your weaknesses now," she said with an impudent look. The redhead came up and gave him a friendly punch to the arm. "Just watch it with the tomboy remarks, okay? No self-respecting girl would put up with being called that, especially me. And you sound like Kaneda-baka when you do that. Do it again, and I'll have to kick your ass all around this dreamscape." She grinned playfully. "After all, you shouldn't talk that way about your sister."

"Sister, eh?" he asked, realizing that it made an odd sort of sense to think of her as that.

"Make that older sister," corrected a still-grinning Ranko. "After all, my birthday is three days before yours. So listen to your older sister at all times, and we'll get along fine."

He snorted. Ranma wondered if either Nabiki or Kodachi had these sorts of weird dreams. He would have to ask them sometime.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them:

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Kenseiko's battle with Nodoka ended in victory for the noblewoman, resurrecting a twenty-year old rivalry. Akane was easily defeated by Sakura when the other girl revealed a special technique. And Ranma emerged victorious in his own battle with Utena, but complications to his life have begun brewing. Finally, Ryoga Hibiki's encounter in the mountains during his quest for a certain ninja brings him closer to his portion of destiny.

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Chapter 16 - Born To Be Wild

The wildest colts make the best horses.

- Plutarch

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Happosai silently dropped down on the wall surrounding the Tendo Dojo. It was oddly quiet, and that was a surprise. Usually, by this time of the morning, at least two people could be counted on to be training, that cutie-pie, Shampoo, and his wretched ingrate of an apprentice, Ranma. He scanned the grounds again. Something felt very different about this place. Even though he wasn't staying here, he still checked on it now and then, but it had been a number of days since he was last by.

The ancient (but far from revered) Master of the Anything-Goes School bounded across the distance separating him from the house. He grinned in anticipation of sneaking a long peek at a sleeping Shampoo, or maybe even a lingering ogle of the delectable female Ranma. His feet touched down on the roof, and he swung down to peer into Shampoo's room.

It was empty.

Puzzled, he scrambled across the roof and peered into Ranma and Genma's room, but it was empty as well. He frowned and thought about it. All three of them could have been gone on some sort of training trip, but the rooms felt emptier than that, empty with an odd sort of finality to it.

Dropping down off the roof, he landed on the ground with a slight grunt as his legs soaked up the impact. He quietly opened the door to the house and headed down the hall towards Soun's room. He gently slid the door open, slipped inside, and closed it behind him. Then he paused and stared at what lay beyond. For one of the few times in his long life, he was astonished.

Soun had been drinking, apparently heavily. His bedroom was tidy (undoubtedly due to Kasumi's efforts), but the bed and its occupant were far from such a state. The Tendo patriarch clutched an empty bottle of sake to his chest like a lover, muttering in his sleep.

Happosai hopped the length of the room and landed beside Soun's bed, a faint note of concern crossing his features for the very briefest of moments. He rapped once on Soun's skull with the bowl of his pipe, but there was no response, other than the man clutching the bottle a little more tightly, as if he was choking it. He leaned in a little closer to hear better as Soun muttered some more.

"Genma... man-to-man promise," Soun muttered. He grumbled some other things that were unintelligible for several moments. His words then firmed up enough to make out, "used my friendship... left with that freak of a son... Shampoo... Akane-chan will make them pay..." Things continued on for a while like that as Happosai quietly listened and tried to make sense of what had happened.

"Father?" suddenly came Kasumi's voice timidly through the door. "Are you awake? Would you like me to make you some breakfast?" There was a pause for several moments and then came a faint sigh and the muted sound of slippered feet walking away.

"Genma, m'boy, what have you done?" the old man muttered. He absently lit his pipe and thought about all this. It seemed obvious that the future of the Anything-Goes School was in doubt, and that concerned him a bit. Something had happened while he was away to turn this household upside down, and it looked like it was up to him to set things right.

However, first there were fragile, young women that needed comforting as only he could give it. So, with a lecherous grin, he tamped out his pipe and headed out of Soun's bedroom. It was quiet for several long moments and then a feminine scream was heard.

"Oh great, this is all we need," came Nabiki's distinctive voice in response to Kasumi's surprised cry. This was followed up by sounds of someone battering someone else into pulp with something heavy, perhaps an iron skillet. Then, there was a final sound of metal impacting hard against flesh and bone, and a fast-fading cry of pain heading off into the distance.

Several moments of silence passed, then Nabiki's voice dryly continued, "Remind me to never get you mad at me when you're in a kitchen, sis."

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Genma sat at the breakfast table, enjoying a cup of tea as he watched Ranma and Shampoo sparring before the morning meal. Although it was not his real son out there, he felt a measure of fatherly pride well up within him. When he got back home, he would have to get his own body back into better shape, like he had been when he was younger. Working with this one was producing a steady rate of improvement, despite the amount of food that Nodoka kept trying to feed him.

"Pop watching us again," said Shampoo during a lull in the fierce match she was having against Ranma.

"Yeah, I know," replied the pigtailed boy, catching his breath. "I just wish I could figure out what he's up to."

"Shampoo not know. Shampoo not care."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Ranma not like being home?" asked the Amazon. "Ranma not like having Pop working at job? Shampoo think Ranma being too, too suspicious."

He studied the ground intently for a moment before replying, "I can't explain it, Shampoo. It's just such a change. I even checked on him at his job, and it's on the up-and-up. And then there's all those weird books he's been reading, and they ain't about martial arts. Why the hell would my old man be reading up on stuff like that?"

"Pop is acting strange. But is good kind of strange, yes?" She was getting a bit tired of Ranma's suspicions. As far as she could tell, Genma had been acting like a proper father of late, at least as much as she knew what a typical Japanese father was like. And Nodoka looked quite happy, especially lately, most likely a result of the sounds that now emerged every night from the room she shared with her husband.

"I dunno," he muttered. "I just can't shake this weird feeling that I got."

The Amazon shrugged and said, "Shampoo think Ranma brood too much. But it leave you open."

"Huh?" He was taken by surprise by her punch, knocking him to the ground. He rolled back to his feet with a grin. "Oh, so you wanna play? Fine." Launching himself at the Amazon, the pair went after each other with renewed vigor, Ranma's brooding look replaced with a smile.

The Amazon smiled, but whether it was from lifting the pigtailed boy's spirits or the challenge of the fight even she couldn't tell.

Genma watched the pair battling each other. The fatherly smirk was still on his lips as he watched the Amazon force the boy back for a minute or so, but his eyes looked a little bit sad. The homesickness was wearing at him, not to mention the stresses of hiding who he really was. He hoped that his son contacted him again, and soon.

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Shadows dwindled in an alleyway somewhere within Nerima, victims of the morning sunlight spreading itself across Tokyo. It was typical of such places, and looked little different from those in any other major city a person would care to name. A stray newspaper rested against a brick wall. Rats and other vermin scurried about, seeking shelter and food, an urban ecosystem in normal operation.

A light materialized in the midst of the alleyway, well out of sight of the street. It spread outwards from an initial pinprick glow to form into a rippling circle of golden light suspended in mid-air. Objects could still be seen through the effect, but they were distorted, as if seen through a warped piece of glass. The air pressure within the alleyway dipped slightly, as a faint breeze rustled the newspaper and blew it in the direction of the anomaly.

Several moments after it had first appeared, a single human figure was suddenly disgorged from the midst of the rippling distortion, landing with a grunt as it did a quick tuck and roll. Fortunately, there were no human witnesses to this strange arrival. A few seconds later, the anomaly collapsed with a faint sort of sizzling sound.

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A slender, child-like figure, swathed in a gray robe, paused in the midst of her morning meditations, and a brief gasp of bewilderment was heard. The low-hanging cowl of the robe's hood cast a deep shadow that hid much of the figure's face, but the mouth could still be seen. And the lips of that mouth were now twisted into an expression of surprise.

"Another one?" came a puzzled voice from within the hood, youthful in tone.

On innumerable worlds across the cosmos, this slightly-built figure was called the Seer, an individual both blessed and cursed with knowledge of future events. Now, for the third time in her long existence, and without any hint of forewarning, an anomaly had appeared, bringing to life new lines of possibilities previously unknown.

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Quickly standing up from where she had come to rest, the odd visitor was revealed to be a teenaged girl, wearing what appeared to be a stylized version of the Furinkan uniform. Brushing absently at some wayward dirt that had decided to cling to her uniform jacket, she quickly regained her bearings while muttering under her breath. "I wonder where I am this time? If I meet another 'traditional' Ranko Saotome who can only think of making sure her home and cooking will be acceptable for whomever her parents pick as her husband, I think I'll puke."

Glancing around the alleyway, Ranko was glad to see that she was alone. She let out a breath she had been holding, and her stomach rumbled with hunger.

She ignored her body's demands for food for the moment, reaching into her uniform's jacket pocket and pulling out a handheld device. After examining the display briefly, she grunted once and replaced it within her jacket. With a resigned look on her face, she headed out of the alleyway to the nearby street.

The few people on the street barely gave the girl a glance as she scanned the area outside the alleyway she had arrived in. Her eyes quickly zeroed in on a small restaurant opening up for morning business. She fingered the small bundle of yen-notes in one of her pockets, and she prayed that they would be accepted as the local currency. Still, she would wash dishes if she needed to. Many days spent on her lonely journey had taught her to be pragmatic.

Her home seemed like an eternity ago, even though it had been barely three weeks of time. She supposed her parents were frantic for her to return, but each transition seemed to be taking her further and further away from them. A wave of weariness washed over her, and she closed her eyes briefly and leaned back against a nearby wall.

She had been questing for anti-gravity, and the equation she had so painstakingly evolved from her father's work on quantum mechanics had seemed to point at it. She patted the pocket where her 'anti-gravity' device rested. Activating it that first time had produced a field effect that hung suspended in midair, roughly two meters in diameter, rings rippling outward from the center at random intervals.

Caught up in the wonder at what she had created, she had reached out and touched it-

Ranko snapped her eyes back open. A few people on the street were now watching her curiously, her dirty uniform seeming to attract most of their attention. She hurried across the street before anyone tried to speak to her. Perhaps Furinkan did not exist on this version of Earth. Experience had shown her that it was much less trouble if she could blend in, so she ducked into a used clothing store.

She was normally better prepared for a transit, but some unexpected trouble on the last Earth had cost her the small backpack she had acquired a few weeks ago. Luckily, she had managed to hang onto the device, what she now dubbed her quantum tunneler. At least a new world offered new possibilities for finding a way back home. She was not about to lose hope so early in the game, and she would never give up. A Saotome never quit.

A few minutes later, Ranko emerged from the store, dressed in a more comfortable outfit than her uniform had been. She had even lucked into finding a small backpack that she had stuffed her Furinkan uniform into. And the sales clerk had even accepted the yen notes from her small horde of currency without question. That meant she could get a meal and plan out her next move. With a more cheerful look on her face, she started down the street.

She had walked only a few blocks, leisurely spending her time eyeing the various shops, when an unexpected weight suddenly landed on her and clung to her chest. She stood frozen in surprise for a moment.

"Ranma, m'boy!" joyfully shouted Happosai. He nuzzled his face against the fullness of the feminine bounty before him, restoring his battered body to full health, feeling quite content. Now he could find out why Genma had packed up his two favorite cuties and left so suddenly.

Ranko lowered her gaze slowly, a fire kindling within her eyes. She was familiar with this old letch, his name synonymous with a curse on a few of the timeline tangents she had visited during her journeys so far. His appearance both raised questions and answered some. For example, why was he calling her by a boy's name? Did the Genma of this tangent name his daughter Ranma? Either way, it didn't matter. Right now she had a little pervert to pound into paste.

"Happosai," she growled. It would feel good to let off some steam, and she was reasonably certain that the local populace would thank her for it. She launched an attack at the tiny figure. "Get off!"

The diminutive martial arts master (and notorious pervert) evaded the strike, reluctantly detaching himself from the redhead. Still, nothing like a little playtime to work up an appetite for breakfast. He set himself for her next attack, the two of them facing off with grim looks at each other. That attack was not long in coming as the redheaded girl launched herself at him in a furious display of punches and kicks. He could see that the boy had improved his speed since the last time they last played together.

"So where's your father, boy?" asked Happosai, dodging aside from one of Ranko's assaults and sending her spinning into a nearby wall with a jab from his pipe.

Her face had gone slightly numb from the impact against the wall, and she could feel blood trickling from her nose. The little troll was fast! She shook her head to clear it, suddenly smiling quite evilly. The little pervert was in for a little surprise. She felt a familiar buzz rising up from the depths in the back of her brain.

"I don't know where Genma is, Happosai," she said truthfully. She felt the buzz moving through her brain, eliciting little tremors of an almost erotic pleasure within her. "But you should be more worried about me." She felt the buzzing spread out to fill her mind-

-and Ranko boosted.

Happosai blinked in surprise as the redhead came at him even faster and stronger than before. He dodged and parried several punches and kicks, before tossing the girl back into the same wall as he had before for her troubles, although not quite as casually as before. She came right back at him a third time, but her blouse was now parted open from getting hung up on a protruding nail or something. The sight of her ample feminine assets displayed for his gaze distracted him for a couple of moments, and her fist slammed hard into his face with bone-crushing force, dazing him. She then kicked him as hard as she could, launching him into the sky for parts unknown.

The matter of the ancient pervert now dealt with, she let her body fall out of boost. She staggered for a moment in brief weakness as the biochemical stew began to purge from her system, and the redhead leaned against the wall that Happosai had been bouncing her off of. She wiped a slight sheen of perspiration from her brow. She had discovered that particular ability during her travels by accident, along with other things as well.

A cool breeze made itself felt against her semi-bare front, and she grimaced as she closed her blouse back up. The topmost button had come off during the fight, leaving her looking perhaps a little bit daring in her wardrobe, but otherwise acceptable. She shouldered her bag and headed off to get a meal. Things always looked better after a good meal.

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Happosai crashed to the ground, leaving a small impact crater in the solid concrete that had broken his fall. He levered himself up with a grimace, his vision still filled with occasional exploding stars. He hurt, but he would recover. He just needed to find a young lovely to press himself against, and his extensive injuries would heal. Then he was going to find Ranma, the little punk, and show him the wrath of Happosai unleashed. How dare he do this to him?

"Well, well, well," came an unfamiliar voice, and a foot planted itself hard in the small of his back. "This looks like it's my lucky day. I've found you at last, Happosai."

The old man growled as his face was smashed into the shattered concrete. Getting beaten up twice in one morning was quite enough 'fun' for him. He was not about to suffer it a third time. Whoever this was, he was going to be sorry for picking on an old man in his time of misery.

With a grin, Pantyhose Tarou bent down to pick up the object of his quest. He hoisted up the battered form of Happosai and shook him a bit. He grinned even more broadly when the old man opened up one blackened eye and glared at him. People on the street ignored the scene. This was Nerima, after all.

"Now," the Chinese boy said lazily, "you and I have a serious matter to discuss, and I don't think you're in any shape to disagree with my demands."

"I'm not in the mood for this right now, ya little punk," grumbled the old lecher. Then, without another word, he kicked himself free of Tarou's grip and dropped to the ground. "Check back with me a little later, like next month." His eyes then went wide as he saw a young woman bend down across the street to pick up her dropped purse, giving him a nice view. Already forgetting the young man with the odd style of clothing, he started bounding off towards the woman.

Tarou snatched the old pervert out of the air, no longer grinning. How dare this old man ignore him like that? He shook the old man. "I say when you're leaving, and not bef-"

Happosai landed back on the ground as he watched Tarou sail across the street, bouncing once or twice across the asphalt like a stone skipping across a pond. He saw the boy slam into a building across the street, but it was not enough to do more than briefly daze him. He sensed the buildup of a battle aura emerging from the boy within moments. As he watched the Chinese boy stand back up, he took a few moments to get a quick recharge from a young woman standing nearby. Strength flooded into his body, and he felt like a new man.

Quickly charging down the street and across it, Tarou was enraged to see the old pervert ignoring him again to feel up some woman. He shoved people out of his way, trying to get through the crowd. Nothing was going to keep him from his goal. He shoved one last figure aside, a tall man dressed in a robe like some sort of street preacher, who had not gotten out of his way quickly enough.

Continuing on without missing a beat, he did not see the man stumble into the street. Happosai was right there in front of him, and his vision had gone red with rage as he launched a flying kick at the old man. Nothing was going to keep the ancient pervert from his wrath.

The figure in robes picked himself up and stared evilly at the youth who had the audacity to shove him aside, as though he were nothing more than a common man. The boy would pay for that. The figure had to save the majority of his power for the ultimate spell, but he had enough excess to deal with this fool. Eldritch fire burned within him as he cast a spell, ordering, "See nothing!"

Without realizing it, every figure in sight averted their gaze from the man in the robes, finding their interest captivated by anything other than him.

A second spell was cast as black tentacles of pure magic extended from his fingertips, wrapping themselves around the unsuspecting Tarou's limbs and neck, hoisting him above the concrete of the sidewalk and preventing him from gaining any leverage with which to break out.

"Now you-" the figure suddenly paused in his threat as he saw something coming towards him from out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see the grill of a bus no more than a half a foot from his face. There was just enough time for him to realize his mistake in not leaving the street before casting his first spell.

The robed figure had time for only a single, choked-off cry before the bus smashed him to the ground, his form vanishing beneath the wheels of the vehicle. Blood and gore splashed as his bones were crushed to pulp by the mass rolling over him, the pain ending for him when his skull shattered open.

For a moment, the driver thought he felt the bus run over something. But that was ridiculous. He had been paying attention the entire time. He would have noticed if something had been in the road. He had seen nothing there. Nothing at all.

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A multitude of potential futures suddenly screamed out in anguish, and were immediately extinguished.

The Seer sagged slightly in relief as her inner Sight took it all in.

One previously unseen path had now become the true course of history, and what she had once feared would come to pass had been banished. And it had all happened so quickly, it stunned even her. Yet no one but herself should ever know the difference.

Shrugging her shoulders, the Seer continued her meditations. Now that one crisis had been unexpectedly nullified, her attention could turn to other matters. Somehow, elements from outside her awareness had begun appearing in this world recently. The first two anomalies had been relatively mild in their immediate effect, casting out waves of change that were permeating slowly throughout the timeline. But this latest anomaly had interacted with the changes instituted by the first two with far more dramatic results.

She decided to investigate the newest anomaly, wondering what it would bring forth if it remained. It was unprecedented for para-history to affect history like it had been doing lately, and the Seer was somewhat concerned at the potential ramifications. Numerous new pathways were already blossoming outwards from this point, pathways that had not existed before the latest anomaly's appearance. She chose to follow a region of them where this anomaly decided to stay for a while. Her Sight reached out, and she beheld-

The Seer recoiled in shock, a sharp pain suddenly thrusting itself through her brain like a white-hot icepick. She blinked back tears of agony, and almost absently she noticed a wetness beginning to trickle from her nose. She touched it, and her fingers came away marked with crimson fluid. She stared at the spectacle, somewhat in shock, and the sheer novelty of feeling shocked at anything anymore was a surprise in itself. The future had been an open book to her for so long, and now it was as if someone had come along and ripped out the last pages.

Taking a few moments to recover her composure, she daubed away the blood with a strip of cloth torn from her robe, keeping her inner Sight tightly veiled. When she was ready to try again, she began a more delicate and careful probing of that portion of future pathways. A twinge of pain distracted her momentarily, reminding her that she was still mortal enough to feel such things. But she set that aside, slowly roaming her awareness forward on the flows of time. She came to a certain point, somewhat less than a year in the future, and then there was nothing.

The Seer pulled back her Sight in the instant that it came into contact with that terrible void again. She roved across numerous alternate pathways, seeking an incarnation of the future that was free of that absolute nihility. Even if this third anomaly moved onwards soon, which was the likeliest event, other futures retained a slightly unreal quality to them beyond the point she had Seen before. She would not have noticed such a thing ordinarily, as the future always lacked the crispness of the present. It was a slight flickering effect, as if time was uncertain of its own continued existence. But if the anomaly did not go, then every possible future past that decision point ended the same way, cut short as if by a knife.

Para-history was beyond her Sight, a limitation of her awareness, as was her own fate. She could See the future in all its many possible incarnations, but all other possibilities vanished from her ken when one of them became a fixed part of time by becoming the present. She had occasionally wondered if the para-histories continued to evolve, and apparently they did. The notion that an unknown number of timelines were running alongside her own was somewhat awe-inspiring, even for someone as intimately familiar with time as herself.

However, something new was brewing out there beyond her ability to See, something dangerous, and now para-history was beginning to collide with history. In truth, she was a little bit frightened to think that something could happen in some distant form of para-history that could wipe away her own world as well. How did one fight back against such a danger? What could this anomaly, this 'Ranko Saotome', be capable of doing on some other version of Earth that could save or damn the Seer's own?

No answers were forthcoming, so she began examining all the myriad future pathways, seeking them. Even if the girl left this world, there was no guarantee that the future was safe. Something was coming that endangered all worlds, somehow destroying entire universes. And the effect was not quick and merciful; it built up over several weeks. Stars flared and died, and natural laws warped. Sentient beings across the universe panicked as the effect struck everywhere at once, building to a climax. And then there was nothing, an endless void of emptiness where a vibrant, living universe had once been.

Ignoring warning twinges of pain, The Seer began examining those last few seconds of time, magnifying them. There had to be something she could use. Sensing the void inevitably approaching, she slowed down her point of view even more, rendering a moment into something that the human mind could grasp and examine in detail. Then, she finally saw it.

In that last instant of time, the fabric of the universe sundered open, and something from beyond rendered the infinite into nothingness with jarring suddenness. The sheer magnitude of such an act of destruction was almost majestic in its obscenity. With incredible difficulty, she wrenched her Sight away from viewing beyond that last instant, knowing that to look upon what came after it would be like staring the fabled Gorgon full in the eyes.

Upon returning to the present, her physical body having been pushed beyond its endurance, she collapsed to the floor of her chamber, unconscious.

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The air briefly shimmered on the roof of a building near the bloody scene down below on the street, and a tall, feminine figure with long, dark, straight hair dressed in a light blue kimono appeared. A faintly sinister smile lit her face.

Gazing down at the gory remnants on the street, the blood beginning to spread slowly wider on the asphalt as the bus continued on, the woman frowned. It looked like some cleaning up was required. After all, there were children present. All that carnage could traumatize them, and that wasn't acceptable.

She gestured, and the blood and scattered gore vanished, as if it never was. She nodded for a moment in thought, feeling satisfied that another piece of the puzzle she was assembling had been dealt with.

The woman abruptly vanished in another shimmer.

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Ranko set the plate down to join three others and sighed contentedly. She knew from recent experience that the increase in her appetite was a result of using the boost, causing her body to require refueling. It was an annoyance, but it was a relatively small price to pay for having such an ability available for her use. She enjoyed having an edge like that, especially now that she was on her own.

Ranko pulled out a handheld device that somewhat resembled a cellular telephone, checking to see if it was done with its calculations yet. Sometimes it took a while, but it was already done this time. The digital display across the front read '00:00:22:43' as she nodded once.

Originally, it had been designed to create an anti-gravity field, but now she called it a quantum tunneler, an electronic key that opened up gateways to new worlds. The device's timer display and its quantum flux scanning circuits had been added on her third transit when she lucked across another version of her lab space that was set up quite similarly to how it was back home.

Her first two transits had apparently been due to blind luck, since she had later learned that a paratunnel between alternate timelines would only form when the paraequipotential flux was aligned just right. The owner of that other lab had been experimenting with scanning these ambient flux levels as a possible means of communicating with alternate worlds, and the research had proven to be very helpful for her own needs. She had taken the liberty of appropriating samples of the scanning circuitry into her own device, when she realized that the irregular peaks in energy levels were the times when transit was possible.

Since then, she had been struggling to discover how to return home. She determined quite early on that there seemed to be no way to chart a course to a specific tangent, so, for the present, she was left with random jumps between alternate versions of history. It was interesting in many ways, and an adventure unlike any other, to see how different each timeline was. But she missed home. Still, she was certain that someday, somehow, she would find her way back.

Ranko blinked and realized she had been staring at the display while she was lost in thought, the last two digits relentlessly counting down seconds. She carefully tucked it away in a pocket. As far as she knew, there was no particular danger in staying past the timer reaching zero, but she preferred to keep moving, a quirk of wanderlust within her. If she did remain, the device would simply recalculate the next possible transit time, when the quantum flux would align with another random timeline tangent, but that could leave her stranded here for longer than she cared for. Besides, this version of Earth did not appear to offer her any reasons for staying longer.

With only a little over twenty minutes before the next transit window, she knew exactly what she had to do.

"Waitress? I'm ready to pay my bill. And could you direct me to the nearest store that sells camping gear?" She always made a point of picking up some supplies before a jump, just in case.

A short time later, she ducked into a random alleyway. It was almost time to go, and she preferred to remain out of sight when she did a transit. Her small pack was filled with food, a canteen of water, and small essentials she liked to have on her, like matches. She slid the device from her pocket, pointed it at the empty air while the last seconds ticked down to zero, and activated it.

A rippling appeared in the air, as the paratunnel yawned open before her. She took one last look at her surroundings, a world that would take little notice that she had ever passed through, and jumped in. There was a brief flash of light from the distortion, and then she was gone, continuing onwards on her solitary quest for her home.

A few moments later, the anomaly collapsed back into nothingness with a faint sizzling sound.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma blinked his eyes open as the smells of food cooking assailed his nostrils. In response to the delicious aromas arising from the kitchen downstairs, his stomach growled lingeringly. Throwing off the thick comforter, he sat up on his futon and winced slightly as his bruised muscles reminding him of their existence. He stretched, his body protesting a bit at first, but the pains faded.

As he stretched, he glimpsed himself in the mirror on his closet door, unexpectedly seeing the face of a familiar redhead out of the corner of his eye. He turned in surprise, but he saw only himself when his gaze was fully upon the mirror. He shrugged, wondering why he had recalled Ranko at that moment. He had long suspected that memories from his female counterpart were somewhere within him, but they seemed buried far deeper than those of his martial artist analogs. It was just as well. He wasn't sure if his male ego was ready to handle the notion that a girl's mind slumbered somewhere within his own.

It was Sunday morning. He could hear two muffled voices talking downstairs, everything seeming so normal for the Saotome household, at least on the surface. But the truth was different. Ranma frowned as he realized that two weeks had now gone by since the accident with his father. However, instead of immediately taking a pro-active stance and dealing with the situation on his own terms, he had let himself get pushed around by recent events. He was no better than his Jusenkyo-cursed counterparts were in that respect, but that stopped now.

During the long car ride home yesterday, the girls had been giving him a large dose of cold shoulder. Combined with the lingering pains of his physical injuries, it had made for an unpleasant situation. He had retreated into silence, confused as to why they had seemed so angry with him. But the whole situation with Utena and Ohtori Academy had been perplexing from start to finish. Both Nabiki and Kodachi had apparently felt free to flirt with other guys, but they would not let him even talk with another girl without suddenly acting weird.

He had also not missed the looks that the two boys had been giving his two female companions. But what astonished him even more was his own reaction to that, a primitive urge arising within himself to defend his territory. Ranma snorted, amazed that he could be so atavistically male. He could reluctantly admit that it irritated him to see other guys spending time with the two girls. Not that he was jealous, he quickly amended. They were his friends, even Nabiki, and he didn't trust the intentions of smooth guys like those two Ohtori cadets.

Besides, none of the girls were officially his fiancée in this tangent, so he had no standing to claim any sort of ownership rights over them. And he knew, even if he did, it would just spark another argument with Nabiki. She obviously wanted to order him around, and no girl was ever going to do that to him. Ever since she had downloaded those memories from that Jusenkyo-cursed analog of hers, she had begun acting dominant and possessive towards him. And why did he keep thinking about a bossy chick like Nabiki Tendo?

He shook his head at that last, errant thought. Random bits of his martial artist counterpart continued to surface within him at the oddest times. Still, maybe if he mouthed off to Nabiki like his analog would have in this situation, it would show her that he was his own man, not her follower. He grinned at the thought of her reaction. He was sure it would prompt something, and brawling with the Tendo girl was certainly easier than trying to figure out what was going on inside her head.

However, thinking about Nabiki brought his thoughts back to a previous matter. Toga Kiryu and Miki Kaoru looked like they were going to be trouble for him in the near future, but at least neither boy had looked like much of a threat if it came down to some sort of physical confrontation, especially Miki. Toga might be a momentary challenge, but he would more likely prove to be all show, with nothing to back it up, like Mikado Sanzenin had turned out to be.

One bright spot had occurred during the car ride. Kodachi had briefly broken the chilly silence to invite him to come by her home today. She had found a room in the mansion for him to use as his new laboratory in one of the household's unused wings. Even more encouraging, she had also taken care of requisitioning the equipment and components he would need to continue his work. It was already waiting for his use.

Ranma dressed quickly, putting on one of the Chinese-style shirts he now owned and a pair of black gi-style pants. The smell of food from downstairs was calling to him relentlessly. He had to get down there before the fake Genma ate everything.

After casually springing over the banister, he headed down the stairs three at a time. He skidded to a halt outside the main room of the house, seeing only Genma seated there. The sound of his mother working on breakfast was heard from the direction of the kitchen.

"About time you got up, you lazy layabout," rumbled Genma. He went back to reading the morning paper. "A real martial artist is up with the sun to train. You have no discipline."

"You're a fine one to talk." Ranma sat down at his usual place at the breakfast table. "All I've seen your fat butt do around this house for the past couple of weeks is eat and sleep. At least you haven't gotten fired, so I guess miracles do happen."

Genma made an attempt at ignoring the remarks, but a slight throbbing of a vein in his forehead belied that.

"Breakfast is served," announced Nodoka as she breezed in from the kitchen bearing two large plates of food. Her shoulder twinged a bit from carrying the weight, but she ignored the pain. She set down the plates and eyed the two Saotome men. She wondered why her husband and son seemed so tense with each other lately. The first month back, they had been like best friends.

Ranma held out his bowl, narrowly edging out Genma to get served first. He ignored the older man's grumbles. The pigtailed boy smiled slightly at the amusing irony of using one of this Genma's unsuccessful plots, attempting to engage him to Kodachi, and turning it back to his own advantage. Her wealth would be invaluable in continuing his work.

"Oh, Ranma, before I forget," Nodoka announced suddenly. "This came for you in the mail." She handed the pigtailed boy a small package that was addressed to him. There was no return address.

He set down his rice bowl, but he kept one eye on Genma, just in case. The package was small, a square roughly twice the size of his palm and perhaps three centimeters thick. He ripped open one end and shook out the contents. A flash drive in a plastic case slid out into his hand. A note fluttered out, and he snatched it out of the air.

All it said was, "Are you smart enough to break the code?" The small piece of paper was ordinary, and the text was laser printed in the center.

Ranma decided to have a look at it later. As intriguing as the mystery of the flash drive was, he needed to get over to the Kunos and begin setting up his new workspace. He heard his stomach rumble. After he finished breakfast, that is.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yawning daintily, Kodachi padded into the training hall for a workout before breakfast. The light green gi resting on her athletic frame was composed of the finest silks, adorned across one breast with a small black rose done in needlepoint, an elaborate design she had embroidered herself. She had seen the gi on one of her most recent shopping excursions, finding it to be a fitting garb for her borrowed nom de guerre as 'The Black Rose.'

The young noblewoman's footsteps faltered slightly as she beheld an unexpected figure waiting for her in the training hall. She paused in the doorway, surprised to see her mother within the room.

"Hello, Kodachi," said Kenseiko calmly, her face completely stilled of all emotion. She was dressed in a dark green leotard, a loose top of purple silk, and thin-soled boots of black leather that laced up her shins. She was seated in a lotus position in the middle of the room. "I've been waiting for you."

"G-good morning, Mother." She bowed quickly before coming into the room and kneeling in front of the older woman.

Kenseiko nodded in reply, and her previous, cool-eyed gaze continued without relent as she gazed at her only daughter. Without preamble, she said, "I've been doing some thinking of late, Dachi-chan, about your sudden interest in fighting." She then paused, studying the girl before her, a living reflection of herself from some twenty years in the past. She briefly wondered where all the time had gone.

The girl braced herself for the storm. It looked to be bad, judging by the solemn look on her mother's face.

"Mother, I-" Kodachi began, halting abruptly when her mother held up a hand.

"I was wrong to hinder you," Kenseiko said calmly. She then broke out into a slight smile. "You are your mother's daughter, after all."

Kodachi was left momentarily speechless. She stared at her mother, her confusion evident.

"I tried for many years to put what I saw as the mistakes of my youth behind me," said Kenseiko, her gaze drifting to look out the window as she spoke. She was silent for several moments, and the slight smile on her lips broadened a bit as she was temporarily lost in reverie. She turned back to face Kodachi solemnly. "I know it is probably hard to believe, but I was once a teenaged girl like you, filled with the burning passions of adolescence. And I see those same passions within you, the same fighting spirit. I should not have tried to stifle them."

Kodachi finally found her voice, and she said, "But you always told me that fighting was unladylike."

"The same words that my mother told me," replied Kenseiko grimly. She stood up suddenly, her presence seeming to magnify. "But your heritage is done a disservice by enforcing such a narrow view of feminine roles upon them. For centuries, the women of the Empire have fought, and even sometimes died, alongside men to forge the world we are part of today. This has been true ever since the days of Oda Nobunaga and his great reforms."

"The first women to accept Nobunaga-san's offer and take up the daisho as warriors were mockingly called samurai-ko," Kenseiko said with a slight smile. "But they proved themselves equal to men in the eyes of the code of bushido. And some of the greatest warriors that our Empire has ever known since those bygone days have been women. Who can say what the world would be like without their presence in history?"

Kodachi nodded in agreement, held spellbound by her mother's words.

Apparently warming to the subject, Kenseiko continued, "But my mother was different in her views. She felt that a woman as warrior was an utter abomination. It was only recently that events have shown me how wrong she was, how wrong I was in acting like her. You and I are both warriors, Dachi-chan. I see that now. We are samurai-ko."

"Yes, Mother," answered Kodachi, her eyes shining with pride. She bowed deeply to her mother.

Kenseiko felt a combination of pride, satisfaction, and love filling her as she gazed upon her daughter, seeing the future of the Kunos before her. But it also struck her as ironic that it had taken the re-appearance of her most hated rival to show her the error of her ways, not that she would ever admit such a thing to Nodoka. A smile quirked her lips. Getting the better of her old rival had been sweet indeed, despite the brevity of the encounter. She hoped that their next battle would last much longer. She was looking forward to it a great deal.

Raising her head from the bow, Kodachi gazed at her mother silently. Memories of another world flickered behind her eyes, where the woman now standing before her had been dead for some time. But that world was only a tattered memory now, and Kodachi realized with astonishment that she had not thought about her previous existence for some time. She was no longer that person, a terrified girl who had fled a bleak reality. On some deep level inside herself, she knew that to be true.

Yet it was the legacy of that shy, lonely girl she once was which had enabled her to be a warrior now, bringing with her the scattered pieces of several lives and forging a new Kodachi Kuno from them. That girl had died and been reborn into a new life, a fusion of many souls that was somehow greater than the sum of its parts. Together, they were complete.

Kenseiko had noticed her daughter's introspective look, and she softly cleared her throat to regain the girl's attention. She smiled gently at Kodachi.

"I would like to teach you, Dachi-chan. Let me be to you the sort of mother that I wish my own had been to me. Your brother has accepted your father as his sensei. Will you accept me as yours?"

Kodachi, startled by the question, nodded after a moment of thought and said, "I would be honored to have you coach me, Mother." She smiled, feeling hope rise within her that perhaps the older woman could give her some scrap of martial arts lore that would let her finally defeat the middle Tendo daughter. It was a most pleasant thought.

"Excellent." Kenseiko walked over to the wall and pulled off a bo staff. She tossed it to her daughter, who caught it with ease, and then lifted off a second one. "We will begin with the staff, but I intend to work you through every weapon in this room until you have mastered them all to my satisfaction. Adaptability and versatility are two of the greatest weapons that a warrior can have, Dachi-chan."

Kodachi began twirling the staff around her body with grace and skill evident in her every movement. She sensed her mother's gaze quietly judging her.

Walking around Kodachi as she went through a simple kata with the weapon, Kenseiko studied her daughter's technique. The girl had already received some training from somewhere, but she could still use some work. She smiled, sensing tremendous potential in her daughter's weapon skills. The girl was going to be a pleasure for her to train. Then let Kodachi's rivals beware.

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Nabiki paused in her morning workout, suddenly feeling an odd sensation of foreboding. She glanced around the training hall she was currently sharing with Akane, and quickly decided that she was just experiencing nervous tension. That irritated her, another sign that she had been letting the situation with Ranma go on for far too long. It was pretty obvious that, despite his powers of intellect in certain areas, when it came to dealing with relationships, he was a complete and total idiot.

At least the matter of Utena Tenjou was finally dealt with. The girl could not have misunderstood the frosty looks that Nabiki had been giving her yesterday. Combined with her having bodily dragged Ranma away from the pink-haired bimbo, it should have been quite clear to even the dimmest mind that she already had a proprietary interest in him. She felt the message was quite clear: Ranma Saotome was off limits!

Nabiki suddenly drove her fist forward in a lightning-fast blow, and the top segment snapped cleanly off of the rope-wrapped wooden post she had been punching to toughen her hands. She felt the unconscious surge of chi quickly fading from her fist as she relaxed it back open, a slight smirk appearing on her face. Her hand was totally unmarked.

Pausing in her own workout, Akane glanced across the room at her older sister, secretly glad for an excuse to take a break from doing push-ups. After doing two hundred of them on each arm, one-handed fingertip style, the muscles in her shoulders and arms were definitely feeling the strain. She decided to forego the last set of a hundred she normally did daily on each hand, not wanting to stress her healing body more than she had to. Tomorrow or the next day, she was certain that she would be back up to doing her full routine.

After rolling over onto her back, she sat up, panting slightly as she felt her endurance returning. Picking up a nearby towel, Akane began to wipe the perspiration from her face. She felt much better now than she had upon waking up, the exercise having gotten her blood flowing and warming her up. A shower and a hot bath would leave her feeling like a new woman after this.

Sakura was coming by in a little while, and she was looking forward to going shopping with the other girl today. Despite her irritation at her friend's refusal to fight another challenge match with her, Akane had decided that keeping her friendship was more important than her own wounded pride. And the other girl reminded her so much of herself, that it was impossible to stay mad over such a little thing. Besides, with Sakura in her corner, she was certain she would utterly crush her next opponent.

Shopping was going to be a pleasant change of pace for her free day of the week, since her time was usually spent training for the entire day on Sundays. It would also give her a chance to find an outfit that would hopefully catch Ranma's attention. She had looked over her wardrobe and quickly found it to be far too utilitarian and dull for attracting a boy's interest. She had debated borrowing some of Nabiki's clothes, but her older sister was rather possessive about her things.

Nabiki nodded to Akane as her younger sister got up and headed out of the training hall, receiving a grunt and a nod in return. It was very typical of the girl, Nabiki noticed with a smirk, her younger sister having never been what could be called the most eloquent of people. At least with all of this Combat Club activity keeping her occupied, the girl should lose her interest in Ranma soon enough.

Turning her attentions to the training hall's new punching bag, Nabiki put the matter of the odd foreboding she had felt earlier out of her mind. The room began to resonate with the sounds of her fists and feet brutalizing the heavy bag.

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The forests of the Koga Mountain region were thought to be places of mystery and magic according to popular folklore, haunted by ogres, demons, and the legendary shadow warriors known as ninja. The populace of the Empire had long been fascinated with lurid tales of their deeds, and tourists would come from far and wide to visit the region every year. It was amusing to the local populace to see such visitors, even as they enjoyed the influx of money brought by tourists hoping to see a real ninja.

Genji Kuonji was one of those who was frequently amused by the antics of tourists, and he considered how members of his clan hid in plain sight to be one of the best tricks of the ninja. He strolled along through part of his beloved forests, enjoying the brisk air. He had always loved mornings in the mountains, especially when it was late springtime. Wearing the garb of a simple Shinto priest, he did not look at all the part of a shinobi master, but then that was the idea. Such simple disguises had allowed members of his clan to freely wander the Empire for many centuries. In his time of service to the Emperor, he had taken on many roles, from simple farmer to okonomiyaki chef. Now that he was nominally retired, he spent his days walking the region as a wandering priest.

A crashing sound emerged from the forest in front of him, and he looked on in amusement as a rather sizable-looking figure of a man came barreling out of the trees, a large pack on his back. The other man came to a halt in the clearing, and Genji nodded as he recognized who it was. Even after over ten years having passed since their last encounter, it was hard not to recognize the patriarch of the Hibikis, Shiro.

Briefly pausing to catch his breath, Shiro Hibiki flipped back his thick ponytail of iron-gray hair. A tattered and useless map was clutched tightly in his other hand, and he squinted at it for a few moments before growling like a bear. Three days he had been on this accursed quest, when an old man of his advanced years should be taking it easy. He would still be taking it easy, but somebody had to go out looking for his lost grandson. The boy had been gone for too long on his last excursion.

"Are you lost?" inquired a mild voice behind him.

Shiro blinked, and he muttered, "I know that voice." Turning around, he spied an elderly monk standing there. He would recognize that smug look anywhere. His hands balled into fists, the tendons cracking from the sheer strength he was putting into it. Irritation filled his voice as he growled, "Genji."

"Nice to see you too, Shiro," said the old ninja master pleasantly. "This is just like old times."

Even Genji was not prepared for the speed of the other man's sudden assault, as Shiro's hand closed around his throat and dragged them nose to nose with each other.

"I'll make this really simple, Genji." Shiro's voice held an almost icy calm. "Where's my grandson?"

The ninja's only reply was to make choking sounds, and his face turned the most alarming shade of red for a man of his years. Noticing that after a moment, Shiro almost reluctantly loosened his grip. The two men eyed each other for several moments.

"The boy is off chasing Ukyo," said the old ninja after finally regaining his breath. "I imagine he's well on his way to Tokyo by now, ranting about the usual things that you Hibikis go on about, like his vendetta against Ukyo."

"Why would he still have a vendetta against his own fiancée?" asked Shiro mildly as he lifted the other man clear of the ground. "It was agreed that you would tell them this time around." He sighed briefly. "I never should have been a part of this farce all these years."

Genji swallowed nervously, not liking the grim calm in the other man's voice, and he said, "It made them both stronger. They'll need that strength when the Goju finally return."

"All I wanted was for our grandchildren to finally put an end to this petty feud between our clans," said Shiro tiredly. "It would have been over a generation ago, if it wasn't for Yumi's idiocy. That girl was always far too headstrong. Typical Kuonji woman. And don't you lecture me about the Goju, Genji Kuonji. I know what the Faceless Ones are capable of. I killed enough of the shadow-spawned bastards when I was younger, didn't I? Maybe we're lucky, and their threat is finally extinct."

Genji sighed at his old rival's naivete. The Goju had once been the greatest of the shinobi clans, highly-skilled in the arts of combat, deception, and trickery. But that had not been enough for the clan leader, and he had entered into a pact with Darkness itself, forever damning himself and his clan. The Darkness had given the Goju great power, but there had been a most terrible price.

He had told Ukyo that the Faceless Ones would come to get her if she did not do well in her training. "Boy, the Goju will come for you, if you don't totally dedicate yourself to your training," he would say. Only by listening to him and obeying his teachings would she be safe from them. With regret, he remembered seeing her small form quivering in fear beneath her covers as a young child, staring wide-eyed at the shadows on the wall after hearing one of his more lurid stories.

When she was older, he had given her some scrolls to read, relating more tales about the Goju and their many abilities. How they were able to change their shape and mimic any form, appear and disappear like smoke, and to move with amazing quickness. All it had cost them were their souls, utterly consumed by the Darkness, absorbing the very identities of its servants and leaving behind a faceless figure that was nothing more than an empty puppet. The Faceless Ones were the dark side of shinobi magics, and they stood as both an object lesson and a warning.

They were also still frighteningly real, lurking somewhere out in the shadowy corners of the Empire, hungering for revenge.

"There's also another complication," he said, hoping that Shiro would not overreact and blame him. He always blamed him for everything that went wrong in their lives, ever since they had been boys getting into trouble together.

"Maybe I should just kill you now and finally end the terrible misery that you've always brought to my life ever since I first met you," answered the other man with disgust.

"Ukyo's been engaged to another boy, in Tokyo," said Genji quickly. He shut his eyes, not wanting to see the blow coming.

What startled him was not the expected roar of rage, but an amused chuckling come from Shiro. He peeked one eye open cautiously, and he felt the other man drop his feet back into contact with the ground.

"That's just perfect," said Shiro somewhat sarcastically. "When Ryoga finds out the truth, that Ukyo is really a girl _and_ his fiancée, he's going to turn this other kid into paste. Then we can both kiss goodbye our hopes of uniting our two clans. This is going to be just like the debacle with Yumi all over again. I can feel it."

"Ukyo's father says that the boy is a martial artist."

Shiro stopped chuckling, and he cautiously asked, "How good?"

"My source tells me that he's good enough to give Ukyo a run for her money." He risked a smirk. "And she's been sending your grandson back home in defeat for almost ten years."

Shiro growled, "Don't remind me. Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to know that the boy keeps losing to a girl? But if there's one thing every Hibiki loves, it's a good vendetta. It gets the blood pumping, you know. And Ryoga's need to beat your granddaughter has let me throw every form of training that I know of at the boy. He's easily twice the fighter I was at his age because of it. So, what's the name of Ukyo's soon-to-be-hospitalized other fiancé?"

"Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

The Hibiki patriarch stroked his chin thoughtfully, and he finally said, "Well, if this Saotome kid knows what's good for him, he'll just step aside and give Ukyo to Ryoga without a fight. Otherwise, I can sense a new Hibiki-style vendetta in the makings."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma paused in consuming his breakfast, distracted by an odd sensation of foreboding suddenly coming over him. He even stopped shoveling food into his mouth for several moments because of it.

Genma was quick in attempting to take advantage of the pigtailed boy's distraction and reached for an extra bit of food, but a lightning-fast strike from Nodoka's chopsticks caught him by surprise. He yelped, but she had already returned to her own eating as if nothing untoward had occurred. He glanced at her, and she returned his gaze with a single upraised eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Dearest?" she asked innocently. When he did not reply and simply went back to eating more sedately, she smiled knowingly, hoping that she had gotten her point across. It had been less than two weeks since she last chastised him, and he was already returning to his bad eating habits. It seemed that sterner measures would be required until he began behaving acceptably at the table.

Ranma had been ignoring the commotion at the table, trying to determine why that odd feeling had struck him. Hearing his stomach rumble queryingly over the break in food delivery, he shrugged his shoulders and quickly went back to consuming his breakfast.

"Ranma dear," said Nodoka suddenly. "You seem distracted."

The pigtailed boy hastily swallowed and mumbled, "Just got a lot to do today."

"It's a nice day," commented Nodoka. "You've been cooped up training all week, so you should do something enjoyable today. Why don't you take one of your prospective brides out on a date? You've spent time with Ukyo already. I'm sure Kodachi would love to spend the day with you. She seemed quite taken with you. Or maybe you prefer the Tendo girl, Nabiki?"

Ranma briefly had the look of an animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, before saying, "Uh, I'm going to visit with Kodachi. On the ride back home yesterday, she invited me out to see her today." He quickly went back to eating his breakfast, hoping that was the end of it.

Genma nodded approvingly. The money from the young noblewoman's dowry would allow for a fine retirement for him, as well as finance some of the private projects he had cooking. He smiled at the thought of all that wealth soon to come into his possession. Not to mention that any world without the scourge of Happosai in it was like heaven.

"Why that's wonderful," Nodoka replied with a smile. "I'm sure that she's counting the minutes until you arrive."

"I'm sure she is," interjected Genma, earning a dark glance from Ranma. "There isn't a woman born that can resist the Saotome charm, so use that to your advantage, m'boy."

Ranma somehow resisted the urge to put his fist through the man's face. Instead, he contented himself with the knowledge that the fake's days were now numbered. Once he was back where he belonged, then life could go back to normal, and he would finally have his real father to talk with again. That thought was enough to brighten his darkening mood.

Feeling more contented, he went back to eating his breakfast.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryoko Masaki emerged from her blankets and bedroll with a wide-mouthed yawn and a leisurely stretch. She glanced over at her new travelling companion, seeing him still cocooned in his own bedroll against the chill in the morning air. A grin appeared on her face. It was time to get the blood moving a bit before breakfast.

"Wake up, Hibiki-kun," Ryoko grunted out, standing up and prodding the blanket-wrapped boy with a toe.

He responded with a single mumbled word, and then he went back to snoring.

"Come on, you lazy slug," Ryoko urged him. "Get up." She nudged him again, not so gently this time.

Ryoga snapped awake, thinking he was under attack, and he promptly got tangled up in his blankets while trying to respond to the threat. He rolled around and nearly ended up in the banked coals of the fire, hearing an outburst of feminine laughter at his plight. Trying to ignore it, he freed himself from his blankets and stood up. She was still laughing.

"I was sleeping."

Ryoko raised one eyebrow and inquired, "Do you want breakfast?"

He grunted once and nodded, still feeling out of sorts for his rude awakening from slumber. After the past few days on the road with this girl, he knew what was going to come next. It had been the same thing every morning and evening.

"Then you have to earn it," she said, taking up a combat stance. She smiled wolfishly. "I'm waiting, Lost Boy."

Ryoga really hated being called by that name. He suspected she only said it to goad him into attacking her, knowing how much he hated to be reminded of the Hibikis' infamously poor sense of direction, but it still irked him. He eyed her, knowing also that she wouldn't feed him unless he gave it a good try against her, part of the agreement they had between each other as they traveled together. Even so, it still bothered him to spar with a girl. A guy shouldn't fight with a girl. It was just wrong.

"I'm getting bored over here, Lost Boy," the Masaki girl taunted. She held her position, watching him rather casually. "Anytime you wanna try your luck, come at me."

Narrowing his gaze as the taunt struck home, he attacked. He still held back a little, unable to bring himself to spar with her at his full ability, but a spectator would not have known it from the fury of their initial exchange. Hard-won experience had shown Ryoga that she was as strong as any Hibiki girl.

They traded punches and kicks, his initial charge briefly giving him the advantage, one he quickly exploited, hoping to end this fast. He pressed forward aggressively, driving combinations of punches and kicks against Ryoko's defenses. But her guard held firm, even as she slowly gave ground, eventually slowing his advance to a halt. He tried again to press forward, but the girl with blue-green hair stubbornly refused to yield another centimeter of terrain to him.

Her face was a study in determination, even as she played immovable object to her sparring partner's irresistible force. She was holding back for sparring purposes, but not by as much as she had against other opponents. It was a rather heady experience to give more of herself to a match like she was doing, knowing that she would not cripple her foe if one of her strikes landed, even if she wasn't putting her full strength behind it.

Slowly, step by step, she began forcing the Hibiki boy back, slipping in punches and kicks through the small niches in his defenses. They weren't hard enough to be more than bruising, but they showed that the initiative was falling back to her. Her attacks continued relentlessly, each strike landing with speed and precision. She regained the ground she had initially given up, refusing to re-yield it. As she did so, she began to smile.

Ryoga managed to regain the initiative for brief times, but he could only seem to temporarily stalemate his opponent, not force her back. It was irritating to find himself losing to a girl, and he blamed it on his own lingering scraps of reticence about this whole thing. He was also distracted by that smile of hers. It was an honest sort of smile, actually quite cute, not mocking, like her words to him frequently were.

It was only because she was feeding him and helping him with his quest that he was hanging around such an annoying girl, or so he kept reminding himself. She was at her worst immediately after one of their sparring matches, but she would continue to mercilessly taunt and tease him throughout the day as they walked towards Tokyo. She seemed to find his disability with directions a source of endless fun, calling him 'Lost Boy' all the time. By the time dinner rolled around, he was spoiling for another match against her, and he sometimes wondered if that was her game.

Of course, it would be nice if he won occasionally. But she kept beating him, and it was getting increasingly annoying. This was yet another indignity that he laid at Ukyo's feet. He could see the smug ninja boy's face now, mocking him for losing to a girl. And that would be just like that damnable Kuonji too, to throw it back into his face. This was all Ukyo's fault!

Ryoko was enjoying herself immensely, but it was time to end this. She was getting hungry, and she could do with a bath in the nearby creek as well. There was a relatively still pool nearby that would do just fine for bathing. With a quick move, she ducked under one of her sparring partner's kicks and took his supporting leg out from underneath him with a sweep. Even as he crashed to the ground, she was on top of him, catching one of his arms into a bone-grinding joint lock. She slid her free arm around his throat, grateful that she had inherited her ancestress' strength in full measure as she felt Ryoga struggling beneath her. Even so, she would not be able to hold him for long.

"Yield, and we can eat," she whispered into his ear. Feeling playful, she brushed her lips against it for good measure, not quite kissing him there.

Ryoga froze as his brain went away somewhere, feeling her nubile body pressed up against him, her breath gusting lightly against his ear. He vaguely remembered yielding to her, perhaps babbling inanely a bit, but not much else until she bounced a heavy stone off his forehead sometime later. It was enough to bring him back to sufficient awareness to find a full bowl in his lap.

"Eat it before it gets cold, Hibiki-kun," she said with her usual tone of voice when speaking to him, perhaps slightly less mocking than usual. "I'm going to go take a bath. You peep on me, Lost Boy, and I'll kill you. And don't leave the camp either. If you make me go looking for you, I'll do something you'll regret." With that said, she headed off slightly upstream until she was out of sight.

Ryoga, unsure what else to do until she got back, began eating. He smiled at the taste. It was omelet rice, one of his favorite dishes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Director Kasuga?"

Looking up from the paperwork on his desk, the elderly man gazed at his aide peeking into his office.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I have another batch of drawings. There've been a few more changes."

"Set them on my desk, and I'll look at them shortly."

"Yes, sir." The aide hurried into the Director's sanctum, a quiet office that was decorated with selected bits of memorabilia from some of the Institute's most famous cases. All were relatively harmless, the dangerous relics being retained for study were all kept locked in the specially spell-warded vaults in the basements, along with those prisoners that normal cells could not contain. He set down a sheaf of papers, each of them covered with more manga-style drawings, and then hurried out. The door closed quietly behind him.

Director Kasuga set down his pen and rubbed the bridge of his nose. If his wife were still alive, she would have told him he was working too hard. But what was he to do? He felt too young to retire, and there was still so much for him to accomplish before he stepped down.

Picking up the first of the papers from the stack, he carefully put on his glasses and studied the image. Several figures stood, half-turned away from the viewer. The same two that he had seen in previous images were in the center, a young man and a young woman dressed in similar, Chinese-style clothing, but the art style was more realistic this time. The girl looked naggingly familiar, but he could not place her face.

At that moment, he happened to glance down at the latest report from Kyosuke, noting a group photo of his grandson taken with some of his classmates during some sort of field trip. Standing next to him was a boy with a pigtail dressed in Chinese-style clothes. Startled, he glanced back and forth between the manga drawing and the picture, his eyes widening in surprise.

It was Ranma Saotome in the drawing, and standing next to him in it was Nabiki Tendo, both dressed like Chinese martial artists.

"Knowledge of the future can be a dangerous thing," said a soft voice from behind him. "Especially when it is vague."

"Who?" he yelped as he whirled around to see a totally bald, wizened-looking gnome of a figure standing there in his office. It was an entity that was spoken of in whispers at the highest levels of the Institute, and he was called many things: a harbinger of change, a storm crow, and an enigma weaving riddles.

A long time ago, the tiny figure had possessed another name, but that identity had been purged from all records years ago, when he ascended to command of the Mobius Institute. Now, he was simply the wandering monk known as Cherry.

"It has been a while, Kasuga-san," said the ancient, gnome-like man, nodding his bald head slightly. "You have done well for yourself."

"You startled me." He noticed Cherry softly step forward to gaze upon the images scattered across his desk.

"You chase phantoms with these pictures," said Cherry in mild reproach, without any preamble. "What you seek to know, no mortal can tell you." There was a hint of amusement in his voice, but as dry as a desert.

"I have a duty-"

He was cut off when Cherry raised a hand sharply. "I know all there is to know about duty. Would you hear my message?"

Director Kasuga had faced many frightening things in his life, yet that simple question chilled him. He slowly nodded his head.

"Stop trying to second-guess the future. Despite what you think you may have achieved at this place in trying to foresee it, all you have to work with now are partial truths and guesswork. Pick the wrong choice at the wrong time, and you will only bring down a cataclysm of epic proportions."

"Then tell me something that I can use, and I will!" snapped Director Kasuga. He paused as Cherry simply gazed at him, his ugly face calm. He bowed in self-reproach. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"I will tell you this much," said Cherry calmly. "If you persist in your attempts to scry the future this way, you will see what will seem to be the safest path to follow. But if you take it, then this world will end in blood and terror, and it will only be the first of many."

"How can I believe you? Why should I give up one of the best weapons in the Institute's arsenal?"

"Because I ask you to trust me," said Cherry coolly, before he bowed respectfully, looking uncomfortable at his own words. "I am only the messenger, but it is important that you heed the message I bring. The spirit world is disturbed, Kasuga-san, and both the kami and shinma are concerned. They whisper to me from the quiet places during my travels, that this world soon comes to a number of cruxes within the tapestry of events. If the correct path is not somehow woven among them, then all is lost. And the horrors of this world's final days will be but the merest prelude to what comes next." He studied the other man for a moment and then stood back.

"Anything else?" Director Kasuga felt a pain in his gut. His ulcer was acting up. That was a bad sign, that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. He pointed at the manga-style drawing of Ranma and Nabiki. "Next you'll be telling me that this boy is our last hope."

Cherry smiled thinly for a moment, and then he cryptically replied, "No, there is another. And I ask you to leave them be to find their own way. You could try to help them, guide them in what you saw as the correct path, but you would only end up destroying everything that they must fight for, and suffer for, to have a chance at saving. I ask you not to hinder or interfere with them, no matter what may happen. There is so much yet to be done. This is still only the beginning of their story."

Director Kasuga stared at the tiny figure before him for a time. He then turned to gaze solemnly at the papers on his desk, his face a neutral mask. After several moments, he began gathering them up into his hands. From out of a drawer, he pulled out the earlier batches of drawings and added them to the stack as well. With a resigned sigh, he dropped the entire lot into his wastebasket. As he did so, he could have sworn that he heard something from the figure behind him, perhaps a released breath of relief, but he also might have just imagined it. A touch of his foot against the side of the trash bin caused a brief flash of heat and light from within, reducing the papers to ash. When he turned around, he was alone once again.

"An enigma weaving riddles," he muttered. "Damn you, Cherry."

Sitting down at his desk, he began formulating exactly how he was going to explain this to the Emperor, as well as drafting orders that should satisfy Cherry's desires that they walk forward into the future with blindfolds on. But he had not grown as old as he was without learning to listen to his instincts, and they had told him to heed the ancient monk's words. But they left a soul-deep chill within him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Watching Cherry depart from the Institute was a woman seated on a park bench. She was dressed in a pale blue kimono, her dark, straight hair framing her face. She nodded at the departing monk.

Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into its proper place.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Colonel Gendo Rokubungi, the newly-installed headmaster of Furinkan Military Academy, emerged from his chauffeur-driven car and studied his surroundings with his usual cool detachment. His driver, still holding onto the rear door of the vehicle with his left hand, managed to snap off a crisp salute with his right. He returned the salute absently. His thoughts were attending more to the unexpected orders he had received yesterday, to report to the Imperial Academy this morning for some kind of briefing. No explanations had been given as to why he was to be here, only that he was to meet with Professor Fuyutsuki on a matter of importance.

The light of the morning sun glinted off the new rank insignia affixed to his uniform collar, the result of a brevet bump upwards in rank to go with his new position, pending a later review of his performance with Furinkan's cadets. It had been a pleasant surprise to receive. Personally, he loved hearing the sound of his new rank, and he fully intended to make it into a permanent one. His star was ascendant, and he was certain that this was only the beginning of future greatness for him.

"Shall I wait for you, sir?" inquired his driver, a young-looking soldier.

"No, Sergeant," Gendo replied evenly. "This might take a while. I'll call for you when I'm finished here." He stepped away from the car, and the driver saluted once again. He returned the salute quickly, before turning to stride towards through the gates.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fuyutsuki watched the tall figure entering the grounds of the Imperial Academy with mild interest. A dossier that was provided to him by the military rested on the desk behind him, concerning Colonel Rokubungi. It made for rather dry perusal, but, reading between the lines, it also painted the picture of a man who was utterly devoted to the Empire. The Security Directorate had recently added their approvals for an upgrade in the Colonel's security clearance, a requirement before any knowledge about Project Phoenix could be released to him.

As he waited for the man's arrival, Fuyutsuki permitted himself a few private moments of gloating over the Saotome boy's victory yesterday. It was a nice turnaround of events from a week ago, but it also brought back to the forefront a mystery, how someone with little previous combat training suddenly changed overnight into a martial artist of such incredible skill. And it was not just him, but Nabiki Tendo as well. She too had emerged as a fighter with a level of competence of truly inordinate magnitude, far beyond her previous capabilities.

Fuyutsuki picked up Ranma's proposal, submitted to the Science Ministry several months ago. It was mainly an overview, containing the myriad equations and obscure theories supporting its validity, yet revealing surprisingly little concerning the specifics involved in the endeavor. He had only recently taken the opportunity to read through it in detail, shortly after the pigtailed boy's change in ability. It showed that Ranma was involved in investigating something of simply staggering possibilities, the exploration of worlds without end, a feat comparable to mankind's first time playing with fire.

Based on all the available evidence, it was reasonable to assume that the boy's experiment had somehow granted him his new combat skills. Fighting abilities of his current level would have taken a decade or more to acquire, time that Ranma had never invested, at least not in this reality. And having witnessed the awe-inspiring power of the Nekoken in action, a lost technique of martial arts lore he had come across a description of during his recent research, his few remaining doubts vanished. There were also the emerging changes in the boy's personality to consider. He was becoming much more outgoing, and more spirited. However, Fuyutsuki had to admit that this new Ranma Saotome seemed oddly 'right' to exist, as if the universe had corrected some sort of a mistake.

As to the added mystery of Nabiki Tendo, that tied back to Ranma's lab and experiment as well. One of the Academy's hidden cameras on that sub-level had recorded her quite skillful break-in to the boy's lab, where she then remained for some time. When she finally emerged, the girl had looked somewhat shaken, but it was not too long afterwards that she too demonstrated incredible ability in the martial arts, as well as an alteration in her attitudes. Her rather cold and often ruthless personality had softened a bit in the aftermath of her unusual experience, becoming almost playful at times.

However, the strangest part of the puzzle was Genma. He had denounced Ranma's efforts as foolish and adamantly demanded that the experiment's subsidy be terminated immediately, calling it "a waste of the boy's true abilities." Fuyutsuki had complied, clearing out the lab and returning the boy's equipment to the Science Ministry for disposal, but there was something about the whole thing that troubled him. Even more puzzling, Genma had furtively gone into the dormitory where Ranma had been training, taken the boy's bookbag away for a few hours, and then he had returned it. Fuyutsuki had chosen to keep his own counsel on the matter, adopting a wait-and-see strategy, and that was still true. Still, something was going on that he was not seeing.

Further musings on the subject were shelved when there came a sudden knock at the door. He debated just letting the man in and then decided that someone of Gendo's reputation would respect a different tact. He settled into the chair behind his desk and made himself comfortable.

"Enter," Fuyutsuki called out, busying himself with the man's dossier.

Gendo opened the door and walked in, taking a few moments to size up the room and its lone occupant with a casual glance, the light flashing off his glasses menacingly. He found Fuyutsuki's office to be rather Spartan in design, a few books on the shelves, three paintings on the walls, a computer terminal in the corner, and a single plant in the window. The paintings appeared to all be Western works, but beyond that Gendo could not say. He held little interest in art.

"Come in, Colonel Rokubungi." Fuyutsuki gestured at a chair. He stood up from behind his desk and gave a polite bow when Gendo came closer, one that the other man mechanically returned. He then sat back down. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki, the administrator of this facility. Thank you for coming to see me on such short notice. I'm sure you have questions."

"I am curious as to why I am here," admitted Gendo. He took the chair that had been offered him and sat stiffly, as if still at attention. He was not very comfortable in situations that he was not himself in control of. "That would perhaps be an adequate place to begin, Fuyutsuki-sensei."

The older man nodded. "Very well, Colonel. The matter requiring your presence here concerns a few of the cadets now undergoing training at Furinkan." He picked up a handful of dossiers from his desk and handed them to the other man. "You have five cadets in particular that I wish to discuss, one of whom was transferred from this facility to yours in recent weeks."

Gendo grunted once as he looked over the dossiers in his hands. He was unfamiliar with the majority of them, but he did remember seeing the name of Ryu Kumon recently come cross his desk. He flipped through the pages quickly, familiarizing himself with the faces and names.

Fuyutsuki quietly waited for the other man to finish, steepling his fingers as he rested his elbows on the arms of his chair.

After several minutes of intensive study, Gendo closed the folders and said, "Let's cut right to the chase, Professor. What exactly do these cadets have in common? I noticed the word 'Newtype' mentioned in a number of places, but no explanation as to its meaning."

"A Newtype is the next stage in human evolution, Colonel," answered Fuyutsuki, his fingertips still steepled together. "They are the future inheritors of the Earth, each one a superior breed of human. They are the result of decades of effort and experimentation, all aimed at purging the dross and imperfections out of mankind."

"Something like a lilith, you mean?"

"Some of the biotechnology involved is related to that which created the first liliths and samaels," admitted Fuyutsuki. "In fact, Genom's expertise in that area was an enormous aid to the effort. But that is where the similarity ends. You see, each of the Newtypes was once a normal, unmodified human child. Are you familiar with Ryugenzawa, Colonel?"

Gendo was somewhat surprised by the sudden change in topic, but he did not show it.

"It's an Imperial preserve," he replied carefully. He had been there once, as part of a hunting party at the Emperor's invitation. He had even taken a trophy, albeit one of rather dubious quality. Still, taking down a rat with his hunting rifle that was the size of a horse had been an admittedly surreal experience. It had been a pretty tough kill too, taking two 10mm rounds to its chest and head before finally expiring.

Fuyutsuki nodded. "On the surface, that much is true. It's quite a fascinating collection of lifeforms, all modified from their original templates by some force within Ryugenzawa that we are still studying. However, it is also where we found the Eucharist, the keystone which made Project Phoenix into a reality."

"The Eucharist?" said Gendo in puzzlement. Almost despite himself, he was becoming interested in the professor's lecture.

"An admittedly colorful designation given it by one of my colleagues," replied Fuyutsuki with a slightly embarrassed smile. "The Eucharist's progenitor was discovered in Ryugenzawa, in a lake at the center of the region. It was a single-celled lifeform, a parasite, formed of an odd merging of the aspects of both a virus and a fungus, perhaps resulting from exposure to the strange energies of that place."

He leaned back in his chair as he continued to speak, "Humans and normal animals were not affected, as it only seemed to target any creatures that had been altered by Ryugenzawa's power. We theorized that it was simply one of nature's ways of controlling the population of that region. Regardless of its origins, samples were taken from some of the infected animals, to be examined in more detail at the Science Ministry. Originally, it was hoped that it might prove to be useful as part of some sort of bioweapon."

Gendo nodded. The Imperial war machine was always looking for new and better ways to eliminate its enemies, even during the times of relative peace. The peace never seemed to last.

Fuyutsuki paused for a moment or two before continuing, "Looking back, it was a primitive piece of genetic tinkering, the original work done in one of Genom's biolabs, but the proto-Eucharist responded favorably to the imposed changes, altering into a form that could thrive within a human host. Cell cultures were infected with this newly-modified strain to see the effects, but what happened next was serendipitous. Some sort of mutation apparently occurred in one of the culture batches. Instead of creating a deadly parasite, the experiment gave birth to a symbiotic lifeform. Later tests on the cultured cells yielded some surprising results. This new variant strain had modified them, somehow 'tuning up' the biochemical machinery of the cells, as well as re-sequencing entire segments of chromosomes. That was when it was renamed the Eucharist."

"An interesting choice of names," noted the other man neutrally.

Fuyutsuki took a drink of water from the glass on his desk before he continued. "Project Phoenix was formed in those early days, years ago. Its goal was to exploit the potentials for the eugenic improvement of Imperial citizenry using this wonder virus. We have since learned much more about it, enjoyed relatively few setbacks, and we have continued to refine it further as our understanding has improved. For one thing, we now know that it is an inheritable trait by means of the Eucharist adding an extra pair of chromosomes into the host's DNA. I could go on at much greater length, but the Project's complete history is not vital to this briefing."

"I see," said Gendo, flipping open one of the dossiers and studying the information inside with new insight. Seeing the young faces in the small photos, a brief fantasy wandered through his mind, of the child that he hoped to someday have with Yui, once he regained his proper place in her good graces and finally married her. It would be a son, of course, one who would grow to be a strong and confident warrior like his father was. A thin smile crossed his lips at the thought. Then he paused for a moment as he studied one of the documents, a question occurring to him. "Why have you only been using children, Professor?"

Fuyutsuki seemed to choose his words carefully. "It was not by choice. Unfortunately, we discovered quite early on that the Eucharist symbiote tended to be rejected by host bodies over a certain physical age. In some extreme cases, it would even cause extensive genetic damage as it warred with the would-be host's immune system. But, in children below the critical age, we achieved an over eighty percent success rate of host-symbiote bonding with that first group of test subjects. Those children became the Mark-I's. The Mark-II's are the next step, citizen children injected with the symbiote, an even more refined version."

"What happened to the failures?"

Fuyutsuki looked somewhat distressed. "They died of total systemic shock, Colonel. I've seen for myself the recordings of how those children perished, and so has every other scientist who now works on the Project. Such a terrible tragedy must never be repeated, especially now that we are using citizen children. Fortunately, we now have fairly accurate testing available that enables us to tell if a given host will accept the symbiote or not."

"What's the upside to all the risk?" Gendo queried. "It must be quite impressive to justify the dangers."

"Quite," replied Fuyutsuki, not at all surprised at the question, one he expected of a military man who looked at things in terms of pluses and minuses. Still, Gendo was being remarkably blasé about all of this, disturbingly so. He slowly took another drink of water, unused to lecturing anymore, and then continued.

"Once the host's body begins to metabolize the symbiote, a chromosomal re-sequencing begins occurring within every cell, a cascade of genetic change that eventually runs throughout the entire body. This is the first phase of the bonding process, and the host will suffer from some severe flu-like symptoms for a number of days. When this initial stage is finally complete, the host's recoded DNA is then locked in as the basal pattern, and the symbiote begins very aggressively hunting down and consuming anything that does not match, such as cancerous cells or infectious agents. A downside to this is that organic transplants are no longer possible, but the symbiote more than compensates for this in other ways.

The subject has now become what we refer to as a Newtype Human, a being that is faster, stronger, and more intelligent than an ordinary man or woman. The symbiote's presence also greatly improves the host body's regenerative abilities, by several orders of magnitude, albeit at an enormous increase in appetite when it's called upon. For example, I've seen simple cuts and bruises heal within hours, and even more severe injuries to the body disappear in mere days. Even more remarkable, once the host's body achieves its physical maturity, even aging apparently ceases. The symbiote somehow prevents the gradual deterioration of the body's regenerative abilities that we refer to as aging."

Gendo raised an eyebrow. "Immortality?"

"Not exactly, since we are still uncertain how long the effect lasts," admitted Fuyutsuki. "But we are monitoring several of the remaining Mark-I's, and all of them continue to remain as vital and youthful as they were twenty years ago. So, barring violence or misfortune, and as long as the symbiote remains healthy, I suppose there's no reason why any Newtype could not expect to live for centuries, or even longer."

Gendo was speechless.

Fuyutsuki noted how quiet the other man was and continued. "Newtype reflexive speed is improved by means of a higher percentage of fast-twitch muscle fibers and far more efficient neuro-transmitter hormones. Physical might is heightened due to an increase in muscle mass density, as well as a greater tensile strength in the tendons. Even endurance is also enhanced, as the symbiote is able to break down any fatigue poisons at an astonishing rate. And with the Mark-II version of the symbiote, we have also managed to improve intelligence and memory. Then, there is the boost."

"The boost?"

Fuyutsuki shrugged. "It was something we first noticed in the Mark-I subjects, an array of special glands appearing throughout the host's body that first become active during adolescence. They are triggered by a region of nerve cells buried deep within one of the most primitive sections of the brain, a remnant of an elder epoch, a throwback to an earlier form of man. When called upon, they flood the body's systems with a potent biochemical stew of hormones and numerous other serums, one that supercharges physical performance to almost preternatural levels."

"Even the brain is affected," he said as he tapped his forehead with a finger. "While boosted, a Newtype takes this savage throwback self, the one that lies deep within every human, drags it forth into the light of day, and embraces it. The mind washes clear of all fears and doubts that could cause any hesitation in battle, unleashing its full potential for combat. I'm told that it's almost like a religious experience."

"However, because of the incredible drain that it causes on the body's resources, and a fatal one if its sustained for too long, we finally had telepaths from the Mobius Institute program subliminal safeguards into every Newtype, limiting the duration. That is the boost, Colonel. It only functions in a small portion of the subjects, the added glands remaining dormant in the rest, and so far I've only seen one of my cadets display it. However, the potential lies within all of them."

Gendo was impressed, but he hid it quite well. To cover himself, he picked up one dossier at random, finding himself looking at a small picture of Akane Tendo clipped onto the cover. Her name caught his attention, and he briefly wondered how closely she was related to a certain highly-placed officer in the Security Directorate. He studied some of her test scores, and he was pleased by what he saw. She would make an amazing soldier, once under his guidance.

"How superior are these children, Professor, when compared to normal humans?"

Fuyutsuki thought for a moment before replying, "We estimate an average that is somewhere in the realm of thirty percent over their unmodified potentials, but that number can vary greatly from subject to subject. We still lack hard data, due to the small size of the initial testing group, but the current one is expanding our knowledge base."

"What about psychological effects of the symbiote on a subject? Are there any? Other than those prompted by the boost." Gendo pushed his glasses slightly up the bridge of his nose.

Fuyutsuki looked briefly amused at the question. "There are a number of common features that we have noticed among the Newtypes. For starters, they are somehow able to subconsciously 'recognize' each other, at least to a degree. We're still not exactly sure what the mechanism involved is, but we believe it's a pheromonal cue of some sort. Those of opposing genders experience varying levels of physical attraction, and those of the same tend to react with varying levels of aggression.

We believe that the symbiote may be instinctively influencing the host to seek out suitable partners for reproduction. Perhaps in order to pass along a copy of itself to any offspring. As those of the same gender are effectively useless for any sort of procreative purposes, their symbiotes react to each other with varying degrees of negativity. Fortunately, those subjects with a high degree of genetic similarity, such as siblings or parent and offspring, we have managed to engineer the symbiote to perceive as neutral parties. The blocking is still not absolute, but the last thing we wanted to produce was a race of beings inherently prone to incestuous pairings."

Fuyutsuki paused, then continued by saying, "We have also seen that Newtypes tend to manifest an odd sort of 'pack mentality' with each other, somewhat like wolves or lions possess. The individual members establish a pecking order amongst themselves, with an Alpha being ultimately at the top. My own testing group is still in the process of sorting out its own social order, since the group's alpha male keeps having to contend with the front-runner alpha female for dominion."

"A woman in charge?" asked Gendo, somewhat surprised.

Fuyutsuki smiled, and he replied, "It happens. Offhand, I can think of one testing group that currently has a female Alpha."

"I see," said Gendo. He gathered his thoughts for a moment. "Going back to the topic of reproduction, could a normal human and a Newtype produce a child?"

"Well, yes and no. While it is possible for a normal male and a Newtype female to produce offspring without many complications, the reverse is not true and bears risks. In the latter case, the fertilized egg is usually rejected by the mother's reproductive organs, due to the embryonic presence of the symbiote. However, we are aware of at least two instances where a normal female carried a child fathered by a Newtype to term. And perhaps there have also been others that we are unaware of. But the danger of such a pairing is that the growing fetus will invariably infect the mother with the symbiote, with potentially fatal results."

"That brings up another point," noted Gendo. "Is it contagious?"

"Only under limited circumstances. The only way to pass it along is by means of a blood transfusion or a tissue transplant. Mere physical contact, even sexual activity, does not. And as far as nonhuman transmission vectors go, even a mosquito bite would only result in a dead mosquito before it could even withdraw its proboscis as the symbiote ravaged it from within as a perceived foreign invader to the host."

Gendo looked puzzled. "But if it's coded to a specific host, then shouldn't it act to destroy another human it's introduced into?"

"In some cases, perhaps in as many as one in ten, it would," Fuyutsuki replied after a few moments. "But it seems to recognize something in a normal human that reverts it back into its colonization mode. However, if the host is older than about five or six, then the chances of death or genetic damage increase dramatically."

Gendo briefly adjusted his glasses. "The more I hear about what their capabilities are, the more I'm looking forward to this, Professor. Where do I fit in?"

"It's quite simple, Colonel," answered Fuyutsuki. "The reason why we have these testing groups scattered among various learning institutions is to study how environment affects their development. The Newtypes all come from a wide range of familial backgrounds and varied childhood situations. For example, the current Alpha of my testing group was taken away from his mother and raised exclusively by his father, to see the effect of pure male socialization on his personality, undiluted by the presence of any maternal figure. Now that they near adulthood, we must prepare these children to become part of an Empire that will soon be transformed. And so your job is to challenge these cadets in your care, to train them to their limits, and to make them into the best and the brightest that the Empire has to offer. That is your task."

Gendo smiled. "Then consider it done, Professor."

"Excellent, Colonel," said Fuyutsuki, nodding. "Let us turn to your cadets. The first one is..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura did not consider herself to be very typical for a girl, driven as she was to become the very best fighter of her generation, but she had been enjoying shopping for clothes with Akane. At that particular moment, they were in one of the trendier shops, looking at fashions imported from all over the world. She was frowning at the price tag on a black leather jacket that had caught her eye when the Tendo girl came out of the nearby dressing room.

"Well?" Akane asked, turning around slowly in front of the three full-length mirrors and studying herself. She looked a bit self-conscious. "What do you think?"

Sakura blinked. "Uh, it's rather daring," she finally ventured.

"Do you think it's too much?" Akane turned back to face the mirror and studied the effect of the outfit on her body critically. The dark-blue mini-dress hugged her figure like a second skin, proudly displaying every nuance of her frame. It was backless, and a diamond of cloth had also been removed from the front, revealing a patch of skin that ran from just between her breasts to down around her lower waist region. "I think it looks good on me."

Sakura absently noticed that a number of males currently gawking at her friend would have been among the first to agree. One was practically drooling.

"You might want to tone it down a little." She gave Akane a grin. "It also looks a little cold to wear for this time of year."

"I just want to make a good impression on Ra- uh, I mean, this boy I like," said the youngest Tendo with a suddenly disconcerted look. "I thought a change in tactics would help, starting with a sexier wardrobe."

Sakura raised one eyebrow. "Well, if he has a pulse, I don't think he could fail to notice you in that outfit. But I think it comes across as a little too obvious."

"I suppose you're right." Akane sighed. This was proving to be more of a challenge than she thought. Acting feminine had never been much of a priority for her, since boys her age had proven to be both immature and weak. That is, until Ranma had walked into her life, the first boy who had proven himself to be tougher than she was. "I'm just not very good at this sort of thing."

Sakura nodded, suddenly feeling a little downcast herself. The two of them made quite a pair, two tomboyish girls out shopping for clothes to impress boys who didn't even notice them. And she was in exactly the same boat as Akane, part of the reason why she was here. Her own beloved Ryu-senpai did not even seem to see her as a potential romantic interest, just a sparring partner with breasts. All he talked about lately was the Arena and _her_. Sakura had grown to loathe the name of her unwitting nemesis for Ryu's heart: Shampoo.

The Chinese Amazon was a growing legend in the annals of the Imperial Arena, reigning undefeated in well over a hundred Arena-sanctioned matches since her debut months ago. She had started out like many others, in the lowliest 'dog pits' of the Arena circuit, but this young, female gaijin had managed to battle her way upwards through the warrior rankings to attain her present position, and she had captured the hearts of young men across the Empire in the process. She was a barbarian, an untamed savage, and they loved her for it.

The Arena had even gone so far as to capitalize on Shampoo's growing fame by instituting a special event in her honor, held once weekly, the so-called "Amazon Challenge." Any male citizen of the Empire who was between the ages of fifteen and twenty could step into the Arena with the purple-haired warrioress and fight to win her hand in marriage, not to mention a tax-free cash prize of ten million yen. And no matter how many challengers she defeated, there always seemed to be another one the next week.

The rules were relatively simple. A challenger paid an entry fee of one million yen, or signed a contract for a six-month term of service in the Arena if they did not have the money (to begin when they were healed enough to fight). After that, all one had to do was walk into the Arena with Shampoo and manage to defeat her in solo hand-to-hand combat. Since its inception, the Amazon Challenge had become one of the highest-rated, televised events in Arena history, with an average audience measured in the hundreds of millions from around the globe.

Now her Ryu-senpai had put his name down on a contract, wagering half a year of his life that he was good enough to put Shampoo down in a fight. His doing so had been the talk of the Combat Club for weeks. He claimed to be doing it to honor his father's teachings, proving the strength of the Kumon School of Martial Arts to the world. But Sakura had her doubts. Shampoo may have been gaijin, but she was also very beautiful, and a tempting prize for a teenage boy.

The fight was scheduled for tonight.

Her musings were interrupted when Akane emerged from the dressing room in a different outfit. The black leather miniskirt and white silk blouse was a much better choice than the previous ensemble had been, and she nodded her approval. At least her friend was more fortunate than she was, not having to contend with someone like Shampoo for the attentions of the boy she liked.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma strolled up to the gates of Kuno Manor and rang the bell. He waited for a response, absently rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Greetings, Saotome-san," came an anonymous voice from the speaker. "You are expected within."

There was a soft buzzing sound from the gate, and Ranma opened it up, letting it swing inwards on well-oiled hinges. He continued on his way, letting the heavy iron portal close behind him with a resounding clang.

Kodachi waited for Ranma's approach to the manor house in her room, having been informed of his presence on the grounds within moments of his entry. She gazed downwards, feeling butterflies rampaging in her belly. She was dressed in a plain kimono of green silk, and a purple obi. Her hair was worn in a ponytail, tied with a purple ribbon. She fussed with her obi while she waited, trying hard to act the part of a lady of her station.

Ranma came around a curve in the pathway leading to the house, and he spied the noblewoman in one of the upper windows. He smiled at the sight of her, feeling an odd quivering within him. He put it down to nerves.

A roaring sound came down the driveway as the walking path he was on intersected it on the way to the house. Ranma paused as a thick-set figure on an older model motorcycle came racing from the garage. With a sudden start, he recognized Lord Kuno as the driver, dressed in a faded leather jacket over casual clothes. Mirrored sunglasses glinted with reflected morning sunlight. The motorcycle came to a halt in front of him.

"Saotome-kun," Daisho said in greeting, smiling at him. "Nice to see you again, boy. Here to see my little Dachi-chan, I trust?"

"Good morning, Kuno-sama," Ranma replied, bowing respectfully. It was a mild struggle to do so. He straightened up and felt nervous again. "Uh, yes, I am. Sir."

"Excellent, Saotome-kun. I know she'll try to hide it, but my little girl's been looking forward to seeing you."

"Yes, sir."

"You and I must talk sometime," said the man, somehow making it sound like a command. He revved up the engine of his motorcycle, smiling almost reverently at the throaty roar it gave off, before letting it drop back into idle after a few moments. "Nothing like the sound of a well-tuned engine, boy. Well, I'm off. Remember, we have some things to talk about, you and I." And with that, he was gone, racing down the driveway at breakneck speed.

Ranma watched Lord Kuno speeding off with a slightly bemused expression on his face. He may not have been 'Principal Kuno' in this timeline, but he was still kind of strange. The pigtailed boy just chalked it up to the many eccentricities inherent among the wealthy.

Forcing herself to stop nervously fussing with her clothes, Kodachi smiled down at Ranma as he paused at the base of the steps leading up to the front door. She saw him look upwards, meeting her gaze with a smile of his own. Her heart suddenly fluttered in her chest at the sight of his blue eyes.

The pigtailed boy waved at Kodachi and then he leaped upwards, quickly landing gracefully on the edge of the balcony below her room. In another few moments, he was outside her window. With a grin, Ranma knocked on the glass.

She was somewhat taken aback at his actions, but she could not deny the thrill she felt at watching him in motion. She swallowed her heart back down her throat, feeling another eruption of butterflies in her belly. She stood there, a shy smile on her face.

"Hey, Kodachi, are you gonna let me in or not?" he called through the glass separating them, his voice teasing.

"Well, I don't know," she replied coquettishly, still smiling shyly. "Coming to my room like this in broad daylight is very bold of you, Saotome-kun. The servants might talk."

Now it was Ranma's turn to be taken aback. He waved his arms in the air in negation, almost knocking himself right off the ledge outside her room.

"H-hey, I wasn't gonna do nothing weird," he said plaintively. Taking a moment to calm himself, he brought his speech patterns back under control. It tended to deteriorate into how his analogs spoke when he got flustered. He continued more calmly, "I was just eager to get to you."

Kodachi blushed at his statement for several moments and then she felt an urge take her. With an impish grin, she unlocked the window and threw it open, almost knocking him off the ledge once again. She watched him quickly scramble inside, and then she remembered that she was still somewhat cross with him over the whole Utena matter.

"Good morning, Saotome-kun," she said coolly, bowing to him in a very ladylike fashion. "You are looking well."

"Uh, good morning, Kodachi," Ranma replied, bowing. He was surprised at her quick change in attitude, and he impulsively asked, "Are you still upset about me talking to Utena?"

She blinked and replied coolly, "Why should I be upset about such a thing, Saotome-kun? After all, there's nothing going on between you and that Tenjou girl, right?"

"Of course not," he denied flatly. "Utena's just a friend." Even as he said that, a memory of the pink-haired girl kissing him on the train station came to mind. He banished it back to the deep recesses of his brain, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Was it possible that Kodachi knew that Utena had spent the night at his house?

The young noblewoman's gaze narrowed at him, ever so slightly.

Seeing that look in her eyes, his already hypersensitive brain went into guilt overload and froze up.

"There was a rumor going around the Academy while you were training," she said calmly. "Some cadets claimed to have seen that Tenjou girl spend the night at your house after your first match with her. Did anything like that happen, Saotome-kun?"

"Yeah, did it, Ranma-kun?" came an unexpected voice from the window.

Ranma snapped his head around to see Nabiki perched there, and his eyes went wide in surprise at seeing her. He could not seem to find the will to move as she almost casually hopped down into Kodachi's room, calmly strolled over to him and then slowly wrapped the fingers of her hands into the front of his shirt.

Kodachi decided to side with Nabiki, for just this time, and she stood quietly to one side, feeling a deep heaviness build in her chest as the Tendo girl interrogated him. The mere thought of her fiancé and that pink-haired trollop together was almost more than she could bear, but she forced herself to hear his side of it before she condemned him. If only he was more like gentle Miki, came the thought from somewhere deep within, startling her for a moment.

"Perhaps you have something to confess?" the Tendo girl asked mildly. Her grip tightened, and she half-lifted him off the floor. She let go of him with one hand, slowly balling it into a fist. Her other arm did not show even a single quiver of strain, and her voice lowered into more dangerous tones. "I think you do."

Ranma gulped, glancing at Kodachi for possible assistance. Her rather stern-looking gaze was a study in feminine anger, and he swallowed again at the sight. He was still a little bit weakened from his battle with Utena, or he might have tried to make a break for it past them.

"Well?" said Nabiki, drawing him nose to nose with her. "Did she spend the night at your house, or not?"

"Yesbutnothinghappened!" Ranma blurted out, wincing his eyes shut as he waited for the first blow to strike. When he didn't feel a punch, he peeked one eye open and began babbling before the Tendo girl could change her mind about hitting him. "It's the truth! She slept in my bedroom, and I slept elsewhere in the house! Nothing happened!"

Nabiki slowly set Ranma down and loosened her grip. She was trained to recognize when someone was attempting to lie to her, and he apparently was not, unless he could fool her. A mirthless smile crossed her face. The pigtailed boy might be capable in a number of areas, but he would never be a good enough liar to deceive her.

"I believe you, Ranma-kun," she said.

Kodachi released the breath she had been holding, feeling a tremendous sense of relief flood through her. She must have misunderstood what had been said between the Tenjou girl and Saotome-kun in his bedroom. Her fiancé was still innocent of the pleasures of the flesh, and that was good. When the time was right, she and her beloved could end their innocence together in each other's arms. The thought sent a wave of contentment through her.

At that moment, Kuno knocked once on Kodachi's door and then opened it without even waiting for an answer. "My dear sister, I-" He froze, seeing an unexpected tableau before him. The villain Saotome stood before him, scandalously unescorted in Kodachi's private bedchambers! Even more damning (if that were possible), the loathsome peasant was being touched by the hand of Kuno's own intended bride! His initial reasons for entry were suddenly forgotten in the rage that instantly began consuming him.

Uh oh, thought Ranma. His mind processed the scene in a flash and gave a quick prediction of Kuno's likely response. He began disentangling himself from Nabiki's grip in his shirt.

"Saotome, you fiend!" roared Kuno. His ever-present bokken appearing in hand as if by magic, he charged the pigtailed boy, intent on mayhem. "Prepare for thy well-deserved doom!"

Briefly shrugging, Nabiki stepped clear to let Ranma fight his own battles. As an afterthought, she gave the pigtailed boy a shove in Kuno's direction to spur him on.

Kodachi was too slow to get between the two boys, and she watched in horror as he stumbled forward, seeming to lose his balance.

"I have you now!" Kuno called out as he executed a downward slash with his weapon, narrowly missing Ranma's skull by the thickness of a coin. His nemesis had dodged at the last instant. "Impossible!"

"I'm really-" said Ranma as he dodged aside from another one of Kuno's strikes. "Getting tired-" He dropped to the floor in a spread-legged move and rolled away from the next series of rapid-fire blows. "Of jerks like you-" His body took to the air in a spin and a leap, coming to land on the blade of Kuno's wooden weapon for a moment. "Who keep attacking me!" His hands grabbed the young nobleman's shoulders in a tight grip, before leaping over the other boy's head and executing a reverse takedown.

Kuno's body seemed to briefly defy physics as it executed a 270-degree flip in midair before slamming facedown into the flooring, leaving a Kuno-shaped crater where he landed. The young nobleman remained there as the dust settled, apparently unconscious.

The whole fight, from start to finish, had taken less than ten seconds.

"Jerk," Ranma grumbled as he stood up and dusted himself off.

Both girls blinked in surprise. Even Nabiki was somewhat astonished at how quickly Ranma had finished the fight, even if it was just against Kuno.

"Are you hurt, Saotome-kun?" asked Kodachi, quickly checking him over for injuries. In her concern for his well-being, her hands seemed to rove on their own, and slightly further afield than decorum allowed.

"Uh, I'm fine, Kodachi." Ranma absently moved her hands away from his person.

Fortunately missing that little exchange, Nabiki walked over and knelt down next to Kuno, noting that he was still twitching slightly. She rolled him over, studied his condition briefly to make sure the damage was only superficial and then she stood up and turned around.

Kuno chose that moment to return to awareness. His eyes were still blurry, but he saw a figure in Chinese-style clothes before him. It could only be that cur, Saotome!

"I fight on!" shouted Kuno, grabbing hold of Nabiki from behind. As he did so, one of his hands came around and grasped her bosom. An odd expression came across his face as he became more aware, and he made the mistake of not immediately letting go.

Nabiki's eyes widened, a look of shock quickly being replaced by one of fury.

Ranma and Kodachi both closed their eyes as a brief scene of carnage took place. There were the distinctive sounds of flesh being battered and joints wrenching for several seconds. It ended when it sounded like Kuno was returned to his place on the floor, rather forcefully.

When it was finally quiet again, Ranma opened his eyes. Nabiki was standing there, looking thoughtful. Her gaze came over to meet his.

"Brother dear!" Kodachi immediately exclaimed, rushing to his side. She cradled him in her arms as she quickly checked his battered body for injuries. It quickly became obvious that the Tendo girl must have been pulling her blows even as she pummeled him unconscious. She took a moment to summon some of the household servants to see to her fallen brother's care before she returned once again to Ranma's side.

The two girls exchanged a brief glare that sizzled in the air between them. Ranma glanced at each of his companions and swallowed softly.

Kodachi took a gentle hold of his arm and enjoyed the soft surge of sweet sensations coursing through her body from being so near him.

Nabiki muscled the noblewoman away from Ranma. "That's enough of that, Kuno-hime. Before you get too carried away, I have some news for you." She gestured at herself with her thumb. "I'm Ranma's fiancée. That means he's off-limits to you from now on."

"What?" said Ranma flatly, echoed by Kodachi's more shrill question a half-second later.

Nabiki nodded and said with a touch of smugness, "His daddy and my daddy made a secret pact to join our two families. I've seen the contract."

"But that's not possible," said Kodachi. "Saotome-kun's father and my father have agreed to a marriage between our families."

"What?" said Ranma and Nabiki together, the pigtailed boy now looking somewhat pale. He sat down in a nearby chair and put his face in his hands while the two girls loudly discussed the matter. In the back of his mind, he thought he heard laughter. Why did these things keep happening to him?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma tipped back the cup of sake and let the fiery liquid slip down his throat. It was a good day, in his opinion.

"The check for Kodachi's dowry, Saotome-kun," said Lord Kuno with a smile, sliding a slip of paper across the table, stopping in front of his drinking companion. He picked up his own cup of sake and let the girl waiting on them refill it. She did the same for Genma, and then Lord Kuno held up his cup. "Here's to the future happiness of our children together, and the many offspring they will have with each other."

"I'll drink to that." Genma smiled. He swallowed down the full cup and then set it down, picking up the check. The number of zeroes on it made him wonder if he was drunker than he thought he was. When they did not change as he squinted at them, a feeling of contentment washed through him.

With this money, his plans would become a reality. He had already made an offer on the abandoned temple sitting next door to the property where the Saotome household was on this world. It would make a fine dojo for the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts, a fine one indeed.

"This is just like old times, eh, Saotome-kun?" said Daisho, as he fondled the girl next to him. There was nothing like visiting a place of the water trade to unwind from a hard week of politics, as well as to conduct a little private business. But now that he had given his old friend the check for Kodachi's dowry, sealing the deal between their two families, it was time for pleasure. He turned to the girl next to him and gave her a deep kiss, moving his hand up to knead her breast.

Akemi Roppongi mimicked being excited when she felt Lord Kuno's hands roaming about on her body. She giggled and sighed at all the proper moments to maintain the illusion. At least he was a much higher class of clientele than she usually dealt with, and a much better tipper. So she let him use her body and expertly feigned her interest.

While his companion enjoyed the girl in his arms, Genma continued to drink and smile. The future was indeed bright.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After listening to the two girls arguing for the better part of an hour, Ranma ordered a truce. Results were mixed.

"Fine," said Nabiki, glowering at the troublesome noblewoman. She was willing to ease off for now, quite confident that the situation would eventually resolve in her favor. After all, Nabiki Tendo never lost.

Kodachi was a bit taken aback at Ranma's words, and she replied rather stiffly, "Very well, Saotome-kun, but only because you ask it of me." She eyed the other girl coolly, her posture showing that she was every inch a lady, something that a lowborn harridan like the Tendo girl could never hope to equal. Her fiancé would come to choose her, since anything else was simply inconceivable.

Although that would leave her free to pursue a relationship with Miki, she noted idly. She quickly blushed at the thought, fighting down the sudden flow of images in her memory from Sukeban-Kodachi.

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the two girls had not chosen to get violent, or worse, mad at him. He knew that the whole situation was still unresolved, and the brief armistice would not last for very long, but he had peace between them for now. That was all that mattered for the moment.

"Could you show me my new lab space, Kodachi?" he asked into the sudden, deathly silence.

"Of course, Saotome-kun," she answered pleasantly, sounding as if she had not been within seconds of going for Nabiki's throat only a few moments ago.

Nabiki gestured towards the door, and said dryly, "Then lead the way, Kuno-hime."

A short walk later brought them into a less-used section of Kuno Manor. Kodachi produced a key and unlocked a sturdy-looking door. She stepped in, and the motion sensors activated the lights smoothly. Boxes of components and tables of unpacked equipment were arrayed around the room in an orderly arrangement.

Ranma stepped into the room and almost had a religious experience at the sight of the resources now available to him. He slowly set down the battered bookbag containing his notebook and the carefully-boxed quantum flux coil within itself. The room around him made his former lab space look totally archaic.

"It's wonderful," he said softly.

Nabiki felt a sudden surge of jealousy at the tone of his voice, and she glanced at Kodachi. The other girl looked insufferably smug at how pleased she had made the pigtailed boy, and it rankled her. Her hand closed into a fist at her side.

"I want to get started right away," Ranma said suddenly, startling both girls out of their thoughts. He retrieved his bookbag and pulled out the contents, setting them on the central table. While the two girls watched, he took inventory, making notes on what he had and what he still needed.

The quest to rescue his father had finally begun, and Ranma and the girls labored through the rest of the day working on the quantum neural resonator, Mark II. If he could somehow manage to keep the two from each other's throats long enough to finish it, then his worries would be over.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that same day, Ryu Kumon sat in the small dressing room that had been made available to him at the Arena. He could hear the sounds of activity out in the hallway as he occupied himself with preparing for the upcoming match. A soft nimbus of chi hovered around his body as he meditated.

"Tonight it begins, Father," he suddenly said into the stillness of the room. "The Kumon School of Martial Arts begins its rise to prominence once again. I will keep my promise. I shall become the greatest martial artist in the world, by whatever means are necessary. I will make you proud of me."

There was a knock at the door. "Thirty minutes until fight time."

He acknowledged the voice, and the speaker went away. Ryu went back to his meditations.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shampoo stepped briskly out of the shower area, her body wrapped in a soft towel. Lithely powerful muscles rippled in her shoulders and arms as she rubbed a second towel through her long, violet hair to dry it, and she slowly walked the distance to her assigned dressing cubicle in her bare feet. Pausing outside the opening to it, she swiftly wrapped the towel around her head before she opened the door to the little closet outside it. With a neutral look, she reached in and pulled out her costume for the match tonight.

The costume in question was one of several that she had. This one consisted of a short-sleeved shirt made from a durable, light purple silk with two golden dragons embroidered boldly upon it in opposing directions. It was just long enough to hang slightly below her hips, and it fit snugly across her torso to show off her figure quite nicely without hindering her movements at all. The plain white sash draped over a hangar was used to belt it at her waist. A skintight set of black silken pants was worn beneath it, and a pair of soft leather boots in white, laced up the front to mid-calf, completed the outfit. It was an audience favorite, so she wore it for most of her challenge matches, even though she found it gaudy. Her usual complaint sounded in her head as she looked it over.

This silly outfit makes me look like some sort of Kung Fu video starlet, Shampoo glumly thought to herself in her native Mandarin with a slight sigh as she stepped into her cubicle. But at least it's better than that leather outfit they tried to get me to wear to fight. Warrior Princess, indeed. At least silk doesn't chafe.

Her cubicle was pretty plain in appearance, nearly identical to the others in the dressing area. The only personal touch she had in hers was her small collection of clippings on each of her victories. Around the perimeter of her dressing mirror were several dozen small newspaper articles, carefully cut out and pasted to cardstock before being tacked on the wall. The headlines were full of such forgettable headers as: 'Amazon Warrior Scores Another Victory'; 'Chinese Amazon Wins Again'; and there was even the first one ever written about her, and the one that she most disliked, 'Shampoo: The Amazon Warrior Princess.' Since that particular article had come out, her proper name was now always mispronounced as Shampoo, instead of Shan Pu, even by her fellow Arena fighters.

The Amazon sighed slightly as she sat down in her dressing chair, and she stretched her long legs out in front of her. Tonight felt like it was going to be a very good night. She had three fights scheduled on the docket, but none of them looked to be any particular challenge for her, two of them were premieres for some corporate-sponsored fighters on the Arena circuit, and the third was her Amazon Challenge match. She smirked, wondering how quickly she could put her latest 'suitor' down for the count.

Relaxing quietly in her chair for a few moments, she loosely rolled her head from side to side until the bones in her neck popped lightly. Her muscles were loose and limber from the hot water shower, and she felt ready to put on a good show tonight.

Around her, a dozen girls around her own age chatted quietly with each other, either around or over the short walls of their individual cubicles, as they dressed for tonight. The mood was slightly subdued, as it always was before matches. An air of nervous tension pervaded the room, especially among the newer girls. Most of them hailed from China, now controlled by the Empire of Japan for over a century and a half, and the rest of the girls came from even farther corners of the Empire. There was one girl of Native American stock, a tall, tanned, reddish-skinned beauty who called herself Running Deer in the language of her people's conquerors. She never spoke her name in her native Apache.

They were all here for one reason, and one reason only, to provide entertainment for their overlords in the Imperial Arena. Shampoo had been here for a number of months now, becoming one of the respected few in the Arena subculture. She had left her people behind many months ago, and she had sworn a solemn oath before the village shrine that she would not return without the prize she sought: citizenship. In the Arena, it was offered as a sop to motivate the masses who fought, bled and sometimes even died for the entertainment of an Empire.

Shampoo did not care. Only the prize mattered, the brass ring at the end of the ride. Once each year, a tournament was held, and only the greatest fighters in the Arena circuit were invited to compete. She had worked hard to get here, and her goal was soon within her reach. She would participate in the Imperial Tournament, and she would win the prize of citizenship for herself. Few women had ever succeeded, but she was an Amazon, a superior woman from a tribe of heroes. At the end of the tournament, there would be only one victor, and the name the crowds screamed would be hers.

Closing her eyes, she let her thoughts drift as she relaxed her mind. Being an Amazon, her skill in the fighting arts had been quickly noticed in the 'dog pits' where she began her career, fighting against men and other women in brutal spectacles. She was selected from among her group of warriors to advance to the next rank, the Regional Arena in Hong Kong. From there, her contract was swiftly bought up one of the many corporate zaibatsus that controlled most of the wealth of the Empire. She had become valuable property.

Shampoo was from a tribe of Amazons in the southern regions of China, the Joketsuzoku. Her people had been mostly ignored by the invaders for over a decade while they subdued the rest of China. However, eventually it was their turn. Others in the area had chosen to fight to the last, such as the Musk. The Empire had obliged them in this desire, and they had committed brutal genocide upon the Amazons' most ancient enemies as an example to other groups in the area.

The leaders of the Joketsuzoku had chosen to surrender to the Empire on semi-favorable terms. The many secrets of the Amazons were preserved, and the Imperial government in Tokyo mostly ignored their existence except for collecting taxes. The Amazons paid lip service to the very infrequent government officials, but otherwise they went about their business.

It was a tribute to Shampoo's supreme fighting skills that her face remained unmarked, and her body had only some few, small scars. These scars existed on her torso and limbs, but nothing of any degree that would detract from her desirability as a woman. That beauty, and her graceful strength in martial arts combat, were the two reasons why she was very popular with the Arena fans. She didn't really care for her fame. She used her time in the Arena to polish and improve her skills a little more each day, and she looked forward to the day when she could finally go home a champion.

The tall Apache girl, Running Deer, was one of the few people that Shampoo considered a friend. The two of them had been together for the last few months, ever since the Amazon had arrived in Tokyo. They had alternated for the topmost slot of fan popularity, along with a Korean girl named Mina Li. Mina was a powerful martial artist, and perhaps the Amazon's strongest and most mutually disliked rival in the Arena. That rivalry had begun the first time that they had faced each other, and it would probably only end when one of them was dead.

Late at night, Shampoo and Running Deer would oftentimes stay up and watch movies or talk about their dreams and plans for the future. The dream that Shampoo had was to return home a citizen, and then find a man able to win her hand. Running Deer had laughed at the Amazon laws when Shampoo had first explained them to her. She had found them to be very odd, especially the idea of falling in love with a man who was willing to beat her up as a form of courtship. However, she eventually made the Amazon a solemn promise that she would come visit and see what the village was like for herself.

Shampoo put aside her musings and busied herself getting ready for tonight's match. She unwrapped the towel from around her body, and admired herself briefly in the mirror with a smile. Opening the drawer on the right side of her dressing table, she pulled out and slipped on one of the pairs of panties that she found neatly folded inside. Right after that, she slipped on a sports bra and adjusted the fit, and then she put on the silk shirt and pants. She paused a moment to study her trim figure in the mirror again.

"Look who's admiring herself again," she heard quite clearly from just across the way. The Amazon turned to glare at the speaker, the Korean contender, Mina Li, who then whispered something more softly to the newer girl next to her. Mina gave Shampoo a cool stare. "You don't have nearly as much to admire about yourself as I do about my own figure."

The Amazon made no reply.

Mina Li was a beautiful Korean girl who was a couple of centimeters taller than Shampoo. She had a bosomy and lithely muscular figure that was barely covered by her low-cut, skintight, white silk outfit. Her straight black hair was cropped short and framed a finely-featured face with full lips. A black sash with blood-red trim was worn around her waist, and a pair of soft black slippers on her feet completed the outfit. She was a dangerous beauty, the image she cultivated.

The Korean girl had left a string of broken bodies behind her on her climb to her present ranking in the Arena, and she had even killed on several occasions, her victims both male and female. One had been a friend of Shampoo's, a fellow Chinese girl who had been an excellent fighter, both with swords as well as barehanded. Arena fights were not supposed to be to the death, especially among the elites. They were each considered to be far too valuable for their skills to die on worldwide television, but Mina did not seem to care, and her high popularity ratings disgusted Shampoo. The Korean girl, on the other hand, was very jealous of the Amazon's even greater popularity.

Turning around, Shampoo ignored Mina, since the Korean girl was beneath her notice. This always infuriated the other girl, and the Amazon heard some loudly-muttered curses in Korean behind her. The other girls in the dressing room were far too afraid of Mina to ever laugh at her, except for Running Deer. Shampoo heard the Apache girl stop outside the Korean's cubicle and make some pointedly-barbed, whispered comment that earned her a screaming tirade of abuse in Korean. Shampoo ignored Mina's shouting at her friend, and she contented herself with looking forward to the day when she would cheerfully kill the girl with her bare hands.

"The Korean princess seems to be in fine form today," remarked Running Deer casually as she stood outside Shampoo's cubicle, a broad grin on her face. "I don't think she's repeated herself once yet."

The Amazon slipped on a pair of socks, and pulled on one of her boots. She began carefully lacing it up the front of her shin. She enjoyed how well they fit, and they gave her excellent traction without being encumbering. She nodded as Running Deer chattered on.

"I still think we should go with my idea sometime," said Running Deer in a conversational tone of voice. "I'll hold her arms, and you can beat the bra stuffings out of her. What do you think of that?"

A loud screech of rage emerged from Mina's cubicle. "I do not stuff my bra, you barbarian giant! These are the real thing, and I have several male conquests who will confirm that!"

Running Deer yawned and then smiled. At a height of 175-centimeters, the Apache girl was one of the tallest girls in their age bracket. She came into Shampoo's cubicle with a casual stride, sat down in the extra chair, and kicked her feet up on the end of the dressing table. Her Arena outfit was a bit barbaric for Shampoo's tastes, but Running Deer liked it. It consisted of a pair of snug, brown leather pants that encased her muscular legs, with a beaded fringe down each outer thigh, and a beaded leather vest. Her straight, coal-black hair was encircled by a colorful headband with more beads and eagle feathers in it that rested below her bangs, the length in back reaching just below her shoulders. Soft leather moccasins encased her feet. Her long, bare arms were sleek and sinewy.

After pulling on her other boot, the Amazon began to lace it up, taking her time. "Running Deer ready for tonight?" She turned to look at her friend. The other girl thought about it a moment.

"Me?" replied Running Deer, shrugging. "I'm always ready for a fight. I'm hoping for a run for my money though tonight. I'm starting to worry that a lack of challenging opponents is making me soft." She punctuated her statement by smacking a bare fist into her other palm.

"Running Deer is last person that Shampoo would call soft," the Amazon said with a smile. Finished with lacing up her boots, she stood up. "We go show these soft Japanese a couple of real fighters!"

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Akane was seated to Sakura's right, cheerfully munching on a bag of popcorn as the house lights dimmed, and the announcer walked out to the center of the Arena. An enormous video monitor overhead brought the man's face into clear focus. He had the smarmy looks of a game show host, but with even better hair. The man bowed to the crowd briefly, and stood up with a smile.

"Good evening, gentlemen and ladies of the Empire! Tonight we have an excellent show lined up for you, so sit back and enjoy the next two hours of spine-tingling carnage! Prepare yourself to witness the acts of masters of the arts of fighting! Our eager competitors come from the farthest corners of the Empire! Give a cheer for our warriors for the evening!" The man paused as the crowd erupted into cheers for their favorite fighters.

Young men and women dressed in colorful fighting costumes jogged out to join the announcer in the center. Akane listened with interest to the cheers from the crowd, offering up some of her own. Beside her, her friend was rather quiet. Some of the fighters apparently had some large fan sections, and spotlights wove through the crowd. Each of the fighters also briefly appeared on the monitors with their names below.

Sakura suddenly stiffened when Ryu appeared on the central monitor, his name scrolling across the bottom of the screen. She was able to pick him out of the line of fighters easily enough, and he seemed almost mesmerized by the crowds surrounding him as he looked around. Seeing the Amazon near the other end of the group, Sakura felt an odd sort of tightness in her chest.

"Please lose, Ryu-senpai," Sakura whispered, the sound unheard in the loud tumult around her.

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After watching men and women beating each other almost to a pulp for over an hour, Ryu knew that it was finally time. He had been closely watching the Amazon's performance in the two matches that preceded his, and her technique was flawless. Neither of her opponents had even been able to touch her, let alone injure her. He was grateful for that. Nothing could be allowed to cast a shadow over his victory tonight, and he was within his contractual rights to request a postponement if such had been the case. He gazed at Shampoo, seated some distance from him with the other elites.

"He's looking at you again," noted Running Deer in an aside to Shampoo.

"Him male. All males look at Shampoo," said the Amazon with a grin.

Running Deer changed tactics. "He's cute."

"Shampoo not notice," said the Amazon with a shrug. "Shampoo only care if citizen boy defeat Shampoo. But that not going to happen. Shampoo too strong."

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Finally, it was time for the Amazon Challenge. A spotlight illuminated the figure of the announcer, standing in the center of the Arena.

"Gentlemen and ladies of the Empire!" called out the announcer to the crowd. "Tonight we again bring you a special show, a test of courage for one lucky young man. Now coming into the center of the Arena is the lovely Shampoo, one of our finest fighters. She remains undefeated in well over a hundred matches of martial arts competition under this roof." A spotlight followed the Amazon as she came out to the center in a series of graceful flips and jumps. She gave one final leap, and she landed in the circle of light around the announcer as she came to a graceful stop.

"Who has dared to make the attempt to tame this beautiful girl from one of the frontiers of the Empire?" Another spotlight came on over Ryu's head, blinding him for a moment as he began walking out to the center to join Shampoo and the announcer. "Ryu Kumon! Our challenger for this evening, comes direct to us from Furinkan Military Academy, one of the future officers of our proud Empire's military. Tonight, if young Ryu can defeat his lovely opponent, not only will he win this lovely Amazon as his bride, but he will also take home a cash prize, tax-free, of ten million yen! As all of Shampoo's many fans across the globe know, any man who defeats an Amazon in fair combat becomes her husband by the laws of her village."

As the announcer walked away, he called out, "And now, let the Amazon Challenge begin!"

With thousands of people watching them here in the Imperial Arena, and millions more witnessing the spectacle from around the world, Ryu and Shampoo engaged each other in combat.

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Akane was on the edge of her seat, cheering loudly for her Amazon hero as the match got underway. She watched as the two traded punches and kicks, testing out each other's defenses. Shampoo made it look almost like a flirtation as she pounded blows into Ryu's defenses, somehow able to combine cuteness and toughness into a single package that the Tendo girl could only envy.

As the match continued on, Akane had a brief fantasy that the couple battling down on the floor were herself and Ranma. She smiled at the thought, and she looked forward to the day that she could face him again in battle.

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Leaping away from a high-circling kick thrown by Ryu, Shampoo almost hovered in midair as she evaded his blows. The Japanese boy was pretty good, but she was slowly taking his measure. He was fast and strong, but she was faster than he was. So she let him wear himself out trying to strike at her.

Ryu was astonished. He had been pulling out every trick that he knew, ones that had enabled him to emerge as the top fighter at Furinkan, and the Amazon was somehow countering everything he threw at her. What was worse, she seemed to be flirting with him, teasing him with her beauty. Why else would he keep feeling this intense desire for her burning within him? He had to defeat her, for the sake of his family honor. What was becoming more obvious to him was that he had to defeat her, so that he could claim her for his own.

The Amazon felt the audience had been entertained for long enough, and she knew that it was now time to end this. She had given the audience a good show, but Ryu was obviously not the one destined to defeat her. With an almost sorrowful look crossing her face, Shampoo suddenly changed her stance.

Ryu felt something change within Shampoo's movements, and he readied himself for whatever was coming. He had time for a single last-ditch defense, and then the Amazon's attacks were all over him. A lightning-fast series of punches and kicks swiftly ripped through his defenses, each one more powerful than the last. He felt her foot explode against his skull, and then the world went dark.

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"RYU-SENPAI!"

Sakura stood there in shock, unable to remember leaping to her feet. The audience erupted in cheers for the Amazon around her, drowning out her own cry in a sea of human voices. Even Akane was cheering for Shampoo, momentarily forgetting her friend.

Down on the Arena floor, Ryu's body had slammed into one of the high Plexiglas walls from the sheer force of Shampoo's knockout blow. He had fallen face-down after impact, and he was no longer moving. Sakura clasped her hands together in front of her face. He just had to be all right.

A movement on the Arena floor caught her eye, and she saw the Amazon stand tall and receive the applause of the crowd with aplomb. A faint haze of crimson seemed to cover her vision as she watched the Chinese girl lift both her arms to the sky, her hands closed into fists. The crowd went wild with cheers.

At that moment, gazing down at a victorious Shampoo, Sakura made a silent vow in the deepest depths of her heart. She would face the purple-haired Amazon in single combat someday, and she would leave Shampoo in the same condition as her beloved Ryu-senpai had been left: battered, broken and humbled. And if the Chinese girl knew what was good for her, she would pray to whatever gods she held most dear that Sakura Kasugano was feeling merciful that day.

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Shampoo has finally made her appearance in the main plotline, so you fans of the purple-haired wonder can cease bugging me about that (you know who you are).

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	17. That Old Black Magic

*** Earth +4.112, +3.066 (-3,882.14761 Years)

A mirage sparkled in the distance across the sea of sand, a simple trick of light caused by reflections from the rising heat waves in the air. A wind blew gently across the sun-scorched sands, rippling the silvery image as it would have across a pond of still water. Then, briefly, the illusion was briefly disturbed by a robed figure suddenly cresting a high dune, garbed in typical desert nomad fashion, to protect the flesh hidden beneath from the effects of the desiccating orb slowly lowering in the western sky. A single waterskin of sturdy leather swung at the figure's waist, and a simple wooden staff was held clutched in a firm grip, the skin on the hand holding it the color of sun-ripened wheat.

The wind suddenly died, and the figure paused, sensing something else rising like a storm even as the air fell silent. A faint upwelling of power could be sensed nearby; a unique enough occurrence to cause the figure to tarry briefly on its journey to parts unknown.

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509 (-3,882.14760 Years)

Taking a drink of water from the skin, the hood of the robe fell back to partially reveal the face of a man of Asian descent. The strange emanations of power in the nearby air had faded away to nothingness mere moments after first being detected, the disturbing sensation of feeling something pressing against the skin of reality from outside vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. But he had waited and cast out his senses to see if a clue as to its nature could be determined.

Letting the waterskin drop back to his side, the man shrugged once and continued on towards his destination, feeling that he had wasted his time in pointless delay.

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*** Earth +4.112, +3.066 (-3,882.14760 Years)

There was a lingering smell of ozone in the oddly still air, a mute counterpoint to the heat of the day scorching the sands. A smoking corpse lay sprawled out across a rolling dune, appearing to have been quite recently struck by lightning despite the cloudless sky above. A few faintly lingering wisps of vapor still trailed upwards into the air. Next to it was a second body, this one the naked form of a man lying face down in the sand, still alive, if only just barely.

The second figure suddenly stirred spasmodically, coughing to clear the grit and sand from his throat. He was a man of Asian descent, tall and muscled like an athlete, with his skin lightly darkened from the sun and wind. A look of confusion suddenly marred his face when the spasms finally ceased, and he gazed upon the features of the corpse, a corpse whose features were identical to his own.

Still coughing occasionally, feeling random bits of rough sand continue to grate against the soft tissues within his throat and mouth, he spat out phlegmy grit and quickly wiped his face with his forearm. Standing up on unsteady legs, he moved closer to the corpse, its eyes wide open and staring. A few insects had already begun to emerge from the sands to investigate this new development in their midst, and it would not be long before other sorts of scavengers emerged as well.

Closing his eyes, the man concentrated for a moment on his breathing, feeling the dry air filling and evacuating from his lungs. Before this moment, his last clear memories were of pain and fear, and a beautiful girl wielding a naginata seemingly made of energy and light. But that was all he could recall for the moment, feeling that blade cleaving through him, and knowing death was coming to claim him. Then he had found himself here, in a desert somewhere, standing next to a body that looked like his own. Memories of what had happened between those two instances were vague and blurry right now.

The memories would return. He somehow knew they would. This all felt very familiar, that he had experienced this before.

He looked around, but only the shifting sands and the slowly rising winds met his gaze. Lifting a hand, he began incanting a spell that would clothe him, and suddenly his skull was filled with white-hot knives of stabbing pain. Collapsing to his knees upon the hot sand, his body was consumed with dry heaves for several agonizing moments.

When the pains and convulsions had finally passed, he shakily rose back to his feet and eyed the corpse. Shrugging his shoulders, he began to strip the body of its clothing and other accoutrements as he took stock of the situation he now found himself in, as his fragmented memories gradually coalesced. Once he had been far more than this, a being able to span time and space as easily as one could step from street to curb, an entity of such raw destructive power that its very name was a hiss and a byword across a galaxy.

Kain.

Desperation had driven him to attempt something he had never attempted before, separating his essence from his body at the brink of his own destruction and blindly casting it out across time and space to escape his own impending death. He had succeeded, but at a terrible price, losing most of his powers and accidentally destroying his other self in this time in the process, forcing him to seek out a suitable vessel that would be able to contain his remaining might. His essence had scanned this miserable rimworld in the span between moments for any being of sufficient strength to suit his purposes, but he could find only one, a human who would someday title himself the Shogun of the Dark.

Even as he felt his essence losing its remaining cohesion and beginning to dissipate, he had attempted to possess and assimilate this human, who had been travelling by foot across the edge of a vast desert wasteland. In an instant, he had absorbed and experienced the temporal lifepath of the Shogun, from its auspicious beginning all the way to its ignominious end, snuffed out beneath the wheels of a common city bus. But the backlash caused by the commingling of their powers had proven to be too much for his chosen vessel. The Shogun of the Dark was killed almost instantly, and even more of his own precious energies had been lost.

His memories were a little clearer now, and he could now recall more of what had happened afterwards. Having tried and failed to possess the body of the Shogun, a daring attempt to cheat death of its victories over them both in the future, he had now become a phantom haunting his own past. The journey here had been a huge gamble, one he knew his essence would not survive a second time. The chances were too great that he would lose cohesion completely if he attempted another time jump to a point even further back within his own existence.

However, a singularly fortunate side-effect of his commingling with the spirit of this human had been the reaping of a rich harvest of energies from its dying body that the Shogun had been slowly accumulating over centuries. These energies granted him a more attractive alternative to submitting meekly to death. Even as the final portions of his essence had begun dissipating away into nothingness, he had used the entirety of that stolen storehouse of power to conjure a special sort of tulpa, a simulacrum vessel constructed of magic in a close resemblance to the flesh and blood form he had sought to inhabit, capable of housing and sustaining him. But this action had rendered him into being something not quite dead but also not quite alive.

However, having done this thing, he had burned out the remainder of his energy reserves, possibly permanently, but perhaps the fullness of his powers would restore themselves in time. Still, being here in the past gave him a most rare opportunity. He no longer cared about revenge against the hated Juraians. Survival was all that mattered now to him. Despite the many annoying gaps existing in their combined memories, Kain knew he had usurped a most useful identity to exploit in regaining his once-godlike powers. It would allow him to move unseen through the shadows of history, a law unto himself alone.

Yes, that was what he would become, a shadow law, stalking down through the ages and slowly shaping the world into one more to his liking. But until he deemed the time to be right, he would refrain from altering any significant historical events, instead quietly profiting from his foreknowledge of them, amassing wealth, political influence, and a secret army of loyal followers, even as he worked behind the scenes of history to ensure his future place in it. He would raise up kings and nations and see them cast down at their proper moments, so that the timeline he remembered would remain relatively unaltered. And while he did so, he would use his foreknowledge of this world's future to build his forces throughout the many hidden corners of unrecorded history.

Then, when he deemed it to be the proper time, he could begin slowly consolidating his control of this world under one nation to form an empire. And when its hold over the globe was nearly complete, aided by his efforts from the shadows, he could then quietly step in and assume absolute control, enjoying the final steps to the final domination of this tiny rimworld, beginning an immortal reign that would eventually reach out across the galaxy and would last for an eternity. He would also find a means to regain what he had sacrificed here this day, by whatever instrumentality was necessary, to once again have a body that was more suitable to his needs, one that was real and alive, not this pathetic ectoplasmic puppet he was now forced to inhabit to survive.

His thoughts triggered additional memories, and he realized this was not his first time experiencing this event. That realization unleashed even more memories. They were galling.

Time and again he had failed in his quest, frustrated by one impediment after another. So, after each defeat, he returned to this moment to try again. Like following a rutted groove in a road, he was only able to use the remnants of his powers as Kain to move back to this singular point in time. It was like passing through the same trapped maze, again and again, each failure forcing him to go back to the beginning.

However, with each iteration, he learned more. Each time he removed more and more impediments to his plans before they could rise to hinder him. With each iteration, his list grew longer, but he gradually became an expert at their elimination. When one played the same game again and again, it grew easier each time to predict the opposition's moves.

That damnable Doctor and his entire Time Lord race had been the very first to fall. On his second iteration and on each one after that, he made sure to slay the Doctor before his first TARDIS jaunt ever even occurred. Washu had been the next to be removed from the game board, although neutralizing her by trapping her in a sub-dimension had proven far easier than his attempts at killing her. And then it was Sailor Pluto's turn.

His list went on from there. It required an almost infinite amount of patience, dealing with each new configuration as he edited history, learning the subtle interplays of cause and effect. When he managed to gain control of Yggdrasil on one past iteration, after slaying Urd and her two troublesome sisters and stealing their access codes, things became even easier on subsequent iterations.

Now, after hundreds of failed attempts and countless millennia of time, his goal was drawing inevitably nearer.

He would finally become something greater than he had ever aspired to before when he was merely Kain or the Shogun of the Dark, a power that none would ever overcome.

He would finally ascend from this modest beginning amidst the mire and detritus of a forgotten rimworld, and he would become God. And once he had attained that, he would gather together the infinite reaches of eternity into his hand and render them all into nothingness, clearing the way for him to rebuild all of reality into his own image. All of his past failures would be eliminated in an instant.

After rising back to his feet, he paused a moment and turned back to briefly gaze at the corpse. A cold smile lit his features.

The Shogun of the Dark was dead. Long live the Shogun of the Dark.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.112, +3.066 - The world of Astronaut-Ranma (Holocaust cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Further changes came to the 'Shampoo 1/2' variant timeline that was created by Ranma's first visit, instigated by an unexpected visitor who was just passing through. Secrets of Project Phoenix were unveiled, as well as some of the ties that bind together the diverse group coming together in Imperial Earth's version of familiar Nerima. Finally, this world's version of Shampoo made her appearance, proving herself an extremely formidable foe in the process.

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Chapter 17 - That Old Black Magic

When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.

- Oscar Wilde

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*** Netherworld 0.000, 0.000

Hell has been described as a place where hope is dead.

Waiting rooms can also conjure up that sensation.

One can only imagine what a waiting room in Hell would be like.

A sense of despair filled the plain room. It was a place quite devoid of any sort of creature comforts, even one as little as some raggedy, old magazines. Bare wooden benches sat pushed against the walls. They hid a few of the mangy-looking, peeled away patches of the otherwise monotonous lime-green enamel. A single bulb hung from the ceiling on a slender wire, casting out a harsh light across the room and its sole occupant. It swayed gently in the uncomfortably warm air gusting out from a crusted grate, the rusty metal noisome with the accumulated funk of millennia.

Mara, Demoness First Class, waited pensively on one of the benches, a seething resentment quietly filling her. It was practically an open insult to one of her rank to make her tarry like this while waiting to be briefed on her next assignment. To make matters worse, her current overseer enjoyed any and all chances she was given to lord her superior position over her and could leave her here to wait for a very long time. Mara could complain about it, but her rank was presently on thin ice after her last few, less than successful, missions. The shadowy overlords of this place did not tolerate failures in their minions very well, so it was better to just quietly take all the petty abuses and strive to remain unnoticed by the higher-ups until her luck improved.

Tugging slightly on the front of her tight minidress, she absently felt the skin-warmed leather slide across her flesh, an almost erotically sensuous sensation that went all but unnoticed by Mara. Her long legs uncrossed and then re-crossed the other way, as she made another futile attempt to shift her position on the bench to a more comfortable one. That goal still eluded her, but at least her derriere was now finally growing numb from the wait.

At that moment, the door leading into the inner office regions came open with a loud bang.

"Mara! Front and center!" barked the voice of her supervisor.

Almost lazily, the platinum-blonde demoness gracefully uncoiled herself from her seated position and rose to her feet. Her perpetual sneer of disdain was muted somewhat as she attempted to appear more obsequious.

Hel, a beautiful princess of these nether realms, eyed her subordinate with a jaundiced eye. Her own pale lavender locks bobbed gently in the fetid breezes emanating from one of the nearby vents, even as her gray cloak billowed out slightly behind her. She waited while the other demoness sauntered over, outwardly calm but simmering within, somehow managing to hold down the urge to rip out Mara's spine and vital organs by sheer willpower.

"Come with me," commanded Hel with an almost unfeminine growl.

"Right behind you, Milady." Mara's face held a tight smile. All the better to plunge a blade into your back, she continued in the privacy of her thoughts. It was a most pleasant fantasy of hers that recurred from time to time.

With a gesture from the lavender-tressed demoness, the scenery around them shifted to that of Hel's private office. She could have summoned Mara there without leaving it, but she preferred a more personal touch in dealing with her assigned lackeys, even one as insufferable as the present one constantly was. She flipped her cloak behind her with a sweep of her arm as she walked over and gracefully seated herself in the comfortable-looking chair behind the large desk. She settled herself into the supple, black leather covering it, composed of skin flayed from the souls of the damned.

Mara dropped into a much less comfortable chair on the other side of the desk. She was a bit tempted to put her feet up on Hel's desk but held off. She was still on probation, after all. But it would have almost been worth it to see the reaction on the other's face.

"There is a new development now brewing in the mortal realm," Hel began without any preamble, perfunctorily flipping open a file folder. "Our latest scryings into Elysium revealed they are monitoring something, a gestating change of some sort that is gradually emerging in the mortal world, apparently initiated by the appearance of two new probability nodes. Our own agents in the region in which they appeared have confirmed this fact, reporting that a vortex of spiritual energies is slowly building in power around them, a worrisome sign of a critical paradigm shift in the makings. Senior management is very concerned by this, and it is a concern I share with them. If we lose control of events at this juncture point, it could force a profound delay in our timetable, or even manage to totally derail many centuries of work."

"Why not simply destroy them?" came Mara's calm reply. The solution seemed obvious to her. If something bothered you, kill it. After all, none of these mortal vermin could ever become a concern. The human animal was a weak-willed, pathetic creature of barely-controlled lusts and passions from the time of its birth into the world, when it first began loudly squalling its desires. Each one of the miserable beings was practically begging to finally yield to the dark potential that lay buried within them all.

Hel paused thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "Such an act was considered, but simply killing them could yield undesirable results." She swiveled her chair around, to face outwards into the great abyss that her office overlooked, the tips of her fingernails gently tapping against each other. Beyond the glass, flying creatures combining both human and bestial forms maneuvered through darkened depths lit only by vast gouts of flame that rose up from somewhere far below, a rather soothing image to her eyes.

While the other demoness mused, Mara grew more and more impatient. Even so, her outward appearance remained calm.

After a time, Hel swiveled back to face Mara, her eyes stern as she studied her subordinate. "Your next assignment is to obtain more detailed reconnaissance concerning these two mortals, to learn their strengths and their weaknesses. Then, when you feel you have learned enough about them, you are to try turning them to our cause. They would make useful allies." She paused a moment, before continuing in a more thoughtful tone. "However, if they will not be turned, then they must be neutralized." A casual gesture caused a three-dimensional image of Ranma and Nabiki to form in mid-air over the desk, slowly rotating counter-clockwise.

"They don't look like much," commented Mara disdainfully, looking at the pair. "They're just a couple of stupid brats." This assignment was looking more and more to be a waste of her abilities.

Hel leaned back in her chair and smirked. "Hardly. Events have already begun moving around them in strange ways, like ripples on a pond. This is only a precautionary move on our part. After all, despite the potential influence of these two children upon future events, they're still only mortals, with all of the weaknesses and foibles inherent to their kind." A smile lit her face. "And, at the very least, your new assignment promises to not be boring."

Mara could almost smell the change in her fortunes, but caution rose up within her. "Why me?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because Elysium will be sending at least one emissary of their own to monitor events up close," replied Hel coolly. She calmly snapped her fingers and a faintly translucent image of Belldandy appeared in mid-air. "One that you are quite familiar with, I'm sure."

Mara stared hatefully at the still image of the Goddess of the Present, as an evil smile curled her lips. She nodded. "I'm your demoness."

"Excellent," said Hel, leaning back in her chair and steepling her fingers. "But I warn you, Mara. I want you to prepare yourself for any contingencies. This is your last chance. Screw this one up, and there won't be any place in the universe for you to hide."

"I won't fail," Mara coldly replied. "I will destroy Belldandy, once and for all. And as for these two children, I will deal with them in my own way. I can be very creative when I try."

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

The ringing of the telephone disturbed the peace of the after-dinner quiet in the Saotome household. Hurrying slightly, Nodoka emerged from the kitchen, her slippered feet making soft, shuffling sounds against the wooden floor of the hallway. She grunted once as the pains of her still healing injuries briefly made themselves known, and then put it out of her mind once again. She and Genma were alone in the house, since Ranma had not yet returned from Kuno Manor. Perhaps it was just as well. Things had been somewhat tense around the house lately, whenever both Saotome men were present.

The situation simmering between Genma and Ranma perplexed Nodoka, and she was becoming worried it would never end. After such a brief time of joy at having them back in her life, it was like two strangers had suddenly replaced her beloved family. She still had no idea what had caused the rift to spring up between the two most important men in her life, but she wanted it to end. It hurt her deeply to see the tension that existed between them now, remembering how happy they had been together just a few weeks ago. What had changed? Neither one would speak to her about it, and her son became especially evasive whenever she broached the subject.

She picked up the telephone, stilling the shrill ringing sound. She paused less than a moment to calm herself before speaking. "Hello? This is the Saotome residence."

"Saotome-san, this is Dr. Ono," came the voice from the other end of the line. There were muffled sounds of some sort of activity nearby. "I'm afraid I don't have much time to talk, but I wanted to pass on the results of the tests I ran. They just came back from the labs."

Nodoka caught her breath. In all the excitement at having Ranma back after his week away training, she had forgotten all about the blood tests that nice doctor had made her take. The nausea had reoccurred only once since causing her abysmal showing against Kenseiko the other day. She quickly banished away the memory of her speedy defeat, before it could cause further erosion to her already precarious mood.

"Saotome-san?"

"I'm here." Nodoka took a deep, quiet breath and calmed herself.

Tofu said, in his best, most professional voice, "As I first suspected from hearing your symptoms, one of the tests came back positive and confirmed, Saotome-san. So let me be the very first person to offer my congratulations to you on what I hope is pleasant news to you. You're pregnant."

Blinking several times at hearing those words, Nodoka suddenly felt faint. She mumbled some inane response she would not later recall and set the telephone back into its cradle. Her eyes suddenly began filling with tears of happiness as she absorbed the thought of having another child.

Pregnant.

Hearing that word had been a shock, but she was certain this joyous news would be just what was needed to bring her family back together. She should have suspected something like this when she missed her last period, but she had missed them on occasion before during times of high stress in her life. In fact, shortly after beginning her marriage to Genma, she had missed one, falsely leading her to conclude she was with child.

Now she was pregnant again. Perhaps it would be another son, but she found herself hoping it was a daughter. She had always wanted a little girl of her own, a daughter to treasure and to teach how to be a proper Japanese woman. And any daughter of hers would be a proper girl, she silently vowed, remembering with dismay her own rambunctious youth. No, her daughter would be different, and she would grow up to be a paragon of demure and gentle femininity.

She hurried to tell her husband the good news.

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Tofu slipped his cellphone back into his jacket pocket and sighed. The commotion behind him involved two paramedics finishing up attaching an IV bag of artificial blood replacement to the injured youth lying on the gurney, as well as sensors to monitor his brain and cardiovascular functions. With only a portion of his attention, he listened to them listing off Ryu Kumon's vital signs, whose presence was the reason why he had been on standby here at the Arena.

Most of his attention was occupied by the two sets of blood tests he held in his hands: one from Nodoka Saotome, and the other from his own wife, Kasumi. Informing the Saotome woman of her pregnancy had only deepened and exacerbated his own disappointment that his wife's was negative once again. It was becoming obvious that he had been wrong about the eldest Tendo daughter's genetic suitability, and he would never be able to father children upon her. It was a pity. His mother had always held such high hopes for the girl, especially with two of her sisters having been accepted by the Project, and her family having such an excellent political placement in the Empire.

He had chosen her for those reasons willingly, as she was also quite lovely and as properly demure as a woman could be. Her two sisters would have been superior choices, if he had chosen a bride purely on the terms of their genetic compatibility, but neither of them could be described as demure or properly obsequious to a man's superior station in the world. And there was also the centuries-old tradition that the eldest daughter should wed first. So he had gambled and lost, and now he had to figure out a way to somehow extricate himself from the current situation while still retaining his honor.

It was a shame, for in all other ways Kasumi was a paragon of what was considered a proper wife in a Japanese woman. But the Ono line had to continue on, and for that to happen would require a wife who could give him an heir. He had been subtly ignoring her for some time, spending more time at work and pondering how to annul his marriage before he wasted any more time in it.

If only his father had not become involved with Keel Lorentz. If only his father had not given him the serum stolen from Project Phoenix. If only he had not sworn upon his honor to keep his father's secret. So many 'if only's.'

"Sensei?" said one of the paramedics. "The patient is ready."

Crumpling the paperwork in his hands and thrusting it within a pocket, he took a moment to replace the mask of compassion he normally wore upon his features. He then turned around and resumed the role that life had crafted for him.

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Akane not so gently shoved and elbowed her way through the press of people that were queuing up to try and get autographs from tonight's batch of fighters. In her hand she tightly clutched her own precious autograph book, hoping to finally get the signature of the one Arena fighter that she most admired in the world, Shampoo. The violet-haired Amazon was her hero, exploding onto the Arena landscape with such strength and fighting skill that the youngest Tendo had not so secretly envied for months. The Chinese girl personified the martial artist that the youngest Tendo had always aspired to be, and she was an icon of female strength that still remained undefeated to this day, despite well over a hundred Arena-sanctioned matches under her belt.

She had been left to her own devices for the time being, Sakura having gone off in pursuit of her fallen Ryu-senpai. So the youngest Tendo had decided to make the most of it, joining a small throng of Arena fans at what was commonly known as 'Signature Row.' There, fighters were separated from fans by bars wide enough to permit autograph books and small gifts to pass, and numerous peaceforcers stationed nearby in the area kept the crowds in relatively good order. Akane, through judicious use of her knees and elbows, had managed to get up to the bars, just in time to see the first of tonight's combatants pass by on their way to the locker rooms and baths.

Keeping her eyes open for her idol, she kept a small amount of space around her clear through judicious use of force. One girl with bright blue-dyed hair had received a tooth-jarring elbow to the face when she had tried to get between Akane and her staked out position at the bars, but a single cold glance from the youngest Tendo's eyes had quelled any interest the other girl had in fighting back.

"There she is!" suddenly came a shout from her right. "Shampoo! It's Shampoo!" And those words set off a chain-reaction through the crowd, which immediately took up chanting the Amazon's name, Akane's voice one among many.

Catching a glimpse of her hero walking with another one of the female Arena fighters, she gazed in adoration. When the Amazon passed nearby, Akane thrust her arm through the bars, her hand still tightly clutching the autograph book. "Shampoo! Can I have your autograph? I'm your biggest fan!"

The Amazon paused amidst the flurry of shouts for her attention, and she saw a short-haired Japanese girl holding out an autograph book and looking quite desperate. She had heard such things said to her before, finding it amusing that the conquerors of her people were so enamored of her own fighting exploits in the Arena. What set this girl off from so many other fans, Shampoo could not say. With a smile, she nodded and reached out for it, setting off a feeding frenzy on the other side of the bars.

"Back off!" shouted Akane, using her free arm to elbow the ribs of an older boy who tried to shove her out of place. "She's signing my book first!" When that did not dissuade him, she stomped down on his instep and shouldered him back bodily, where he vanished behind her into the tight press of fans.

Shampoo took the proffered book from the Tendo girl and scribbled her name into it, handing it back quickly as even more autograph books were being thrust in her direction, trying in vain to keep up with the demand, even as camera flashes nearly blinded her. Beside her, Running Deer was doing a brisk business as well, signing autograph books and even posing for the occasional camera shot from her own small crowd of fans. A little ways down the line, Mina Li was practically holding court, signing books, posing seductively for pictures, blowing kisses at the crowd and generally basking in the raw adulation of her fans.

Receiving back her book from the Amazon, Akane's eyes shone brightly as she pulled it in and held it clutched tightly to her chest. She had finally gotten her idol's autograph. And Shampoo had even smiled at her! There had even been a moment, when their hands brushed against each other, that the youngest Tendo had felt an odd sort of recognition towards the Chinese girl, something she had only felt a very few times before, such as with Sakura or those three tramps foolishly pursuing her Ranma. It was an odd sensation, but it also gave her the feeling of being a kindred spirit with the Amazon. And that thought made her feel happy.

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Out of the corner of her eye, Ryoko studied her travelling companion of the past few days, currently seated on a flat rock on the other side of the campfire and consuming his meal with gusto. They had been making good time hitchhiking, much better than she had been anticipating. And today had been a good match for them both, their last before the pair finally reached Tokyo city proper. Ryoko felt a surprising pang of regret that their journey together was ending. The Hibiki boy had grown on her quite a bit, ever since he had first stumbled into her camp, and she was starting to realize that she would miss him when their trek together was over. But only as a good friend, she quickly amended, startled to discover a blush briefly rising on her cheeks.

It was fortunate for him that he was too engrossed in eating his meal to spot her momentary discomfiture, or she would have had to pound on him out of general principles. For one thing, her travelling companion was almost a full year younger than she was, nearer to her brother's age. She had been a bit surprised to find herself feeling attracted to a younger guy, but the innocence and naiveté he had sometimes displayed during their time on the road together were oddly appealing.

His physical strength also rivaled hers, which was a very attractive quality on its own merits. One of the reasons she had so far resisted her mother's will about accepting an arranged marriage was that she was a little afraid of her own freakish strength. How could she ever be intimate with a guy when she could unintentionally break his spine with a hug, let alone anything more passionate? But she quickly banished that particular thought to the back recesses of her mind, before it could cause her to blush again.

Ryoga's skills were marginally less than hers, and his combat style still favored a more brute force approach, but he was proving to be an adequate sparring partner despite these flaws. She absently traced a finger along a particularly livid bruise on her jaw as she paused in her own eating, a thoughtful look on her face. She found herself at random moments to be oddly envious of his rather intense rivalry with this Ukyo guy he constantly ranted about. It gave him a clear focus for improving himself that she herself had never had. By striving to defeat a strong rival, she could ascend even higher in her mastery of the martial arts, but even at a tough school like hers at St. Hebereke there was no one around who could really offer her much of a challenge.

Noticing him glance up at her, she looked more openly at him and said, "I thought we might trade stories tonight."

"I don't know any stories." He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, after swallowing a large mouthful of food.

"Well, have you ever heard the story of my ancestors, Hibiki-kun?"

Ryoga shook his head in negation.

Blinking in surprise, she hadn't expected that. "You're serious? You've never heard the story? But it's almost mythical! A tale of great heroism and the power of true love!" She shook her head when she saw the blank look remain on his face, unable to believe that her companion was unfamiliar with the story of two of the Masakis' greatest heroes. After all, as far as she knew, it really was a legend in the region they both came from.

"Well, then allow me to change that," said Ryoko with a smile, warming to the opportunity of playing teacher. She tossed another log on the fire, its flickering light enhancing the otherworldly features she had inherited from her namesake ancestress. When that was done, she looked over at him and smiled, revealing her slight fangs. "It all began some seven centuries past..."

And so she began telling the tale, of a time long ago, when a mighty demon and a valiant samurai came together in savage battle. She saw the interested look appear in his eyes. It reminded her of the first time she herself had heard this epic tale from her elderly grandfather, Katsuhito Masaki. He always told it as if he had lived it himself, the meeting of the original Ryoko, and her samurai foe, Yosho.

The campfire burned brightly between them as the green-haired girl told the tale in grand fashion, of her namesake's first appearance on Earth from the realms beyond the sky, the demoness possessed of vast powers capable of shattering mountains. And pursuing her was a great samurai hailing from a far-off land, a clean-limbed warrior of noblest bearing, his features as handsome as a demigod, and whose sword skill was the very stuff of legends. Within moments of their mutual arrival, the demoness turned to face her enemy, and they clashed together in fierce and blood-soaked battle. But, armed with the power of his holy blade, Tenchi-ken, Yosho proved an equal match for her fearsome might.

They battled for three days and three nights, neither combatant able to attain a clear advantage. Quarter was neither asked for, nor offered. Strange fires and curious lightnings raged between them. It seemed as if their struggle would never end, but, for a single instant, his blade came quite near to impaling her savage heart. However, that precious chance for victory was lost when the samurai hesitated at the very last moment to deliver the killing blow, to strike the demoness down. That twinkling of doubt nearly cost him his life, and her blade came within millimeters of severing his head from his neck. And so their struggle continued, as fierce and unyielding as before.

However, their battle had attracted the attention of the spirit realms, and an entity appeared amidst them in a globe of green fire. He was a most cold-hearted and vile beast, a Yama King, possessing strength enough to rend the entire earth into rubble in his hands.

His name was Kagato.

The fire snapped at that moment, and Ryoga twitched in surprise. He bit back an angry retort at the gleam of amusement in his companion's eyes, and he gestured for her to continue her story.

With a smile, she picked up right where she had left off, with Kagato the dark god appearing amidst the two struggling foes.

Kagato spoke with Yosho, engaging the samurai in conversation and even plying him with taunts and jibes. While doing so, the dark god snapped his fingers to summon Ryoko to his side, and she obeyed him like some kind of a faithful hound. And that act was the beginning of the Yama King's downfall. Her eyes blazed green in the god's presence like the fading fires of his first appearance as she went to his side, and Yosho came to a most startling realization.

His beautiful adversary was not a demon at all, but a lady samurai, a samurai-ko, her very will stolen by foul magics and her body forced to serve this evil creature against her desires. This sudden realization set Yosho into a rage, and he attacked Kagato with all of his fury and skill. But his body was still weakened from days spent fighting Ryoko without rest, and the dark god slapped him aside with a contemptuous gesture. The pair left him in that fallen state, Kagato summoning another globe of green fire to carry himself and her away.

Yosho laid still, his strength all but depleted, but his will remained undaunted. After a time, he slowly managed to regain his feet and stumble to a nearby stream, almost falling into it. He knelt down, allowing the coolness of the icy water to slake the terrible thirst racking his body. And even as he drank his fill and rested there, he plotted a grievous revenge upon Kagato for his crimes. He swore a mighty oath upon Tenchi-ken, the great sword of his ancestors that he carried, that he would destroy his enemy and redeem the beautiful girl from her hellish bondage.

The heavens themselves were moved by his vow, and the sparkling veils of the spirit realms parted once again to reveal the eldritch form of a goddess, whose beauty was unmatched throughout both heaven and earth. With wondering awe, the battered warrior stood up from where he had been kneeling and slowly approached the now beckoning goddess. He knew who she was to the very core of his being without asking, and he addressed her by name.

"Tsunami-dono," he cried, his soul aching to destroy the demon lord. "Give me the power to vanquish Kagato. I beg of you this boon, with all my heart and with all my soul."

The goddess Tsunami was greatly moved by the passions of this valiant samurai, and so she granted his wish. She touched him with only the tip of one finger, for so great was her power that to do the same with her full hand would have burned him to ashes. He felt an answering power suddenly bloom within him at her touch, and so great was his sense of wonder at this gift that he failed to notice the shadow of sadness that crossed her features. Later on, he would come to know the reason why.

Filled with power, he single-handedly stormed the ramparts of the demon lord's castle. He slew his enemy's soulless guardians by the score, making his way inward to the festering heart of the fortress, where his true enemy lay. His heart was filled with only two desires: to avenge himself upon Kagato, and to rescue the beautiful Ryoko.

Fearing Yosho's new strength, the villain sent Ryoko to fight against her would-be paramour, her mind still clouded by his power. Desperate, the samurai loudly proclaimed his newfound love for the girl, to try and snap her out of her trance. Never having heard such words directed at her before, she broke off her attack and stumbled back in great confusion, her mind going to war with itself as it began struggling against Kagato's iron control. Deep within her soul, she felt an answering passion for the samurai kindle, but her will was far too weakened by years of enforced servitude to the dark god to break free.

Kagato laughed cruelly as Ryoko's will was beaten down, and her body became a puppet once again to the dark god's desires. Her blade met Yosho's in clash after ringing clash as the two fought from one side of the dark god's throne room to the other. Yet despite his unyielding hold on her mind, tears began to trickle from the corners of her eyes, even though they appeared to hold nothing but animalistic fury against her master's enemy.

It was at this time that a second goddess chose to act, a trickster and mischief-maker, imprisoned by the Yama King long ago through treachery. Her name was Washu. Using what little power still remained to her, she summoned the girl's spirit form into the prison which bound her. Bereft of her soul, Ryoko's body collapsed into unconsciousness. And having been cheated of his game, Kagato raged against the imprisoned goddess, and his fury was awe-inspiring.

The dark god drew forth his mighty blade and attacked Yosho, to strike down this warrior who had caused such frustration to his schemes. So it was that the two came together in mortal combat, blade against blade, and both knew that one of them would not walk away from this encounter. A storm of lightning and fire blew throughout Kagato's throne room, a hurricane of elemental destruction centering on the two struggling beings. The heroic samurai gave it his all, but his great skill and desire to win were not enough.

A slash of the dark god's blade relieved Yosho of his weapon, and even came near to ending his life. The demon lord then struck him hard in the face, downing him with a contemptuous blow of his fist, but in his arrogance could not resist taunting his fallen foe further.

"You are beaten," said Kagato with scorn. "It is useless to resist me, Yosho. The fair Ryoko is my creature, my property, to do with as I please. She will never be more than she is now, a tool of destruction that I control. You were a fool to believe otherwise. Your feelings for her, your feeble proclamations of love, have no place within her existence. This useless thing you call love has made an otherwise capable warrior into something weak and stupid, for she can never return this feeling you profess. She is simply not capable of it."

Watching from within the trickster-goddess' prison, Ryoko saw the hero's will to resist begin faltering. Heedless of the potential consequences to herself, she fell upon the trickster-goddess, grasping Washu up and shaking her with all her strength, demanding that she help Yosho. She did not know what this feeling was within her that his words had awakened, but she knew she could not have him die. She cried his name loudly even as her hands tightened their grip and continued their throttling of the trickster-goddess, and somehow her words wended their way beyond the prison to the samurai. And her words were heard.

Kagato raised his blade over Yosho's head, holding onto it with both hands, his lips twisted into an expression of mockery for the samurai's broken appearance. "So much for the power of love."

At that moment, a miracle happened.

Hearing the girl's voice encouraging him to not give up, as if coming from across a vast gulf of space, Yosho's right hand tightened into a fist as the dark god's sword reached the apex of its ascent, and within its grip a sparkling of incandescent energy suddenly coalesced into a new blade. In the blink of an eye it was fully formed, and Yosho moved without thought, his body reacting purely on instinct alone as his foe's blade began to come down. An upsweeping slash of the samurai's weapon opened the dark god's midsection from hip to opposing shoulder, almost bisecting him.

"I-impossible," murmured Kagato, the sword falling from his grip as he stumbled back. "I had defeated you. You had no power. This can't be happening." And his form began to dissolve as he spoke, from the path of Yosho's strike and spreading outwards. The Yama King's eyes settled on his foe for one last instant, and no one can say what passed between them. And then Kagato was gone, as if he never was.

"With Kagato's death, the dark god's power over the trickster-goddess was ended," said Ryoko with a smile. "Ryoko was forever freed of her geas, and she wasted no time in making her own desires known to her savior. Despite setbacks, the samurai eventually fell victim to her feminine wiles. They lived together and had many other adventures together."

Ryoga blinked, surprised to find that he had been caught up in the story. He shrugged his shoulders, posturing a bit as he grunted, "So, whatever finally happened to Yosho and Ryoko?"

"Well," said the green-haired girl, staring upwards at the heavens for several moments as she paused. "One of the setbacks that Ryoko had to deal with was a young priestess named Mie Masaki, the daughter of an influential priest and quite beautiful by all accounts. She had been offered to Yosho, along with the guardianship of the Masaki Shrine, as a reward for ending the threat to the region. In my grandfather's tales, Mie and Ryoko took a strong disliking to each other from the very beginning, perpetuating a rivalry with each other for Yosho's affections.

Despite this, Ryoko settled down with him for a time. And, although they never married, Yosho eventually fathered a child upon her, and the former demoness gave birth to a girl with hair and eyes like her own. But a settled sort of life was not her way, for she was a proud warrior and possessed of a strong wanderlust. So she left the young infant in her lover's care and departed for realms unknown, promising to return someday."

"Sounds kind of sad," commented Ryoga, unsure what else to say, his gaze watching the fire as it continued to die.

Ryoko nodded a moment and said, "Yosho eventually married Mie and adopted the young infant as a Masaki, but a piece of his heart was forever Ryoko's. When his wife died of old age, he left the shrine in the care of his children and grandchildren and went away, vanishing into legend. But it is said that his spirit returns to the shrine from time to time, waiting for the return of his beloved." Sighing rather wistfully, she crossed her arms over her breasts and hugged herself.

Watching the normally much tougher-acting girl he had been travelling with go all teary-eyed just from thinking about some old story, Ryoga shook his head. He would never, even if he lived to be a century old, understand girls. They were a complete mystery to him. Not one of them thought like a guy did.

After several moments had passed, he looked up at the stars, his hands tightening into fists. He was finally almost to Tokyo, finally nearing his goal, thanks to Ryoko's help. A day or two of travelling left, and his enemy would finally pay for making him endure the cruel hardships and torments he had suffered on his journey to find the other boy. Nothing could be more aggravating than having a girl beat him up, and every bruise she had dealt to him during their sparring sessions he intended to pay back upon Ukyo with immense interest. The ninja boy would know who the better man was when he lay bruised and bleeding at Ryoga's feet. Laying back on his bedroll, he began to smile wolfishly.

Nothing could keep him from exacting his righteous vengeance now.

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Ukyo felt an irrepressible sneeze suddenly assault her nose, a small explosion of air erupting from her lungs that distracted her at a critical moment. There came the distinctive clang of flattened steel impacting against the bones of her skull, knocking her to the ground. She got up a moment later, rubbing the back of her head.

"What's the big idea of hitting me like that when I wasn't ready?" she grumbled. She could already feel a large lump appearing on the back of her skull.

A grinning Yumi was quick to admonish her niece. "You've been acting cocky all afternoon, thinking those other girls don't hold a candle to your fighting skills. But it's a mistake to underestimate an opponent before facing them. If you truly think Ranma is a prize worth fighting for, then I want you to show these other girls that they have no chance against you. You are a Kuonji, the heir to our clan's teachings and techniques, and I will help you as best I can. Arrogance could prove to be your undoing, but the fight is ultimately yours to win."

"I'm not going to lose my fiancé to any of those city-bred girls," Ukyo stated defiantly. "He's mine, and I've never lost a fight in my life when it really counted. Ever. I'll show those tramps that I'm going to be the one that Ranchan is going to marry, and nobody better stand in my way!" To punctuate her point, Ukyo formed a tight fist with her hand, causing the tendons to crack and pop menacingly.

Yumi nodded. She had come up during a brief break after the initial dinner rush to see how her niece was doing. The girl had been up here training all day, practicing on her techniques with the Kuonjis' preferred weapon. She had given her niece the week off to train, wanting the girl to arrive at her first day of classes at the Academy ready for any trouble. She had quietly snuck upstairs to test her young niece's ability at reacting to a surprise attack.

Admittedly, striking an opponent from behind in the midst of a sneeze had been a sneaky thing to do, but Ukyo had to be prepared to deal with any and all eventualities that could happen in a fight. It was amusing in a way that her niece was just like she had been at that age, full of confidence that she could take on the world. She only hoped that the girl found the happiness that she never had.

Yumi shook her head. She was not normally this introspective. Maybe that was because she was finding herself in the unfamiliar role of a mother figure. She patted Ukyo on the head, pointed out a few of the potential weaknesses in her niece's technique that a crafty enemy could exploit, and went back downstairs with a wry grin on her face.

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A staccato pattern of heavy thudding sounds resounded from one of the exercise rooms in Furinkan's gymnasium. The sound occasionally sped up in its rhythm and then slowed back down, but it never stopped. And on the lower edge of audibility was a single muttered word, like a mantra.

Shampoo.

Within the exercise room, Sakura powered another series of kicks and punches into the heavy leather bag. Each time she slowed down, the memory of her Ryu-senpai's brutal defeat at the Amazon's hands blazed within her memories, reigniting her fury. She had been at this ever since her return from the Arena, holding the rage within her during the ride back on the bus with Akane. She had only half-listened to her friend's happy babbling about how much fun it had been to visit the Arena during the long trip back, contributing the occasional grunt now and then for her portion of the conversation. Her thoughts had been elsewhere, plotting the downfall of a certain purple-haired Chinese girl.

Shampoo.

Picturing it as the other girl's face, she drove her fists hard into the punching bag with all of her strength, again and again, trying in vain to distract herself from the ache filling her heart. Her hands, toughened over the years from her training, were starting to go numb from her efforts, but Sakura didn't care.

Her beloved Ryu-senpai would be fighting in the Arena for the next six months, unless he had been crippled during his fight with that Chinese bimbo. Nobody would tell her anything when she had left Akane to try and find out how he was, and she had been tempted to start breaking heads until someone did. And it was all that damned Amazon's fault!

If she hadn't run across that nice doctor who had been treating her Ryu-senpai, she was not sure what she might have done. He had calmed her down enough to allow her to reclaim her focus enough to continue calming on her own, or she might have gotten herself into some real trouble. Unlike Akane, she did not have any family to pull strings if she had given into her impulses and started trouble. She was grateful to Tofu-sensei for his kindness. Her Ryu-senpai had not been injured seriously, but he had lost some blood from some of his injuries and was now sleeping and recovering.

Sakura growled the Amazon's name, low in her throat like an animal. Her feet slammed into the bag, rocking it back and forth on its chain as she spun back and forth to add power. She would start by smashing into pulp that Chinese bimbo's pretty features, so that no man would ever desire her again. She would break every one of the Amazon's limbs into so many pieces that she would never be able to fight again. When Sakura was through, that damned Shampoo would be lucky if she could still eat through a tube.

Blows continued to rain into the bag as a young girl fantasized about destroying the object of her wrath.

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Ryu Kumon's return to consciousness was a slow process, and he blinked his eyes open to behold a plain ceiling overhead, in a room dimly lit by light leaking under a door. The mattress under his back was a very firm one, feeling so much like his regulation-issue cot in his room at Furinkan's dorms that he thought he was there at first. But, moving his gaze around, the illusion of familiarity was quickly dispelled. He was in a hospital? It was hard to think as his brain gradually lurched back into activity.

Moving very slowly, he sat up, and his vision swam as he felt a moment or two of vertigo, almost causing him to throw up. His thoughts felt fuzzy and disjointed, like his brain was wrapped in cotton batting or something. His face also felt oddly numb, and his nose appeared to be plugged up, as he quickly discovered when he made an attempt to take a shallow breath. Feeling a throbbing pain in his ribs, experience told him that a deeper one would be a definite mistake. Various areas of his body were bandaged, an intravenous tube was hooked to one of his arms, and he was attached to a monitoring device by several wires. It gave off a gentle beeping sound in time with his heart rate.

The memory of his fight with Shampoo suddenly blossomed in his brain, and he hung his head in angry dismay, almost gnashing his teeth. He had failed! The Amazon bitch had beaten him soundly, mercilessly, and he clenched his fists tightly in utter shame at the thought of that humiliating loss. The Kumon School of Martial Arts was all that he had left of his family legacy, and he had now dishonored it by his absolute failure to defeat her, a loss that had been seen by countless millions of people across the globe. He could feel his father's spirit staring down at him disapprovingly from the shadows, adding to his tremendous feelings of grief.

Why had he failed? Why had he weakened in his resolve? The answer was galling to him when it came. Having finally come face to face with the famed Amazon, after studying numerous tapes of her fights for weeks in search of the slightest flaws to exploit, he had discovered in himself an unexpectedly strong desire for her, and his carefully cultivated focus had been lost. All of his many sparring matches against Sakura, in order to inure himself against any sort of hesitations when fighting against a girl, had apparently been for nothing. He had felt similar pangs of desire for his sparring partner, but nothing as strong as those he had felt for Shampoo on the floor of the Arena. Simple lust for the barbarian girl had cost him his victory, as well as his chance to glorify his family's name, and he found himself hating her for that, with a level of passion that he had never before felt for any opponent.

"Shampoo," he whispered into the quiet darkness of his room, his voice dripping with barely-suppressed rage. "I will see you defeated for what you have done to me, as utterly humbled as you have left me, and then, when I have attained that revenge, the barbaric customs of your own tribe will make you my bride." He laughed softly at that pleasant thought, salving his wounded ego with thoughts of the Amazon's ultimate fate at his hands. He would redeem the honor of his ancestors using the beautiful Chinese girl's beaten body as the coin, and, as an added bonus, she would then be his to possess for his own. The thoughts of what would take place upon their marriage bed were nearly as pleasant as those of his hoped for revenge against the girl.

He lapsed once more into silence, his mood darkening even further for several moments. Then a wolfish smile crossed his face. The challenge of defeating a strong opponent was all that he had ever lived for, an attitude that his father had gone to great lengths to beat into him over their many years of wandering the Empire together, while his sire trained him to be the greatest martial artist that the world had ever known. And he would show everyone that he was the best, or all of that pain and effort would have been for nothing. So if the Amazon desired a man to conquer her, then he would be that conqueror and force her to submit to him in single combat. Then, she would be the sweet spoils of his victory.

The door suddenly opened while Ryu was still brooding, and he blinked his eyes rapidly for a few moments at the change in brightness before they quickly adjusted. Thoughts of his revenge upon the Amazon were temporarily set aside as he glanced at the man now standing in the doorway. He did not recognize him, and his face took on a guarded expression when the man casually reached up and adjusted his glasses, but the friendly smile on the stranger's face was putting him more at ease.

"I'm pleased to see that you're already awake, Kumon-san," said the man cheerfully as he walked closer, setting aside a clipboard. "I'm Tofu Ono, the doctor who treated you after your match. I was on duty here when they brought you in." He set down his clipboard and pulled a small penlight from his pocket and flicked it on. "Follow this with your eyes, please." He waved the penlight in front of Ryu's gaze, moving it from one side to the other. When he was done, he flicked it off and returned it to his pocket. "Good."

"I'm all right, Ono-sensei?" Ryu asked, curious.

Tofu smiled again. "Well, I wouldn't say you're all right. When they brought you in, you had a moderate concussion and some deep contusion damage, not to mention quite a few bruised and cracked ribs." He paused for a moment and then he pressed several points on Ryu's torso in rapid succession. He then began removing the IV drip and cardiac sensors. "However, your concussion's already faded after only a couple of hours of rest, which is very impressive, and I've done what I can to relieve your pain and speed healing of your other wounds. But you're still going to be injured for some time yet." He suddenly paused a moment, as if sensing something.

"I guess the Amazon proved to be a bit too much for you, eh, new meat?" suddenly said a coolly sardonic voice from the doorway. Both Ryu and Tofu glanced over to see an athletically-built Chinese youth with handsome features casually standing there in the opening, leaning one shoulder against the door frame as he stood posed with arms folded and hip half-cocked. He was dressed well, in black silken pants and shoes, and a silver leather vest of costly material. Small golden loops of earrings adorned each of his ears, and a mocking smirk seemed to be a permanent fixture upon his face.

Ryu definitely did not like the looks of this new arrival. Never the most diplomatic person even at his best, he snapped, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm sort of the welcome wagon around here, new meat," casually sneered the stranger. "The name's Tarou, and it's a name you'd be well-advised to remember from now on with respect. After all, in just a few months I'm going to be the crowned champion at the upcoming annual tournament, so consider yourself pretty lucky to be meeting me, especially outside of an Arena match. But for now, I'm here to introduce you to your new home, since it looks like you'll be staying with us for a while." As he spoke, the mocking smile never left his face. His gaze slid over to meet Tofu's. "The Arena Director wants to see the new arrival."

The doctor's expression was calm, but his usual smile was momentarily absent as he met the boy's gaze levelly. "I understand. Please give my regards to the Director." He turned back to face Ryu. "Take care of yourself, Kumon-san." With that, he gathered up his clipboard and walked out past the Chinese boy as if he wasn't even there.

Tarou disdainfully puffed out a brief burst of air after Tofu had gone past him. He glared intently at the doctor's departing form, incensed that anyone would ever try and ignore him. But he quickly calmed himself by casually slipping a hand inside one of his pants pockets, his fingers fondling the sheer silk of one of his latest acquisitions. The touch of pantyhose was his secret pleasure, even though it was one that no one could ever discover or reveal. After all, he was known in the Arena rolls as Ikasu Tarou (Cool Guy Tarou). He had carefully chosen that name for himself when he had first started out in the dog pits, where every Arena legend had begun. It reflected the image he wished to present to the world, not to mention his extreme confidence in eventually winning the prize of citizenship. But if his secret was ever discovered, he was certain he would very quickly become known as 'Pantyhose' Tarou, for the world of the Arena was an unforgiving one, and nicknames had a way of sticking.

When Ryu did not join him quickly enough for his tastes, the Chinese boy smiled coldly and went into the room. Ryu glanced up just as Tarou came near, and he was surprised when the other boy suddenly grasped him by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. His ribs flared with pain at the sudden movement.

"When I tell someone to move, new meat," said the Chinese youth in a conversational tone of voice, "I expect them to be quicker." Seeing the defiant look in the other boy's eyes, Tarou smiled even more. "I'd teach you some proper respect for your betters, citizen boy, but the Director's waiting for you. So get going!" Shifting his grip, he shoved Ryu in the direction of the open doorway.

Sullenly, after quickly regaining his sense of balance, Ryu obeyed the other boy's instructions and headed out into the hallway. The pair walked to the nearby elevator and waited for it to arrive. He ignored the Chinese youth as best he could.

When they arrived at the outer office of the Arena Director, Tarou had Ryu sit in a chair by the simple expedience of shoving him down into it. He went over to the secretary, an attractive woman with red hair pulled back into a ponytail, dressed in a conservative business suit. The name on the desk plaque read "Mai Shiranui."

"Hey there, Mai-chan," said the Chinese boy with a lecherous grin. "I've brought the new guy here to see the Director. He's expecting us."

"Go right in, Tarou-san." She nodded primly at the set of double doors leading into the inner office. "You know how the Director hates to be kept waiting." She then turned her head back to her work with a sniff, pointedly ignoring the Chinese boy.

Grinning, Tarou stood up straight and glanced at Ryu. "Follow me," he commanded. He glanced back at Mai briefly. "When I'm done in there, how about you and I going out for some tea, gorgeous?"

"I don't think so, Tarou-san," she replied coolly, as if it was a line she had delivered often enough to have grown tired of it. Noting Ryu's regard of her, she added, "You know I don't date younger men."

"Your loss, Mai-chan." Tarou grabbed his charge by the back of his collar to hurry him along and opened the door to the Arena Director's office. "She wants me," he whispered so that only Ryu heard. "It's only a matter of time until I break down her resistance."

Stepping into the office, the first thing that caught Ryu's attention was the decor. It was simple, almost spartan in many ways, which made the few items of ornamentation stand out in stark contrast. Classical ink brush sketches adorned the walls at several key points, and a few sculptures of both eastern and western design rested at each corner. There were even flowers and other decorative plants set in the room. And everything was placed in such a way to give a sense of good feng shui permeating the room.

The second thing that caught his attention was the matching pair of statuesque women standing to either side of the figure seated behind the large desk on the far side of the room. They were near identical liliths, both Puma-class security models, each of them standing about two meters in height. Both were impressively built, broad of shoulder, lithely muscular, and well-endowed. They each wore their long manes of hair pulled back into a single thick braid that ran down almost to the small of their back. The single distinctive feature between them, aside from their catlike ears, were their catlike eyes, specifically the coloring. Both of them had mismatched eye colors, one eye blue and the other green, but one had a blue left eye and the other had a green left eye.

Dressed in short-sleeved dark-green uniforms similar to those worn by the Arena's security forces, they stood with arms folded beneath their breasts, rather solemn expressions on their faces. From where he was standing, Ryu could just barely make out the names stenciled into patches on the right-front breasts of their uniforms, "Ana" and "Uni."

In comparison to the woman, the figure seated behind the desk was not quite as imposing, but he carried an air of quiet menace nonetheless. He was a pale-skinned, somewhat corpulent figure of a man, apparently a half-breed, with the locks of his blond hair worn straight and curling outwards at his collar, dressed in a well-tailored business suit. He looked up and eyed the two arrivals, spending most of his attention on the new arrival.

"Come in, Kumon-san," said the man with gruff affability. "I'm sure that you've guessed who I am by now. I am Kakedo Sasaki, the Director of this facility. Please, come in and have a seat. You and I have a few items to discuss regarding your fulfillment of the specified terms of your contract. Tarou, you're dismissed."

At a nod from the Director, both Ana and Uni broke ranks and strolled over to the door, one Puma less than gently shoving a surprised Tarou back out the door before closing it in his face, and the other grabbing Ryu up by the back of his collar and almost frog-marching him towards the chair in front of the desk. She then shoved him down into the seat. Through it all, the only change of the Director's expression had been the brief appearance of a slight smirk on his face.

As the two bodyguards returned to their original positions, Director Sasaki smiled blandly at Ryu and said, "Now, shall we begin?"

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Several days passed.

Ranma carefully placed the quantum flux coil into its designated spot upon the main circuitboard and affixed it with a couple of small daubs of solder. When that was finally done, he released the breath he had been unconsciously holding and set down the soldering iron into its rack. A smile lit his face, and he turned to see how Kodachi was doing with the control unit's programming. Nabiki had lacked the skills to help them with any of the technical work, but she had seemed content to simply watch, even though he was certain she spent most of her time studying him.

Her hair pulled back tightly into a single ponytail to keep it out of her way, the young noblewoman typed away on the keyboard in front of her and frowned slightly at the results she was getting on the screen. She brushed back a stray lock of her hair absently, unaware of his regard. The program was giving her errors, and it was very irritating to a programmer of her abilities. Still, she had been pleased to discover she was able to contribute something useful to their task, and her prior efforts with Ranma's otherworld analog had given her a very in-depth understanding of the mathematics involved and the underlying software controlling the transceiver.

She had spent the past several days refining the subroutines from the surprisingly snarled piece of coding work that he had used with his prototype unit's setup. The changes he had since added to try and correct the memory backwash problem during the retrieval cycle had made smoothing the software code even more challenging, but her skills had risen to the challenge. She was even adding a few elegant touches of her own here and there to augment his rather brute force solutions. They improved the measure of safety only slightly, but every little bit helped. Even so, one of the very worst things that could happen would be for the control software to freeze or crash, a potentially fatal risk to the user that was simply unacceptable, so she was working hard to render it into a flawlessly stable program.

Turning away from looking at Kodachi, Ranma was again struck by the vast differences between this version of the noblewoman and her analogs in other timelines that he was familiar with. She was far gentler and kinder by nature, a very different sort of girl from the mean-spirited and incredibly spoiled brats that those other versions of her had each become. Still, it was sometimes a bit difficult to look at her without overlaying those images, especially with the memory of nearly being killed by a plant monster while he had inhabited one of his analogs still so fresh in his mind. But she was not a violent, borderline sociopath, far from it. She was a beautiful girl, rather intelligent and introspective, and his fiancée due to a rather strange set of circumstances. And while she was someone he also felt a strong attraction for, attraction was not love.

That brought him to the other half of his current dilemma: Nabiki. The middle Tendo daughter also raised ambivalent feelings within him. Yes, she was undeniably attractive and shapely, but even before her download of that martial artist version of herself she had been the source of numerous verbal taunts and repartee at his expense. Now that she was possessed of fighting skills roughly equivalent to his own, an entirely new dimension of complexity had been added to their already weird relationship, especially since that useless excuse for a human being now inhabiting his father's brain had gotten him engaged to her.

She had become both his rival and his fiancée practically overnight, and now the two of them played a rather strange game of dominance and seduction between themselves. He refused to humbly submit and be like the Ranma her analog's memories were used to, and that was the source of the conflict that continuously simmered between them. Both of them possessed the downloaded skills and memories of lives where their other selves had been highly-trained fighting machines par excellence, the heirs to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts of their respective worlds, and also the stubborn pride that went with that title. But here, in this world, both of them had an arguably equal claim to that title, since the Anything-Goes School did not appear to exist as far as he knew.

He had defeated her in a closely-fought duel, their only real fight so far with each other, but he knew that could not be the end of it. It bothered him now and then, when he thought about it, how much he had relished the fierce battle at times, enjoying dominating her as he had proven his might to be superior to hers. It was an unexpected aspect of himself that he sometimes worried about, albeit less and less as time went on, this awakened desire within him to prove he was the alpha male. So far, he had proven himself able to meet any challenge that had come his way, from the Wolf Pack to Utena Tenjou.

Recalling Utena raised another problem rapidly developing in his life. The list of girls complicating his previously quiet existence seemed to keep growing by leaps and bounds ever since his first mnemonic download through the resonator. At first there had been only Akane and Nabiki Tendo involved in his life, but then Kodachi Kuno, Ukyo Kuonji and Utena Tenjou had quickly entered into his orbit. However, out of the entire group, the last two girls were the ones he felt most comfortable with. And he felt a surprisingly strong physical attraction to all of them, even Akane.

Then there was the enigmatic Tiger. The redheaded catgirl had been assigned to him in order to prepare him for his rematch last week against Utena. She was a product of genetic science at a level unknown on his analogs' worlds, a synthetic human, a replicant, commonly called a lilith. She had tested his martial arts abilities to their previous limits, beating him up mercilessly for days, forcing him to improve in the fiery crucible of battle. And in the end he had triumphed over her, although the memories of his victory were vague, a victim of the amnesia caused by giving himself up to the Nekoken. She had been long gone when he had awakened several hours later on that last day of his training, like a beautiful, terrifying dream.

The memories from his other selves were of little help when it came to dealing with girls, since those troubled analogs of himself were far and away even more stunted in their awareness of the concepts of sex and romance than he was, and he adamantly refused to explore whatever help Ranko's memories might have to offer him. It still disturbed him a bit that there was a complete female psyche lurking within some dimly lit corner of his consciousness. Maybe that was why he felt so much more comfortable with Ukyo and Utena. Since they tended to act like guys, it was easier to relate to them and talk to them.

Ukyo raised another question as well. Was he engaged to her too? It was a delicate question to ask the ninja girl, and he did not want to give her the wrong impression. That sort of misunderstanding would likely end up with him getting beaten up, the way his luck had been running recently, and there had been far too much of that going on already. No, it was best to just ignore the whole situation for now and concentrate on rescuing his father. With that in mind, he pulled out a circuit tester and began going over every connection carefully.

Having spent the last several days playing fetch and carry for Ranma, Nabiki was more than a little irked that Kodachi had proven more useful than she was. Once he had been made aware of the young noblewoman's abilities with a computer, he had placed her in charge of the software, and he had begun assembling and testing the hardware over the past week. That had left Nabiki with little to do other than grabbing components from boxes and bringing them over to him, and she had filled her idle moments by casting resentful glances at the other girl.

Closing her hands briefly into fists and then relaxing them back open, she mused about the future. Her secret training in the Amaguriken technique was now complete, adding a powerful new weapon to her arsenal that she was looking forward to surprising Ranma with. She had even spent some time practicing her calligraphy, composing a formal letter of challenge that she was planning to give him when he walked with her to school. It was a little out of her way, but she didn't trust the noblewoman to keep from pressing her claim. Picking him up in her family's limousine and chauffeuring him to the Academy would be just the sort of thing that the Kuno girl would do to try and impress him.

"I'm finished," announced Ranma, startling the Tendo girl out of her reverie. She glanced over to see him closing up the case to the resonator unit.

Kodachi glanced up from her screen. "Give me but a moment to finish compiling my last program build, and I shall be finished as well. I think you'll be pleased with my efforts, Saotome-kun." She flashed a brief smirk at a suddenly scowling Nabiki, an exchange of looks that the pigtailed boy did not appear to notice, caught up as he was in putting the last screws into the case.

At that moment there was a brief knock at the door. One of the many household servants entered, bowed deeply, and announced primly, "Dinner is now being served in the main hall, Kuno-dono. His Lordship has extended an invitation to both of your guests to join the family at dinner." He turned to look at Ranma. "Saotome-san, your parents have already been notified that you have been invited, and your mother has offered her permission." And turning briefly to face Nabiki, he said, "Tendo-san, your father has also been notified, and he has extended his permission for you as well." After bowing once more, he waited at the door, the picture of the perfect house servant.

"Oh, I had no idea that it had grown so late already," Kodachi stated in surprise. She got up from her workstation and smiled at Ranma. "I would be most honored if you would join me and be my escort to table, Saotome-kun." Pointedly ignoring the simmering Tendo girl, she offered her arm to Ranma.

Taking it by reflex, he stammered out, "Uh, y-yeah. O-of course. I'd be honored. We can finish this tomorrow after classes."

"With your permission then, Milady. If you would all follow me?"

Ranma and Kodachi exited the room arm in arm, and behind them came a wrath-filled female figure, her true state of emotions barely concealed behind a cool-eyed mask. And so the trio went to join the rest of the Kunos at dinner.

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Gosunkugi closed the book on the last of his assigned homework and set the text aside, glad to finally be free from dealing with such dull material. He crossed his forearms and rested them on the desk before lowering his chin atop them, gazing out at the rising moon. The window to his room was open, and he could hear the neighbors involved with their respective dinners. His own dinner had been take-out from the corner noodle shop.

He turned his head to gaze at the single photograph near his small shrine to Akane. It was a framed picture taken many years ago, of his father holding a toddler in his arms and smiling. The infant was himself, and the picture had been taken less than a year before the man's last mission for the Mobius Institute, the one that resulted in his disappearance. His mother had simply fallen apart at the loss of her husband, and he had been sent away to live with relatives for a time. But she had recovered, and he had returned to live with her less than a year later. They now lived on a modest stipend from the Empire.

The awakening of his Esper powers was due to his sire. His father had been an artifact hunter for the Institute, one of many such individuals whose job it was to find lost objects of antiquity and mystic power from around the globe. One such minor relic had brought his powers to life, although it had taken a few years for them to manifest enough to alert the Institute. He had promptly been taken from school and enrolled in classes there, meeting the girl who would become both his closest friend and his nemesis, Manami Minami. She had both bullied him and looked out for him ever since, for reasons she kept to herself. Once, when they were ten, he had wondered out loud why she kept hanging around him, and she had slugged him hard enough to knock him down, one of many mysteries concerning her he knew he would never solve.

Now she was nearing the final phase of being a Ghost Sweeper trainee, and he was coming to the end of his own training as an Esper-enhanced information gatherer for the Empire. Unfortunately, his abilities were so weak that it was entirely likely that he would be spending his entire future career telepathically receiving and sifting through piles of information gathered by agents in the field with stronger abilities. He would likely never see Minami again after graduation in a few years, and that thought filled him with a mixture of both relief and sadness. She had been such a fixture in his life that he found it difficult to even imagine existence without her being nearby to boss him around. But they had already started drifting apart, the young Ghost Sweeper now spending her time with her new friends and dating as many different boys as she could seem to fit into her schedule. It was pretty obvious she had no need for him.

His gaze drifted to land on one of the many pictures he had of Akane, his beautiful dream girl. He sighed wistfully once, as he studied her exquisite features intently, feeling a powerful sense of longing for her fill his being. She looked so strong and capable, an intoxicating mixture of indomitable beauty and sheer physical might. Until that miserable villain and his pet noblewoman thug had brutally beaten his beloved goddess, she had seemed to be invincible.

Poor Akane.

Reluctantly tearing his gaze away from a picture of one of her private training routines, the youngest Tendo's image forever frozen in time, caught split-legged in a kick, her foot impacting hard into a dummy, he noticed the tome he had removed from the Institute seeming to beckon to him once again. He had studied the writings contained within its pages from cover to cover for many days now, detailing a ritual that would unlock abilities within him that would propel him down the road to becoming a true mage. The stars and planets would all be in their proper alignments tonight. After all of his waiting and preparations, tonight would finally see the beginning of the end for that miserable pair: Ranma Saotome and Kodachi Kuno.

A short burst of psychotic-sounding laughter erupted from his throat, cut off at the end by coughing.

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"More tea, Tendo-san?"

Nabiki nodded in reply to Kenseiko's primly polite question from her place at the dinner table, seated directly across from Kuno and next to a simmering Kodachi. Taking a brief break from eating the sumptuous meal that had been set out before her, she observed one of the Kunos' servants quickly hurrying to pour more tea for her. Having been rather unexpectedly invited along with Ranma to dine with the Kunos had been testing her diplomatic skills a bit, especially since she could not manage to ignore the unmistakable vibes of hostility that she was getting from both Kodachi and her mother, hidden beneath their polite manners. As to the lust-filled glances she was getting from the young heir to the Kuno name, even less needed to be said about how disturbed they made her feel.

At his own place at the table, across from Kodachi and seated next to a coldly-polite Kuno, Ranma's thoughts were kept busy studying several quantum dynamics theorems in his mind. He was gamely trying to use the mathematical puzzles to distract him from the doe-eyed glances he was getting from the young noblewoman, who had spent the entire meal gazing at him just barely within the bounds of politeness. Each one of her smoldering glances kept causing him to make errors now and then in his mental calculations and forcing him to start over. At the same time, he was also quickly consuming plate after plate of the delicious meal set before him with polite gusto, restraining himself with effort at times to keep from simply guzzling it down like one of his counterparts would.

Kodachi noticed that Ranma was looking at her again, and she shifted her gaze away from him shyly. Having him here at her home for dinner was causing nervous butterflies to spout up within her, distracting her terribly. She had not been troubled by such nervousness while she had been focused on her work, but now she was. She quickly shifted her attention, only to arrive at the wholly unwelcome sight of the middle Tendo girl seated next to her, causing her fingers to whiten slightly as their grip on her chopsticks tightened.

Distracted from eating by their table guests, Kuno struggled hard to maintain the stoicism of a true samurai lord, but it was difficult when he was seated so near his true beloved. One of them, he very quickly amended, not wishing to slight the fair yet high-spirited Akane even in the privacy of his own thoughts. It had been a week since his match with Nabiki, but he was not yet ready to battle her again. He wanted to make their next match unforgettable, but it was difficult to hold himself restrained from embracing her.

How could both Tendo girls, not to mention his shy and foolishly naive younger sister, have become so captivated by the lowly knave now seated to his right? What madness possessed such wonderful members of the fairer sex, that all of them would set their sights on such a vile, ill-mannered peasant as Ranma Saotome? It was utterly inconceivable.

Kenseiko spared her only daughter a sympathetic glance. Watching her precious Dachi-chan act so shyly around the Saotome boy, it was quite obvious that she had fallen in love with him. And they made quite a nice-looking couple together, which made the odd telephone call she had received from the Kaoru matriarch even more puzzling. The woman had somehow become even more vacuous over the years, and she had gone on for some time about inanities before finally coming to the point. Even talking with Nodoka had been less irritating, but that was beside the point.

The Kaorus were officially requesting that Kodachi attend a formal dance with Miki, to take place at Ohtori Academy. Due to the complex web of fragile alliances that were always a factor in the dealings among the nobility, she had found herself unable to simply say no. To do so would be to risk alienating a useful ally, and that she was not prepared to do.

What was puzzling about the request was the indication that the two had already been spending time together, and the boy desired to spend some more with Kodachi. It was all being done according to protocol, but there had also been an undercurrent of threat to the matter. Since her daughter was not officially engaged yet, it would not be considered a breach of decorum for her to attend a function with another young man, so she had eventually given her permission. It was possible that the Kaorus were seeking to formalize their alliance with the Kunos through marriage, but the timing was inconvenient.

Shifting her gaze to Ranma, she mused at how the passage of time could change so many things. It was quite an ironic twist of fate that the daughter of her own womb was now involved with the offspring of her arch-rival, but she found it difficult to dislike the boy. Despite his humbler origins and rather coarser manners, he had impressed her with the way he treated her Dachi-chan, and she knew he would make a fine addition to the family as a future Kuno.

She could also tell that he would defend Kodachi if need be, and that was a great comfort to a mother who loved her daughter like she did her precious child. But it was still astonishing how such a one as this boy could have ever sprung from the likes of the ill-mannered thug that Nodoka had been in her youth, and most likely still was. But he carried a great deal of her in his facial features and the structure of his frame.

She had been noticing the looks being exchanged by her daughter and the Tendo girl, and she found it a pity that a daughter born of grace and blue-blooded nobility should have to put up with interference to her desires from such a one. Still, in her own youthful follies, when she had carried a different family name, dealing with such annoyances had motivated her to grow far stronger than she otherwise would have been capable. She mused with a slight smile on the memories of her three greatest nemeses in those past, gloriously misspent days of their youth: Nodoka Himura, Achika Masaki, and Kimiko Nakakami. How she had despised Nodoka and Achika, and still did. Only the soldier cadet, Kimiko, had been an occasional ally at times, in innumerable doomed plots seeking to finally crush Nodoka, schemes that always seemed to unravel at the very brink of victory.

It was perhaps ironic that Kimiko's ghost was still frustrating her plans from beyond the grave, in the personages of her daughters. Her old ally was having one last laugh at her expense, but Kenseiko would turn the tables if she had any say in the matter. The boy would marry her beloved Dachi-chan, completing her revenge against Nodoka by taking his name from the Saotome register when he became a Kuno. And as for Nabiki, she would be wise to leave Ranma to Kodachi.

She studied the pigtailed boy speculatively between bites of her meal, her thoughts on her daughter's recent request. The Kunos owned and maintained a fairly sizable pineapple plantation in the prefecture of Hawaii, and Kodachi had asked if she could take Ranma there on a vacation during the upcoming class break in a month or so. A romantic getaway in an island paradise would give her daughter time to cement her hold on the Saotome boy, likely by Kodachi seducing him into her bed. It was a bold scheme, and she was secretly proud of Kodachi for having come up with it.

"OHHOHOHOHO!"

Ranma came near to swallowing his chopsticks when the woman suddenly burst out into a loud gale of evil, feminine laughter. He glanced at Kodachi, thinking it was her at first, but she was eating her food as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. A glance at Kuno and his father showed the same calmness. Shrugging, he went back to eating his meal, grateful once again that this version of Kodachi did not seem prone to laughing like that.

Looking down the table, Daisho smiled at his wife affectionately. It was always nice to hear her laugh like that, and it usually meant she was plotting something fun. That boded well for him tonight, since his beloved was always far more amorous when one of her plans was coming together.

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Godai sighed tiredly as he fumbled with his keys for a moment, before finally finding the right one for the lock. He could hear the sounds of a raucous party drifting over from across the hall, and he was a little tempted to join in the festivities. After his interview with Furinkan's new headmaster, he had spent a week immersed in the history section of the academy's library. He was determined to do his absolute best by his students, to instill within them a pride in the great undertaking that the Empire represented, to unify humanity under one leadership, guided by the divine mandate of the Emperor.

Besides, if he did well, it would likely mean a promotion. A higher rank would bring with it the opportunity to move into a much larger apartment by means of a greater subsidy allowance, and it would finally enable him to satisfy his parents' urgings for him to settle down with a good woman. As things stood now, he had little to offer any woman, other than an embarrassingly small apartment in a dumpy little rooming house with a shared bath down the hall.

As he tiredly pushed open the door to his room, Godai heard the sounds of carousing across the hall suddenly grow much louder as the door to his neighbor's apartment suddenly flew open. With a long-suffering sigh, he turned to see a drunken Akemi smiling at him in a rather sultry fashion, her body standing poised in the open doorway as she took a quick swig from a small bottle of sake in her hand. Her dark blue yukata was an attractive counterpoint to her hair, dyed a deep red ever since he had first met her. Both were somewhat disheveled.

"Godai-kun," she purred with a slight hiccup. "You missed most of the party. Where have you been, you naughty boy?" She leaned back against the open doorway and sighed dramatically. "I missed you, little tin soldier."

He grimaced slightly at the nickname. Seeing his reaction, she smiled with even more smoldering sensuality in her gaze. He knew she enjoyed teasing him. Everyone in the rooming house did. They saw him as a fake soldier, a man who wore the uniform of an Imperial officer, but one who would likely never see actual combat. He nodded slightly to her and continued on into his room, shutting out her pursuing laugh.

Slumping up against the inside of the door, he smiled back at her in a self-deprecating fashion. Maybe he really was only a tin soldier, but he was also a man of dreams and ambitions. Someday, he would realize them.

As he began walking deeper into the light gloom of his apartment, he turned on the lights with an absent flick of his finger against the wall switch. He pulled off his jacket and carefully hung it up in his closet, briefly recalling the proud look in his father's eyes when a not much younger Godai had first returned home, dressed in the uniform of an Imperial officer.

Noticing the blinking light on his answering machine, he walked over and tapped the button to play back his messages. The first one was from his mother, wondering if he was going to be paying them a visit during the upcoming spring break. Knowing her as he did, undoubtedly she already had a number of girls picked out for him to meet. That sort of pressure he really did not need when he was supposed to be on vacation.

The other one sounded like a recorded announcement, or perhaps that of a well-practiced telemarketer, since it lacked the pauses that a live speaker normally had. He listened to it, wondering what the catch was going to be.

"Congratulations, Godai-san," said the anonymous female voice. "You have been selected to receive a wondrous gift, and I am authorized to bestow it upon you at your earliest convenience, should you choose to accept it. You can be assured that there is no obligation involved, and I will be available at any hour of the day to deliver your gift in person." The voice went on to recite a fourteen-digit telephone code that he could use to reply to this message, before wishing him a good evening and hanging up.

Shrugging his shoulders, figuring he had nothing to lose, he played the message back a second time and quickly scribbled down the telephone code. He idly wondered who the voice represented, not to mention why they were going to give him a gift, but maybe it was a sign that his luck was about to change. He carefully dialed in the telephone number and waited while the line connected. He heard it ring twice before being picked up.

"Good evening, Godai-san," said the same pleasant, female voice that had left the message on his machine. "You have reached the Goddess Relief Office, and a representative will be there shortly to deliver your gift." A moment later, the other end hung up, leaving him to stand there and look puzzled.

He was still staring at the telephone in his hand when there suddenly came a faint glimmering from within the mirror on his closet door. Godai stared at the startling sight, hardly daring to blink as the glimmering quickly brightened, and a beautiful girl with light-colored hair and complexion, not to mention the deepest blue eyes that he had ever seen, suddenly appeared from within the depths of the looking glass. Odd tattoos of some sort adorned each of her cheeks, and her forehead as well. Her slender form was swathed in an elaborate outfit of semi-diaphanous silks and a flaring skirt of strange materials, and her tresses were held in place by a scarf. She poked her head clear of the surface of the mirror and smiled innocently at him. Ripplings of light rolled outward across the surface of the looking glass as more and more of her body emerged.

Godai stared for several moments at the unexpected vision that had so suddenly appeared in his room, but then his training took over. His hand dropped to close on the butt of his sidearm, still holstered at his waist, even as he felt an odd reluctance to draw it. He gazed in awed rapture at the vision of demure femininity laid before his eyes, before slowly removing his hand from the weapon. A sensation of peace filled his soul as he beheld the beautiful girl finally emerge fully from the glass to hover in mid-air before him, her feet suspended several centimeters above the floor.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked, finally finding his voice. "What are you?" Even as he spoke, he felt himself held captivated by her beauty and the sense of innocence she projected.

The vision before him smiled gently, bowed her head slightly, and she replied, "Good evening, Godai-san. My name is Belldandy, and I am a goddess. You have been chosen from among all other mortals to receive a great gift, a wish for anything that your heart might desire."

His brain came close to stalling out for several moments as it futilely attempted to process that particular input. A wish? For anything he desired? Anything at all? Instantly, fantasies of fame, power and wealth, not to mention crowds of adoring women, washed across his mind for a brief moment. The entire world had just been offered to him, and his imagination savored the possibilities. But then he quickly shook his head. This could not be real. He was just an ordinary man living an ordinary life in an ordinary world, and such things as goddesses appearing and offering wishes did not happen to men like himself.

"You're wrong, Godai-san," she reproved gently, still smiling her sweet smile. "Any of your desires could be met. You have been offered this gift as a reward for having a good heart and a kind nature. All you have to do is ask for it, and whatever you desire shall be yours."

"A-are you reading my mind?" he stammered out. A thought suddenly occurred to him. Perhaps the woman was an agent sent from the Mobius Institute for some obscure purpose. That could explain her abilities. Perhaps this was some sort of Security Directorate test. He saw a look of mild consternation lightly brush across her beautiful features, and he smiled suddenly. He was certain he knew just how to turn this situation around and show this woman from the Institute just what he was made of.

He pointed at her and said with a smile, "I know what I want for my wish. I wish that a beautiful girl like you would fall in love with me and stay with me forever." He lowered his pointing finger and waited for the strange woman's act to end.

After looking quite startled for a moment, Belldandy's smile returned, but now with an added element of shyness added into it. The marks on her face flared brightly, and an aura of divine power suddenly surged up around her. Godai quickly averted his gaze from the intense burst of brilliance, trying to shield his face from the light with upraised hands. What was happening now?

She closed her eyes and spread her arms wide, a ball of energy quickly forming before her, and her entire body became almost suffused with a beatific glow. She held that rapturous pose for a moment, feeling her spirit link up with the Yggdrasil main system as she prepared to upload the specified request. A coruscating column of blue iridescent energy suddenly roared up through the ceiling, yet there was no damage left in its wake in even the slightest way.

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Within the Mobius Institute, a young woman with pale hair, barely more than a girl really, blinked her eyes open suddenly and looked around. She sat up in her bed, her slender form lit only by the silvery light of the moon shining upon her. Dropping her bare feet to the floor, she stood up gracefully, her white, sheer silk nightgown hiding little of a trim and finely-formed figure.

After calmly striding over to the window, she threw it open and looked outwards across the city, her gaze absent of any hint of emotion other than mild curiosity. Something was happening; she could sense it, a sudden surge of magical power. A wintry half-smile briefly crossed her features as she felt the energies fading away.

The sorceress known as Frost would know what it was, and if it was a threat to the Empire she had sworn upon her honor to serve.

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Ayaka Kisaragi blinked in pain at the sudden headache exploding behind her eyes, abruptly halting her drifting off into sleep. She cursed out loud from the pain, immediately regretting having spent another weekend of drinking and partying with her three best friends in the world: Yui Ikari, Natsumi Tsujimoto, and Miyuki Kobayakawa. It had been wonderful fun, but she had to be up early tomorrow, to begin another week spent at her current assignment at the Imperial Academy.

As the pain in her head gradually receded, she sensed that the brief surge in the local ambient ethereal energies was already beginning to fade away. She lurched out of her bed and came to her feet, weaving only slightly, her body presently clothed in one of her favorite silk nightgowns. Something major had just happened, and it was nearby. She stumbled over to her window just as her cellular telephone rang quite shrilly. She snatched it up quickly, even as her other arm swept back the curtain over her window.

"Kisaragi here," she said, her eyes studying the Tokyo skyline for any visible sign of the source of that etheric surge. But she saw nothing.

"I've just received a report that some sort of immense energy pulse has taken place in your vicinity," said the voice of Director Kasuga over the phone. "Did you sense it? The power levels went off the top of the scale."

She grimaced, but kept most of the sarcasm out of her voice. "Sense it? Yeah, I felt it all right. Very powerful." Her voice trailed off as she cast her senses out into the nearby vicinity. She felt a fading echo of the surge still resounding in the area. If she was very lucky, she would be able to find the source before it faded completely.

"Find out what you can, Kisaragi. I'm counting on you."

"Yes, sir." She heard an acknowledging grunt from the other end of the phone and then it was abruptly hung up. She clicked off the telephone with her thumb, her senses still probing outwards into the surrounding night. She would discover the source of that odd energy and determine if it was malevolent or not. If it was, then she would destroy it. It was part of her job, after all.

Going over to her nightstand, Ayaka opened the drawer and pulled out several items: a small bottle of pills, a gun and a metal cylinder. She gingerly popped open the bottle and quickly shook out a couple of pills from within. She dry-swallowed them and braced herself. As the chemical concoction abruptly hit her system, she snapped fully upright, feeling her body burning off the alcoholic haze remaining within her. The experience quickly passed, leaving her mind clear and her body ready for action. Combat drugs were a wonderful invention, but she knew in the back of her mind that she was going to regret this later. Still, for an hour or so, she would be at the top of her abilities.

She continued her preparations, feeling her stomach burble once or twice in complaint. She ignored it. The pistol she picked up was a short-barreled 9mm automatic in blued steel, standard Institute-issue for an undercover operative like herself. However, the cylinder was a family heirloom, her Red Dragon Spirit Capture Star Sword. After quickly ejecting the magazine currently in the gun, she reached into the drawer and pulled out a different one. The bullets contained in this magazine were special-issue ammunition made by the Institute, the tips composed of orichalcum. Very faint runic traceries added to their lethality to supernatural beings. Each round was extremely expensive to create and only meant to be used in emergencies. However, the current situation seemed to warrant it.

Slapping the magazine into her pistol and working the slide, she easily chambered a round. Flicking the safety on with her thumb, she set it down on her bed with the sword pommel and went over to her closet to find something more appropriate to wear. She had a very general sense now as to where her quarry was located, the echoes of the energy pulse leaving an afterimage on her senses like a flashbulb on a retina.

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Minami blinked and gasped suddenly, her attention yanked away from the textbook spread open in front of her. Something big had just happened nearby, and that spelled an opportunity in her eyes. Other than Kisaragi-sensei, she was the only Ghost Sweeper (albeit still just a trainee) in the local area. So it was her duty to investigate whatever had caused such a disturbance, and she hoped that it was something a little bit challenging.

So far, she had been a bit disappointed at the level of supernatural activity in the area. It was going to take her forever to upgrade her license from trainee-level at the rate she had been going, and beating up on low-level ghosts and minor spirits was getting boring. Where was the adventure in that, let alone the glory?

Still, recalling how powerful that disturbance had felt, it was better to play it safe. She picked up her telephone and dialed, waiting a bit impatiently as it rang four times before finally being picked up.

"Uh, hello? Mano residence," came the distracted-sounding voice of Yohko.

"Yohko, this is Minami. Get dressed and bring your stuff. I'll be waiting at the corner near your house. We've got a case."

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Godai dropped his arms slowly when the bright light in his room faded away. Hearing the sounds of the party across the hall still going on strong made his present situation feel even more surreal. Still, he was not very surprised that the commotion in his room had not disturbed the party in the slightest.

"Your wish has been accepted by Yggdrasil, Godai-san," said Belldandy pleasantly. "I knew you would make a good wish."

He blinked rapidly for several moments. "It was? You did?"

She nodded, smiling even more brightly. Her feet dropped down to touch the ground, revealing that she was actually somewhat shorter than his own height.

"So, uh, what happens now?" he asked. He had expected the girl to reveal that he had passed and then leave, but he was becoming more and more certain with each passing moment that this was not some sort of Security Directorate test. He noticed her looking around his room with interest, and he was suddenly embarrassed at the mess.

The girl suddenly looked uncertain when she turned back to face him. "I'm not sure, Godai-san. You asked for a beautiful girl like me to fall in love with you and stay with you forever." For a brief moment, she blushed. "Do you really think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes! Yes, of course!" he quickly blurted out. He suddenly looked embarrassed and continued in a softer tone. "I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

Belldandy smiled her shy smile again. At that moment, the telephone suddenly rang, startling the pair, and Godai laughed briefly. The juxtaposition of normal and abnormal events taking place seemed to justify it.

"I think that might be for me," said Belldandy thoughtfully. She went over to the telephone and picked it up. "Hello?"

While he waited and listened, Godai tried to figure out who she could be talking to, but no answer came to mind. Her end of the conversation mainly consisted of brief statements like "Yes" and "I understand."

After a minute or two, she hung up the telephone and turned to look at him with an enigmatic expression on her face.

"So, who was that?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

"That was Kami-sama," she replied in a matter of fact tone. "He had some instructions for me, so that I might best fulfill your wish and also take care of another task he wishes for me to do while I am here on Earth."

Godai gaped. "K-kami-s-sama?" He stared at Belldandy for several moments as the enormity of this situation finally sank in. His mind decided to take a brief break from things, and the world spun for a moment before going dark.

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Ayaka paused on a street corner and looked around. The night air was cool against her face, typical for late spring weather, and she was grateful that she had dressed more warmly than was her usual wont. She belted her trenchcoat shut for a little more warmth and grunted. Wearing a low-cut evening dress was her preferred outfit when the weather was warmer, but she was glad she had opted for practicality over style in her present situation. That was also why she was presently wearing a light suit of skintight body armor under her coat, just in case. Not only was it quite comfortably warm on such a cool night, but she would be the first to admit that she struck an attractive figure in it.

The source of the etheric disturbance had been nearby, of that much she was certain. However, the trail she had been following, the dwindling echoes of the initial immense pulse of energy, had finally faded away almost completely. She had gotten here as quickly as she could, but still too late. Her quarry was proving to be more elusive than she had been expecting. Still, if she was lucky, perhaps it would give itself away again.

It was at that moment that something else suddenly tingled against her spiritual senses, another disturbance in the local energies. After quickly unbelting and opening her overcoat, she drew her gun from her shoulder holster. She thumbed the safety off even as she glanced around at the surrounding buildings, trying to get a more precise fix on the source. She was in a residential district, surrounded by a number of apartment complexes and rooming houses. For several long moments, she cast her senses about, finally locking on to what seemed to be the origin point of this new disruption. With a wolfish smile, Ayaka headed off towards the source at a run.

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Alighting softly on a rooftop, Frost paused to cast her senses about. The white silken robes she wore billowed slightly in the faint breeze, giving her a ghostly appearance. The glowing staff she held in one dainty fist faded slightly in the moonlight, until only the odd runes inscribed in metal along its length gave off any light. Flying here from the Institute had taken her much longer than she had anticipated, and she had lost the scent.

The normally bland expression she wore on her face took on the faintest note of perturbance as she looked back and forth without sensing her target. Her etheric senses were not as well refined as her mastery of other magics, but she would begin working harder to overcome that flaw at her earliest opportunity. Luckily, she had the resources of the Institute to draw upon, adding to her already impressive capabilities as a sorceress. With only perhaps one or two exceptions, she was far superior to anyone else near her age when it came to the mystic arts.

Still sensing nothing, she pursed her lips slightly. Growing up in the care of the Institute had taught her to be patient. She was very near her target, so it was only a matter of time before something led her to it.

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Minami gazed in mild surprise at the unexpected figure walking up with a battle-ready Yohko and blinked. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Kasuga-kun was at my house when you called," quickly declared Yohko in explanation, indicating her companion. She then looked a little nervous when the other girl adjusted her glasses and studied the pair a bit more closely. A light blush appeared on the young Devil Hunter's cheeks as she suddenly realized how bad this could look. The blush deepened when she recalled what she and Kyosuke had been involved in at the time her friend called, especially since she had been the first one to initiate things.

Kyosuke nodded and put one hand behind his head, also looking somewhat flustered at Yohko's statement. He smiled at the robed Ghost Sweeper. "Yes, that's right. I was studying with Mano-san. She and I have a big test tomorrow." However, the fact that he and Yohko had not been studying right at the moment she called went unspoken. It had just been a brief break from the books, but one innocent kiss had quickly led to more passionate ones. If duty had not called in the form of Minami, who knew what might have happened between himself and Yohko?

It was a rare night that he had been able to visit the beautiful Devil Hunter without her old dragon of a grandmother being around to glare at him balefully. Glancing briefly at Yohko, and trying hard not to stare at how well she filled out her battle uniform, he still wondered why his thoughts had kept drifting to fantasies about another girl, namely Madoka Ayukawa, even while he was kissing with her. The Devil Hunter would have surely decked him, or worse, cried, had she known where his thoughts had been. But it was almost as if the street-tough Madoka had cast a spell over his feelings of late.

For her part, Minami was a little put out to see the Esper boy there, even if he was her senpai at the Academy. Having someone else around from the Institute on a case would lower the points she could earn, one reason why Yohko had proven almost ideal to have as a partner. The young Devil Hunter had proven quite useful on the few cases they had worked on together so far, with her soulsword and fighting skills backing up Minami's magics. But what had been a surprise to the Ghost Sweeper was that the older girl was also becoming a good friend.

"Anyway, Kasuga-kun volunteered to come along and help." Yohko wrapped her arm around his rather possessively and smiled at Minami.

"Well, all right." A hint of peevishness was in the Ghost Sweeper's voice. She took a quick scan of their surroundings and then headed off towards where she had sensed the disturbance.

Yohko yawned in boredom, even as her longer legs easily kept pace with Minami's stride, regretting having been interrupted from her quality time with her boyfriend. She eyed the redhead and wondered how much longer this was going to take.

Pausing, Minami felt a sudden etheric disturbance brush against her spiritual senses. "We're close," she announced.

"Yes," Kyosuke agreed. He had felt something as well.

"Well, it's about time," grumbled Yohko. The sooner this was taken care of, the sooner she and Kyosuke could get back to much more important matters, like some serious snuggling time. A girl her age had certain needs, but she would settle for a little exercise to work off some of her tensions in the meantime. She waited for Minami to point her in the direction of their target, musing about her relationship with the Ghost Sweeper. Despite her grandmother's initial misgivings about her spending any of her time with a "glory-seeking pawn of the Mobius Institute," she enjoyed being friends with a girl who understood what it was like to hunt the night's creatures. Even though she viewed Nabiki as her best friend in the world, Minami was quickly becoming a close second.

The Ghost Sweeper paused dramatically. "A powerful presence disturbs the ether." As she looked around, she was quite surprised to see Kisaragi-sensei going into one of the buildings, the very same one that she could sense spiritual emanations coming from! Seeing her, the girl abruptly cursed in her thoughts in an un-ladylike fashion. "Quick! This way!" She grabbed Yohko by the arm and took off running as fast as she could, almost dragging the taller Devil Hunter. Kyosuke kept up as best he could.

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Frost happened to glance down and spotted Minami and her little posse as they made their way down the street towards one specific building. She cocked her head slightly to one side as she considered her options with this new development. The Ghost Sweeper trainee was fairly well-known in the Institute as a glory-hound and something of a hothead, her personality far from having the emotional reserve that a true mistress of spellcasting should have, like Frost herself had in abundance.

For that reason, Minami would always be second-best to Frost. The other girl's magics were fueled by her passions, and that made her weaker in the sorceress' eyes. Still, she mused, another wintry smile appearing upon her face, the Ghost Sweeper and her party made a most excellent decoy to flush the prey out of hiding. She settled down to wait for the inevitable blast of fireworks that the other girl was sure to bring forth any minute now.

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Lazily blinking his eyes open, Godai felt a pleasant warmth suffusing his body. He glanced upwards and realized that his head had been resting in Belldandy's lap, a soft glow emanating from her hand. At that moment, she looked so kind and maternal that he could not bring himself to move from this position. It was a perfect moment.

The sounds of a wild party drifted around the corner as Ayaka paused on the landing. She could hear a woman laughing drunkenly, and muted comments from other individuals, but that was not the source of what she sensed. While creeping forward as silently as she could, she cocked her gun, feeling ready for anything, adrenaline and the combat drugs in her system giving her an intoxicating rush.

She paused outside the door across the hallway from the party. From the sounds of things, a bomb could go off and no one in there would even notice. She took several deep breaths, trying to prepare herself for a possible life and death struggle with some horrific netherworld abomination. Taking one last swallow of air, she whirled her body around in a spin kick and drove one booted foot against the door. The lock splintered open with a sharp cracking sound, and she threw open the door the rest of the way with her shoulder.

"Freeze! Mobius Institute!" She immediately pointed her gun at the oddly-dressed woman currently kneeling on the floor, her thighs forming a sort of pillow for the man lying back against her, a washcloth still draped across his forehead.

Godai stared at the striking figure framed in his doorway, surprised, for a moment thinking it was Akemi. But he heard the party still going strong across the hallway, and a laugh he recognized as the redhead's. Had he been right all along? Was this some sort of loyalty test being proctored by agents of the Mobius Institute?

While gazing at the stranger standing in the doorway, Belldandy was a bit perplexed. So far, her current wish-giving assignment had been more complex than most, but she did not mind. She smiled innocently at the woman now pointing a weapon at her, uncertain what to do or say.

Ayaka watched the strange woman with an outward expression of control, but her spiritual senses were already going berserk. She had rarely felt such incredible levels of power before, a Class One preternatural entity for certain, and never combined with such innocent purity as she could detect in the other. This was no demon or astral horror.

This was a goddess before her, and the Institute agent was not sure how to act now.

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"We're too late," Minami groaned, pausing on the stairway leading to the second floor. Behind her was Yohko, lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet, and a somewhat winded Kyosuke. The trio heard the older woman make her dramatic entrance.

"Let's just go in there and kick demonic butt anyway." Yohko started up the remainder of the stairs, her soulsword at the ready. With a shrug, Kyosuke followed her. He glanced at Minami.

The Ghost Sweeper was debating the matter when she sensed something else suddenly make its presence known. What was going on here?

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Not too far away from the apartment building, in a quiet section of a nearby park, a glowing sphere of energy swelled up and then just as quickly dissipated, revealing Mara, Demoness First Class. She took a deep breath of the crisp air, doing impressive things for her figure, if anyone else had been around to notice. An evil smile lit her face.

"First order of business is to destroy Belldandy before she can get settled," she commented out loud to herself. Her body rose into the air as she took a brief sniff of the air, sensing the faintly lingering traces of a recent etheric energy discharge. Her skills at tracking prey had always been among the best of her kind, comparable to those of a shark sensing blood.

Only it was not blood she was sensing. At least, the demoness amended with a harsh chuckling sound burbling up from her throat, not yet.

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"Uh, can I get up?" Godai asked the strange redhead, wondering if this utterly bizarre evening was going to end with him getting shot in his own apartment.

Ayaka glanced at him, suddenly feeling even more uncertain about her present circumstances. She was in a strange man's apartment, holding a gun pointed at a goddess. Life as an agent of the Mobius Institute certainly had its moments.

"So, do we go in?" Kyosuke asked Yohko, the pair standing right outside the open doorway to Godai's room. He began raising his energies up, just in case, feeling the Power swelling within him. He heard Minami come up behind him.

"On my signal," whispered Yohko, carefully peeking around the edge of the doorway. "We go on three."

The Ghost Sweeper kept casting her senses about. Something was wrong, but she could not figure out what. All she was detecting now was a Class One entity within the room, and that was bad news. But there had been a second source of roughly equal power for a few moments. Where was it?

Meanwhile, hovering in the air outside the rooming house, Mara could sense her target within. She had carefully cloaked her presence as she made her approach, to prevent the simpering, weakling goddess from being forewarned as to her approaching doom. Now, it was all going to be so easy. With a laugh, she quickly began forming a ball of energy between her hands, feeling the power surging in strength within it as she fed all of her rage and hatred into it.

"Damn!" cried Minami suddenly, sensing the power building up outside.

Fortunately, prepared for combat as she had been, Ayaka's own senses gave her a moment's worth of warning that there was any danger, but a moment was all she needed. She could detect a sudden flaring of power outside, and the heirloom of her ancestors was in her free hand, drawn by reflex alone from the sheath at her hip. Her overcoat billowed dramatically open behind her as she leaped forward to stand between the pair on the floor and what was outside.

"Red Dragon Spirit Capture Star Sword!" she shouted, the blade of the weapon immediately igniting in response. She desperately wove it in a pattern that erected a defensive rune in midair, praying it would be powerful enough to deal with what she sensed was coming.

"Die, Belldandy!" Mara released the blast she had been preparing, the ball of crackling energy launching out from between her hands like a torpedo. It streaked across the short distance towards Godai's room, filled with all of the hatred and rage that she could fuel it with. The demoness watched with satisfaction as it burst through the window she had been aiming at, just before detonating with a powerful blast, one that scattered glass and wood debris outwards over a large radius.

Ayaka was lifted off her feet by the concussive force of the blast, her hastily-erected defensive spell shredding from the sheer magnitude of the power used against it, but fortunately it had managed to deflect enough of the energy away so that she and the other occupants of the room were not killed outright. She impacted hard with a now standing and gaping Godai, and the two of them tumbled together across the floor of his room.

Out in the hall, Kyosuke yanked Yohko back and shielded the three of them with the Power, straining his abilities to the limits to cover them all. He hugged the Devil Hunter to him as the muted blast licked at his shielding. He was dimly aware of Minami huddled up behind him.

Belldandy had been caught by surprise by Mara's merciless assault, and she could see the grinning demoness hovering in the air outside when the smoke quickly began to clear. She cast a brief glance at Godai, grateful to see that he was only stunned. She also noted that both of his arms were half-wrapped around the strange redhead. Could this woman be the one to fulfill his wish? But now was not the time to dwell upon such things.

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Frost contemplated the explosion that had just engulfed a portion of the building she had been watching, outwardly calm and collected, but inside she was startled. A globe of energy surrounded the entity that was hovering outside, a defensive shield invisible to normal senses. Things were becoming more serious, and the region could be severely damaged if the situation was not contained quickly. The Ghost Sweeper was in way over her head, along with the Director's grandson and the Devil Hunter, so it looked like it was up to her to rescue Minami from her own arrogance.

The first thing that needed to be done was to get closer to the action, where she would be more effective. She began to incant, and her body lifted from the rooftop.

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As the smoke cleared, Mara was dumbfounded to see that her enemy and the two human vermin with the young goddess had somehow managed to survive her assault. It was simply inconceivable! Belldandy couldn't have had enough time to erect any sort of barrier!

Quickly, the goddess began an incantation. "Spirits of light and air, to my aid and defense I appeal. Let your power be with me, and protect us with thy seal." Twinkling lights began forming a glowing shield of energy across the opening.

"No!" shouted the demoness. She quickly began her own incantation. "Spirits of darkness and hatred, heed my call! Gather the energies of death and destruction into my hands! Let me be the agent of my enemy's fall!" A second sphere of wild lightnings and festering darkness quickly formed between her hands once again, one even more powerful than the first had been. She released it at Belldandy with a look of glee, sensing that the goddess's shield would not be strong enough to fully deflect the damage of this attack.

There was a clash of powerful energies, of forces holy and unholy, and the young goddess poured all of her power into maintaining the shield. But it was not going to be enough against the strength of Mara's attack. With a crackling and then a roaring, the barrier suddenly shattered, and the demoness' energy strike rushed through to impact against Belldandy's form. She managed to utter a single, brief cry of pain before her body launched backwards to crash into the rear wall with enough force to knock her senseless.

During the momentary lull, Yohko and Kyosuke charged into the room, standing shoulder to shoulder together. Behind them, readying one of the wands from her kit was Minami. All three had serious looks on their faces.

The young Devil Hunter stepped forward and brandished her soulsword dramatically. "I hold no enmity against those coerced into evil. But to those vile beings who toy with the hearts and souls of men, since the time of the Ancient Gods, we have been your destroyers! Now, the 109th Devil Hunter, Yohko, is here. Beware!"

"Oh, how cute," taunted Mara. "One of you human vermin still wishes to play. Killing you will be an added bonus for this trip. Ordinarily, I'd make this last for a bit, but I have to destroy Belldandy quickly so I'm afraid that I'll have to kill you fast. So, if you don't mind, kindly die." With that, she unleashed a beam of hellfire directly at Yohko.

The Devil Hunter grunted from the effort, speedily swinging her weapon around and managing to deflect the bolt of energy. It rebounded off the blade of her soulsword to incinerate a small car parked across the street, blasting the unfortunate vehicle into numerous fragments. But, even as she hurriedly brought the blade back into a guard position, the demoness was already launching another assault. Yohko knew she only had to miss once, and it was all over.

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Frost hovered outside, a spell of invisibility concealing her presence from both sides of the combat. There was a second entity inside the building, apparently defending itself against the one hovering outside. She studied the situation, coolly analyzing her options.

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Quickly moving to protect the three people lying on the floor, a shield of Power flaring to life in front of Kyosuke. His two female companions were better suited to take the battle to the enemy, but his prayers went with them.

"You ignore me at your peril, hellspawn!" shouted Minami, unleashing a blast of lightning from the wand she was carrying. Mara danced lightly to one side in mid-air with a gleeful laugh, deflecting the lightning away with one outstretched hand. The young Ghost Sweeper winced as her attack spell lanced downwards and blew up a second parked car. Then she had her hands full dealing with some of the demoness' blasts as well, trading energies with her as the two tried their best to utterly obliterate each other.

Having just recovered from Mara's surprise attack, Ayaka quickly became aware of her surroundings once again, hearing sounds of battle going on, and she found herself underneath the man who had been in this room. He appeared to be dazed, which was fortunate for him, since one of his hands had come to rest firmly upon one of her breasts. She scrambled free of him, snatching up her Red Dragon Spirit Capture Star Sword, and it flared to life in her hands once again. She stepped back into the battle just as Yohko missed a parry with her soulsword, and a blast of lightning knocked the Devil Hunter out of the fight.

"Yohko!" cried Kyosuke. He ran forward to pick up the girl tenderly, noting her injuries. Luckily, her Devil Hunter form seemed to add to her natural resiliency, and she did not appear seriously harmed, only knocked unconscious. Sensing sudden danger, he redoubled the strength of his shield, a mere moment before another of Mara's blasts would have rendered the couple into ashes.

Minami's look became grim. This creature had harmed her best friend and tried to do the same thing to her senpai! She quickly unleashed a withering array of attack spells at Mara. Lightning, fire and ice lanced at the demoness, but the Ghost Sweeper was dismayed to see her best efforts deflected. She glanced at Ayaka, seeking guidance from someone more experienced, and she noted the look on the other woman's face. But her moment of inattention proved to be her downfall, and a blast of wind knocked her into a wall, stunning her.

Brandishing her weapon, the red glow of the blade lit Ayaka's face eerily. "If you're done fighting with children, then you and I have some unfinished business." With that, she attacked.

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Frost had finished her analysis of the situation, and things did not look promising if she did not enter the battle. She began a spell that would weaken the entity's defensive barrier before she launched into her own repertoire of attack spells.

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"Belldandy?" whispered Godai, still hearing a loud ringing within his skull as he slowly crawled over to the still-stunned goddess. Behind him, he could hear the strange redhead from the Mobius Institute waging a desperate solo struggle against the demoness hovering just outside. He quickly laid his ear down against Belldandy's chest and, after a brief moment of fright at not hearing anything other than the ringing in his head, was quite relieved to discover that her heart still beat quite strongly.

Mara was rapidly growing tired of these irritating humans with magic swords. It was looking like it was time to get up close and personal in this battle, if she was going to be able to finish it anytime soon. She knew she could not afford to waste any more time and risk her enemy coming awake again, even as amusing as it had been so far. She had to finish this now.

Expecting a fresh round of fire from their enemy, Ayaka was surprised to see the demoness suddenly disappear from where she had been hovering outside, only to blink back into reality less than a meter from where the tall redhead was standing. A lightning-fast swipe of her foe's hand removed Ayaka's weapon from her grip, and she watched it spinning away with dismay.

"You and your friends have delayed me long enough, bitch," said Mara with a grin. "But I have a goddess to kill now." Firing off a burst of power from her hand, she sent the other woman tumbling to one side. "But I'll be back for you soon enough. And I promise to make all of your deaths last. Your cries of suffering shall be a symphony to my ears."

At that moment, there was the distinctive sound of a pistol chambering a round. Mara looked over at Godai with evident bemusement.

"You're not hurting anyone!" he cried. He quickly drew a bead on her center of mass, aiming right at her chest.

"What is it with you mortals and these grand heroic gestures?" Mara asked, shaking her head. "Go ahead and shoot, if you think you've got the balls for it."

Angered by her taunt, he squeezed the trigger three times in rapid succession. However, each bullet was deflected away from Mara's body at the last instant, bouncing off of some sort of invisible shield around the demoness. He fired twice more, still not believing that such a thing was even possible.

"Now it's my turn," she said calmly. She fired off a blast of energy that forced him to dodge. Smiling, she brought her aim closer with each succeeding blast.

"Somebody! Anyone! Help!" cried Godai, certain that his life was soon to be over. The demoness' blasts had quickly backed him up across the room, and he was dangerously near the blasted out opening to the outside.

Outside, Frost unleashed the spell she had been crafting. With any luck, the demoness would not notice her shield's power levels dipping for several moments. She was confident that her next spell would be able to finish the creature.

"Hey, demon wench," Mara suddenly heard from right behind her. It was that redheaded bitch again. She half-turned and saw Ayaka lying on the floor by one wall, a pistol propped up in both of her hands. But the redhead looked slightly concussed, her eyes tending to unfocus and her hands to waver. Mara smiled very coldly. Didn't these mortals ever learn?

"Deflect this." Ayaka pulled the trigger. She had sensed Mara's shields weaken, and the silver and orichalcum-tipped slug ripped through what remained like it wasn't even there. Only a couple of centimeters further over to one side, and it would have taken a good portion of the demoness' head with it. As it was, it only managed to graze a shallow furrow across one side of her skull. A second shot quickly rang out from Ayaka's gun before the echoes of the first had faded, narrowly missing her foe's chest as the first shot spun her around.

Mara's body jerked involuntarily from the pain, her senses reeling from the injury. However, before her enemy could pull the trigger a third time, she recovered with inhuman speed and teleported across the room. She lashed out with a blast of energy at point-blank range, taking the redhead by surprise and knocking her back hard against the wall. The gun flew from her hands and away into a corner.

The demoness was astonished once again. One of these lowly mortal vermin had severely injured her! And her shields had somehow fallen! She could already feel the cold numbness of shock filling her system as blood dripped into her hair and one eye, and she reluctantly realized that Belldandy's human companions had cost her victory here. Someone would pay for this!

"Another time," she promised with a hiss, her body vanishing in a flash of flame and power as she departed. All that remained of her presence was the destruction left behind in her wake.

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Frost hovered in the air outside, still invisible, allowing the attack spell she had been holding to dissipate. Her first spell had weakened the demoness' shield without her presence being noticed, allowing the others to deal with it more effectively. But the creature had escaped, and she was the only one with sufficient mobility to follow. Her body streaked away into the night.

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In the aftermath, Godai sat a bit stunned, staring at the remnants of what had once been his apartment. Belldandy sat next to him, looking quite exhausted as she slept. She had managed to heal everyone, even a suspicious Minami and Yohko, before passing out. It was a shame that she could not have done the same for his room. He saw Ayaka talking with someone on her cellphone, but the trio of teenagers had already left. A sigh escaped his lips. Where was he going to live now? Why was this all happening to him?

"Wow, Godai-kun," came Akemi's slurred voice from the doorway. "No wonder you didn't want to come to my party."

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Reappearing in an alleyway located in a somewhat disreputable section of Tokyo, Mara cursed the recent turn of events. She sagged against a grimy wall as the pain in her head threatened to overwhelm her, and blood began leaking again from her wound. Grimacing painfully, she began chanting a healing spell. Feeling her knees involuntarily buckle, she struggled to stave off shock and forced herself to remain conscious by sheer will. Her mind slowly cleared as her magics took hold, beginning the torturous process of knitting her tattered flesh back together.

"I would have won, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids," she muttered, weariness filling her as she slumped against the filthy wall. Before she passed out, she burned the memory of all three firmly into her mind. They would all pay, in blood and pain.

As her consciousness faded, she was only dimly aware of a dark figure suddenly looming out of the shadows. She struggled to rise, refusing to believe that a demoness of her lofty stature would meet her end in some puke-fouled alleyway in the mortal world. But her knees quickly buckled beneath her once again. Despite the spell mending her broken body, she was still too exhausted to offer up any resistance. The unfairness of her fortunes grated at her. She should not have lost! She should not be here! She was Mara, Demoness First Cl-

The figure was silent as it stared at her, gazing dispassionately from out of the shadows as the last of her reserves finally gave out, her eyes rolled back in their sockets, and the demoness quietly slumped down unconscious against the wall.

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The last syllables of the incantation rolled off of Gosunkugi's tongue, the tome he had been reading from lying spread out before him on his desk. He was surprised when a sudden wave of weariness overcame him, for such a thing was not supposed to happen as the spell took hold of him. Even as his eyelids drooped, he somehow managed to stand up and take two faltering steps towards the door before falling unconscious. His last thought was oddly of Minami, certain that the redheaded Ghost Sweeper would have berated him harshly for attempting something so risky.

As his body collapsed limply to the floor of his room, it was silent for several moments and then a robed and cowled figure emerged soundlessly from the wall, translucent silver in coloring, its ethereal shape hovering in the air. Without any delay, the ghostly apparition dove into the boy's slumbering body, vanishing within and causing it to jerk once slightly before it fell still once again. For several moments, the only movement was the steady rise and fall of the unconscious boy's chest.

The tome resting on the desk shimmered slightly, swiftly transforming itself back into its true appearance, that of a more ordinary-looking book, the words on the open page reforming into a dry dissertation on the history of Gnosticism.

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Frost had come up empty on her search of the nearby Tokyo area. It was as if the demonic entity she was seeking had somehow been swallowed up by the city, but the white-haired sorceress vowed to keep a watch for its return as she wended her way back to her room at the Institute.

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The still figure on the bedroom floor suddenly began to move, blinking open his eyes. Then a throaty chuckling emerged from the throat as hands shifted to beneath the chest, slowly levering the body up from the floor. Standing up shakily, the figure gazed about the room, a smirk adorning his face. A faint glimmering could be discerned in the irises of Gosunkugi's eyes, like minute electrical storms, fading quickly.

"At last," said the figure, an almost rapturous expression on his face as he moved about the room, somewhat clumsily at first. He held one hand up before his face, sparkles of energy dancing from fingertip to fingertip. "I know that you can't hear me right now in your slumbering state, Hikaru Gosunkugi, but I thank you for the loan of this body. It will do nicely for my needs. My apologies for the subterfuge, but even your will was too strong for me to overcome in my current state. And I need the access that your body will give me to the Mobius Institute, for this is a matter of life and death, Gosunkugi-san. Mine, to be more precise. So know that you have the gratitude of Simon Magus, the greatest wizard who ever lived. Using your body, I will finally obtain the key to my long-sought victory, the Nanban Mirror."

The figure paused, and Simon Magus felt his spirit becoming accustomed to its newly-occupied vessel. It had become a familiar sensation to him, one experienced time and again as he leaped from stolen body to stolen body, eluding his enemies, and desperately searching for a means to save himself. Only a few more moments of uninterrupted peace, and this body would be his to command, the last one he would ever need.

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Frost paused on her way back to the Institute, suddenly sensing a surge in etheric energies nearby. Banking sharply, she circled the building she had just passed, an apartment complex. She quickly zeroed in on one window in particular and swooped up to peek inside. She hovered just outside the glass, holding her staff across her body to render it less visible, only her head rising high enough to see inside.

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It was at that moment that Simon Magus chose to fling open the window to Gosunkugi's room for some fresh air. He was quite astonished to see a white-robed albino girl with pretty Chinese features and white-blonde hair hovering just outside the window. He blinked several times in rapid succession. Had the Mobius Institute found him out already? It wasn't fair! He had planned so carefully! He was so close!

Frost was startled to see Hikaru Gosunkugi staring at her, realizing that he was the being radiating the faint etheric energies that she had sensed. But he was no wizard. What was happening here? Had this boy managed to hide his true talents all this time?

Despite the risk, Simon Magus decided to take the initiative, hoping to deal quickly with this encounter. He had to be careful though, too much use of power could disrupt his still tenuous hold on the Gosunkugi boy's mind and body. But he was confident that a wizard of his vast experience could deal with a mere slip of a girl. Besides, it had been far too long since he had engaged in a duel of sorceries. It would be good to make sure that he had not lost any of his edge. He teleported outside, not wishing to damage his new home.

Frost backed away from the window when Gosunkugi suddenly vanished from before her eyes, even as she raised a defensive screen. She could not tell if he had gone invisible or teleported. But, either way, seeing the Esper boy do such a thing had caught her off guard. Her eyes scanned the air around her, seeking her foe.

After appearing in the air over the albino girl, Frost was the name he pulled from the boy's memories, having finally begun to gain access to them, Simon Magus cloaked himself with a veil of invisibility and then allowed himself to drop down. Using his powers at such a minimal level made it that much more difficult for the girl to detect his presence.

Frost was caught by surprise when her foe hit her from above with a physical attack, his knees slamming down into her shoulders and nearly causing her to bite her tongue. Now angry, she shot away quickly from her previous position, an attack spell on her lips. The wintry look she normally wore on her face had been replaced by one of annoyance. He was making her look like a fool, and she did not care for it.

Appearing behind the girl, Simon Magus saw the bright globe of energies forming on the tip of her staff. Good. The albino girl still had some fight in her after all. Casting a quick spell, he smirked and whistled to get her attention, waving when she turned his way. But despite his cocky look, he could already feel his energies beginning to lose their cohesion. He had to finish this quickly.

Her wintry smile back, the young sorceress released the globe of freezing energy at her target. She had noticed that Gosunkugi was not using any actual attack spells of his own, wondering if he was simply toying with her. That was his mistake. She was an Amazon sorceress, and she would not be mocked. She was gratified to see the globe engulf her target, ice forming on his body, freezing him into place. She allowed herself a cool grin, seeing the globe of ice floating in the air, her target cocooned inside.

"Nice spell," remarked a familiar voice right behind her. "You must be an elemental wizard."

Reacting by reflex, she amped up her defensive barriers to form into a full globe, but she was a fraction of a second too late. A hand touched her shoulder before her barrier completed formation, and electrical energy surged through her body.

"I win. You lose," he remarked jauntily. He had a moment to enjoy his victory, and then Frost's shields collapsed, discharging their energies into him. The unexpected surge of power into his system weakened his mystic energies, and his flight spell failed. The ground began rushing up, a moment of terrifying deja vu that enabled him to focus enough to teleport himself and the girl back to his room.

Even as she slipped into unconsciousness, the girl still had the satisfaction of hearing her foe gasp in pain as her defensive screens discharged into him, a special modification she had made to her shield spells long ago, just in case someone ever tried to engage her in melee combat. Her body went limp in the arms of her conqueror as her staff went spinning away into the darkness to drive half of its length into the ground far below. The finest Amazon sorceress in generations, bested by an outsider! As her thoughts fell into darkness, she vaguely recalled that there was something important she should remember about that.

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Hovering in the air outside, cloaked by an illusion of invisibility, a kimono-clad feminine figure with long, straight hair frowned down at the apartment building where Gosunkugi lived.

Intruders into a private game can be so troublesome, she mused with a slight chuckle. But with a little twist, this could be fun.

She gestured, her smile turning wicked.

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Moments after reappearing in Gosunkugi's bedroom, Simon Magus suddenly clasped his hands to his borrowed skull, feeling an insistent tugging that was rapidly growing stronger. It wasn't fair! He had won! But his mental cries went unheeded by the universe, and he could already feel his astral form beginning to be pulled back through the millennia, to when history had recorded his death in the marbled streets of Rome, his original body smashing against the unyielding cobblestones, having tried and failed to defeat the magics of Simon Peter, the Apostle.

He fought with all of his strength and will, latching every ounce of his immense magical powers into this body, struggling to hang on against the tides of history that were relentlessly pulling against him. But that proved to be a mistake, and he felt his powers brutally torn free of his astral form to lodge within the body he sought to inhabit.

With a fear-filled cry worthy of the damned, the illusionist known as Simon Magus was whisked back through the millennia, his astral form finally reuniting with his physical body to fulfill his destined place in history.

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"Are you sure this is going to be all right?" Godai asked the redhead currently driving the vehicle he was riding in, a taxicab that had been commandeered for this trip. Next to him in a small suitcase were the few pathetic remnants of his life that he had managed to salvage from his shattered apartment. Luckily, his spare uniform had survived.

Belldandy was still slumped unconsciously but apparently comfortably against his shoulder. However, after seeing what the slumbering deity sleeping next to him had been capable of, her nearness was making him nervous, like sitting next to an armed nuclear warhead or something. She snored softly and occasionally snuggled against him, and she had so far ignored all efforts at awakening her. He turned his head back to face Ayaka. "Why don't you just take me to a hotel or something? I won't say anything."

"Look, stop worrying, will you?" snapped Ayaka, glancing at the pair in the car's rear view mirror. She smirked as she watched the hapless Godai, finding it hard to believe that he was a soldier of the Empire, even though he had been very brave in facing down that demoness with only an ordinary sidearm. "I already explained it, but you don't seem to be hearing me very well as to how things are going to be handled from this point on, Lieutenant Godai. My boss has arranged for some semi-permanent lodgings in the area for you and your companion, and that's all you should be concerned about. In a way, she's a visiting dignitary of sorts, and she's going to be treated as a special guest of the Mobius Institute."

Realizing he wasn't going to win this argument, Godai settled back into his seat and waited to arrive at his destination. He watched the streetlights going by, musing at how quickly his life had been turned upside down. Why was this happening to him?

Glancing back briefly at him in the rearview mirror once again, Ayaka mused about her passenger. He seemed to be about as ordinary a man as she had ever met. So why had he been granted a wish by the higher powers? It just did not make any sense. And what did he wish for? Fame? Power? Wealth?

No, he had asked for none of these things. All Yusaku Godai had wished for was for a woman to fall in love with him and stay with him forever. It had been a surprise to her to hear those words come out of a man's mouth. Based on her experiences with men, that would have been about the very last thing she would have expected one to want above all other things in the world.

Dropping her gaze back to the road in front of the car, she shook her head. Maybe it had all been as the guy had claimed, that he thought this was some sort of scam being run by the Institute. Even if it had been some sort of loyalty test (and Ayaka found it hard to believe that the Mobius Institute did not have better uses for its resources), he could have asked for something else equally innocuous. But all he had asked for was the love of a woman. As she continued driving, she kept wondering why his asking for that kept nagging at her.

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"Tendo-san? Ono-san? Would either of you care for some more tea?"

Soun glanced up from the paperwork he was studying, and nodded almost brusquely before returning his attention to it. In truth, none of it was really very important, but he was using it to keep his mind off of wondering about the change coming to his household. A special request from the Mobius Institute was difficult to refuse.

Looking up from her place across the table from her father, Kasumi smiled at Kyoko. "I would love some more tea." She moved the thick textbook on cytology in front of her aside, welcoming the interruption. She had been reading the same page five times now. She looked at her sire. "Father, I appreciate your letting me remain tonight. I did not know that you would be expecting guests." She did not like being home alone, so when her husband had called saying he would be working a shift at the Arena tonight, she knew that he would not return until morning, unless he used one of the cots at the hospital as he had been doing more often of late.

"You are always welcome in this house, Kasumi," replied Soun with a level of warmth that would have astonished the agents under his command. His other girls had already gone to sleep, Akane looking happy and Nabiki looking irritated about something, and he and Kasumi had been keeping each other company for the last little while. He could tell that there was something troubling his eldest daughter, but he trusted her to tell him on her own in time.

Kyoko, dressed in a kimono, quietly poured tea into their cups as she knelt next to the table. She left the pot behind as she stood up and withdrew from the room, leaving her employer and his daughter to their conversation. She still had to make up the remaining unused bedrooms for their unexpected guests. She had been told little as to what to expect, only that there would be a young man and woman. The man would be staying for a time, but the woman would only be spending the night before moving on to other lodgings in the morning.

It was odd that the Tendo household would be taking in a boarder on such short notice, but apparently it had something to do with some sort of Security Directorate business. She found herself wondering what the young man who would be staying with them was like. Perhaps he was some dashingly handsome agent of the Directorate, and the woman was some kind of foreign spy defecting to the Empire. She smiled at her brief fantasy as she gathered up the bedding materials.

Whoever he was, he would be someone new to talk to in the household, and that would be good. The girls did not usually talk with her much, although Akane had started to open up a bit lately and begun asking for advice on attracting the attentions of a man and being a good wife. In fact, the youngest Tendo had even expressed a desire in learning how to cook. She was looking forward to teaching the girl, since it would give her something different to do for an hour or so each day other than her usual chores.

While she was finishing up the second room, she heard the sounds of the front gate opening and closing. Kyoko hurried out into the hallway and down the stairs in order to meet their new guests properly. Pausing a moment before the hallway mirror, she checked her appearance. A good first impression was important.

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Godai walked alongside Belldandy as they approached the front door of the Tendo household, and Ayaka led the way. The combat drugs had faded from her system, and their absence left her feeling lethargic and a bit irritable. She would drop her charges off quickly, make her report to her boss and then go home to collapse for a few hours of needed sleep.

"Your guests are here, Father," said Kasumi, hearing footsteps on the front walk. Kyoko was still upstairs working on getting the bedrooms ready, so she stood up. "I'll go let them in, if that's all right."

Soun nodded. "Thank you, Kasumi-chan. Please greet them and bring them in here while I put this away." He began stuffing the paperwork he had been perusing into his briefcase.

After standing up from her kneeling position, Kasumi made her way to the main door, just as there was a knock. She slid open the door, a smile on her face, ready to greet these guests to her father's house with all of the grace and decorum she had within her.

Godai shifted the small suitcase he was carrying to his other hand, worried about his first meeting with Assistant Director Soun Tendo. He struggled to hide his nervousness, and a brief touch on his arm from Belldandy was surprisingly calming. If only he could meet a mortal woman who was as kind and sweet.

That thought had barely registered when the door slid open and an angel stood there. For a moment, he felt a sort of electric shock seem to surge through his entire body, and an odd half-smile appeared on his face.

The vision of immaculate loveliness then spoke, while smiling gently. "Welcome to the Tendo household. My name is Kasumi. Please, come inside and be welcome in my father's home."

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*** Earth +4.112, +3.066 (-0.11105 Years)

The Shogun of the Dark stood atop Mount Fuji, sheathed in his power as nuclear fire rampaged across Tokyo. He had come so close. Billions of lives so recently destroyed because of yet another factor he had missed eliminating on this iteration, but those factors were growing fewer in number with each attempt. At least the energies held at Jusenkyo had once more become his, their power invigorating him once more.

He would not make the same mistake again. He never did. Next time he would win.

He drew upon his energies, felt the gateway back across through the centuries yawn open, his destination well known to him now, returning to that moment of time when he was originally created. Unfortunately, with the loss of his greater powers, this was the best he could do. Still, it was better than nothing.

Time to try again.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.

Another special thanks goes out to DB Sommer, whose many side-stories set in this universe are one of the reasons I kept writing. Kudos!


	18. The Dragon's Apprentice

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-3,882.14721 Years)

The ever-present sands began to shift and blow once again as the golden light of the brilliant sun rising from the eastern horizon began to heat the air, casting its increasing fierceness upon the desiccated remains of a body. The work of scavengers and vermin had further ruined the already blasted corpse, and the sun would spend another day leeching its few remaining fluids. The sand had already partially consumed it, and the coming storm that could be seen in the distance would surely finish the job.

A man stood near the corpse, his body swathed in the common fashion of the desert nomads of this region, his robe billowing slightly in the gradually rising winds. His deep-set, gray eyes were blind, his pupils a milky white, but those eyes still held a thoughtful gaze as they appeared to calmly study the remains, the remainder of his face hidden behind the hood of his burnoose. What little of his skin that could be seen had been darkened by the sun to a deep brown, almost an almond coloring.

Those few who had encountered him spoke of him in the very quietest of whispers. Most simply called him the Seer, the voice of Fate. He was not the first to perform that task, and he would certainly not be the last. He acted as the guide to that undiscovered country known as the future, warning some he spoke to of its perils and enlightening others as to its bounties. He spoke equally to both wise men and fools in his many travels, counseled commoners and kings, solemnly moving among them all like a thief in the night and vanishing quietly after his words had been delivered. But he himself remained a riddle wrapped in an enigma.

However, a few days past, the Seer had been caught off-guard for the first time in the performance of his duties. The future had gone through a sudden disjunction, its path forcefully wrenched into new potential courses previously unknown and unseen. He had never before experienced such an occurrence, and trepidation had trickled through him. Time had gone into a sudden turmoil, roiling across his Sight in a disturbed muddle of possible outcomes.

In a heroic attempt to gain a better perspective on this event and its potential effects, with great effort he had strained himself past his normal limits and forcibly expanded the scope of his Sight, allowing him to behold the infinite sea of time in nearly its entirety, with the multitude of parahistories arrayed beyond his own.

For long moments he had been caught up in rapture, feeling something akin to awe at witnessing the spectacle of timelines as they bifurcated constantly, each instance giving birth to numerous possibilities that then further diverged away from each other. Few of these offspring timelines survived for long, most fading away in some rough equivalent of biological natural selection, merging with others and yielding up their energies and possibilities to be subsumed by their surviving cousins, maintaining a rough sort of semblance of order in this chaotic maelstrom of warring possibilities.

It was at that moment, as he strained his abilities to their utmost, that he saw what horrors the future had almost held for him. His own personal future was normally a blind spot in his Sight, as it was with all Seers. But this blind spot would allow his once-future aspect to be captured by Oblivion, a lesser avatar of that ultimate qliphothic entity, the Solipsist, the Anti-Creator, the sum of all negations in the multiverse. That aspect's resistance would eventually be utterly crushed after Oblivion slowly and most painfully rendered him down into absolute nonexistence and then restored him, inflicting the process repeatedly until his mind finally broke. In the end, he would become a willing agent of Oblivion, working behind the scenes to engineer events in such a way as to result in the end of that timeline's existence, and in turn feeding it into the impatiently waiting maw of the Solipsist.

With difficulty, he had turned his view away from that horror, hoping that his successor as Fate's voice in that timeline would find a way to frustrate his other self, if she even became aware of him. For that was the one flaw in the Sight's ability. It became impossible to See with any degree of certainty the outcome of events if sentient beings actively attempted to be unpredictable. That was the razor's edge that every Seer walked, the roll of the dice whenever someone was made aware that the future could be seen and could be changed. That was why he was circumspect in his revelations, working to delicately adjust events behind the scenes, choosing his words carefully.

Casting his Sight further towards the future, he was astonished to see a vast singularity forming, pulling innumerable timelines into itself. Pain surged within his skull as his Sight beheld just the edge of the silent darkness within that singularity, as he strained his abilities farther than he had ever done before. The effort had cost him most dearly, but he had caught a glimpse of what lurked far in the future, waiting to consume worlds without end, a power that could devour whole both god and mortal alike. The multitude of images were confusing, an expansive mélange of events and individuals that were involved, and they cast him back before he could see much.

He had walked, blindly, his mortal sight blasted from his eyes, the price he had paid for his hubris, seeing only by the Sight now. It had led him here, to the rupture point, less than two days walk from where he had been when the divergence had first occurred. A morbid sort of curiosity had compelled him to come. But the entity once known as Kain, now reborn as the Shogun of the Dark, was long gone, leaving only the blasted remains at the Seer's feet. Fate, as it always did, would now struggle with Chance, but the outcome of this contest would be the very survival of all that is, and all that ever would be.

A ghost of a smile crossed his face.

Despite the stakes, and the price he had already paid, this promised to be interesting.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. A brief glimpse of Imperial Earth's distant past was shown, and the divergence point separating it off from the 'Shampoo 1/2' timeline. Gosunkugi has cast his spell, but the results weren't quite what he expected. Ryoko Masaki told the tale of her family in this altered history, and Ryu Kumon began to adjust to his new life. Complicating things further, the Netherworld sent a rather familiar agent to investigate just what was going on in Nerima.

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Chapter 18 - The Dragon's Apprentice

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

- Ancient Asian Proverb

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

For the vast majority of the Empire's citizenry, nighttime was that quiet period of rest and relaxation from the day's labors. However, for those select and dedicated individuals toiling on behalf of the Mobius Institute, the time between dusk and dawn was their busiest time of the day. And today had been no exception.

Director Kasuga paused and set aside the latest piece of paperwork that was marked 'For Your Eyes Only' that eternally seemed to flow across his desk, when the intercom on his desk buzzed for his attention. It was nearing midnight, and he still had so much to do. As he rubbed his eyes briefly, he wondered if Frost was finally checking in. She had called into the switchboard on her cellphone a few hours ago, leaving a terse message that she was investigating the etheric disturbance in the Nerima region. With a sigh, he activated the intercom unit. "Yes?"

"Sir, Agent Kisaragi is here with her report. Shall I send her in?"

"At once," grunted Director Kasuga gruffly. "And I could use some more tea myself. See to it."

"Yes, sir."

Moments later, a somewhat bruised and bedraggled Ayaka made her way into the Director's office. After bowing once, she quickly slumped down into a chair opposite him with an exhausted-sounding sigh. The battle drugs she had taken, seemingly an eternity ago, had left her with an aching weariness that felt like it would require a solid week's worth of sleep to ever dissipate. Unfortunately for her, she had to be at the Academy in a few hours, so she was looking forward to keeping this meeting as brief as possible. At least her head felt clear right now, despite her body's insistent demands for rest.

"You look like hell, Kisaragi," observed the Director with his usual acerbic bluntness. "I assume you delivered the packages?"

"Yes, sir," answered Ayaka with a broad yawn. She forced herself to sit up straighter in the chair. "The Class One preternatural entity identifying herself as Belldandy, as well as Lieutenant Yusaku Godai, was left at Tendo-san's home without any signs of trouble, per your instructions." She paused for a moment. It had been eerie to be in the same room with Belldandy and Tendo's eldest daughter. The two women spoke with identical voices, right down to the same timbres and intonations. It was an extremely odd coincidence, one she felt needful of further investigation on her part in the near future.

Director Kasuga nodded once, grunting out a gruff "Good." He then sat back and waited for the rest of her report, watching the woman slowly gathering herself back together. A slight twinkle flickered in his eyes, belying the professionally-stern expression he wore. Despite his occasional jibes at how she lived her personal life, he knew her to be a good woman, not to mention also being one of his best agents. He had developed a paternal sort of caring for her over their past few years of working together, and he kept hoping she would finally break herself free of her self-destructive pattern of falling for a parade of playboy types, men of handsome exteriors but weak characters, who used her to satisfy their egos or their lusts. She needed to find herself a more solid sort of man and finally settle down like other women her age.

Realizing that her boss was studying her with the usual austere look he always gave her, she continued on with her report. But, even as she spoke, a modest portion of her thoughts continued to worry at the night's earlier events and their aftermath. In her mind, she examined the possible reasons for not bringing the Belldandy entity straight into Institute custody or making any efforts at neutralizing it.

Leaving an understandably shaken Godai at the Tendo household she could sort of comprehend, as Soun Tendo's name was well-respected throughout the various bureaus of Imperial intelligence, and his home did provide an admittedly acceptable combination of both normality and security for close monitoring of the young lieutenant over the near term. The man had been quite surprisingly kind in agreeing to let Godai stay at his house, based on what she had heard about the man's fearsome reputation as a stone-cold professional.

As to Godai himself, he had seemed to be remarkably ordinary for having attracted the attentions of such an extraordinary being, even if Ayaka was still a bit troubled by the nature of his wish. If she had read that entity's power levels correctly, whatever this 'Belldandy' was, she was more than capable of leveling the Imperial capital city if she but set her mind to it. The sooner she was removed to a more secure facility, like the heavily-warded vaults beneath the Institute, the better it would be for everyone.

"How is my grandson, Kisaragi?" the Director interrupted suddenly.

Startled, her recitation of her report faltered for a brief moment. "He's fine, sir. None of the three children were seriously harmed in the incident. What injuries they did receive were all healed by the Belldandy entity." She paused a moment, considering her next words. "Your grandson showed great courage. He shielded myself and the others and gave us time to recover from the initial attack. I believe he has a great future ahead of him at the Institute."

"If he can avoid following certain glory-seeking young fools, you mean." His voice was gruff, but there was a twinkle in his eyes. "The Minami girl, for instance. Reminds me of another young Ghost Sweeper I once knew, impetuous and foolhardy. Must be something in the nature of redheads, I suppose."

Gritting her teeth slightly, Ayaka mumbled, "I was never foolhardy."

"Be that as it may," said the Director, apparently not having heard Ayaka's mutterings. "This incident shows that young Minami needs a little career guidance and some personal attention for the time being. The girl obviously needs a mentor. So I'm entrusting you with that task, Kisaragi."

"Now wait a minute!" Ayaka's exhaustion was forgotten for the moment as she quickly absorbed his words. "I've already got a job to do, watching that Saotome kid and the others! There's definitely something funny going on with him and his associates, and I'm busy trying to get to the bottom of it. Hell! Even your own grandson has started associating with that group. I'm not about to drop that to nursemaid along some young hotshot out to make a name for herself!"

The Director raised an eyebrow. His voice took on a more thoughtful tone. "Oh? Well, I suppose I could find someone else to do the job. I understand that young Sakuranbo-san is free for an assignment now. Perhaps I could assign her to the Academy as a nurse or something."

"Sakura Sakuranbo?" Ayaka cried out in disbelief. Her right eyebrow began twitching of its own accord, in almost perfect synchronization with a small vein that was now visibly pulsing in her forehead. Having that oh-so-perfect, pompous, know-it-all of a shrine priestess around would just be the finishing touch on her life lately!

Director Kasuga folded his hands and watched in quiet fascination as the mere mention of the name of the former director's niece could elicit such a reaction from the woman in front of him. After all, not too many years past, Ayaka and Sakura had been assigned together as partners, one of several such teams that the Institute maintained. Despite both of them having rather lackluster scholastic records at the Institute's Academy, they had somehow managed to set standards for performance and case resolution that still stood to this day.

However, all of their cases seemed to conclude with sometimes quite significant collateral damage, earning them the nickname 'The Dirty Pair' among their peers in the international community of mystics and magic-users. And despite their many successes, their almost constant bickering had eventually compromised the duo's tactical effectiveness, and the two had been solo operatives ever since.

"Perhaps you'd like to take a moment and reconsider your position?" He steepled his fingers together and put a bland look on his face.

"This is blackmail," she growled. Her headache had suddenly returned with full force.

"Yes, it is," he agreed mildly.

Ayaka knew she was beaten, but she summoned up what dignity remained to her. "All right. I'll do it."

"Excellent." He looked her squarely in the eyes. "I'll expect regular reports on young Minami's progress at controlling her youthful impulses, as well as how she and the others are adapting to life amidst the normals at the Academy. And please keep an eye on my grandson. As you said, he has a fine future ahead of him, and I will see it fulfilled. You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir," Ayaka half-growled as she stood up, angry that she had been ensnared so very easily. Her grumbling as she left Director Kasuga's office was interrupted by an involuntary yawn and a wave of weariness. Unless she wanted to be dead on her feet in the morning, she had to resort to drastic measures. She had just enough time for at least a four-hour session under one of the Institute's sleep inducers, and that should restore her to relatively normal functioning for the day.

A sleep inducer was a relatively simple device whose plans had been 'borrowed' from the Russians a few years ago, consisting of a voltage regulator and electrodes that were taped to the eyelids and the nape of the neck, passing a rhythmic current between them. This caused the brain to enter into a state resembling deep sleep. They weren't very healthy to use for extended periods of time, but they were excellent for situations such as this one.

Tomorrow was going to be another busy day, she could just feel it.

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"Hah! Take that, slowpoke!" came the sudden exclamation of a girl's voice, coming from within a nearby building. It was followed up by the sounds of two bodies in motion, or, more precisely, fighting.

Ranma blinked and slowly removed his hand from the inner latch of the gate to the grounds of the Tendo training hall. He could not at first recall where he was or how he had come to be here as he looked around briefly, but he was quickly regaining his bearings. He saw that it was a beautiful spring day, the breeze mildly warm from the sun, with the air smelling of a recent rain. He shaded his eyes and looked briefly upwards, seeing clouds moving off and clearing. As he did so, his thoughts seemed to clear even further, and he knew where he was now.

Lowering his gaze, he saw two very familiar figures moving against each other, exchanging a rapid series of punches and kicks. But each strike was then blocked or evaded with great skill by the other. Both were dressed very similarly, in black gi pants and a Chinese-style tunic. Ranko was in a red tunic, and her opponent was Martial-Ranma, who was in a blue one. Ranma, himself dressed in a red tunic and black gi pants, was reminded of the dancing interplay of Yin and Yang given human forms. He watched the sight for several moments, as Ranko and Martial-Ranma dueled.

His doppelganger, which had been focused on his fierce match with Ranko, briefly caught sight of him standing at the gate first, and he was distracted, for a moment at most. But his somewhat smaller opponent took quick advantage of that, driving a solid punch across his jaw, swiftly following it up with a spin kick that impacted against his shoulder, leaving him off-balance and reeling. And then the fierce combination attack was finished off as the girl's other leg delivered a powerful ax kick that dropped down across his shoulder with sufficient force to slam him to the dojo floor, where he lay still for several moments, stunned.

"Victory!" laughed Ranko with a grin, her hand displaying the symbol for same as she turned to face Ranma, still standing at the gate. She then casually hopped over the downed boy at her feet and headed for the yard. Her expression had suddenly become thoughtful.

"Ranko," said Ranma, inclining his head for a moment as he watched her approach.

She said nothing; only walking up to him and stopping a single pace away, her eyes several centimeters below his as she locked gazes with him. Behind her, Martial-Ranma sat up with a groan and rubbed his head, but he watched the two of them with interest.

"Hey there, Ranma," she said in reply.

"I see you're in fine form today." He grinned at her.

She looked back more seriously and shrugged. "It's something to do. I think he's starting to go easy on me."

"The tomboy's right," said Martial-Ranma, rising to his feet.

Ranko's nostrils flared slightly for a moment, but she held her angry retort within and let him speak.

The other boy shrugged. "Sorry, sis." He wandered away to let them talk in private.

While he did so, Ranko turned her gaze back to Ranma and said, "I've been noticing changes in you. I think you're integrating him. In a way, it's a relief, since it means that your brain is still sorting out all the new memories it got saddled with, even on a subconscious level, and that's a pretty good sign that your psyche is healing. I'd be quite a bit more worried if your brain wasn't going through some sort of integration process."

"Yeah," agreed Ranma, studying his female counterpart. "It makes sense and all, but it's still worrisome. When all this is over, how much of me is going to be left?"

She looked perplexed for a moment and then suddenly began tapping her index finger against Ranma's chest, angrily punctuating her statements. "How much of you is going to be left?" she growled. "What about me? You think I like the idea that I'm going to become part of some stupid male version of myself?"

"Stupid?" he retorted, irritated at her words. "Who are you calling stupid?"

"I'm calling you stupid, stupid," she snarled. She took up a combat stance, her eyes glittering angrily. "Come on. Show me what you've got."

Martial-Ranma shook his head, muttered something under his breath about tomboys, and then he paused, feeling odd. He raised his hand up and saw that it was fading, first to translucency, then to transparency, and then to nothingness. The effect quickly spread across his body as he watched, oddly fascinated by the whole process. He somehow knew what was happening to him, but he wasn't afraid. After all, showing fear just wouldn't have been manly.

He smiled briefly, a Cheshire Cat sort of grin, as the last of his self faded away. And then he was gone. There was a momentary silence, and then a brief breeze whirled through the space where he had just been standing, carrying with it a few stray cherry blossoms.

Noting the disappearance, the one remaining doppleganger of Ranma mused silently at the sight of another analog vanishing and watched the rest of the scene play out with the pair. Because of his origins, he was a sucker for drama. The pair before him had quite a lot of built-in drama.

Ranma's attention was still focused on the girl in front of him, and he was startled by her challenge. It still disturbed him somewhat that he felt such an eagerness to fight, to test himself in battle against any who challenged him, even girls. But with an effort, he forced himself to not respond in kind to her aggressive stance.

"I don't want to fight you, Ranko," he stated flatly.

"Stupid," she muttered. Her eyes began to fill with tears, and she angrily began brushing them away. "You've been fighting with me since I became part of you. I'm more like you than that idiot analog of yours, and you reject me because I'm a girl. You're afraid of me." Her body began to be wracked with sobbing. "You hate me."

He was stunned by the accusation. "I-I don't hate you, Ranko." He took a step closer, now near enough to reach out and touch her. He was at a loss about what to do. How should he respond?

"Your other self hated having to turn into a girl physically," she said in accusation. "You have me inside your head, and you hate that even more." She continued to cry. "Stupid. You're so stupid."

Uncertain what else to do, he enfolded her in his arms in a hug. While he had been growing up, his father had never hugged him, so it felt a bit odd to hug someone else. He felt her body stiffen in his embrace in response. Maybe it had been the wrong thing to do here, he mused. Then he felt her arms tentatively reach around his body as her sobs continued. She clung to him, hugging him back, and crying into his shirt.

"I-I'm sorry, Ranko," he said awkwardly, half expecting her to haul off and slug him in the face. The experiences of his analogs seemed to indicate that an upset girl usually prefaced violence, more often than not against his counterparts. But instead of hitting him, she clung to him a bit more tightly, and her sobs began to quiet a bit. He felt unsettled at holding a girl in his arms, but it was also pretty nice. He was unused to the experience, having never really hugged a girl before this, despite the memories taken from his analogs. The two stood there for a long time, neither one speaking.

Her crying finally stopped, but she continued to hug him back. She felt as uneasy as he was with such a display of affection, but it was also very pleasant to be held like this. She had never had a boy hold her like this before. A light blush suddenly rose on her cheeks.

"Ranma?" she said quietly, turning her face to one side.

"Yeah?" He looked down, the top of her head reaching up to just above his chin.

"This feels nice." Her voice was soft. She moved back slightly and tipped her face upwards, looking him in the eyes. "Thank you."

"S-sure," he replied, looking down at her. He swallowed in sudden nervousness. "Uh, I guess you've got every right to be angry." Breaking eye contact with her, he then looked quickly aside at the ground. "I-I have been afraid of you."

She felt her heart turn leaden inside her chest. He still rejected her, despite his earlier promise to her to try and be friends. "I see," she said very quietly, a gentle quaver in her voice.

He moved his gaze back to meet hers. He could see unshed tears beginning to well up within her eyes. "I-"

"Is my being a girl that horrifying for you?" she demanded, afraid to hear his answer. She cursed herself for being so weak. She was Ranko Saotome! No boy had ever beaten her in a fight, and yet here she was like some frightened child, terrified that this male version of herself would reject her once and for all, consigning her off to the depths of his subconscious, forever locked away in the darkness.

"N-no!" he stated, stammering a little. He could see tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again as she looked up at him, her eyes wide open as she waited on his words. He looked into her eyes, uncertain what he was feeling. Tremors of emotion rolled through him, and his throat felt tight.

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Ranma snapped awake.

Bolting upright in his futon, he shook his head and quickly blinked his eyes, his heart pounding hard in his chest. His eyes darted about, his gaze rapidly taking in the familiar surroundings of his bedroom, dimly lit by the silvery moonlight coming in through the window. He began struggling to calm himself, his breath coming in gasps. His comforter was all tangled up around him.

"W-what was that all about?" he asked, his voice unsteady. Leaning forward, he put his face in his hands. "Relax, Ranma. It was just a dream. Just a dream."

It had felt so real, like all of his dreams of late. Ranko had felt so real to him-

"Stop it," he muttered to himself. He forced himself to calm, letting go of the tension in his shoulders.

Even as his breathing quieted, he still found himself wide awake. He looked at the clock, seeing that he had a couple of hours left before he needed to get up for school, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep again. His brain was far too keyed up now. As he rose up from his futon, he stretched his arms and slowly rotated his shoulders, and he was relieved to feel no pain. A week's rest, even when one had been as short as tonight's was, had restored him back to full health, healing the bruises and injuries from his fight with Utena.

A glint of moonlight reflected off the silvery case of the flash drive sitting on his desk, attracting his attention. Since he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep, he decided to make productive use of the time. He had been neglecting this particular mystery for too long. He also needed to finally pick up the files he had managed to obtain from the Security Directorate. They had been shifting from cache to cache around the world, mixed in with the normal data traffic.

He sat down at his desk and powered his Navi on, idly watching as the screen lit up and began running through its internal diagnostics. In a few moments, the system's desktop was up and running. He swiftly tapped a few keys with his left hand, his right moving the mouse, as he hooked up to the Imperial Datagrid, cloaking his trace signal with some rather special software of his own creation.

"First thing is to get those files before somebody stumbles on them," he murmured, routing himself out through a pathway that should enable him to slip under the Security Directorate's radar for long enough to retrieve his data. After a brief search, he determined which of his caches was the right one and began retrieving the files, humming softly as the data began downloading. As it did so, he noted that each of the files on Jusenkyo had originally come from the Mobius Institute, and it gave him a secret thrill to have outmaneuvered the spookiest group of spooks in the Empire's vaunted intelligence bureaus.

Within a few minutes, it was done. He blurred out his electronic footprints carefully before disconnecting, cleaning up behind himself, even unplugging his system from its physical connection to the Imperial Datagrid. Then he took out the small slip of paper that had arrived with the flash drive, its words obviously meant as a challenge to him: "Are you smart enough to break the code?"

"I haven't met the datafile yet that I can't crack," he muttered under his breath. After plugging the flash drive into his computer, he began his task by calling up some of his code-breaking tools that he had created while in Russia, purely as an intellectual exercise. Some of them he was pretty certain that the Security Directorate would be very interested in talking to him about, if they knew he had them. He began humming a German folk tune as he set to work.

He tapped away at a few keys, allowing the software to start up. After a few moments, it came back with an analysis of the encryption.

* ENCRYPTION TYPE: UNKNOWN

Ranma sat back and ran his hand across his jaw, thinking. This was a cipher code that he had never worked with before. He was even more intrigued now than ever by whatever was in those files, but he could not ignore the nagging possibility in the back of his mind that this could be some kind of honeyed trap, one possibly even set for him by the Security Directorate. He even wondered if Soun Tendo could be behind this somehow. The man obviously had some sort of an agenda concerning him, but the pigtailed boy was still unable to fathom what the man was up to. But why would anyone bother setting a trap for him?

The encryption lock on the flash drive appeared to be a bit more challenging for him to decrypt than he had initially supposed, but it would not be impossible. And even as that challenge called to him with a siren song, he also knew he could not ignore the danger. Did he want to know badly enough to risk prison or worse? He tapped his finger against his jaw as he pondered the matter.

"Argh!" he finally growled. "I gotta know what's on here!" Tapping some more keys, he called up one more code-breaking tool, one based on chaos theory that he had tested but had never actually needed to use before. The algorithms were extremely complex, and he had used some of them to hack into and set up his private data caches in a number of secured systems around the world. It had been a game, ghosting in and out of supposedly 'impenetrable' computer systems. With a sigh, he unknowingly set it off against the Empire's most secure encryption method, an Imperial Edict Code, possibly the most secure cipher on the planet.

* WORKING... PLEASE WAIT...

He sat in his chair and waited, imagining the myriad calculations whirling through the electronic ether. He smiled as he pictured a tiny ninja with Ukyo's face, working her way past a legion of the Empire's best guards to get at the treasure within the castle. He closed his eyes, enjoying his little fantasy.

After a time, he heard a single beep from his computer. He opened his eyes, and they widened at what he saw on the screen. He had not been expecting anything like this.

* PROJECT PHOENIX: IMPERIAL HUMAN ENHANCEMENT EXPERIMENT

* SUBJECT FILE NUMBER 108: SAOTOME, RANMA (NEWTYPE HUMAN - MARK II)

"It's about me?" he wondered in a soft voice. "Newtype? Mark Two?"

He began quickly scrolling through the preliminary information about Project Phoenix, starting with a brief description of the Project's ultimate goal: to produce a eugenically-superior breed of human. He read further, carefully studying the description of something called the Eucharist, a single-celled lifeform that was first discovered in the Imperial nature preserve at Ryugenzawa, originally intended to be used as a bioweapon. Instead, the effort had created the first version of the symbiotic lifeform later dubbed the Eucharist.

During the initial infection stage, the Eucharist organism gave off an elaborate enzyme that caused a resequencing of a human being's entire genetic code, by going through each cell and comparing each pair of chromosomes in the DNA strands to each other. The enzyme purged any genes that had no match, essentially editing away any imperfections it found, such as remnants of viral code or mutated genes. In a sense, the host was refined on an essential level, and innate traits became more clearly defined. A person became more of what they already were.

However, it would only do that if it first found a pair of specific genes on the seventh and ninth chromosomes, ones that caused a certain protein to be produced in the cells. If it infected anyone who did not have those particular genes present, the organism was fatal, causing a quick death from total anaphylactic shock. Assuming the host survived, once the organism was done with its initial editing, it then quietly settled in, adding an extra pair of chromosomes to each cell to ensure that it was carried forward to any future generations of hosts.

Once that initial stage was complete, the symbiote began spreading very quickly throughout the host in a delicate, fibrous mass, forming a sort of web within the host's body, but it stopped growing when it reached a bit over a kilogram. The host's newly-recoded DNA was then locked in as the basal pattern, and the symbiote would begin to aggressively hunt down and consume anything that did not match that pattern, such as any cancerous cells or infectious agents. It basically acted like a model tenant, one who kept its residence in absolutely perfect working order.

He skimmed through the rest of the overview information, fascinated but also disturbed by what he was reading. Among the improvements was at least a thirty percent increase in speed, strength, stamina, and even cognitive ability, although the Mark-I subjects apparently did not have that last enhancement to the same degree as the Mark-II subjects did. Increased intelligence had been the result of later refinements done to the Eucharist organism.

Coming across the first mention of the boost, he began reading it more carefully. As part of its labors, the symbiote created a lacework of special glands throughout the host's body, which in most subjects were dormant for some reason. They were an enhancement of the body's 'fight or flight' response to mortal danger. The glands produced a complex biochemical serum that would combine with heightened adrenaline and endorphin output to cause the body to enter into a sort of fugue state, supercharging strength and speed to the uppermost limit of human capability. The serum even affected the brain, suppressing all fear and doubt, unleashing the beast that lies buried within the oldest cells of the human hindbrain, turning that person into a pure fighting machine.

However, the boost did not come without great cost. The supercharging burned up reserves at a prodigious rate, and a human that was pushed past his limits for too long would die. Ranma shivered for a moment as he continued to read some of the Project's early case studies that were referenced in the file. In order to prevent this, a 'limiter' had been subliminally programmed into the brains of the Mark-II subjects.

One side effect of the symbiote's presence caught his attention as he was reading, an attraction factor it caused with those of the opposite gender who also had a symbiote. Apparently, the organism's presence caused a slight modification in the pheromones given off by the host's body, igniting a favorable response in those of the opposite gender, and an unfavorable one in those of the same gender. That revelation gave him a very cold feeling. That could explain the odd sensations he had been experiencing when he was around Akane, Kodachi, Nabiki, Ukyo, and even Utena.

His analogs had not experienced such feelings, and he couldn't recall responding in such a way when he had been around other women. That could mean that he wasn't really falling for any of the girls, that his body was merely reacting to certain biochemical cues they were giving off, like some kind of love potion at work. In a sense, his DNA was calling out to theirs, and vice-versa. That knowledge was a bit of a relief, but it also left him even more in doubt of his own feelings.

After the overview, he came across the results of a physical exam given to him at age five. An exhaustive battery of tests was listed, both physical and mental, including a full genetic analysis. No physical abnormalities or defects had been found. He had been deemed to be somewhat above-average, both physiologically and neurologically, but otherwise a basically normal and healthy boy, suitable for induction into Project Phoenix. His own father had even approved his admittance, but it looked very possible that his mother didn't know.

"Damn you, Pop," he whispered hollowly. "Why didn't you ever tell me about any of this?"

His emotions even more in turmoil now, Ranma absently hit a few keys, saving the decrypted information. He couldn't bring himself to read any more of the file right now. But a number of things were starting to make sense now, like Soun's interest in him, not to mention Lord Kuno's. Both fathers must see him as some kind of breeding stud. Did the girls know? Who could he trust now?

While fretting about all this new information, he sat and stared out the window quietly as the darkness began fading with the coming dawn. He stayed like that for a long time.

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Frost awoke suddenly, uncertain for several moments where she was as cool night air lightly moved across one side of her face. Her body felt comfortably warm on one side, but it ached a bit when she moved one hand. Her fingers brushed against cloth and skin that was slightly cool to the touch. The odd sensations brought her to full wakefulness and caused her to suddenly remember what had happened before she lost consciousness.

She had been in a battle.

She had lost.

The pale-haired sorceress lifted her head from where it was lying, blinking her eyes several times as her usual calm quickly restored itself. She began taking stock of her situation. She found herself half-sprawled across the unconscious form of Gosunkugi, her head resting on his chest. The window was open behind her, letting in a faint breeze. A few objects and books lay scattered across the floor, mute testimony to the conclusion of her arcane struggle with him.

A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she began to gently clamber off of her slumbering companion. She knelt quietly next to him, thinking. In the dim light coming in from off the street, she appeared as an almost ethereal figure. Her lips formed a slight frown, and there was a faint blush upon her cheeks.

Although it had been almost ten years since she had last set foot in her native village, she still considered herself to be a Joketsuzoku

Amazon and that carried with it certain codes of conduct. Among those were the rules regarding outsiders, among those that if a male defeated an Amazon in combat, then she must make him her husband.

Frost had spent many long years suppressing her feelings, cultivating within herself an emotionless detachment. Lacking such distractions, her arcane skills had grown mighty. Until today, none of her peers had matched her abilities in arcane combat, let alone a mere male. But now she had been defeated, by a male no less, so she must take this one as her husband. It was a curious state she found herself in, suddenly realizing how very lonely she had been from holding herself apart from others for so long. The blush on her pale cheeks darkened slightly as long dormant emotions began trickling through her.

Her expression suddenly firmed. Her course was now very clear to her. Leaning forward, Frost lightly pressed her lips against Gosunkugi's. It was her very first kiss, and she found a certain savor in it, even though her companion remained unconscious and unresponsive during it. It was an odd sort of sensation she felt, not unpleasant, but it left her with a seed of curiosity as to what it would be like to kiss her new husband when he was awake and could respond to her in kind. Such a thought left the pale sorceress feeling unsettled and a bit uncertain of herself. This was an area that she had no knowledge or experience in. She decided to check some of the myriad texts in the library at the Institute to try and learn more.

Sitting back upright, in her native tongue she softly intoned words she had never before imagined herself ever speaking. "Wo ai ni."

For a time, the girl simply knelt and gazed in solemn wonder at her new husband, pondering what it would be like to have him in her life. A rare smile crossed her lips as she felt an odd contentment whispering through her. She gracefully gathered herself to her feet as she gestured briefly and murmured words of power. An invisible force formed beneath Gosunkugi and lifted his still unconscious form into the air, from where she guided it to carry him to his bed and deposit him there gently. He looked a bit uncomfortable sleeping in his clothing, so she began to undress him in a matter-of-fact manner, until he was down to just his underwear.

She could see that he was thin, somewhat pale and wan, with rather plain facial features, but that description could be used for many of her peers at the Institute, both male and female. She noted the box of take-out noodles on his desk, wrinkling her nose slightly at the sight, and she decided that her new husband deserved much better fare than that. She decided to start cooking his meals as often as her duties allowed her, thus ensuring that he had proper nutrition. As she turned back to gaze further at his face, she idly noted that it held a certain sort of gentleness in repose. Another fragile smile appeared on her face, and she could not remember the last time she had ever felt like this. Was this what it was to be happy?

Frost herself, an albino as pale as her namesake, possessed a natural sort of beauty and had a willowy, yet quite clearly feminine, build to her that she had never made any efforts at enhancing with makeup, revealing clothing, or any of the many other such fripperies that so many of her female peers devoted a great deal of time and energy to. Frankly, she had never seen the point.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. She was tempted to remain and awaken her new husband as to his new status when the morning arrived, but her sense of duty compelled her to return to the Institute at once. She decided to keep this encounter to herself for now, until she had a chance to speak with her new husband. Her powers felt quite drained from their battle, but she took the time to cast a spell of healing on both herself and him, and then she pulled his comforter over him. Though still a bit unused to having such expressions on it, another faint ghost of a smile crossed her lips as she gently brushed back his unruly hair from his face, and she kissed him once more.

Before leaving, she tidied the room, giving her an opportunity to calm herself a bit from these uncertain feelings she was experiencing and restore herself to a semblance of her usual cool equanimity. She carefully placed her new husband's removed clothing over the back of his desk chair, and then she stepped to the window.

Her staff rose to her hand at her gesture, trailing clods of earth as it ripped itself free from the spot where it had impaled itself. With a single backwards glance at her new husband, she muttered a spell of flight and soared up from the window. A gesture backwards closed the window behind her, and then she flew off towards the Institute.

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"It won't be long now."

Nabiki turned her head, seeing her other self standing there at the edge of the dojo mat. It came to her suddenly that this was another dream, one of the strange ones she had been having of late since using Ranma's device.

"What won't be long?" she asked, rising to her feet. Both of them were dressed in Chinese-style shirts and black gi pants, tied at the ankles. Her own shirt was blue, and the other girl's was in green.

Martial-Nabiki smiled at her mysteriously. "When you awaken, you'll challenge Ranchan. With the Amaguriken technique, you'll defeat him." There was an absolute certainty in her voice.

"Yeah," Nabiki agreed with her twin. She smiled back. "I'll prove to Ranma-kun that I'm a better fighter than he is."

Her analog turned to look at the sunlight warming the yard. She could see the breeze flowing across the grass, the trees moving gently in their places. She heard soft footsteps as her other self joined her.

"The heir to the Anything-Goes School should be its strongest fighter," said Martial-Nabiki thoughtfully. "I've given you the tools to be that now. What you do from this point on is up to you."

Her twin turned to look at her. She smiled once again. "You'll beat Ranchan and show him who the true heir to the Anything-Goes School is. I have total faith in you." Then she paused, feeling the last bits of herself slipping away.

"All that I was, all that I knew, is now yours," she said softly. "Remember this moment." And then she stepped forward into her twin and abruptly vanished, and Nabiki felt herself falling backwards-

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Nabiki woke up abruptly when her body hit the floor of her room, her limbs all tangled up in her blankets and sheets. Grumbling, she began unwrapping herself. That fat oaf Genma should have gotten her up for their morning sparring already. Why had he let her sleep in like this? Her eyes suddenly went wide as she quickly blinked some more sleep from them.

"Oh," she murmured sheepishly, feeling very silly all of a sudden. She hadn't felt this confused about her surroundings since that very first morning after her experience with Ranma's resonator. She chuckled softly as she rubbed her head, still feeling somewhat out of sorts. Finally getting free of her sheets, she absently scratched at an itch on her side as she adjusted her T-shirt.

Doing some light stretching exercises to wake herself up some more, she kept her legs straight as she bent forward to grasp her ankles and then leaning back as far as she could, hearing her spine popping as it aligned back into proper place. She then rolled forward into a quick handstand, scissoring her legs until they were parallel to the floor, first forward and back, and then to each side, feeling the tendons protesting a bit. She finished her brief stretching routine by pushing off and doing an agile flip to land back on her feet.

She smiled wolfishly as she headed for the bathroom to prepare for her day, knowing she had to hustle. Business had been falling off, and none of her cronies could explain it. So today she was going to school early and start making some more pointed interrogations. Somebody was moving in on her territory. She could feel it. But they were messing with the wrong girl. She was going to show them that, for she was her father's daughter.

As for Ranma-kun, today she would defeat him and finally prove that she was the superior martial artist, for the entire Academy to see.

Life was good.

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Nodoka smiled lovingly as she watched her husband and son eating their breakfast, serving herself some rice now that she had served them their first helpings. Ranma and his father had demonstrated much greater appetites lately, likely due to them both training as hard as they had been doing. It pleased her to see them enjoying her cooking so much. This was how a family should be, now that she had instilled some proper table manners into them both, that is.

Genma had gotten so funny over the past several weeks, too. When she had made an offhand comment about her concerns over Ranma's manliness, he had cringed so realistically that it made her smile. The poor dear had seemed absolutely terrified of her remarks, as if she was going to take the family sword down and make him commit seppuku over their son's lack of success with girls. But she had no worries on that front now.

There were several nice girls in the boy's life now, and that eased her mind about her son's prospects for marriage, not to mention producing a number of grandchildren. In addition to the ones she had found for him, he had brought home that nice Tenjou girl to meet her. Surely with so many options available to him, he would be able to pick one to take as his bride, or maybe even two or three of them. No, that would be too much to hope for.

She felt a slight queasiness in her stomach, and she swallowed some more of the herbal tea she was drinking to settle it. After a week of healing, the bruises from Kenseiko's strike had mostly faded by now, but she knew that she had been very lucky that they had hit so high on her midsection. Lower down, such a hard blow could have caused her to miscarry, which was why she was going over to the Kunos to speak with her old rival and ask for a temporary truce, before something happened that endangered her baby.

"Mother?" asked Ranma, intruding on her thoughts. "Are you all right?"

"Just some morning sickness, I'm afraid," she said with a rueful smile, forgetting that she had not yet told him about her condition.

Ranma stared at his mother in shock, his chopsticks now held frozen in mid-motion. He then set his rice bowl and chopsticks down, gave Genma an unreadable look briefly. "H-how long have you been pregnant?"

"Oh, only five weeks or so," she said pleasantly. "Although your father has been quite busy ever since you two came home."

Ranma gave Genma another unreadable look, and then he smiled at her. "I see. That's great news, Mother. Congratulations."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "Think of it, son. You're going to have a little brother or sister before too long."

"Yeah." He smiled back, but his mind was stunned by the news. Picking up his bowl, he busied himself with his food, consuming the last of it. Setting it back down, he said, "I've gotta get to school."

He got up from his place at the table, lightly kissed his mother on the cheek, and gave Genma a deadly look when her back was turned as she got up to get him his lunch. He held the look steady as the man swallowed nervously. He had let himself be distracted for too long. He had to get rid of this idiot who had taken his father's place, and send him back where he belonged.

"Have a nice day at school, Ranma," Nodoka said with a smile, turning around and handing him a boxed lunch. She watched him leave, wondering why he didn't seem as happy as he sounded. She shrugged her shoulders. He had just been surprised. That was all there was to it.

"More breakfast, Dearest?" There was a pause. "Why are you sweating?"

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Hitomi Gosunkugi was a devoted mother.

The slender woman bustled about the small kitchen preparing breakfast with a skill born of years of practice. The scent of fried eggs, rice and cooked vegetables permeated the room. She briefly glanced towards the hallway, listening for the sounds of her son moving around. She frowned slightly when she heard nothing. Her beloved little boy had been staying up very late for many nights now, leaving him a little slow to arise in the mornings.

As she waited for signs of life from her son's small bedroom, the front doorbell rang, startling her. She lowered the heat on the stove and hurried to answer the door, absently wiping her hands on the front of her apron. She heard the sounds of paper crinkling in one of the front pockets, suddenly remembering that was where she had placed the glossy pamphlet she had been perusing earlier. She would look at it again later, after her son had gone to school. She smoothed down her hair with one hand before opening the door.

"Good morning," she said warmly, but her bright smile suddenly turned plastic when she recognized who the figure standing out in the hallway was. Her rigid smile remained forced-looking as she bowed slightly in greeting.

"Good morning, Gosunkugi-san," said Minami, somewhat more brusquely than was considered proper for a girl her age to address one of her elders. She locked gazes for a few moments with the older woman, her greeting smile turning forced when she saw it wasn't Gosunkugi-kun answering the door.

Hitomi gritted her teeth behind her façade as she struggled to maintain it, betraying only a slight hint of her irritation with the young Ghost Sweeper. Minami was an arrogant, swaggering loudmouth of a girl, and the older woman was perplexed as to why the redhead kept hanging around her dear, sweet son. He was such a gentle boy, quiet, thoughtful, and introspective, much like his dearly departed father had been before his untimely loss.

Eyeing the girl's trim figure, Hitomi commented dryly, "You've lost a bit of weight it seems, Minami-chan. Finally keeping to one of your diets?"

"It was simply a matter of willpower," the girl replied with a laugh that set the older woman's teeth even further on edge. "Nothing for a Ghost Sweeper of my matchless abilities to do once I set my mind to it." She peeked around Hitomi. "Is Hikaru-kun ready to go yet? I thought I'd give him the immeasurable privilege this morning of walking with me to the Academy."

"He's still getting ready," began Hitomi, stopping abruptly when the girl suddenly breezed by her and headed in the direction of her son's room. With a sigh, she closed the door and went back to the kitchen, knowing that she had lost another round with the young Ghost Sweeper.

"That idiot is going to make us late," Minami muttered under her breath as she stomped towards her goal. "And after I went to the trouble of going out of my way to give him the singular honor of walking with me."

In the kitchen, Hitomi's hand felt the rumpled pamphlet in her pocket, and she pulled it out. Genom's logo was proudly displayed in large print across the front, as well as their corporate motto: "More Human Than Human."

A sigh escaped her lips as she contemplated what she was about to do. It was fairly obvious that most of her son's difficulties with that redheaded annoyance to her life stemmed from a basic lack of manly self-confidence and experience with girls. Well, there was a simple way to fix that, one that offered many other tangible benefits as well. Giving her son his own lilith would be like picking out a bride for him, but one who would never treat him badly or be unfaithful. The only problem was that she wasn't certain she could afford one, and she hoped they had financing options. But no matter the expense, a lilith was certainly a much better prospect than having her beloved son marry some bullying little shrew like Manami Minami.

She smiled more genuinely as she imagined her beloved son's reaction to receiving his own personal lilith. She pocketed the pamphlet again as she busied herself finishing up breakfast. The day was looking much brighter.

Her little boy would be so grateful that he had such a devoted mother.

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Gosunkugi laughed triumphantly as Ranma fell before him, even as he unleashed another barrage of lightning from his fingertips for good measure. The still-smoking corpse of Kodachi rested just behind the other boy, her eyes wide open and unseeing, and her limbs all askew. Off to one side, both Akane and Minami watched him with adoration sparkling in their eyes, bearing loving witness to his inevitable victory. Both girls were dressed in silky wisps of outfits that left very little to the imagination.

The pigtailed boy convulsed and screamed as the energies ripped through his body, coughing up some blood. But he managed to lift one arm in a pleading gesture when the barrage finally ended. "G-Gosunkugi-sama, please-"

Gosunkugi cut him off as he sneered, "Mercy? You seek mercy? After your pet noblewoman brutalized my precious Akane-chan?" He half-turned from his foe to gaze upon his beloved. And Minami. "Shall I give him mercy, my love?"

The Tendo girl's look was cold as she gazed upon Ranma in his weakness. It was obvious that Gosunkugi was the stronger. "Just kill him," she purred. "He sickens me."

"Yes, Hikaru-kun," agreed the Ghost Sweeper breathily, bobbing her head up and down in an adoring nod as she thrust out her bosom in quite an appealing manner. "You're so masterful," she sighed out loud.

"As you wish." He felt the energies gathering once more within him, more power than he had ever dreamed possible. "How I pity you, Ranma Saotome. Only at the last moments of your life do you see that it was I who was always the better man." With that, he unleashed more of his lightning into the other boy once again, enjoying the final, lingering screams. When it was done, the other boy's twitching corpse collapsed to the ground, still smoking slightly.

Both girls rushed for Gosunkugi, even as he blew some lingering vapors from his fingertips. This was how it should be, he mused, feeling both girls hugging him, pressing their nubile bodies against his own slender frame. But in the back of his mind, he wondered why Minami was there. His true love was his warrior goddess, Akane. And to prove it, he drew her in for a deep kiss-

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Minami had been leaning over Gosunkugi's slumbering form, preparing to slug him on his shoulder with her fist and yell into his ear to wake him up, when he suddenly sat up and she found herself grabbed into a hug. Before she could respond, he drew her close and kissed her quite deeply. Her eyes went wide, and she felt her strength seem to abandon her for a moment. It wasn't her first kiss with a boy, but it still caused the world to take on a hazy, pleasant sort of quality, and she quickly found herself leaning into the embrace.

"I love you, Akane Tendo," he murmured when his lips finally released hers.

Her awareness snapped back into sudden focus. Akane Tendo? Who the hell was Akane Tendo? A jealous fury surged up within her, and her arcane powers swelled to immense proportions within her, fed by the sudden rush of emotions, unleashing an explosive blast of raw magic. Fortunately for the boy's continuing health, the energy was released in an unfocused surge throughout his room, most of it blowing out his windows in a multihued blast of power. Even so, he was still lifted up and hurled away from his bed and into the wall, landing with a hard thump and sliding down to the floor.

His clothing still smoldering slightly, he looked confusedly at the Ghost Sweeper. What she was doing in his room? Why did she look so angry?

"W-what did you think you were doing, H-Hikaru-kun?" snapped Minami in decidedly angry tones, her face blushing very brightly. He had kissed her! He had kissed her, thinking she was another girl! "H-how d-dare you-?" She left off, suddenly unable to continue with her tirade.

No longer possessed of the calm arrogance of his dream self, he was left gaping at the sight of the blushing, stammering girl. Unsure what to do, he stood up, babbling protestations of innocence-

-and his clothing disintegrated from the last lingering traces of the raw magic they had been hit with.

Her eyes widened, and she blinked several times in rapid succession. The fading blush on her cheeks surged back up with full force during those few seconds.

"I-I'm sorry!" he stammered as he quickly grabbed a sheet to cover his nakedness. "It was an accident!"

"Pervert!" Although she had been trained to calmly deal with all kinds of demons (and could admit to herself that she had an odd fascination for those of the naughty tentacle variety), this was another matter entirely. This was her Hikaru-kun, the boy she had known since they were both eight years old. She unleashed another bolt of raw magical force at him and fled from the room, tears flooding from her eyes.

Regaining his feet after her parting shot, Gosunkugi surveyed the blasted wreckage of his room. The day had only begun, and it was already looking bad. Somehow, this was all Saotome's fault.

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The Ghost Sweeper's blind run finally came to a halt some ways away from Gosunkugi's apartment building. Storm clouds blew by overhead, reflecting her mood. Tears still rolled down her face, and she angrily wiped them away. She felt like such a fool.

"H-how could he t-treat me like that?" she growled, trying to hold back the tears with anger as she started to head towards the Academy. Her heart sank further in her chest as her memory kept repeating what had just happened, the kiss, and then his pronouncement of love for someone else. Fresh tears began rolling down her cheeks, and she stopped, a mournful sob escaping her as she leaned heavily against a light pole. How could he want someone else? How could he love someone else?

She felt empty inside. The boy she lov- liked a lot, and he wanted someone else. He wanted this Akane Tendo girl, not her.

Anger began building up inside her again, and her tears began to stop. She was not going to give up. She had worked too hard to give up now. Hikaru-kun was hers! Whoever this little tramp was, she was not going to have him!

Minami wiped her eyes, feeling better now that she had decided on a course of action. First thing, she had to find out who this girl was. And she had gone to the Imperial Academy long enough to know that the best source for information was Nabiki Ten-

Wait. Nabiki Tendo? Akane Tendo? The Ghost Sweeper blinked, and then her eyes narrowed. She had heard Akane's name before, from her new friend Yohko, that the girl was a violent sort by nature. She had also heard from the young Devil Hunter that this Akane person had fairly recently developed a fixation on the other new annoyance in Minami's life: Ranma Saotome. Because of that jerk, she huffed, her perfect debut at the Imperial Academy had been ruined.

An evil smile lit her face. It was all so very clear to her now. Her initial notion of frying the bimbo down to bone and gristle, while a pleasant one, was set aside. Instead, she was going to become Akane's good friend, and she would help the little thug win Ranma. That should eliminate her rival for Hikaru-kun's heart, and be a very wonderful form of revenge on that creep, Saotome.

After laughing in a chilling fashion for a moment, she continued her journey to school.

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Hinako padded softly into her den, her hair still slightly dampened from her morning shower, dressed in a snug, light green robe that was decorated with a golden phoenix that wrapped around her torso. She carried a cup of gently-steaming tea in her hands as she strolled across the length of the room, where not a single book or paper could be seen out of place. She was an orderly and careful person, and it showed in how she kept her home, especially here, her private sanctum.

Sitting down at her desk, she tapped a key and the computer screen woke from sleep mode. She could see a symbol blinking away in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. She smiled. The datatap she had ordered placed within Ranma's computer had something to report. One of her men had installed it several days ago when the house had been empty.

Moving the cursor over the icon, she tapped the mouse once, bringing up a duplicate desktop of whatever the boy had been working on. Her eyes widened a bit at what she saw, and her smile deepened. He had done the impossible and hacked through the Empire's most secure data encryption method in less than thirty minutes.

"Oh, Ranma-kun," she murmured in sultry tones. "No wonder Soun is so interested in you. What a find you are." She read through the file a bit more intently, her interest in the boy growing, a smile appearing on her lips.

"Soun was wise to keep an eye on you, Ranma." She paused and thought for a moment. "But you would be wasted under his guidance, so I think I'll make you mine instead. After all, you and I could do many great things in the Empire. I'm so looking forward to talking with you. With you at my side, I'm sure we'll go very far in the Empire together." Her smile grew more lustful. "And I can teach you a great many wonderful, pleasurable things. Things that a handsome, virile young man like yourself would find very interesting."

Swiveling her chair around to face the window, she crossed her legs and sipped at her tea. Her recent investigations into the boy's life had come up with three marriage contracts filed with the Ministry of Information, and one of them had been to Nabiki Tendo. It was yet another surprising thing to learn about the boy. She chuckled softly.

It would be a modest challenge to break the boy away from his arranged marriage to the Tendo girl, and it would be a quite delightful slap in the face of her arch-nemesis, Soun. As to the other girls, if any of them dared object to her claiming the Saotome boy, she would simply squash them like troublesome insects, including the Kuno girl. That gave her a notion.

A martial arts duel over the boy had a certain dramatic appeal, but only the Kuonji girl had any notable fighting skills. It was a pity that Soun's daughter had let her combat abilities decay since her mother's untimely death. Beating Nabiki to a bloody mess in single combat would have been very enjoyable and also quite legal under the Empire's dueling laws. And if any of the other girls were unwise enough to choose to make an issue of the boy, Hinako would gladly knock out a few of their teeth, purely as an object lesson, perhaps even breaking a major bone or two if they gave her much of a challenge. Not that any of them could, she mused with a smile.

Yes, a duel would make things so much tidier. Once defeated, the girls would be honor bound to release their claims on Ranma. Then that only left the matter of dealing with the boy's parents, potentially a more challenging issue. As for Ranma himself? Seducing him around to her way of thinking would be mere child's play to one of her experience with the opposite sex. Despite his intellectual gifts, the Saotome boy was still a hormonally-challenged teenaged male of very limited experience with the opposite sex.

Hinako sensuously uncrossed and re-crossed her long legs as she sipped some more of her tea, and she began laughing seductively.

The pigtailed boy's handsome body and his brilliant mind would be hers to play with and use as she saw fit.

It was only a matter of time.

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Nanami Jinnai stood chatting casually with Ami Mizuno as she eyed the crowd with a portion of her awareness, noting with satisfaction the membership of the Ranma Saotome Fan Club strewn throughout the crowd, waiting for the object of their desires, nearly two dozen girls in all. Word had spread through the campus like wildfire last week about his comeback victory over Utena Tenjou, the 'Prince of Ohtori'. She had made a tidy profit, selling more pictures of him, pictures taken by a confederate of hers at Ohtori.

"She's watching us again," commented Ami, pretending to write something down that Nanami had said in her notebook as she mentally prepared herself for Ranma's arrival on campus. It would not be long now. A member of the club had reported him less than a block away as she passed them by, not making eye contact with either of them as she had taken up a spot near the outer wall to wait with the others.

Nanami smiled. "Let her watch. She hasn't seen anything yet."

Ami glanced around, noting the looks of determination on the faces of the girls from the club. Due to his injuries received during the match against Utena, a vote had been taken, narrowly approving delaying their first assault upon him. But today they would show Ranma the depths of their feelings for him. They would show him their strength and their worthiness of him.

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"What are you looking at, Yohko?"

Nabiki paused in her questioning of Hiroshi, glancing over to where her best friend was standing guard, watching out for any instructors coming by. Her fist was bunched into the front of the boy's jacket, holding him firmly. Her inquiries had been coming up dry all morning, and she was starting to think she was simply being paranoid. But someone had been moving in on her organization, and someone had trapped Ranma in the locker room with the Wolf Pack a few weeks ago.

The Devil Hunter looked back and shrugged. "There's some kind of odd tension in a number of the girls over by the main gate. They're trying to be pretty casual about it, but they look like they're waiting for something. And that leader-wannabe, Jinnai, looks like she's up to something, with Ami Mizuno of all people."

"S-senpai," said Hiroshi, feeling a sharp trickling of fear at her rough treatment. While she hadn't yet hurt him in any way, he could sense her frustration. "I really don't know what you're talking about. I'm loyal to you. I always have been."

"Shut up for a moment, Hiroshi-kun," Nabiki commanded, tightening her grip in his jacket a little more. This was something that she normally had Akane or Yohko take care of, but there was something to be said for the personal touch. "Waiting?" she asked Yohko, her brow furrowing a bit. It was likely to congratulate Ranma on his victory, she mused. Cadets had been doing that all last week. Everyone loved a winner. But soon enough that would be her and Ranma would be yesterday's news.

She turned her attentions back to her captive, adding her other hand to her grip on his collar and lifting him off his feet a couple of inches. Her training had been improving her strength quite a bit, and she made use of it now to make an impression upon the boy. She brought him back down and leaned in close.

"Hiroshi-kun," she said pleasantly, pulling him nose to nose with her. "If I find that you've lied to me, you won't like the results. Are you absolutely certain that there isn't anything that you'd like to tell me, your senpai?"

"N-nothing," he stammered. His nervousness grew when he saw her gaze darkening. He looked away. "I don't know anything."

Nabiki smiled. "You're lying, Hiroshi-kun," she purred, her grip on his jacket tightening. "I think you do know something. Something that you'd like to tell me."

"Nabiki!" hissed Yohko suddenly.

"I-I can't," the boy whimpered.

He was getting close to spilling something. The Tendo girl could tell. She smiled coldly. At last she was getting somewhere. At last she would have a lead on this mystery challenger to her dominion.

"Nabiki!" Yohko hissed again. A moment later, she said in a pleasant tone of voice, "Why hello, sensei. Looks like rain today, doesn't it?"

Nabiki quickly released her hold on Hiroshi and let him go. She could always find him again later. She walked around the corner to join Yohko, greeting the instructor who had walked by, all innocent smiles and pleasant tones. Where was Ranma? He should be here already.

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Ranma paused for a moment as he felt another sneeze suddenly come over him. He had sneezed several times this morning, and he wondered if he was coming down with something. He had never been sick before, which he now knew was due to the presence of his symbiote, but maybe there was a first time for everything. He stood at the gates of the Academy as he rubbed his nose for a brief moment, dressed in his blue uniform, his other clothes in his bookbag. He looked at the sky. It looked like the storm was about to break.

His battle with Utena came to mind. He smiled briefly at the memory of the pink-haired girl a week ago. She was certainly easier to get along with than Nabiki often was, and sometimes even Kodachi was. She was quite a bit like Ukyo in personality, someone that he could enjoy a comfortable friendship with. Maybe more. Ukyo had certainly been fun to be with on their one date so far, but the Ohtori cadet had been quite enjoyable to talk with too.

As he stood there, lost in his thoughts, male and female cadets in blue and gray uniforms passed by him, a number of them giving him pleasant smiles or friendly nods. His uncharacteristic actions of late had been raising his favor among his fellow cadets, but he felt embarrassed by the attention. He had gotten used to being ignored by everyone.

"There he is!" came a cry from a female voice. Hearing a deep rumbling sound moving up quickly behind him, he turned around and gaped at what he saw. A number of girls were now converging on him from several directions, running hard.

"Ranma Saotome!" cried the first to reach him, a trim girl in a gray uniform. "Feel the strength of my passion!" And she tried to hit him.

"What the heck?" he blurted out, evading the strike with a quick shift of his weight to the right. Several more girls had reached him by that time, all of them in an offensive posture. Why were they all attacking him?

"I love you, Saotome-san!" A shorter girl in a blue uniform lunged at him with a flying kick aimed at his head, her unexpected statement nearly giving her the drop on him.

"What the hell is going on over there?" snapped Nabiki, echoing Ranma's own question, seeing him suddenly being assaulted by a large number of female cadets. Nearly two dozen girls were involved. Some of them were even armed, wielding bo sticks, nunchuks, and even one with a pair of sais.

Ranma had his hands full for several moments, as he quickly began to deal with the sheer number of opponents now piling onto him. He evaded and blocked their strikes, throwing punches and kicks around him in reply. While he was pulling his blows, unwilling to hurt any of the girls, it was proving to be somewhat of a challenge to his abilities. Unlike the worlds of his counterparts, several of these students had a fair amount of martial arts training, mainly the ones in gray uniforms.

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"So that's him? One of the students you wish me to consider training?"

"Yes," said Fuyutsuki with a brief nod, watching the boy's impromptu fight with interest. He glanced once at the Chinese man standing next to him at the window, a handsome gentleman with gray salted throughout his straight hair, dressed in a white silk shirt and dark blue pants. "He has good potential, wouldn't you say?" He received only a grunt from the other in return.

"I haven't said I agreed to anything yet," said the man, turning away from the window and presenting a face known Empire-wide for his many film exploits and from his days spent fighting in the Arena: Jun Fan Lee. His grim look faded into a slight smile. "He does seem to fight well enough, but I think a more severe test is in order before I make up my mind. And I would also like to see the other one you mentioned in action."

"I'm sure that something could be arranged." Fuyutsuki steepled his fingers together as he sat back in his chair.

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"Please tell me that you're getting all this, Mizuno-san," whispered Nanami in an urgent aside to the other girl.

"Yes." Ami quickly checked the images she was receiving from the tiny cameras she and Nanami had concealed early this morning. She flipped viewing angles, and she nodded in satisfaction. "I'm getting some really good footage. It's wonderful." Her voice was becoming a little breathless as she gazed raptly at Ranma in motion.

Ami's brief reverie was interrupted as Nanami snapped her fingers a few times before her eyes. "Is it enough for analysis?"

"Oh, yes," the science cadet replied. "I should be able to give you a preliminary tactical analysis of Saotome-san's fighting abilities by lunchtime." She winced as she watched the pigtailed boy side-step two girls coming in from either side of him, one girl ending up kneeing the other in the face. "I should be able to let you know of any weak points in his technique by then, if he has any."

"Excellent." Nanami rubbed her hands together gleefully. Selling that information to the other members of the club would be a very profitable endeavor.

Ami went back to her study of Ranma. Such a brilliant mind, combined with such stirring athletic ability in action. Watching him fight with such supreme grace and skill left her feeling surprisingly weak in the knees, and she desperately wished that she too had the courage to talk to him, to declare her feelings for him like so many other girls were doing. But she knew she wasn't a fighter, and her own analysis was conclusive in her eyes that he was attracted to stronger girls than she would ever be. It would take a miracle for her to ever be able to fight that well. Resigning herself to her fate, she quietly continued filming him, her heart aching within her chest.

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Standing with his trio of catgirls by the main building, Kinnosuke Kashuoh calmly eyed the fierce battle taking place, his gaze alight with interest. He closely watched the other boy's technique, seeking for any weaknesses that he could exploit. He kept watching as girl after girl attacked and was skillfully taken down, but he was a bit puzzled as to their goal. They weren't trying to seriously hurt him, just subdue him. What was going on?

Tiger, like the other two catgirls with Kinnosuke, stood in a state of relaxed readiness, like a soldier at ease. She too watched Ranma's battle with interest, watching his body twisting and moving with grace and speed as he dealt with his attackers. She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly feeling a little dry, a headache coming over her as she thought about him. Why was Ranma able to draw her attention away from her beloved Kinnosuke-sama? There was something on the edge of her memory, but it evaded her more deftly the harder she tried to reach for it.

"Tiger," Kinnosuke said firmly. He looked at her, noting her attention lingering on the pigtailed boy for a moment longer than he cared to see before snapping to meet his. It was oddly irritating, almost as if he was jealous. But that was impossible. The lilith was simply a tool for him to use and eventually to be discarded when her usefulness was at an end, nothing more than that.

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama?" Her breathing was slightly elevated. She saw that her beloved master was looking at her with a slight frown.

"How soon until we are ready to strike?"

"Within a day, maybe two, Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger firmly. "We have gathered quite a number of stray cats and have them penned in the old, abandoned dormitory's basement, but we still aren't up to the number you required."

"Very well." He took her chin gently in his hand, tipping her head up slightly, his gaze boring into her eyes. "I want this mission to go off without flaw, Tiger. I wish my debut to Nabiki Tendo and Ranma Saotome to be done with proper drama." His gaze briefly dipped down her front, and he felt lust stirring within him. It would be difficult now to concentrate on his studies today. He reluctantly brought his gaze back up to her face.

"I look forward to crushing him when he is sniveling with fear before me from his pathetic little phobia." Then he smiled. "I've also given the matter some thought and I have decided to give you a gift, Tiger." He looked over at Lynx and Panther. "For all three of you, actually."

"A gift?" Their ears perked up happily. They loved getting presents.

"While I deal with Saotome, the three of you are to keep the Tendo girl occupied, as well as anyone else who may try to interfere with my private business with him." His grip tightened painfully on the catgirl's jaw, and he dropped his gaze to look into her eyes again. "But there is to be no serious damage done to Nabiki, Tiger. I want her to fall by my hand and by mine alone, once I'm done with breaking Saotome. She's mine. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," she replied softly. "It shall be done as you command." The other two nodded.

"Excellent, you three." He nodded and released her. "Excellent." He looked at them. "Now go!" he snapped. "Gather more felines."

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama!" they cried out as one and ran off.

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Less than a minute later, it was over. Girls lay strewn around Ranma in various states of disarray, groaning as they tried to catch their breath. Some even had broken weapons still clutched in their hands. Hearing a car approaching, he kept his guard up as he turned around and saw the Kuno family limousine pulling up to the curb outside the gates, and then Kodachi gracefully emerged from within.

"Would you get a load of that?" remarked Yohko with a note of amusement in her voice as she stood with her best friend, the pair having watched his battle with the girls from a distance. Nabiki had been standing rather rigidly during the entire fight, her body almost seeming to quiver with a desire to involve herself in it, but she had demurred. Yohko lightly elbowed the Tendo girl to attract her attention. "Her royal highness has arrived."

"Yeah," Nabiki replied, a bit absently. Her intense gaze had been tightly locked on to Ranma during the entire fight, and that same gaze narrowed ever more dangerously when she saw him walk over and greet the other girl in a friendly manner. Her right hand briefly clenched into a fist at her side. "I can see that."

"Good morning, Kodachi," Ranma said in greeting, relaxing a bit.

"Good morning, Saotome-kun." She paused before him and bowed. She looked past him and saw what seemed to be the remnants of a war zone. "My goodness. What happened here?"

"I honestly don't know," he confessed, shaking his head. "They all, well, just came up and attacked me."

Kodachi blinked and studied the girls gathering themselves back up from the ground. It reminded her of scenes from Sukeban-Kodachi's life at Furinkan Reformatory School. Getting attacked by the many gang girls there had been a common start to her day. She turned back to look at him, her eyes wide. "All of them?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, putting his hand behind his head and looking a bit embarrassed.

"You poor dear." She sidled closer to him, stepping over some of the fallen girls. Her voice briefly lowered in clear disapproval as she looked at the girls. "Such brutish hoodlums." When she was near him, she brightened. "I would be pleased if you could escort me away from this dreadful scene and walk me to class, Saotome-kun."

"Sure, I guess," he replied, nodding. Ranma began walking her to the main building. He didn't notice her trodding on the occasional hand or limb as she walked just behind him. He was more focused on keeping an eye out for Nabiki, but he hadn't seen her yet.

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Ukyo's feet landed noiselessly on the roof of one of the buildings next to the Academy. The journey had only taken her several minutes of quick roof-hopping, not even enough to dull the edge from the nervous energy that seemed to fill her this morning as she bathed and changed into her uniform a short while ago. Just the mere thought of seeing the pigtailed boy again filled her with joy.

The ninja girl smiled as she hunted for her target from her vantage point, her gaze scanning through the knots of cadets moving through the main gate and around outside the main building. A single bound brought her across the length of the narrow street to land with a light thump in a crouching position on the high wall surrounding the grounds. She continued scanning the many cadets moving around, her eyes questing for one face in particular.

With a grin, she suddenly spied him among a group of cadets, walking towards the main building. But her grin turned to a frown when she saw who he was talking and walking with: Kodachi Kuno. The noblewoman was standing just a little too close to her Ranchan for her tastes. The ninja girl felt quite irritated at the sight. She leaped high into the air, unsheathing her battle spatula for balance and hoping to spook her rival for the pigtailed boy's attention a bit.

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Standing a short distance away, Nabiki continued glaring at Ranma and Kodachi walking together, even as she remained partially hidden behind a tree with Yohko, observing her fiancé. Suddenly, she caught a rapid flicker of motion out of the corner of her eye, and she glanced upwards to see a figure come hurtling down upon the pigtailed boy from above. She lost sight of his assailant in the glare of the morning sun, but she was certain she had seen a weapon raised to strike. Reacting from instinct, she charged out from beneath the tree and took to the air in a high, leaping kick.

Ukyo was only moments away from landing behind Ranma, and her knees were half-bent to absorb the shock of her landing. She grinned broadly as she imagined the shock that the Kuno girl would have at her sudden appearance. But as she began her descent, out of the corner of her eye she saw someone suddenly appear out of nowhere and come leaping upwards at her in an obvious attack.

"Whoa!" she yelped, barely evading the savage attack of her unexpected opponent. She flipped herself around in midair, re-angling her landing spot with great acrobatic skill. However, by doing so, she dropped down a bit too close to Ranma, more so than she had originally intended.

Nabiki finally saw who her foe was as they flashed past each other, recognizing Ukyo, dressed in the gray uniform of a male security cadet. She was surprised when she missed the other girl cleanly, something that indicated she faced a much more highly-skilled fighter than she had calculated. She flipped over in midair and descended gracefully, curious to see what the other girl intended.

As she walked demurely alongside her fiancé, Kodachi's thoughts had drifted off into one of her many fantasies, starting with the two of them alone together, and then quickly growing more salacious. If only the pigtailed boy could be more like Kaoru-kun was, she mused, her thoughts floating off in a much unintended direction. Memories from her other self, of the Black Rose of Furinkan Reformatory High School, and of her boyfriend, another version of the Ohtori cadet, came over her. She slowed her pace slightly as she enjoyed the erotic fantasy.

Hearing a yell behind him, Ranma managed to half-turn around to see a figure come hurtling in his direction, feet first. Reacting from sheer instinct, he swiftly dove to one side, forgetting at the last moment that the Kuno girl had been standing with him, now lost in thought. As fast as he could, he leaped back towards her.

"Saotome-kun?" asked Kodachi as she opened her eyes, suddenly aware of his motion away from her. She took a step in her confusion and ended up occupying almost the same space he had just vacated. The young noblewoman glanced around her, startled to see the look on his face when she saw him. She could see need in his eyes, and her heart leapt within her chest. She closed her eyes and waited for what she was sure would be a passionate embrace and kiss from her beloved.

Ukyo, finding herself unable to violate the laws of physics any further than she had already done, touched down, her feet landing squarely atop Kodachi's skull. The male-uniformed ninja girl bounced off and upwards a moment later, flipping her body agilely and finally ending up landing next to the pigtailed boy, but she had unintentionally transferred a significant amount of kinetic energy down into the unsuspecting young noblewoman.

Kodachi slammed hard into the soft grass, nose first, her head planted into the sod deeply enough to cover her face up to her ears. Her body came to rest fully prone, her limbs sprawled all around her. She rested like that for several moments, almost motionless, her only sign of life a slight twitching, quite obviously stunned.

Oh damn, Ranma thought with a sinking feeling in his gut. He stood where he was and stared at the girl's fallen form, and he quickly knelt to make sure that she wasn't seriously hurt. He briefly imagined that he heard fading echoes of laughter in the back of his mind. First that gang of girls attacking him and now this. Similar events from other worlds flashed across his mind.

"Uh, good morning, Ranchan," Ukyo said with a little smile, quickly resheathing her large battle spatula, her use of the nickname intended to be a teasing joke. Standing near him like she was, she felt a blush surge up into her face, reddening her cheeks. She suddenly could not seem to figure out what to do with her hands, now currently fidgeting with one of her small throwing spatulas.

Her thoughts began wandering off into odd directions, and she could not seem to bring herself to move to stand as far away from him as her mother had once told her that propriety required between a boy and a girl. In one small corner of her suddenly chaotic thoughts, she also felt a little guilty at her actions, but she knew that they weren't really her fault. Nabiki had tried to attack her, so it was actually the Tendo girl's fault. She glanced around to find her foe.

The crowd began to whisper theories about what was going on, seeing a very male-looking Ukyo talking in a friendly and rather affectionate manner to Ranma, Nabiki apparently having just attacked the strange, new boy for unknown reasons, and Kodachi now lying face-down in the grass. Some of the theories quickly being traded around were pretty wild. In addition, several young women suddenly sighed dreamily at their first clear look at the attractive stranger.

All in all, it was a most embarrassing and uncomfortable moment, most especially for Ranma. He sighed and looked glum. Why was this stuff happening to him?

Nabiki and Ukyo caught sight of each other at roughly the same moment. The expressions on their faces were ones of uncertainty verging on a possible outbreak of further violence. The latter possibility seemed to be the more likely outcome as moments passed.

Terrific, thought the Tendo girl wryly. The cross-dressing weirdo has shown up, and in full costume for her part. Flashes of memories from her counterpart's life filled her mind's eye for a moment. She eyed the ninja with a most unfriendly gaze. It figures that she'd be a student here, she realized. But she'd better not be Ranma-kun's fiancée in this world, or he and I are going to have words, harsh words. She flexed her hands unconsciously, briefly closing them into fists.

What's her problem? wondered Ukyo, meeting the cool-eyed glare she was getting from the older girl with one of her own. This was the second time she had run into Nabiki, and the second-year girl clearly intended to be trouble, but she was sure it wouldn't be anything she couldn't handle. Bring it on, girl, she mused. I could use a light workout as I feed you your own teeth. The ninja then turned her eyes towards Ranma, finding him to be a much more pleasant sight to look at.

Kodachi, after taking a few moments recovering from the shock of what had just happened, slowly levered herself up. A few random clods of dirt fell free of her face and hair. She felt the sting of scratches all over her face. Fury filled her.

"I'm sorry about your friend, Ranchan," said Ukyo mildly, although she wasn't really too sorry about the face-planting done to the noblewoman. After all, a weak girl like that should stay away from her fiancé, she thought. In the back of her mind, she knew she could definitely get used to the feelings the pigtailed boy was giving her, similar to the charge she always felt near Ryoga over the last few years. But unlike her long-time sparring partner and rival, the pigtailed boy always acted much more friendly and nice to her, and the combination was kind of intoxicating to her. She twiddled her fingers together nervously.

"Uh." Ranma looked uncertain how to respond. He glanced from one girl to the next, at a loss as to what to do. This was totally unlike the first meetings that his counterparts were around to experience on their own respective worlds. He saw Ukyo gazing at him with a soft look on her face. He saw Kodachi glaring evilly at the Kuonji girl. Looking over to one side, he saw Nabiki studying the situation with a slight frown on her face too, her attention mainly on the ninja. This did not bode well.

"YOU!" suddenly roared Kodachi, breaking the momentary peace. "How dare you do such a thing to a lady of quality, you brute! I demand an apology from you immediately!" She had seen that smirking face before. It was that cross-dressing peasant that she had run into a few weeks back at Ohtori Academy. She stalked over to the okonomiyaki chef, feeling her fury rising with each step.

The male-uniformed ninja was annoyed. The stupid girl coming towards her had been too slow to get out of the way, and Ukyo's change of direction during her leap hadn't even been her fault in the first place. She smirked a bit more at the several scratches on the other girl's face, fearing little threat from someone who could be taken down so easily by such an unintentional sort of attack. Even a slowpoke like Ryoga could have gotten out of the way, she felt certain.

"Friend of yours, Ranchan?" she asked pleasantly, as if she had never met Kodachi before, a wicked glint in her eye as she glanced over at the noblewoman taking up station next to his other shoulder.

"Uh, sort of," Ranma mumbled. "This is Kodachi Kuno, a classmate of mine here at the Academy." He paused. "And a close friend."

"Hey there, Kuno-san," said Ukyo casually, waving once.

"I'm still waiting for an apology, you," growled Kodachi from Ranma's right. Noting him glancing at her, she quickly smoothed her face as best she could and calmed her voice for his benefit. It would not do at all to let him think she was anything less than a lady of the very highest quality. But she could still not resist letting at least one more barb fly. "What is your name, you barbarian?"

"Ukyo Kuonji," said the ninja girl, starting to lose some of her cool. "What's it to you?" She started groused in her thoughts. Who does this piece of fluff think she's talking to, acting so tough? She knows exactly who I am already! The two had met briefly in Utena's room at Ohtori Academy, but they had been interrupted before coming to blows. The Kuonji girl was quite willing to correct that oversight now.

"I am Kodachi Kuno," said the noblewoman grandly, with a lazy wave of her hand. "Not that someone with your obvious background would ever recognize my name."

Ukyo's features darkened. She glared at the other girl. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Nabiki watched the little exchange going on over by Ranma with a frown. It looks like I get to save you from your growing fan club, Ranma-baka, she thought, irritated at his passiveness. Admittedly, the sight of the two girls arguing over the pigtailed boy had set off an urge to protect him from any trouble, but it was an urge she was containing for now. After what he had done the other day, being far too friendly with that Utena tramp, she decided to let him stew a bit longer before she finally came to his rescue. Then he would see that he needed her help and guidance to avoid such problems in the future.

Please don't fight, Ranma kept repeating in his thoughts, his mouth too dry to speak from his current nervousness. The urge to run for cover was growing within him. He felt trapped in a nightmare, fearing that violence was just moments away.

"Anyway," said Ukyo more pleasantly, after glancing at him. "I just became a cadet here, so I was hoping that Ranchan would show me around. I'll also be cooking his lunch for him," she then added as a sudden afterthought. Twirling one of her throwing spatulas in her hand, she smiled in challenge. "Okonomiyaki, the best in the Empire, of course."

Kodachi glared at the ninja through narrowed eyes, her back teeth grinding, and the urge to brutally beat the girl in male garb totally black and blue almost overpowering her control. This PEASANT dared to refuse her an apology? She quickly regained control of her emotions again before speaking, a feminine chuckle now coloring her voice. "I'm sure such a pedestrian repast would be acceptable under certain other circumstances, but Saotome-kun shall be dining with me this afternoon on much finer foods than such common peasant fare, as we do every day." She took a deceptively firm hold of the pigtailed boy's arm and smiled sweetly at Ukyo.

The Kuonji girl was not one to back down from a challenge. Ever. After quickly re-sheathing her small spatula, she grabbed Ranma's other arm tightly and said with the same level of sweetness in her voice, "I'm sure that my Ranchan would really prefer to eat something I made him, rather than something obviously put together by servants for some rich little snob who probably can't even boil water."

Ranma swallowed down a suddenly drier throat, glancing over at Nabiki and hoping for some assistance. Seeing the frown remaining on the older girl's face, he sighed. No help there. He resolved to get himself out of this by just being up front and direct with the two girls currently glaring at each other and clutching his arms ever tighter. After all, in a few moments the blood flow was certain to be cut off to his hands if he didn't do something.

"Wh-why don't I eat lunch with both of you?" he ventured hopefully. "I'm sure I'll be really hungry." He smiled at them as warmly as his nervousness would allow.

"Well," Kodachi said slowly, feeling her heart suddenly racing a bit at the look on his face. She really didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so she decided to be magnanimous about it this time, as she was sure a true lady would. "That sounds fair, Saotome-kun." She turned a less than genuine smile in Ukyo's direction. "Perhaps a brief truce, Kuonji-san? For now?"

"I'm game, sugar," Ukyo replied with false cheer. So Ranchan liked this prissy bimbo chasing after him, eh? She considered the potential challenge that the Kuno girl represented and promptly dismissed her as any sort of a threat. A ninja of her skills was not about to lose to someone like that. And pounding her pretty face into so much mush was going to be the very least that she planned to do to the other girl, if she didn't back off on Ranma. The same went for the Tendo girl, and she owed that one a few hard punches (and maybe a kick) into her face anyway.

She smiled cutely at the pigtailed boy and said, "You can decide whose food you like better. Right, Ranchan?" And it had better be mine, you jackass, she growled in her thoughts. I worked damn hard since I got here to improve my cooking skills with Aunt Yumi's recipes, and I refuse to lose to some snobby bitch who probably can't find her way around a kitchen without a compass and a map.

Hmph, look at him, growled Nabiki in her thoughts. He has himself a regular little harem going on over there. All he needs now is to have that Utena tramp around to complete his set.

Looking like a man heading to the gallows, Ranma was escorted into the main building with both girls still firmly holding onto his arms.

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Morning classes began with homeroom. Ukyo stood at the front of the room as Ayaka gathered her class notes, still feeling a bit fragile. She smiled at the new addition to the class, and she wasn't the only one. As she straightened papers, many of the female cadets gazed happily at the ninja, some even sighing.

Minami sat in her seat and looked up at the handsome boy in front of the class, at first simply trying to find something else to look at while she was pointedly ignoring Gosunkugi. Her breath was taken away as she gazed at the handsome figure in gray. What a gorgeous boy, she thought, feeling a blush warming her cheeks and a silly smile appearing on her lips. She leaned forward on her desk and sighed for a long moment, resting her chin in her cupped hands, Gosunkugi forgotten for the moment. His face was tantalizingly familiar to her, but she could not place where she had seen it before.

Yuka and Sayuri, who sat together in the middle of Ranma's homeroom class, both eyed the new addition to the academy with appraising eyes. Yuka's gaze in particular focused with an almost laser-like regard. Sayuri noted it and grinned, knowing the other girl had a thing for bishonen guys, and Ukyo was probably as bishonen as a guy could be and still be male.

"Class, this is Ukyo Kuonji, who will be joining us as a new cadet this term," announced Ayaka solemnly, still feeling a little fragile this morning.

"Hello." Ukyo smiled and bowed to the class. "It's an honor to be here."

Minami immediately frowned and shivered slightly in revulsion. That was where she had seen that face before, the cross-dressing pervert girl involved with that jerk, Saotome. She was suddenly very grateful at not having an empty seat near her.

Over by the door, a blue-uniformed Tsubasa Kurenai glanced up from reviewing last night's homework to gaze at the new student in momentary shock. She casually adjusted the collar of her blouse, suddenly finding it a little too tight to breathe, and scrutinized Ukyo with forced casualness. The boy did not even appear to notice her. She breathed a brief sigh of relief that her disguise remained secure.

While reaching inside her desk, shadows momentarily flickered like smoke around one hand, forming briefly into a sharpened blade held in a tight grip. If Ukyo so much as glanced her way with even a hint of suspicion in his gaze, she would be forced to attack.

As one of the Goju, it was either strike first or risk a brutal death at the hands of one of the feared and hated Kuonjis, the mortal enemies of her clan. There were too few of her people left for her to risk dying here at Ukyo's hands. The thrice-damned Kuonjis and Hibikis had seen to that, and the Goju girl inwardly cursed their names again for that.

The black tattoo imprinted on her lower back just above her tailbone seemed to quiver slightly as she held herself ready, not daring to breathe. But she let the blade eventually dissipate from her hand when Ukyo didn't show the slightest flicker of awareness of her true nature when their gazes briefly met. Tsubabsa breathed another brief sigh of relief.

She hoped there wasn't a Hibiki around. She wouldn't be able to sleep for a week then, not after the terrifying stories her mother had told her of their fearsome tempers and incredible strength over the years. That was why her family lived in the city, keeping far away from those two clans of superstitious hicks.

She was still getting used to being in the form of a girl, even after dressing as one for years, even her official identity being female. Since first receiving her tattoos when puberty began, she had spent months hiding her true gender behind altered flesh, as those of the Kurenai family had hidden themselves for several generations to avoid the genocidal conflict that had been going on between the Goju and the Kuonji and Hibiki clans. Her mother had been incessantly carping at her to practice her shapeshifting abilities, and Tsubasa admitted that the appearance of a Kuonji in her homeroom class was quite an excellent motivator to improve.

Suprisingly, while gazing at the face of one of her family's deadliest foes, she was herself struck by the beauty of his features. It was a shame that Ukyo was a boy and not a girl. He would have made a very attractive girl.

Ranma was struck by the differences and similarities in this version of events from how they had happened in the worlds of his analogs. The Kuonji girl was dressed as a boy but was not his fiancée. She also hadn't shown up wanting to beat him up. That was a definite plus.

"Kisaragi-sensei," said Minami, suddenly standing up.

"Yes, Minami-san?" Ayaka looked at the girl, making a mental note that she still needed to have a chat with her, but that would have to wait until she felt better. The girl's perkiness was a little unnerving right now, especially in her current condition.

"There's an empty seat behind Ranma," the Ghost Sweeper said, gesturing at the seat there, thankfully putting the cross-dresser far away from her, past where Yuka and Sayuri sat. She smiled brightly. "Right over there."

"Uh, that's fine, Minami-san." Ayaka took a quick glance around the room, but she wasn't seeing any other available seats that were in any better position. She pointed at the seat that the girl suggested. "Take your seat please, Kuonji-san."

"Yes, Ma'am." Ukyo gracefully strolled the length of the classroom, followed by the eyes of numerous girls, before finally taking her ease in the seat behind Ranma. She nodded pleasantly to the pigtailed boy and said, "Hey there, new neighbor."

"Hey yourself," replied Ranma with a grin. He turned back to face the front of the class.

A number of girls sighed at the sight of the two best-looking boys in class seated near each other. The glances were frequent, and mental speculations were rampant.

Quietly sitting on the other side of the Ghost Sweeper, Gosunkugi glared sullenly at the new addition to the class and brooded grimly. His mood had grown progressively darker since waking up from his pleasant dream to the hell of his real life. His great spell of revenge, intended to punish the wretch Saotome, had failed, and even the tome he had used to cast it from had vanished. Now there was a new bishonen in their class and the girls were eyeing him like a hungry cat sizing up a canary. At least Minami seemed to have better sense, he mused.

Life wasn't fair. All he had wanted to do was to make Saotome and his pet noblewoman thug suffer. Was that so much to ask? The object of his hate was athletic, intelligent, and very good-looking, all the things that he wasn't, and he hated the other boy for that almost as much as for what he had done to Akane. So intent was he on glaring at the pigtailed boy, that he didn't realize that his lips were forming the words of a spell.

Ranma felt a sudden drowsiness coming over him, and his thoughts began to riffle. Brief images of Ranko floated up, and he shook his head a bit to clear it. Then his mind drifted to memories of Jusenkyo from his other selves, the fall into a pool, and the horrifying results. The sudden rush of fear snapped him back awake, and he looked around while Kisaragi-sensei was finishing up with checking attendance.

Gosunkugi's lips suddenly quirked into a cold smile. He wasn't sure how, but he had received a clear image suddenly appearing in his mind of how he would finally attain his revenge on Ranma Saotome: Jusenkyo. It was perfect. Why hadn't he thought of it before?

He wasn't sure how he knew of such a place as Jusenkyo, but it had a familiar ring to it. And didn't the Institute have several storage areas of mystical artifacts around Tokyo? Again, for some odd reason, he was quite sure they did. But how he knew didn't matter, he quickly resolved. He would find a way to douse his nemesis with some type of Jusenkyo water, and then the Institute could come and take the other boy away for study, like a human lab rat. Yes, that would be a fitting retribution.

Ayaka whirled at the sound of manic laughter erupting from the back of the classroom, the shrill tones aggravating her headache. She quickly

launched the chalk-filled eraser she had in her hand. Gosunkugi's loud peal of laughter was cut off sharply when it smacked him squarely in the face.

"Gosunkugi! Go stand in the hall!" She winced at the sound of her own voice.

Shocked back to his senses for the moment, Gosunkugi walked past Minami, ignoring her muttered "Idiot" comment. He kept his face calm as he opened the door, and he only turned once to glance briefly at the pigtailed boy. He then walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

Ranma was puzzled. What had that been all about? Then he considered it. It was just Gosunkugi. The guy wasn't any real threat to him, in any world. He went back to half-listening to the instructor's lecture as she resumed speaking, another very forgettable lesson on the natural superiority of Imperial Japan and its way of life when compared to the lot of the rest of the world.

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After homeroom was over, Minami was surprised to see Kisaragi-sensei approach her while she was chatting with some of her new classmates. The other girls were commenting among themselves on the new 'boy' in class, something Minami didn't feel like correcting. They chattered about how Ukyo had the most beautiful facial features that they had ever seen on a guy, with an almost feminine cast to them, but that he was definitely masculine from his mannerisms. He was also very much a gentleman; not letting his gaze linger lecherously on their bosoms like most boys would, even though several of them were giving him numerous opportunities to study their figures. Minami didn't know whether to cry or laugh at their stupidity.

"Minami-san, I'd like to see you in my office right now," said Ayaka calmly. "Please come with me."

"Yes, Kisaragi-sensei." She got up from her desk. The girls Minami had been talking with went over to chat with Ukyo.

"So, Kuonji-san, do you like being in the city?" Yuka asked, seating herself on the edge of the nearest desk and leaning back a little. It casually accentuated the swell of her bosom without being too obvious. She was glad that Minami had left the room. That girl currently had the most 'talent' in class, and Yuka didn't welcome any competition, since boys were attracted to big breasts. That being said, even though she was showing off like this, she was impressed that Ukyo wasn't staring at her chest like most boys their age did. He was clearly a gentleman.

"Uh, yeah," the ninja replied to the question as she sighed inwardly. It wasn't the very first time that girls had expressed such interest in her, thinking she was really a boy, but it was always disconcerting. Ukyo was a girl, and while she wasn't particularly attracted to other girls, she had been out on dates with a few as part of her pretense at being a boy.

She considered herself lucky at having had a close friend at her old school that was willing to pretend to be her girlfriend, something that would have scandalized her mother. While it had been useful at fending off the unwanted attentions of any other girls, she had to endure the boys bragging about their sexual conquests around her and asking about her own exploits in that area, having a steady girlfriend. She had always just shrugged and refused to comment, which had given her a reputation for being a cool guy.

Ukyo glanced at Ranma's empty desk, a wistful grin appearing on her face. He had smiled and waved goodbye to her as he headed for some special martial arts training class he was in. She wished that she could have gone with him. She wasn't relishing playing catch-up in her other classes. Maybe he could help tutor her or something.

Even though they had not yet spent a lot of time together, she felt that there was something special about him, like they had this kind of karmic connection with each other. He knew the true self that lay beneath her male disguise, and it didn't seem to bother him at all that she dressed like a boy. They were comfortable with each other when they were together, able to talk and laugh together like the very best of friends, and he seemed to know her quite well even with so short a time they had known each other. It had been a lot of fun going out on a date with him, and she was grateful to discover that she could be his friend as well as his fiancée. Their budding friendship enhanced the physical attraction she felt for him.

In her pursuit of Ranma, the only difficulty she could see was the interference of those other girls. Physically dominating them and driving them away from her fiancé was the simplest course of action. As the best fighter by far at her old school, she was quite sure of her abilities, despite her aunt's warnings against overconfidence. While her encounter with them this morning had shown that the Kuno girl's threat level was laughable, Nabiki seemed much more formidable. It was a welcome challenge.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So what did you want to talk to me about, Kisaragi-sensei?" Minami asked as she closed the door to the office. She saw the older woman half-seated against the edge of her desk.

Ayaka looked at her new charge steadily and said, "What was that stunt you pulled last night? You could have gotten Kasuga-kun killed, not to mention yourself. You only have a trainee's license. You had no right to try and take on something that powerful. Director Kasuga was not pleased to hear that you dragged his grandson into that mess. The words 'glory-seeking young fool' were even used."

Gulping, Minami's usual bravado temporarily deserting her. "I-"

Ayaka abruptly held up one hand. "Save it. Because of that little stunt of yours, I've been given instructions to mentor you and offer you the benefit of my experience as a Ghost Sweeper."

"I see." Minami looked down at the floor, trying her very best to look humble.

Ayaka sighed. "Director Kasuga thinks you're salvageable, but right now I have my doubts. You've caused me a lot of trouble, Minami-san." She paused. "I wonder. Do you have what it really takes to earn your license and be a fully-fledged Ghost Sweeper? I'm warning you now that I won't make it easy on you. My boss has given me carte blanche in overseeing you." She felt bothered that the man may have been right, that the girl was just like she herself had been like at that age, a young hotshot.

"I can take any training you care to throw at me," Minami shot back, raising her eyes to meet the other woman's. Her usual bravado was resurfacing. "I'm not afraid."

Ayaka leaned forward suddenly. "You will be." Her gaze became much more fearsome as her voice lowered. "You will be."

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Nabiki eyed the storm clouds moving by overhead as she stepped out of the door leading to the girls' locker room. She was dressed in one of her light-green Chinese-style shirts and a pair of black gi pants, tied tightly at the waist and ankles. She lifted her arms up high over her head, lacing her fingers together as she stretched, feeling the muscles in her upper back and shoulders loosening a bit.

With a confident swagger in her step, she calmly strolled across the pavement to the training mat. She nodded to the coach, noting absently that he had a thoughtful expression on his face for some reason. She sat down and began warming up with some stretching exercises, leaning forward and grabbing her left foot for several seconds, and then her right, her body bending almost double as she felt the muscles loosening up. It felt good to be moving around like this, preparing her body for some serious training, getting her blood flowing.

Kodachi emerged from the locker room, glancing around for the pigtailed boy as was her usual habit each day. She didn't see him, catching sight of Nabiki instead. She frowned. Her dear brother was honoring his vow to the Tendo girl after his loss at her hands, but without him around to provide a distraction, she was proving to be most annoying. At least that cross-dressing savage wasn't joining their class.

Taking her place a suitable distance from the vexing presence of the middle Tendo daughter, she began performing her own set of warm-up exercises. Her mother had been working her hard in their private training sessions, and she was hopeful that today would finally be the day when she would crush her nemesis, and show the pigtailed boy that she was truly the most worthy of him. After a brief, rather disdainful glance at the other girl, she started into some serious stretching.

Stepping out from the boys' locker area, Ranma was dressed in one of his red Chinese-style shirts and a pair of black gi pants, tied at the ankles and waist. Storm clouds rolled lazily across the skies, heavy and black with moisture. He walked over to sit between Nabiki and Kodachi, taking his usual position between them.

"Hey, Ranma-kun," the Tendo girl drawled to him in greeting, leaning forward, her legs together as she bent almost double, giving him a rather nice view of the swell of her breasts within her Chinese-style shirt as she moved. A measuring look was in her eyes as she gazed at him, as well as a slight smirk on her lips. She then went back to focusing on her exercises.

"Hello, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi with her usual, slightly shy smile. She changed her position to work on one leg some more, unintentionally giving him a rather nice view of her derriere as she leaned forward and stretched. She did not hear his sudden gulp as he gazed at the sight.

Ranma quickly shut his eyes to the sight, half afraid that Akane was going to suddenly appear and accuse him of being a pervert. Then he paused, feeling silly. He sat down and began stretching and warming himself up for practice. What was he thinking? But he kept his eyes shut anyway.

The Tendo girl was the first of them to notice a stranger approaching, accompanied by Fuyutsuki. As the man got closer, her eyes widened. She could not quite believe who she was seeing coming towards them.

It was Bruce Lee.

Memories from her other self suddenly burst across her mind's eye, of breaks from training sometimes spent in grungy movie houses, watching the film exploits of a man who had been dead for years on that other world. She had never had much interest in the man's movies in her own life, where his career had spanned for years longer, so it was a double shock to see him, here and now, an older man, walking up to her with a casual stride.

"Stand and bow, cadets!" snapped Coach Fujinami like a drill sergeant. "We have guests."

All three teenagers snapped to their feet. Ranma reacted to the sight of the man walking towards them with a similar level of surprise to how Nabiki had felt. And Kodachi felt a thrill as well when she realized who was approaching. All three of them hastened to bow with respect to the man now standing before them.

"Good morning, cadets," said Fuyutsuki calmly. "It is my great honor to present Master Jun Fan Lee to you, who has most graciously accepted an invitation extended by the Imperial Academy to consider instructing one or more of you as his students. I trust you will do your best to prove yourself worthy of consideration for that."

"Hello," said Lee calmly, studying the trio now before him. He briefly inclined his head, a slightly amused look on his face.

Kodachi was the first to find her voice. "It would be an honor to be able to study with Lee-sensei, of course."

"Yeah, like you'd be his first choice for a student, Kuno-hime," Nabiki drawled in an aside to the young noblewoman. "It's pretty obvious who among us would be the best choice."

The Kuno girl felt a vein begin pulsing on her forehead, and she barely restrained herself from attempting to pummel her nemesis right then and there. Instead, she shot a deadly glance at the other girl. It was infuriating to her to be spoken to with such disrespect, especially by one of her rivals for Ranma, but she chose to endure it stoically, as a true lady would.

Ranma decided to keep his mouth shut for the moment, waiting to hear what the man had to say. He didn't care very much for Nabiki's tone of voice though. He spared a brief glance at the two girls on his right, and then returned his gaze to the front.

"Allow me to introduce your prospective students, Lee-sensei," said Fuyutsuki, with a measure of pride in his voice as he pointed at each one in turn. "This young man is Ranma Saotome. The girl next to him is Nabiki Tendo. And next to her is Lady Kodachi Kuno. They have been training together for the past few weeks."

"Lee-sensei," Ranma said, bowing respectfully once again, an act that was mirrored by Kodachi and Nabiki.

After studying them again for a few moments, Lee said, "So which of you is the best fighter?"

"I am," Nabiki and Ranma abruptly said, in almost perfect stereo. They both quickly frowned and eyed each other.

"It seems there is a difference of opinion between the two of you."

"Yeah, it appears so," said the pigtailed boy, looking towards Nabiki again. There was an odd sense of inevitability to the scene now taking place, he realized. That now-familiar competitive fire began to burn within him once again.

"Then perhaps you could demonstrate your fighting skills, to see who I choose to take as my student."

Nabiki showed her teeth in a mirthless smile as she returned her fiancé's look steadily, and she said, almost tenderly, "It looks like it's time to put it to the test, Ranma-kun."

"It looks like it," he replied in a similar tone, his gaze now firmly locked with hers.

Both of them licked suddenly dry lips briefly, as they continued to hold each other's gaze, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Their hearts began speeding up, their breathing deepened, and there was an increase in the tension in the air between them, like lightning on a summer night. It was almost, but not quite, a sexual attraction at that moment. They both felt, deep down inside, the struggle for dominance existing between them, more important to them than life itself, and they could feel it slowly taking over, becoming inescapable.

"Saotome-kun," Kodachi whispered, suddenly fearing. She could not help but notice the intense, passionate gaze he was sharing with the Tendo girl, and she started to move between them when a hand fell on her shoulder. She saw Fuyutsuki standing there, and he gently pulled her back out of possible danger.

Cocking his head, Lee smiled slightly as he noticed the postures of the two young warriors changing. He gestured towards Coach Fujinami and the two men moved back as well, moving to stand beneath the awning on the building with Fuyutsuki and Kodachi. None of them had a place in what was about to take place. It was now solely in the hands of the boy and girl in front of them.

Nabiki found herself eager to begin. Her mind entered into a state of supreme focus, one that she could only recall feeling a few times before in her young life. She licked her lips again briefly, her eyes never leaving Ranma's even as his eyes never left hers.

The familiar buzzing appeared in the very back of the pigtailed boy's hindbrain, like a coiled dragon, young and eager to fight, simply waiting to be unleashed. He held it back for now, knowing what the boost was now, and its dangers. Besides, he was confident he would beat Nabiki without it. He'd beaten her before without using it, and he'd do so again.

A single drop of rain hit the ground with a wet splat, momentarily breaking the tension.

Nabiki suddenly surged forward, taking the initiative with a vengeance and launching into a quick volley of punches and kicks, testing her adversary's defenses. She held back on her new speed a small amount, planning to save it for a surprise. She didn't want a quick end to this. She wanted to beat Ranma only after he finally recognized the true superiority of her skills.

A bolt of lightning arced in the distance and a crack of thunder rolled across the skies as the pigtailed boy blocked and evaded her attacks. This was no sparring match. Both of them were now fighting in sincere earnest, each determined to take the other down. She had gotten better since their last encounter, and he struggled with her to hold on to the initiative, which quickly fluctuated back and forth between them in roughly equal measure.

Nabiki slipped her head a fraction of an inch to one side, allowing his fist to blur by her head, narrowly missing her jaw. A grim smile lit her face when Ranma took the initiative back from her once again. She experienced once again a fierce joy that her counterpart would probably never know, to face him like this, to be challenged by him like this. Like before, there was a raw intensity to her struggle with him, an excitement coursing through her that no other opponent had ever given to her or to her counterpart.

Cocking his head slightly to one side, Lee watched the two young fighters engage each other. Neither of them had managed to hit with any serious force yet, stymied for the moment by their roughly equal level of skill and physical ability. But that wasn't the most amazing thing about their battle. No, what amazed him the most was that he didn't even recognize the core style he saw they were using, buried under maneuvers gleaned from many dozens of other styles. It was a flexible, powerful school underlying their skills, and he could sense its power without knowing its name. He suddenly felt more eager to take one of them as his student.

Ranma rocked Nabiki back with a punch to her ribs, the first solid blow he had managed to get in this fight. Her defenses were beginning to show minute holes, and he battered against them, struggling to pry them open farther. But his defenses were beginning to tatter as well. He managed to land a kick into her thigh, a punch into her face, and then a drenching rain began to fall, cold on his skin as it soaked into his clothing within moments. Unconsciously anticipating the change, he was left momentarily off-balance when it didn't occur.

The rain had plastered Nabiki's clothing to her body, chilling her, but she was a fraction of a second faster than her foe to realize that the change wasn't going to happen. She tasted blood in her mouth, felt the ache of the deep bruise in her ribs, and knew it was time to unleash her surprise on him.

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

The pigtailed boy was taken completely off-guard as a blinding flurry of punches ripped into his body and face by her fists, tearing through his already tattering defenses. While the first hundred or so blows from Nabiki's fists impacted into him, he regretted withholding the boost, but now it was too late. Sometime before the rest were driven into him, he lost consciousness.

Kodachi let out a muffled gasp as Ranma's body was lifted free of the ground by the sheer volume of punches that his opponent ravaged him with, as the brutal attack swiftly pummeled him unconscious. Seemingly in slow motion, his form arced back, a burst of crimson escaping his lips and nose as he rose and fell, landing on his back on the mat. In a surge, the young noblewoman broke free of Fuyutsuki and quickly rushed to her fiancé's side, calling his name, heedless of the rain now drenching her body.

Nearly exhausted by her efforts, the Tendo girl half-collapsed to her knees, panting, her lungs scavenging every trace of oxygen they could. She had won. A wolfish grin lit her face as she at that thought, but it quickly turned to a frown as she watched the Kuno girl take charge of Ranma, the young noblewoman glancing back at her once with a grim look before returning her full attention to the fallen boy.

The brief, intense rain had stopped, the storm clouds moving by slowly overhead as a hand fell on her shoulder. She looked up to see Lee looking down at her with an inscrutable expression. She blinked and looked up at him, a question in her eyes. Did this mean that she was going to be his apprentice?

"You fought well," Lee said calmly. He looked over at Ranma's fallen form. "Both of you did." With a nod at Fuyutsuki, he stepped away from the Tendo girl and said, "I will teach the boy."

Nabiki felt her ego seem to shatter within her from surprise. What had he just said?

"But, I won," she said, feeling a little bewildered, standing up. "I proved that I'm the strongest fighter, stronger than he is."

Lee looked mildly at Nabiki. "You are also arrogant, and I did not necessarily say that I would instruct the victor." He gazed at the boy, who was still unconscious and being tended to by Kodachi. "In time, perhaps I will take you on as my student as well. But for now, young Saotome-san will be the one that I teach. He shows great promise."

"Thank you, Lee-sensei," said Fuyutsuki with a smile, stepping forward quickly. "I'm sure that Saotome-san will make you a fine student. And consider the resources of this institution to be at your disposal for as long as you are here."

Lee nodded to Fuyutsuki. "When the boy wakes up, tell him I will begin his training tomorrow." He bowed once, and then he walked off.

Kodachi gazed down at Ranma's bruised face resting in her lap, feeling pride filling her as she gently wiped the blood from his face with her handkerchief. She felt warm inside at his nearness as she tended him, a background mutter in her thoughts as her other selves whispered to each other. Scholar-Kodachi was especially pleased. Her Saotome-kun was going to become an apprentice of the great Jun Fan Lee, the Dragon. They were all so happy for him within her, looking forward to having him as her husband. Even the Black Rose was intrigued. And with such a great master training him, he was certain to surpass that hateful cow, Nabiki Tendo.

Standing alone, watching the Kuno girl caring for the pigtailed boy, Nabiki closed one hand into a fist at her side. So what if she had been rejected in favor of Ranma-kun? There were other teachers. She would find another one to teach her and show both of them how strong she was, especially the pigtailed boy.

Why did the thought that he might surpass her hurt so much inside? She wanted him to be strong, didn't she? But if he became stronger than she was, he wouldn't need her, she realized. That was what hurt. Her other self liked being needed, liked being the one people looked at to deal with any problems that came up. But here, if he took that spot, he wouldn't need her, not like that other Ranma needed her other self. So she couldn't let him do that. She had to maintain her edge over him somehow.

"Why don't you two girls head to the locker room, change clothes, and dry off?" suggested Fuyutsuki. "I'll have the coach take Saotome to the infirmary, and we'll continue your training class inside."

"Yes, sir," both girls replied, interrupting their respective musings.

Kodachi helped the coach pick up Ranma, and then she followed Nabiki back to the locker room. Maybe now that the pigtailed boy had weakened the other girl, she could take advantage and deal her nemesis some vengeance for Saotome-kun's sake. She almost purred as she looked forward to it.

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Sometime later, Ranma awoke on a bed in the infirmary. He was startled to see Genma sitting on a chair, reading the newspaper. He sat up, and the older man frowned.

"Beaten up by a girl, or so I heard," Genma said grimly.

"Shut up, Pop," Ranma grumbled back.

Genma tossed Ranma his uniform jacket, smacking him in the face with it.

"Get dressed," Genma commanded. "We don't want to be late for dinner."

Ranma slipped out of bed and put on his jacket and shoes. He heard Genma grumbling behind him. He turned to face the older man.

Genma frowned, obviously displeased. "You're a poor excuse for the son I knew, even if he was half-girl, but at least you did something right today. You got lucky, you little punk."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It seems that Lee-sensei took pity on you and decided to take you on as his student instead of Nabiki." Genma suddenly exploded, "How could you let yourself be beaten by some slip of a girl? You're a disgrace!"

"Don't push me, old man," Ranma growled. "I still haven't forgiven you for this morning." Then he blinked. Waitasec. He was Lee's student? That was unexpectedly good news.

Genma smirked. "Deal with it, boy. I'm your father now, and you can't do a thing about it. I've seen to that."

Ranma frowned, but he said nothing. We'll see, old man. We'll see.

As they walked out of the main building of the Academy, Genma glanced over at Ranma. "By the way, tomorrow night, you've got a date with Tendo-kun's daughter, Nabiki. I arranged it with Soun, so I don't want you screwing it up. Got me?"

Ranma's mood darkened even more. It sounded like the fake was getting along quite well with the other fathers.

"I'm not going out on any date with Nabiki," Ranma declared, mentally digging in his heels.

Genma smirked. "Afraid she'll beat you up again, if you two are left alone together?"

The pigtailed boy grumbled, but he said nothing more. Fine. He'd take her on a stupid date.

And so the two men headed out the gates of the Academy, a pair that was not quite father and son, each one lost in their own thoughts.

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After dinner was over, Ranma passed the telephone on the hall table and suddenly remembered that he had promised to call Utena. Now was as good a time as any. He picked up the receiver and quickly punched in the numbers he had memorized. The dorm manager was the one who answered, but Utena came on the line a few minutes later.

"Hello?" she said. "This is Utena Tenjou. Who's this?"

"Uh, hey there, Utena. It's me, Ranma. How're you doing?"

"Ranma," Utena replied, suddenly sounding pleased. "I was thinking you weren't ever going to call me, and I was going to have to call you instead. I'm well. How are you?"

"I'm doing okay. Things have just been a little crazy around here, but that's no excuse. I'm sorry for not calling before now."

"Oh, that's okay, Ranma," Utena replied in an understanding tone of voice. There was a pause. "Listen, you're just the guy I've been needing to talk to. I need your help."

"You got it," he said immediately. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, there's this really big dance coming up here at Ohtori next weekend, and I don't have a date for it. I mean, I thought I'd just go with my friend Kaoru-kun, but he's already got a date lined up with that one girl you came over here with for our match, Kodachi Kuno."

Ranma felt a sudden sinking feeling run through him, and he nearly dropped the phone. "Uh- Oh- I see," he stammered. Kodachi was dating that guy? Wasn't she his fiancée now? What was going on?

"So, I know it's kind of short notice now, but do you think you could be my date next Saturday? I think it'll be fun." He could almost hear her smile over the telephone.

Ranma felt no hesitation and replied, "Sure, I think it sounds like fun, too. Thanks for thinking of me for it. I'll be there."

"Great! It's going to be formal, so you'll need a good suit or even a tux. Can you get one by then?"

"Not a problem," Ranma replied absently, still bothered by the thought of Kodachi going out with another guy. At least he didn't have such concerns with Ukyo or Nabiki. "Uh, I'll pick you up at five, and we can have dinner somewhere beforehand. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a date, Ranma. Thanks again for this. Bye."

"Bye," he said, then heard her hang up. He set down the receiver, his mind whirling with thoughts. Kodachi was dating some other guy? If this was that one other world, his analog there would be jumping for joy at such news. Here, he just felt unsettled. And there was one other thing that made him feel even more unsettled.

He didn't know how to dance.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	19. Signal To Noise Ratio

*** Earth +0.001, -0.001

Genma grumbled softly in his sleep and rolled over, his arm reaching out for the familiar shape whose side he had returned to only a few months ago. When his questing hand only found an empty futon, his slumbering mind slowly roused to the fact that there was something wrong. He blinked open sleep-rheumed eyes and fumbled for his glasses, putting them on as he sat up in bed.

"Nodoka-chan?" He spoke in a whisper into the house's darkness and quiet. He waited a moment, but there was no response. Then he sighed. He knew where she was. It was the same place she had been going to ever since Ranko had vanished.

Rising from bed, Genma fumbled briefly to find his house slippers and robe. The late spring air was still chilly at night. Once he was dressed, he shuffled out of the master bedroom and down the hall to Ranko's room.

A muffled sobbing drifted into the hall from behind the closed door to his daughter's room. The sound tugged at his heart, an echo of the pain and guilt that Nodoka was suffering. He settled his hand on the knob and readied himself for a moment by taking a deep breath and then slowly letting it out. Then he opened the door.

The room beyond was dimly lit by the nearest streetlight, occupied by a huddled figure lying on Ranko's bed. Genma sighed and shook his head at the sight of his wife so defeated-looking. She had been like this since they had first received word of Ranko's disappearance, a large departure from her usually more stoic nature. The recent news that she was pregnant, and the hormonal changes it was causing to her emotional state, went far towards explaining the intensity of her feelings. She needed him to be strong.

"Nodoka-chan."

Crossing the room to her side, Genma settled down next to her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. He felt her body trembling slightly.

"I just want my little girl back," Nodoka whispered softly. She sat up and leaned against Genma, sobbing softly into his shoulder. "Oh Genma, I was so horrible to her that day. So hateful. I ju- I just want a chance to make it up to her."

"I know." He patted the arm Nodoka had slipped around his waist. "I'm doing everything I can to figure out what happened. Wherever she is, I'm sure she's trying as hard as she can to get back home."

Nodoka began calming down as Genma held her, releasing a soft sigh and resting her head against Genma's shoulder. Sleep soon claimed her as he carried her back to bed.

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Unseen in the room, a willowy figure dressed in a kimono watched the couple fall asleep. There was a hint of a wicked smile on the feminine face, half hidden by long, straight hair. A faint, throaty chuckle could be heard, but neither Genma nor Nodoka woke up at the sound.

The latest game was proving to be so much fun for her, but it was time to start cleaning up some more loose ends in preparation for the next act.

Reaching out, Ranko's notebook was picked up. The lithe figure absently noted the pages of equations and diagrams written within in, leafing through it. After closing it with a soft snap, the notebook suddenly crumbled to dust in the figure's hand and vanished. She shook the dust from her fingertips, where it trailed in a glittering cloud of fine particles.

Approaching the couple, several tendrils of faint light extended from her outstretched hands, the tips diving into each of their heads. The figure moved her fingers, the tendrils of light responding as if they were feeling around inside. With a nod, the tendrils were suddenly yanked out soundlessly. The couple on the bed started in their sleep, and then they returned to normal slumber.

There was a sudden shift in the shadows, and the figure was gone.

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*** Earth +3.121, -2.664

Ranko started awake from a sound sleep, uncertain what had woken her up. She reached for a small, handheld device resting on the table next to the hotel room bed she had been sleeping on until a few moments ago. With a grunt, she glanced briefly at its numeric display as it counted down, before she set it back down.

A rumble of thunder sounded outside, and a wet patter of rain began sounding against the glass. Maybe she was just being overly jumpy. It wasn't like her to have a rainstorm wake her. Lying back down to get some more sleep, she closed her eyes. She wanted to be fresh for her next transit. She never knew what surprises a new world might have to offer.

Over on the table, a rumpled newspaper sat half-read. The headline was splashed across the front page in red, white and blue: "Japan Becomes 54th State!"

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are DB Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar-Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +0.001, -0.001 - The world of Scholar-Ranko (Baseline cluster) Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. There was the promise of romance trouble to come in the Gosunkugi household as a Chinese Amazon made her desires known. Nabiki integrated the personality of her counterpart, altering her further. Meanwhile, Ranma integrated his martial artist self, but not Ranko. Ukyo arrived at the Academy for her first day of classes. Nabiki and Ranma had a fierce battle against each other, to see who would be the student of Jun Fan (Bruce) Lee. Nabiki won through her use of the Amaguriken technique, but things didn't quite work out as she planned. And at the end of the day, Ranma spoke with Utena, accepting an invitation to a formal dance at Ohtori.

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Chapter 19 - Signal To Noise Ratio

You win battles by knowing the enemy's timing, and using

a timing which the enemy does not expect.

- Miyamoto Musashi

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

The early morning light awoke Akane to another day. Her eyes blinked open at the rays of sunshine impinging on her eyelids, and she saw her breath fogging slightly in the chilly air. Her body's aches and pains had become a familiar sensation under Cologne's tutelage. But the week spent out here had already been working marked improvements in her skills, and at a pace that sometimes left her astonished.

"You're awake," croaked Cologne's ancient voice from the direction of the campfire. The old woman was seated on a log, quietly drinking tea from a wooden mug. She eyed the Tendo girl. "How are your injuries?"

Akane brushed a hand across the bandages wrapped around her middle. A faint scent of strange herbs rose from it, pungent yet not unpleasant. Her bruises from yesterday were almost gone, and the cracked ribs from three days ago were finally healed. Seeing the old woman eyeing her inscrutably, she quickly replied, "I'm fine."

Cologne chuckled slightly. Training the feisty girl had been a bit of a challenge due to Akane's innate stubbornness. The first few days had been hardest on the youngest Tendo, and Cologne had been relentless. She had torn down the girl's pride and battered her body to the brink, but now the ancient matriarch was rebuilding both and discovering a much finer weapon than she had anticipated. Akane would have made a fine Amazon, Cologne had discovered, and that was very high praise from her.

"Then let us continue where we left off, Akane Tendo," she said. She hopped over and tapped a quick series of pressure points on the girl, nodding with approval as she saw a savage fire ignite deep within Akane's eyes. A sudden feeling of guilt over what she was doing to the girl was just as quickly quashed. The boy needed to be dealt with in order to reclaim her great-granddaughter, and Akane needed to be free of the web of emotions he had unknowingly cast over her. Besides, the youngest Tendo was only a tool for Cologne's needs, to be discarded without even a backwards glance once Shampoo was safely back in hand.

However, as she solemnly watched the girl running through her morning warm-up exercises, the odd feelings of guilt continued to tease at the edges of her awareness. So caught up was she in contending with them that she almost failed to notice a ragged figure suddenly emerge from the woods. She blinked in surprise at the sight of the apparition.

"Where the hell am I now?" Ryoga muttered angrily.

The perpetually lost boy paused to adjust the weight of his backpack, but the physical discomfort it gave him was nothing compared to the anguish within his soul. The cowardly Ranma had run away from him again, weeks ago, leaving nothing but emotional wreckage behind him. An example of such wreckage was poor, kind-hearted Ukyo. She had acted so very brave about the whole thing, claiming she wanted to drop the matter entirely, but he knew otherwise. He was doing this for her, and when he caught up with the pigtailed boy, he was going to make him pay for his crimes, every single one.

"Ranma Saotome! I will see you in Hell!" Ryoga shouted at the heavens.

An ancient-sounding voice suddenly spoke up behind him. "Not quite what I had in mind, but it sounds like we might have a common enemy. Would you care to join forces?"

He spun around and eyed the little, trollish-looking figure before him. "Do you know where Ranma Saotome is?" he growled.

"I do," Cologne replied, eyeing him back. Akane would have had a rather difficult time dealing with Ranma and Shampoo on her own. This odd boy looked like he could prove useful. "What grievance do you have against Ranma Saotome?"

Ryoga growled. "Where do I begin? He's done nothing but make my life miserable ever since I met him. He lies, cheats, and he's a pervert of the worst sort. Even if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to destroy him." A soft blue glow began coruscating around him as he warmed to the subject he was speaking on. His voice took on a disturbing tone as his hand closed into a tight fist. "Just you wait, Ranma Saotome."

"I think we can help each other then, boy," said Cologne with a smile.

Ryoga snorted. "Oh yeah? Not to be rude, Granny, but what could you possibly do to help me?"

"How about this, for starters?" replied Cologne, as she calmly tapped a nearby boulder with the tip of her staff. She hopped away just as it exploded into a hailstorm of tiny pieces.

The lost boy blinked rock dust out of his eyes, absently noting several small scratches on his skin from flying shards of stone, each one leaking a little blood. He turned slowly to look at the withered figure before him. "Wh-what was that?"

"The Bakusai Tenketsu," answered Cologne. "A very special attack that finds the weak spot in anything and destroys it. Still think I have nothing to offer you? I could teach it to you, if you like."

Ryoga turned back to look at the small crater where a boulder had once stood. A slight smile broke out on his features. He began to laugh maniacally. Destiny was tapping him on the shoulder, offering him the means to finally destroy Ranma, his hated nemesis. He would be a fool to not take it. His laughter came to a very abrupt halt when the old woman whacked him hard across the skull with her staff.

"Enough of this foolishness. Do you accept my offer?"

He rubbed the top of his head, feeling a lump already rising. "Yeah, I accept. I'll do anything to defeat Ranma."

"Then come with me," grunted Cologne. "I'll take you to where my other student is now training in the technique. I believe you might already know her."

Ryoga followed Cologne as they approached the campsite. He saw the familiar-looking, short-haired girl tying off a rope, and his eyes narrowed. What was Akane Tendo doing out here? Was this some sort of devious trick by Ranma?

Looking up, the Tendo girl eyed Ryoga with a flat gaze. She grunted once in acknowledgement of his presence and then went back to what she had been doing. She secured one end of the rope around her and stood up. She nodded to Cologne and waited, her eyes glinting with cold focus.

"Let's show the boy here what he has to look forward to," commented the elderly Amazon to the Tendo girl, receiving a nod in reply.

Ryoga watched in amazement as Akane was hoisted upwards into the trees by Cologne, ending up suspended across from a large boulder held up by thick ropes. In a series of bounds, the ancient matriarch leaped into a tree near the boulder's resting place. She eyed the youngest Tendo for a moment, noting almost dispassionately the fiery look in the girl's eyes. Then she flipped the boulder back with a swipe of her staff.

Akane's emotional state was a surprisingly stable combination of heated fury and icy calm as she watched the boulder hurtling towards her. Her eyes probed for the weak point, as her finger poised for the strike. A sense of purpose filled her. She would master this technique to defeat Shampoo with it. And as for Ranma- Her thoughts flickered in sudden uncertainty at the last moment.

The Lost Boy winced as he watched the boulder slam hard into the girl's body with merciless force. As it swung back away from her, he was astonished to see that she was still conscious.

"Again." Akane shook her head to clear it, ignoring the brief flares of pain from her body. They had been growing less with each session, her body toughening from the grueling training. "I almost had it that time."

Cologne glanced downwards at an openly gaping Ryoga. "Are you afraid yet, boy? This is not a technique to be attempted by the faint of heart, but it will give you an edge over Ranma."

"I'm not afraid, Granny!" he snapped, her taunts bringing him out of his daze. "I can take any training you throw at me, if it will let me defeat him!"

Up in her tree, Cologne smiled. Shampoo was practically hers already.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

The sound of a crackling fire stirred Mara to sudden wakefulness. By opening her eyes to mere slits and attempting to keep her breathing as slow and regular as she could, she tried to gauge her surroundings while still appearing unconscious. She swiftly catalogued the various sensations assailing her awareness.

Her memory was a blur. An unknown amount of time had passed for her in a haze of pain and rage, as her body slowly mended, her power too diminished for rapid recovery from her injuries. She still felt weak, but better than she had after her battle with Belldandy and her human allies.

Sharp pangs of hunger made themselves known from her belly, from all that time spent without food. The comfortable feeling of her taut leather minidress was gone, replaced by that of a much looser-fitting outfit, one made of cotton or some similar fabric. Something slightly cold and metallic encircled her neck, a flat band that she could not sense any sort of a seam in. Her feet were bare to the chill morning air, but her left foot was a bit warmer from the radiance of the nearby fire, a small one. She could smell the smoke occasionally drifting in her direction, and random poppings would sound as small pockets of wood sap ignited. The sky above was lightening into the coming dawn.

Where was she? What had happened while she was unconscious?

"I know you're awake," a voice suddenly spoke, interrupting her as she took stock of her present situation. "Don't bother faking."

She grunted once in annoyance, and she opened her eyes more fully. "I could use some food." Her voice held a timbre of irritation. She raised a hand to her neck to grasp the metal band encircling it.

Her as yet unseen companion suddenly spoke once again. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

Sneering, Mara continued to run her hand along the thin metal, feeling runes of some sort engraved into it. She tugged at it, seeking for a seam or breakpoint. When that yielded nothing, she tugged harder and was abruptly rewarded with waves of pain wracking her body, racing through her like white-hot lava. Her body bucked involuntarily from the agony, her spine arching like a strung bow, leaving only her head, shoulders, and feet to remain in contact with the ground. She could not even scream, so immense was the pain. She managed to wrench her hand away from its grasp on the band around her neck and the agony abruptly subsided.

"I tried to warn you," said that same mellow voice, colored by a faint touch of amusement.

Gasping, tears still flowing down her cheeks, she forced her eyes open and beheld her captor. A small, wizened figure sat across the fire from her, dressed in the robes of a simple monk. His bald head gleamed in the morning light.

"Hello," said the gnomish old man, casually poking away at the fire with the stick he held in one hand, stirring the ashes. "I am called Cherry. I would suggest that you don't try that again."

Quickly rising to her feet, Mara felt her powers swelling within her as they fed off the rage now suffusing her entire being, the sounds of a battle incantation beginning rolling off her lips. How dare this pathetic little man mock a demoness of her supreme might and status! She would teach this insignificant speck of a mortal to trifle with her.

His only response was a slight sigh as he continued to poke at the embers in the fire, otherwise apparently unconcerned.

Before the last syllable could emerge from her throat, she suddenly felt like her entire head was going to explode. Waves of pain that made her earlier agonies pale in comparison erupted deep inside her body, rolling up her spine to crash like tidal waves within her skull. She thrashed about like a marionette with tangled strings for several moments, before finally collapsing to the ground, clutching her head.

"I wouldn't suggest doing any more of that either." Cherry continued to devote his attention to the fire. A small teakettle wisped some steam near one side of the flames.

Mara growled low in her throat as the pain subsided once again, but she decided to play along for now. She rolled into a seated position near the fire and took the opportunity to study her outfit. She recoiled when she realized what she was wearing: the red, hakama-style pants and plain white robes of a Shinto shrine priestess. She fixed him with an amused glance, wondering if the old monk had enjoyed undressing her. Perhaps she should try to play this a different way.

"So what is this all about?" she asked in more seductive tones, her hand casually loosening her top to reveal a bit more cleavage. No bra was present beneath the robe. She ran her tongue across her upper lip for a moment to wet them. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage."

The old monk looked distressed. "Uh, I'm afraid that you're laboring under somewhat of a misunderstanding, Demoness."

"What's to misunderstand?" she cooed, leaning forward and exposing a bit more of her bosom beneath the robes. "We're alone, you're a man, and I'm dressed up as some kind of shrine priestess. It's not the most original bit of play-acting I've ever done with one of your kind, but I think I can get into the role. After all, I've yet to meet a priestess that wasn't secretly simmering with suppressed desires and yearnings, her body aching for what only a man's touch can give her. So let's get a bit more comfortable, little monk, and I'll- Ouch!" Her speech was cut short by the sudden, sharp sound of wood cracking hard against her skull. Rubbing the rising lump on the crown of her head, she quickly whirled around to see who had struck her from behind. "Who dares?"

Standing right behind Mara was a tall, Japanese woman of very striking beauty, dressed as the demoness was in the red hakama-style pants and white robes of a Shinto shrine priestess. A short rod of fine wood, decorated with several trails of folded white paper, rested in one of her hands. Carried in the crook of her free arm were several branches of firewood.

"I dare, you," the woman intoned coldly in clipped tones, her eyes blazing with anger. "I am Sakura Sakuranbo, a priestess of the sacred spirits, and it would do you well to keep a much more civil tongue in your head when speaking of the affairs of priestesses." She paused for a moment, blanching ever so slightly as she suddenly realized how her words could be taken and then hastened to speak again. "Those happen to be a spare set of my clothes you are wearing. I was the one who changed your garb, not my uncle."

Still rubbing at the lump forming on the top of her head, Mara eyed Sakura evilly even as the priestess glared back coolly. The staring contest would have continued for quite some time longer, but Cherry interrupted them by clearing his throat.

"Yes, Uncle?" Sakura kept a corner of her gaze on the demoness as she turned to face him.

"So what do you want with me, Priest?" Mara pointedly ignored the woman. "And what's this thing around my neck?"

Cherry sat up straighter and looked the demoness squarely in her eyes. "I want some information, and you're going to give it to me." He then pointed at Mara with the tip of the stick that he had been stirring the embers with. "As to that, it's to insure your good behavior, a spirit binding of my own creation. You can't remove it or use your powers to harm anyone while wearing it."

"So what's to keep me from getting physical with you, little monk?" sneered the demoness as she stood up. "Anything to prevent me from doing that?"

The old man looked briefly at his niece and nodded once.

Mara glanced behind her to where the priestess had been standing, but she only caught a brief glimpse of something red and white moving quickly. The breath was abruptly knocked from her lungs by a solid punch just to the left of her spine. It was quickly followed up by a hand grasping her hair and slamming her face into the hard-packed ground. One of her arms was quickly caught and wrenched painfully behind her back, and she felt a knee come down firmly on her neck. As she briefly struggled to catch her breath, Cherry approached her and knelt down nearby.

"I would suggest that you be a bit more cooperative, demoness," the bald, little monk said mildly. "Sakura has been well-trained in both her physical and spiritual abilities, and she could make things most unpleasant for you." He lowered his voice and leaned a little closer, even as his niece levered the demoness' arm a couple of notches higher, forcing tears of pain from her eyes. "She doesn't like your kind very much, so she's not as forgiving as I am."

"Wh-what do you want to know?" mumbled Mara, finding it difficult to speak with the woman's knee planted solidly on her neck.

"We'll try some easy ones first," he said pleasantly. "Who are you? What is your rank?"

Mara growled out an imprecation, too softly for the two with her to hear. The damn priestess was twisting her arm right out of its socket!

Sakura pressed a bit harder with her knee on Mara's neck, hoping to persuade the demoness to be a bit more forthcoming to her uncle's quiet questioning. She was rewarded with a gasp of pain from her pinned captive.

"I-I'm M-Mara," she whimpered, trying to focus past the pain of her straining ligaments. "D-demoness First C-class." She gasped again, this time in relief, when Sakura eased up a bit on twisting her arm.

"Very good." Cherry spoke soothingly now. "Your name is Mara. Why are you here, Mara? Why did you attack that boarding house? Where have you been hiding since then?"

"G-go to hell, Priest." Mara sucked in a breath when the priestess twisted her arm up even higher than it had been at before. She swore she could feel ligaments tearing as she cried out in pain.

"Leave her alone with me for a little while, Uncle," said Sakura very calmly. "I'll get her talking soon enough." She eased up on her hold a little, just to keep the demoness from passing out from the pain.

"You see?" Cherry shrugged his shoulders a bit, still kneeling next to the pinned demoness. "If you don't cooperate with me, I won't have any choice but to leave you two alone to chat. And I don't think you'd want that."

"D-damn you, Priest. Get this psycho priestess off of me, and I'll tell you what you want to know, I swear." Tears leaked from her eyes.

He flicked his gaze upwards to meet Sakura's. "Release her, if you would, my dear. I think she's a bit more willing to cooperate now." He turned his gaze back down to meet Mara's. "Aren't you?"

The demoness nodded her head as best she could in her current position. She gasped aloud in relief when her arm was suddenly released and the priestess removed her knee from the back of her neck. She slowly sat up; working her shoulder to make sure the priestess hadn't permanently damaged it.

Cherry returned to his place by the fire and waited expectantly. He picked up his cup of tea and drank from it while he waited for Mara to collect herself back together.

Sakura took up a position right behind Mara, ready to defend herself or her uncle if the demoness dared to try anything. She crossed her arms and waited, a grim figure of restrained wrath.

"I was sent here to kill a goddess, one who showed up at that boarding house, nothing more." Mara frowned and grumbled to make her lie look more convincing. "It was just business, you know. Nothing for you mortals to be concerned over."

Cherry frowned. "So why did she appear there?"

"Granting a wish, I guess." Mara shrugged.

"Why would a goddess grant someone a wish?"

Mara smirked. "It's all part of the propaganda machine they've got running up there, with their Goddess Relief Office. Every now and then one of you mortals gets singled out for having a good nature or other such lame excuse and is given a wish. It's a bone for playing the good dog."

"And demons don't grant wishes?" Cherry asked sarcastically.

She leaned forward and smiled seductively at the monk. "With us, it's more of a business transaction. You give us something we want, and we give you something you want." She gently parted the front of her robe a little bit and fanned herself, gazing at him warmly. "What about you, little monk? I can offer you a free sample, just to show you what you're missing. I can- urk!" Mara thrashed a bit as her windpipe was suddenly choked off by an arm wrapping around her throat. As lithely feminine as the priestess looked, she carried a surprising amount of toned muscle in her frame.

"You try and tempt him one more time, and I swear to all the kami that I will twist your head right off your neck, you oni bitch," whispered Sakura's voice into Mara's ear in low and dangerous tones. "Don't test me on that, or you'll regret it." She tightened her grip a little more to show that she meant business, causing stars to briefly swim across Mara's vision, before quickly releasing the demoness.

She massaged her throat as best she could with the spirit binding in place around her neck. She cast a baleful gaze at Sakura. She added the priestess to her personal 'hurt with extreme prejudice' list.

"Now then," said Cherry. "Is that all you were up to?"

Shifting her gaze from Sakura to Cherry, Mara nodded. She stood up a moment later. "After I got hurt, I don't remember where I've been, until now. Well, I've told you what you wanted to know, so now I think you should let me go."

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple," he said. "I have many more questions, but your answers so far will do for now. Sakura?"

Mara began to turn around, and then the world went dark.

As the pair stood over the fallen demoness, Sakura absently rubbed the knuckles of her right hand with the palm of her left. She kicked Mara hard a couple of times for good measure, still smarting from the sexual innuendoes at her expense. They awakened unpleasant memories of her life with her ex-partner, Ayaka Kisaragi. Her eyebrow twitched at the mere thought of the woman and her self-destructive lifestyle, and all the times the other woman had called her a prude to her face.

She sniffed disdainfully. She was certain she was not a prude. She knew perfectly well how to enjoy life, but she preferred to treat her body like a temple, not like the redhead. That woman treated hers like an amusement park, the drunken slut. Yes, getting away from Ayaka and her hedonistic ways had been exactly what she needed, even if she wasn't as successful as a solo agent. Not that the other woman had done any better on her own, she quickly amended, having kept quiet tabs on her old partner, hoping for a chance to gloat when Ayaka's life finally crashed down into flames as it inevitably would. She was looking forward to saying "I told you so," and it was astonishing to her that her ex-partner hadn't managed to get herself cashiered yet.

"I understand you have a new assignment," Cherry ventured.

She nodded, her mind briefly breaking out of her musings to focus on Cherry. "Yes, Uncle. I will be the resident shrine priestess for the temple where the Institute has been housing the Belldandy entity until her business is concluded. I'm going to be working with a local priest and his apprentice, a Katsuhito Masaki and his young grandson, Tenchi, who have been watching her until now. They're even going to assign me an apprentice shrine maiden to train while I'm there. Her name is Rei Hino. I'm looking forward to being a teacher to the girl and passing on a bit of my accumulated wisdom. It should keep me quite busy."

Sakura felt smug that the Mobius Institute had entrusted her with field training an apprentice. It had been a slap in her face when Ayaka of all people had been the one given such a plum assignment as being the advisor to the Empire's Miko Task Force. Impressionable young girls should never have been exposed to a woman of such loose morals. But the last that she had heard, her ex-partner had been removed from that posting and given some sort of an undercover assignment.

It was a shame really. It would have been quite pleasant to show off her new apprentice to the other woman and brag a bit, since she could not imagine the Institute ever trusting that karaoke otaku with one again, especially one with as much potential as Rei Hino had shown in her file. And even if they ever did give Ayaka a trainee, the girl was probably some loose cannon reject that no other senior agent would ever want to be paired with anyway.

Cherry glanced over at her and inwardly sighed. Maybe it was time for his niece to retire from field service and get married. She wasn't getting any younger, after all. Perhaps he should start looking into a matchmaking service for her, since he could not recall when Sakura had last had anything even remotely resembling a date.

While the two were involved in their respective musings, several men and women in plain gray Security Directorate uniforms quietly emerged from the nearby trees. A single patch was visible on their right shoulders, that of the Mobius Institute. One of the men stopped right in front of Cherry and saluted in a textbook perfect motion, and the monk quickly acknowledged it with a nod.

"You may take the Mara entity into custody now, Lieutenant," stated Cherry in a mild tone. "Please see to it that she is placed in one of the maximum security cells in the vaults, and I recommend that you activate the teleport wards. We don't want this one getting away from us just yet."

"Yes, sir." The man saluted again and then went to assist his squad with securing their prisoner. After several moments spent locking Mara's ankles and wrists into solid orichalcum cuffs, they carried the unconscious demoness away to a parked van. Another few moments passed, and then the van drove off towards the Institute.

Sakura glanced at him as he watched the van driving off, slightly concerned to see the thoughtful expression on his face. "What is it, Uncle?"

"A confluence is forming in the Pattern, Sakura," he replied very solemnly. "And I find it troubling that two entities of such a level of power have so suddenly appeared in Tokyo, so soon before a crux point emerges. However, I suspect I know the source. Or perhaps I should more correctly say sources."

"Who?" She looked closely at him.

Cherry smiled. "Two young people I've met recently: a teenaged boy and girl. The weight of destiny is unusually heavy upon them both, but there is also a disturbing dissonance occurring between them, almost as if two mutually opposing fates were now locked in savage conflict, struggling for ultimate dominance over the other." He suddenly frowned. "I simply can't explain it. Never before have I encountered anything like what I can sense happening between them, but this unprecedented clash between two such strongly discordant destinies has begun awakening new possibilities, potential futures that were never there before."

The young priestess gazed at the elderly Cherry, concern filling her dark eyes. He was one of the most pious, holy men that she knew, and she loved him dearly for it. But he had been like this for several years now, a gnomish enigma in brown robes, ever since he had made the unexpected announcement of his retirement from the Institute to take up the life of a wandering monk. He had never explained to anyone the real reason that had to be behind it, not even to the Emperor, but Sakura knew that he must have had a good one for his sudden decision to leave public service.

Cherry, lost in thought once again, appeared to be unaware of her worried regard. He stirred the hot ashes in the fire for several long moments before speaking again. "Ranma Saotome and Nabiki Tendo. Two young people possessed of great martial arts skill, wielding techniques from a school they could not possibly have studied, and at a level of ability that very few have ever possessed in the entire history of the Empire." His voice grew quieter. "Perhaps it is fate working its will, and one of them will fulfill a prophecy I was once told."

"Prophecy?" She stepped closer and was startled to see that he had been writing in the ashes. She could make out several characters in kanji that glowed in the embers: Happosai.

Cherry looked up at Sakura standing near and abruptly wiped away the kanji symbol.

"Uncle, who is Happosai? What is this prophecy you speak of?"

He sighed, and he suddenly looked much older. "Happosai is a name that few even remember anymore, a name that no longer has any meaning." He looked up briefly at her, his gaze inscrutable. "He was a thief, a wastrel, a scoundrel, and a notorious pervert." He smiled, a bit wistfully. "You would have hated him." He looked down again, the smile swiftly vanishing. "He's gone now. He's been gone for a long time." Cherry paused for a long moment, his gaze turning even more somber as he looked back at the flames. His voice fell to a whisper. "Such a very long time..."

Slowly standing up, the elderly monk's knees cracked slightly, and he looked more deeply into the flames for several moments before speaking once again. "As to the prophecy I spoke of, you must never repeat a word of it, not to anyone, ever." He grunted once in acknowledgment of Sakura's quick nod. "It concerns Seven Thunders, great warriors who will come together in the Empire's darkest hours, and of the one who will lead them, the one who will restore the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts from oblivion and carry it to a place of honor in the Empire."

"The Anything-Goes School? I've never heard of it."

Cherry gazed solemnly at his niece. "That's no surprise. Happosai took no disciples before his end, and its techniques vanished completely after his passing. For many decades it has been absent from the world, lost and forgotten."

"Then how could these two children have come by such knowledge of it?"

"I do not know," the old man replied after a moment. "But I'm watching them. It is merely a matter of time before one of them comes to the attention of the hidden powers working in the world. And then things will most certainly become interesting."

She frowned. "You're playing a dangerous game with their lives, Uncle."

"Perhaps," Cherry acknowledged. "But I'm not the only one with an interest in them. The Institute has had them both on a watch list for some time, for reasons other than mine, but I think I bought them some breathing space. Kasuga-san can be a fairly reasonable man if he's approached correctly."

"But if they're so important, Uncle," she protested. "Then the Institute should guide them for the good of the Empire. Surely you can't mean to trust our fate in some children that you barely know." She saw the small monk shake his head and became a bit exasperated with him. "Why?"

He sighed. "I can't explain, but I know that these two should be allowed to freely experience whatever the future holds for them on their own, without any second guessing or any other sorts of 'helpful' guidance. They need to be free to choose their own paths, no matter what happens." His voice then softened but also took on an ominous timbre. "It is Fate."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I want you to know that what happened last night changes absolutely nothing between us. I still despise you utterly."

Mikado smirked slightly as he paused in kissing the girl's shoulder and neck and lifted his eyes to study Asuka's face. The two of them were naked in her bed, cuddled together. Both of their bodies were bruised, mute testament to the days they had spent so far together, training under the mystery man, Nanashi. Despite the dull pains in his body from sparring with the girl, her closeness was raising an almost erotic tingling within him, exciting him on a level that only a few women had ever matched, like that delectably well-built Nabiki Tendo and the sweet and innocent Kodachi Kuno. He waited until he saw her open her eyes, a puzzled frown on her face.

"That wasn't what you said last night," he said in mild amusement, one of his hands moving down her body, gently caressing her skin as he carefully avoided her worst bruises.

Asuka's nostrils flared slightly, and her brow furrowed angrily. She sat up, lifting the sheet to cover her nakedness in a pose of feminine modesty, ignoring the pleasant tingling feeling he awoke in her even now, even after a night spent together in carnal rapture. "Whatever I may have said in the passions of the moment last night should not go to your head, Mikado-kun. You were simply convenient, merely a way to work off some tensions raised by our training. Nothing more."

"As you were for me," he mused, lifting his hand to gently touch her face. He grunted once as her fist hit him in the ribs. He growled and quickly captured her wrist, his genteel look quickly transforming into something more wrathful. "That hurt, you know."

"OHHOHOHOHOHO!" Asuka's laughter was almost demented. "But you let your guard down, Mikado-kun. Nanashi-sensei told us to take every advantage against others, after all." She smiled as he captured her other wrist in his grip and forced her back down to the bed against her token resistance. Her eyes flashed with passion, and she raised one leg to half-wrap it around his hip. "I imagine you wish that your precious Kodachi was more like me."

"She isn't anything like you, Asuka-chan," he replied coolly, as he immediately regretted finally giving in last night to the desires that had been building up within him for days. What had he been doing, bedding a spoiled, selfish brat like the White Lily? He felt her leg still caressing him, and he glared down at her. "You're vicious, vindictive and wicked to the core."

She smirked, half-closing her eyes, feeling her heart rate speeding up from his nearness. She reveled in the excitement even as she cursed her body for betraying her like this by responding so strongly to a loathesome lothario like Mikado. She decided to twist her knife in him a bit to get him back.

"Don't ever forget that your precious, innocent princess wants nothing whatsoever to do with a womanizer like yourself, Mikado-kun." She paused in thought as her calf continued to caress up and down his flank. "You and I are really very much alike, no matter how much we both would wish otherwise. And as for my being wicked, are you feeling up for some more wickedness with me this morning?"

"Curse you, woman," he growled, feeling his body already responding to hers against his rapidly-weakening resistance. Both her legs held him now, loosely wrapped around his hips. Still keeping her wrists pinned down tightly against the pillows, he bent down to kiss her fiercely, a kiss she responded to with such passion and eagerness that it thrilled and disgusted him at the same time.

No, this cold-hearted bitch was nothing like the lovely and innocent Kodachi he treasured, but the White Lily would do for now to satisfy the inexplicably powerful urges he felt for her. Until he had his revenge on that damnable Ranma Saotome and bedded the lovely Nabiki Tendo, he would keep her around. Revenge, like politics, often made for strange bedfellows. But he could cast the girl aside in an instant, when the way finally became clear for him to claim his goal, to make Kodachi Kuno his, no matter how strong his desires were for the vicious White Lily. He was certain he could.

Asuka sighed deep in her throat as her back arched a bit, accepting her bedmate's kiss and dueled his tongue with her own. She laughed inside as she felt him responding to her, looking forward to the day when she destroyed any hope of his ever being with his precious Kodachi, the damnable little mouse that had challenged her rightful dominance over Blackhall. Above all other insults he had done her, she hated him most of all for placing the Kuno girl on a high pedestal, like some goddess worthy of worship. Kodachi was nothing special, and certainly far beneath her, the White Lily!

Her duels with the other girl had shown Asuka one thing. Her enemy somehow held the same darkness locked within herself that she had long ago embraced and used to reforge herself as the White Lily, even if the Kuno girl kept it hidden under that mask of insipid innocence she wore. She longed to rip that mask away and expose Kodachi's true self for the world to see. Then let her adversary see if her dear brother or that new boy she was spending time with, that rather handsome Ranma Saotome, truly cared for her.

After all, nobody really cared about anyone else in this miserable world, a truth Asuka had learned a long time ago when she had stood at her mother's grave and later watched her father hunt for a replacement wife. She planned to enjoy it to the fullest when she finally broke that little mouse for daring to stand up to her. She would savor it like a rare vintage.

As for the Sanzenin boy, why did it hurt her so deeply inside to have him feel anything for her enemy, to hear him speak her name with such reverence? After all, numerous handsome young men constantly vied for the White Lily's attention, a prize she doled out very carefully, playing them off against each other for her own amusement. Many had even shared her bed from time to time; he had simply been the first, when he had stolen the last shred of her trust from her over a year ago. Some friend he was to her one-time suitor, Kuno, she sneered in her thoughts.

The White Lily knew better. Honor, like love, was only for the weak.

That one was another she yearned to avenge herself against, as well as his new target of desire, Nabiki Tendo. How dare that pompous Kuno toss her aside, claiming the charms of some miserable peasant were superior to hers? She was the most beautiful! She was the one men vied for, not some short-haired peasant strumpet. After Kodachi, the Tendo girl was her most hated nemesis for taking something that belonged to her. How dare she steal the Kuno heir's heart from her!

Yet her body betrayed her by its strong yearnings for Mikado, even more than she could admit feeling for Tatewaki. Because of that, she would keep him nearby for now, carefully wrapping him up tightly in her web of seduction, enjoying the power she had carefully honed, every male's weakness for a beautiful female, while she prepared for her revenge. The handsome boy was simply useful as a temporary ally, in case the Kuno girl's new associate, Ranma, tried to assist her. But she was certain she could cast him aside when she finally attained her goal and utterly destroyed her hated nemesis, thereby proving to herself that she didn't need anyone in her life, least of all Mikado Sanzenin.

However, that was in the future. She chuckled wickedly as she turned her attentions back to the task at hand, enjoying the soft kisses and caresses she was being given and responding in kind, allowing her hands to roam. It seemed that the two of them would not be going to classes today, a thought that filled her with an almost guilty pleasure.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane opened up her schoolbag and started placing her textbooks within, an early breakfast filling her belly. She could hear Kasumi and Kyoko working in the kitchen, getting the morning meal ready for their new guests. She could hear one of them, Godai-sensei, her new history instructor at Furinkan Military Academy, upstairs in the bathroom. It was going to be very weird having a strange man in the house, but she would get used to it. Her father had told her Godai-sensei would be staying with them for a while, so that had been the end of it as far as Akane was concerned.

Their other guest was even stranger. Her name was Belldandy, a foreign woman, with pale skin, light-colored eyes, wearing strange clothing and having odd markings on her face. She was currently sitting at the main table drinking tea, watching the birds fluttering and chirping just outside the window. She was a weird one, but her father had said that she would not be staying long. The Mobius Institute had arranged other quarters for her for the longer term, but Akane found that she liked her. Belldandy reminded her a lot of Kasumi, the pair even having very similar voices. If she closed her eyes, she was hard-pressed to tell the difference. So it had been pretty funny to hear them speak, like she was hearing one person speaking two different roles.

The past few days had been starting to inundate Akane a bit with the coursework that she had to catch up on at Furinkan. Sakura had been helping her, earning more of Akane's friendship in the process. While much of it was similar to her coursework at the Imperial Academy, not all of it was. So it had been a grueling pace each night, sitting up with her textbooks and burning up pen after pen writing out assignments she had missed. Fortunately, she had an almost photographic memory.

Akane muttered a curse when that reminded her of something. She had broken her one remaining pen late last night, and she wasn't going to have time to get any more this morning. She had a training session scheduled with Sakura, to ready herself for her next challenge match. She only needed one more win to join the Combat Club, and Sakura had promised her another match if she won her next challenge and obtained a spot in the club.

Her father usually had some extra pens in his desk, and he wouldn't be likely to miss one. She slipped inside his den, letting her eyesight adjust to the dim light before going over to his desk and tugging on the main drawer. It slid open with a slight scrape, and she was very grateful that it wasn't locked. As she picked up one of the pens from the tray, her gaze was caught by an envelope sitting in the drawer.

Picking it up, she saw Ranma's name on it and a folded document inside. Nibbling on her lower lip briefly, her curiosity getting the better of her, she pulled it out and began reading it. She was startled when she realized it to be a marriage contract, and her heart leapt with joy in her chest. Her father must be planning to contact the Saotome family and arrange a marriage between her and Ranma. Happily, she skimmed the text of the document, eagerly looking for her name as that of the arranged bride.

When she saw the name written there, Akane's jaw fell.

"It can't be," she whispered hollowly, her heart feeling like lead. She must have misread it before. She was the one who had fallen in love with Ranma. She was the one who wanted him. Her name had to be the one mentioned in the contract. Taking a deep breath to try and relax herself, she read the name one more time.

Nabiki Tendo.

Akane wanted to scream, to cry, to fling the contract across the room and deny its existence. Nabiki knew how she felt about Ranma. Nabiki wouldn't have betrayed her like this. She couldn't have! Akane slowly sank to her knees, tears welling up deeply in her eyes as the contract slipped unnoticed from her grasp.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

She loved Ranma. She loved him so much.

He should be hers. He was meant to be hers.

"Oh, Ranma," she whispered, her voice ragged, letting the tears roll down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands. A wretched sob wracked free from her throat. She hurt so much inside now, more than she could ever remember feeling, more even than when her mother had died. How could Nabiki have done such a thing? Why had her own sister betrayed her like this?

After what seemed like an eternity spent sobbing, feeling like her very heart had been ripped bleeding from her chest by her sister's malicious treachery, Akane slowly lifted her eyes, now puffed and reddened from tears. She wiped them slowly, her sadness gradually being replaced by fury. Her breath came in slow pants as she realized how easily and how completely she had been tricked.

"Nabiki," she whispered, her voice raspy with emotion. Her hand closed solidly into a fist as she angrily wiped some more tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse. Her mother had raised her daughters to be true warriors, and a true warrior shed no tears. A true warrior shed the lifeblood of her enemies and crushed their bleeding, shattered remains utterly beneath her heel. Dropping her hand to her side, Akane's face was now a mask of raw determination.

"I'm going to take Ranma back from you, Nabiki, dear sister," she vowed grimly. "I'll show you that I'm stronger than you and more worthy of being with him. I swear it!"

After finally regaining control of her seething emotions, Akane very carefully gathered up the marriage contract and replaced it into the envelope and then put the envelope back into her father's desk. She left the room, retaining just enough presence of mind to remove any obvious signs of her presence. Gathering up her umbrella, schoolbag and uniform jacket quietly, she slipped her shoes on and hurried out the door. She had to train hard if she was going to defeat her sister, to prove to her treacherous sibling that she was the one who deserved him, and she needed Sakura to help her.

Akane looked forward to avenging her pain, to have her 'beloved' sister remember for a very long time the price she was going to pay for her treachery, for having deceived her sister's trust like this. With any luck, Akane mused with grim mirth, Nabiki would have plenty of time in the hospital to reflect on her mistake, while her soon to be broken bones healed. Gritting her teeth to hold in her rage, the youngest Tendo ran hard for Furinkan Academy, as storm clouds began gathering overhead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"More rice, Godai-san?" Kasumi asked her father's new guest. She gave the young lieutenant a warm smile when he looked up at her.

Swallowing nervously, Yusaku Godai nodded at the eldest Tendo daughter and handed her his bowl. The house was fairly quiet now. Akane and Nabiki had both left for school early, and Soun had left shortly after sunrise this morning, leaving him alone in the house with three women. It had been a very nerve-wracking experience for him.

On his right, Belldandy quietly ate her breakfast as Kasumi served him another bowl of rice. In the kitchen, Kyoko Otonashi, the housekeeper, could be heard bustling about cleaning up. He smiled and murmured his thanks to Kasumi when she handed him back his bowl.

Kasumi settled back down to finish her own breakfast, but she kept a watchful eye on Yusaku to make sure that he lacked for nothing during his meal. She poured him more orange juice when his glass was looking empty, and she made sure that he had plenty to eat for a good start to his day. Being around him gave her a nice feeling inside, one she had seemed to feel so rarely in her life now. She had been feeling like this ever since last night, when she had opened the door and first greeted the young lieutenant.

Young, Kasumi thought with amusement as she ate. He was actually a little over three years older than she was, or so she had learned while talking with her father's new guest last night. Perhaps it was due to a boyish sort of charm he possessed, a quiet innocence that Kasumi had been surprised to see in a career military man. And what had been even more surprising was what Yusaku Godai had awoken within her, a gentle sort of passion. She knew that he needed someone around him to take care of him, to see that he was fed right, to see that his house was kept orderly and to see to it that his clothes were clean and pressed.

A blush appeared on Kasumi's cheeks. She was being silly. She was a married woman with a husband who lov- who provided well for her. She went back to eating her own breakfast, trying hard to keep her gaze from drifting back to rest on Lt. Godai. What she was doing wasn't right. What she was feeling wasn't right. It dishonored her husband and her marriage vows. But she couldn't seem to help herself. There was something within her now, something that had come into her life last night when she had answered the front door, like a brilliant light suddenly illuminating a darkened room. What was she going to do?

In the kitchen, Kyoko was scrubbing a pot with vigor, feeling a muted anger at how easily the eldest Tendo daughter had seemed to take charge of their new guest. A married woman shouldn't be acting like she had seen Kasumi acting. The younger sisters hadn't seemed to notice how their sister had been behaving, but Kyoko had. A woman should honor her husband and remain loyal to him, no matter what. She herself was a widow, so that was different, she quickly amended. But the way Kasumi had been practically fawning over Lt. Godai ever since last night was simply shameful.

Kyoko paused and sighed when she remembered her first sight of him, standing there in his battered uniform, yet still looking so handsome and fit. She blushed at the memory. She had always had a weakness for men in uniform, especially older men. But there was something about young Lt. Godai that had captured her attention and stubbornly refused to release it. She could tell that he had been through some sort of horrific ordeal last night, but he had emerged from it only a little bent, not broken. That spoke well of the strength of his character.

Resuming her scrubbing, Kyoko made a silent vow that she would do her best to make his stay here a pleasant one. It was the least she could do for him while he was staying under this roof.

Belldandy quietly sipped her tea and finished eating her breakfast as the others in the house remained caught up in their individual internal quandaries. She had a few of her own, marring her usual calm. The Mobius Institute was being very kind to her, even going so far as to procure living quarters for her in an abandoned temple nearby, for as long as she might require it. So she would be staying there while Yusaku would be remaining here. That was quite all right, but she was concerned about Mara returning and possibly harming someone. There was also the matter of Yusaku's wish. The Ultimate Force had been set into motion last night, and it would bring him together with the one who would fulfill his wish, no matter what obstacles might lay in the path.

There was no doubt in her mind that Kasumi was the one the Ultimate Force had chosen for Yusaku. Coming here had been the beginnings of its power manifesting. Belldandy could sense such a level of similarity between herself and the mortal woman that it was astonishing, almost like Kasumi was her mortal avatar or karmic twin.

The problem was that she was already married, and that complicated things immensely, not that the Ultimate Force would care. Belldandy sighed slightly. This was an area where Urd might be better suited than herself. Perhaps once she was settled at the temple, she should give her older sister a call and ask for some advice on this case.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The clash of steel sounded in the chamber atop the Rose Tower of Ohtori Academy. The morning sun was hidden by storm clouds, but the grayish light that made it through brought out many intriguing patterns in the carved roses, patterns that changed as the light changed throughout the day, a clever trick of carving and placement that provided an ephemeral sort of backdrop as two duelists moved. One young fighter, dressed in a white Ohtori uniform jacket and tailored pants, the redness of her shoulder-length hair like a beacon of well-coifed flame on her head, struggled with her opponent. That one was a pink-haired girl dressed in a dark Ohtori boys' uniform jacket and short pants, revealing coltish legs. Grim smiles lit both girls' faces as they clashed with each other.

"Juri seems off her form today," remarked Touga Kiryuu calmly, leaning against one wall.

"This match has only gone on for fifty-two seconds, and you can tell that already?" asked Miki Karou, briefly glancing at his pocket watch.

"Her movements appear slightly less fluid than normal," he said with a clinical voice, watching as Utena and Juri clashed blades. "I heard a rumor that her parents are trying to arrange another match."

Juri cursed as Utena's blade managed to score a slight rip through her sleeve as the two girls passed in front of Touga, steel ringing hard against steel, and she took a moment to snarl once at him. She then rallied, putting Utena on the defensive and pressing her hard. But Utena held firm, her own blade meeting Juri's in a dazzling display of parry and riposte, weaving a net of steel around herself that not even all of Juri's skill and might could get through.

"I appear to have touched a nerve, Miki," Touga remarked in a casual aside to his companion.

Juri missed a block, and she grimaced when the red rose in her jacket was suddenly cut free by a deft swipe of Utena's blade. She backed off and raised her own blade in salute, acknowledging her defeat with a grudging grace. She received one back from Utena in reply, and she lowered her blade again, before turning to walk towards the chair where she had left a towel. She picked it up and began dabbing lightly at some perspiration on her face.

"Is that true, Juri?" asked Utena, placing her sword in the rack on the wall. She preferred wooden blades for matches, but Juri had insisted on having this duel with live steel. Losing to Ranma had given Utena an appearance of possible weakness, and Juri had been the first to step forward and test that.

"It's true enough." Juri settled her slightly heavier blade in its place on the wall. "The meeting is in a few days with the Kuno family."

Touga frowned slightly and said, "Tatewaki Kuno, eh?"

"You know him?" asked Juri, raising one eyebrow.

"We've met," Touga said enigmatically. "He's a skilled duelist."

Utena hmm'd briefly. Other than Ranma, she had not fought with anyone outside of Ohtori's student body. When she turned around, Juri was walking away, her back straight, her shoulders firm.

"Juri's rejected several marriage agreements," said Miki, coming up behind Utena softly. "Her family is pressuring her to finally accept one."

Utena was glad that she was not of the nobility. An arranged marriage sounded so archaic. But then she had not had much interest in boys, preferring to spend her time honing her skills, until meeting Ranma that is.

Ranma. A faint sigh escaped her lips at the thought of him. She was happy that he had called her. She was even happier that he agreed to be her escort to Ohtori Academy's upcoming formal dance. She was looking forward to the date, and she hoped he didn't mind her paying for dinner that night. She sort of owed him for his kindness in letting her stay at his house overnight, and that would help her feel like they were evening the books between them.

"She's thinking about that Ranma Saotome fellow again, I would hazard to guess," commented Touga in another aside as he and Miki leaned upon the Rose Tower's outer balcony, allowing them to look over the entire school. Lightning flashed in the distance, and the clouds promised rain.

"Ranma Saotome," murmured Miki, his hands clenching slightly on the railing. "I don't like him." The memory of how Kodachi had demeaned herself so over the other boy burned like a flame within him.

"He caught the fancy of your attractive little friend Kodachi, I could see," remarked Touga casually.

Miki replied quickly, if a bit acidly, "Not to mention that Nabiki Tendo girl you were being friendly with."

"Yes. It appears we may have a common cause in dealing with him."

"You have something in mind?" Miki looked at Touga, the breeze playing with his hair.

Touga smiled. "Ohtori's spring formal is coming up in a week. I've been holding off on making a decision on who to bring, but I was thinking of causing a slight scandal by inviting Nabiki Tendo to attend it with me. I believe I heard somewhere that you have already invited Kodachi Kuno as your date?"

"Yes," replied Miki, a wistful smile appearing on his visage at the thought of dancing with Kodachi. "I've been practicing my dance steps with my sister."

"I'm sure you have. All we need to do is show the ladies a good time amidst a society affair, and they shall be putty in our hands." Touga casually stroked back some of his reddish locks of hair, a confident look on his face. "I intend to show Nabiki Tendo a very good time, if you understand my meaning, one that will make her forget all about that Ranma Saotome fellow."

Miki blushed. Touga was always so sure of himself around the ladies, unlike himself. He always felt uncertain around girls, except for a few, like Utena or Kodachi. Even Anthy made him a little nervous, and he had felt a crush for her ever since she had arrived on the campus. But now Kodachi had come back into his life again after all these many years since they had played together as children, and his desires for her were growing stronger every day.

"Do you think Utena will ask Ranma to the dance?" Miki looked over at the pink-haired girl.

"My dear Miki, I'm counting on it." Touga smiled charmingly. "It will be a perfect chance to deal with this particular thorn in our sides, don't you think? The ladies will see him there with Utena, and the two of us will be there to console their wounded hearts. Whatever sort of inexplicable spell he has cast over them will be broken. I then fully intend to enjoy my time with the charming Nabiki to the utmost, and I suggest you do the same with Kodachi." His smile turned lascivious.

"I see." Miki thought about the plan. It seemed simple enough, and any chance he was given to spend more time with Kodachi was wonderful. He nodded his agreement with the scheme. "I'm in."

"Excellent, I shall telephone Nabiki Tendo this weekend and invite her." He bowed to Miki, smiling at his new ally.

"Here's to victory," said Miki, bowing back in response.

Standing up, Touga smiled even more brightly. He loved the sound of that word. "Yes, to victory."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the outskirts of Tokyo, two travel-worn figures seemed to emerge from the light of the sun rising behind them. Both of them carried heavy travelling packs, and they appeared like people who had been on the road for some time. One was an attractive girl with blue-green hair, somewhat taller than average and with a somewhat insouciant manner about her, and the other was a teenaged boy with a bandanna wrapped around his head to hold his unruly hair out of his eyes.

"Well, we made it," said Ryoko, turning to flash a brief grin at Ryoga.

"Yeah," he replied, feeling his heart lift a bit from the deep pit of despair it normally sat in. Soon he would have his revenge. It would feel so good to finally unleash his righteous rage on the one who had earned it: Ukyo Kuonji.

A few days spent travelling on the road together with him had given Ryoko an oddly maternal kind of protectiveness towards Ryoga. They had spent a fair amount of their time travelling by talking to each other, but his core reason for hating Ukyo was still vague. He didn't seem to much like talking about it, only that the other boy had wronged him somehow, and he wanted to have his revenge. As they had gotten closer to Tokyo, his thoughts seemed to focus more intently on that revenge, with a single-mindedness that was almost inspiring to Ryoko in an odd sort of way. She had actually come to enjoy travelling with him, even as gruff and surly as he could be occasionally, and she was a little saddened that their journey together was coming to an end.

"So where do we find this Ukyo guy you're looking for? Do you have an address where he'll be in town?" As she spoke, Ryoko walked along with an easy manner, occasionally eyeing some of the many window displays, but she never took her eyes off of Ryoga for very long.

"Uh, no," Ryoga replied slowly. "I don't know an address, only that Ukyo was going to be in Tokyo."

Ryoko paused in her walking, and she looked at Ryoga in amusement, one eyebrow raised. She casually leaned against a wall and studied him, folding her arms across her chest.

"Let me get this straight," she said with a grin suddenly appearing on her face. "You just spent a couple of weeks trekking across Japan to get to Tokyo, a city with about twelve million people in it, looking for this Ukyo guy. And you don't even have an address? Just how dumb are you, Hibiki?" She raised her arms up, turning around. "This is a big city. Did you give any thought for how you'd find _one_ person in the midst of it?"

"I- uh-" Ryoga looked ahead at the sprawling metroplex stretched out for innumerable miles before him, a concrete monument of steel, glass, and stone. He scratched the back of his head, suddenly realizing how enormous his task was going to be. It wasn't like the villages back home where he and Ukyo had grown up. He had simply thought he would march into town, find Ukyo within a few hours of looking, unleash his revenge upon the miserable wretch for awakening feelings of attraction in him, and then he could go back home.

"Come on," said Ryoko, suddenly grabbing him by the arm. Knowing that he would be totally lost in this city without her, she had spent the last couple of mornings trying to figure out a good way to ask him to come home with her. It seemed that his lack of planning had given her the perfect excuse. "You're coming home with me. My folks live in the Nerima area. You can stay with us for a couple of days while I help you track down this Ukyo fellow."

"H-home with you?" said Ryoga, his heart suddenly pounding as he let her drag him towards the nearest subway station. He came very close to fainting when he had finally noticed her hand on his arm. A nervous twitch came across his features. A beautiful girl was walking arm in arm with him. This was wonderful and utterly terrifying all at once.

"Yeah, my folks won't mind," she replied, still grinning. She noticed that Ryoga had zoned out with a goofy look on his features. She began casually slapping him hard across the face a few times to snap him out of it. It was something she had gotten used to doing during their trip together. "I'm sure my mom will likely be thrilled to see you," she said half-jokingly, after he came back to himself.

As they walked down the stairs to the subways, Ryoga became lost in his own thoughts again. He had made it to Tokyo. Soon he would have his righteous revenge on the cause of his misery.

"Ukyo Kuonji! I will see you in Hell!" Ryoga shouted at the heavens.

A pair of peaceforcers eyed the couple, and Ryoko smiled innocently at them, quickly elbowing Ryoga hard in the lower ribs to quiet him.

"He's practicing for a school play." She then hurriedly got them on to the next train, leaving a couple of puzzled peaceforcers behind them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sakura could tell that something was wrong when she saw Akane's face. The girl looked like she wanted to kill somebody. Breaking off from her conversation with one of her squad mates, she headed over to Akane.

"Hey, Akane," said Sakura with a smile. She stepped back a pace at the sheer fury in the gaze that the Tendo girl gave her in reply, falling into a defensive stance by reflex. She relaxed when Akane seemed to recognize her finally, the Tendo girl's savage look crumbling a bit.

"Sakura," Akane said a bit forlornly. "I want you to help me train."

"Train? Are you worried about your next challenge match?" She paused when she saw Akane abruptly shake her head. Sakura put her arm around her friend, trying to console her. "What is it, Akane? What's wrong?"

"My sister is trying to steal Ranma from me," Akane said with an edge of sobbing in her voice. She leaned her head on Sakura's shoulder. "I can't let her get away with it. I need you to teach me that technique you used to beat me."

"The Cherry Blossom Fist?" Sakura was surprised at the request. "I dunno, Akane. It's a pretty advanced technique. It took me weeks to get it down right."

Akane looked up and met Sakura's gaze steadily. "I need it to beat Nabiki, Sakura. She's got this new technique she's been training to master. I need something to match it." Akane gripped Sakura by the shoulders. "Help me. You're the only one I can turn to."

"All right, Akane." Sakura smiled and nodded. "I'll help you, if it means that much to you. What are friends for?"

Akane's eyes filled with tears, and she hugged Sakura tightly. "Oh, thank you, Sakura! Thank you!"

Sakura ruffled Akane's hair and smiled a bit distantly. Helping Akane out with her problems would help get her mind off her own troubles, like her worries over her poor Ryu-senpai, and her plans for maiming a certain Chinese Amazon if she ever got the chance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soun Tendo paused in front of the glass and steel tower of the Ministry of Science and checked his wristwatch. Genma Saotome had called him up out of the blue and invited him out to lunch, a curious thing. Still, if the man wanted to be friendlier to a future in-law, that was all right with Soun. Luckily, it had been a quiet morning, so his schedule had allowed him the luxury of accepting Genma's impromptu invitation.

"Shall I wait here for you, sir?" asked the driver, standing stiffly at attention next to the car in his uniform.

Soun turned and thought about it. While there were several excellent restaurants within walking distance, storm clouds brewed overhead, and it had been raining off and on all morning. It was a pity. A walk would have been nice. He had been spending too much time sitting. The lack of exercise was giving him a severe case of swivel chair spread.

"Yes, I think that might be wise," he said. "I'll be back shortly. Wait here."

The driver executed a crisp salute. "Yes, sir."

Soun grunted once in acknowledgement of the salute and saluted back. He then turned and trudged up the wet concrete steps to the glass front doors of the Science Ministry. Two guards stood at the entrance, each one dressed in a gray uniform and armed with a semi-automatic rifle currently slung over their shoulder. They both snapped to attention at his approach, one of them turning to look at him and bowing slightly.

"Your ID, sir?" the guard said respectfully.

Soun flipped open his Security Directorate badge and ID, letting the guard get a good look at it. Seeing his name and rank, the young man snapped to an even greater level of attention and saluted. The other guard opened the door for Soun after saluting, holding it as he stood at attention. Seeing that their performance was at an acceptable level, Soun returned their salutes curtly and strode into the main lobby.

The guard at the main desk stood up and saluted. Four other guards, stationed around the room and also armed with semi-automatic rifles, snapped a bit straighter, sensing an officer's presence with the keen senses of a career soldier. "Welcome to the Science Ministry, sir."

"I'm here to see Professor Genma Saotome."

"Of course, sir. Professor Saotome has his private lab and office up on the thirteenth floor." He quickly snatched up the telephone from its cradle. "Shall I announce that you're coming up, sir?"

Soun waved his hand in negation. "No, no. He's expecting me. And this isn't any sort of an official matter. Professor Saotome and I have a luncheon appointment."

"Yes, sir." The guard put the telephone down and pointed at the back wall. "The elevators are back there, Sir. Professor Saotome's lab is the third one on the left as you exit from the elevators. Is there anything else I could do to be of further assistance?"

"No, thank you." Soun strolled past the desk towards the elevators. He was pleased to see that security here was sharp. It wasn't often that he had a chance to visit the other ministries, but it was good to see such professionalism from these representatives of the Empire's Security Directorate.

The ride up the elevator was blessedly brief, some piece of classical music that he could not identify playing in the background. There was a ding when the car reached the thirteenth floor, and the doors parted, allowing him to step out. A rather plain hallway greeted his eyes.

Soun turned and walked down the hallway to the proper door and knocked.

After a moment, Genma opened the door to his lab. He smiled brightly and nodded. "Tendo-kun, nice to see you. Please, come in."

Soun decided to let the overly-familiar honorific go by. He nodded curtly, stepping into the room. He allowed his gaze to sweep the space briefly, noting a number of computers and a fairly significant amount of electronic gear set up. "It seems you're keeping busy, Saotome-san. What is it that you're working on?"

"Allow me to show you," said Genma, shutting the door. When Soun took his eyes off him for a moment, he raised a small needle gun he had kept hidden in his pocket and fired a slim dart into Soun's back. Within a moment, a fast-acting sedative hit his system.

Soun started to turn to face Genma, his mouth opening in surprise, but then his eyes suddenly rolled up in their sockets. He fell forward into Genma's waiting arms, causing the heavy-set man to grunt at the weight.

Genma hurried to carry his slumbering guest across the lab and settled him into a waiting chair, opening one of the drawers nearby and pulling out some package binding strips. He lashed Soun's arms and legs down with them, tying him securely to the chair's armrests and legs. He also bound a thick strip of cloth around Soun's head and between his jaws, gagging him to keep him from making too much noise.

While he waited for the sedative to wear off, Genma leaned against one of the lab's tables. Things were getting desperate, forcing his to do something like this. He was growing uncertain how much longer he could handle the boy on his own, especially now that Nodoka had dropped her bombshell. To make matters worse, a representative of the government had informed him that the Empire was exercising eminent domain on the temple he had planned to purchase, frustrating his plans to establish the first dojo of many he had planned for the Anything-Goes School. He realized he needed help, and so he had undertaken a new scheme that he was certain would work.

After a time, Soun came to. His senses were blurred, and he shook his head to clear his eyes. What he saw was Genma Saotome standing there, a grin on his face. Soun's expression quickly changed from bafflement to fury. Had the man gone insane? Once he was free of this, nobody would ever find the fat fool's body! Soun struggled against his bonds and struggled to speak. "Mmf! MMMF!"

"Sorry about this, Tendo-kun," said Genma with some sincerity, leaning down and looking his furious companion on the eyes. "It's just that I've been doing some thinking for the past few weeks, and I realized something. I've got a great life here."

"Mmf?" Soun thought quickly, wondering where this was going. This whole situation didn't make any sense.

Genma straightened back up and looked down at his prisoner. "Yeah, it's a great life, but there's also something missing. What's missing is my best friend in the whole world, Soun Tendo."

"Mmf Mmf?" Best friend? They were never friends. Whatever was Genma babbling about?

"So some time ago, I had an idea." Genma reached over and flipped on the main switch of a power bar on the nearby lab table. A computer screen lit up and began scrolling text. Soun saw Genma type now and then, watching in helpless curiosity.

* SELF-CHECK COMPLETE

* ALL LOGIC COMPONENTS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* QUANTUM FLUX COIL IS FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* NEURAL INDUCTION SENSORS ARE FUNCTIONING WITHIN DESIGNATED PARAMETERS

* SYSTEM HAS 8 QUANTUM COORDINATES STORED IN STABLE MEMORY

* SCAN FOR NEW COORDINATES: NO

* PLEASE INPUT QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE DESIRED: 8

The screen briefly cleared as Soun watched. Then new text suddenly appeared and began scrolling upwards.

* QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000008 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

* PLEASE STAND BY...

* MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000008. DETAILS? YES

* FILE #0000008 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:

3,852 YEARS

9 MONTHS

06 DAYS

11 HOURS

22 MINUTES

14 SECONDS AGO.

* SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES

* SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST: 10.00 MINUTES

* WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL INTERLINK HEADSET

Genma pointed at the information on the screen as he fumbled with and eventually managed to unlimber a headset on a long wire. "You see that information? That's another world, another version of Earth, and I came from there." He smirked. "Well, not physically." He tapped his temple with a forefinger. "Whatever it was that made up Genma Saotome on that world came here, through this." He waggled the headset he held in one hand. "It was the boy, you see. He was the one who did it. His father and I accidentally swapped during an experiment, so it's been an interesting adjustment. But the boy's difficult to manage on my own, so I thought about getting an ally. You wouldn't believe how hard it was for me to duplicate the boy's device, even with his detailed notes and copies of his control software files to work from."

Creating the quantum flux coil had been the hardest part, Genma mused, and making only one that matched the specifications in the boy's notes had used up everything he could possibly steal from the budgets of other projects. So this gamble had to work. But at least while he had been working on it, the dreams had finally stopped. Having that other Genma nagging at him each night while he slept had been annoying, but that specter of conscience had finally gone blessedly quiet a couple of days ago. He shook his head as he stopped next to where Soun was held captive.

Genma was insane, Soun realized with a small trickle of terror finally breaking down his iron control over his emotions, staring at the man as he drew closer. Other Earths? That was an utterly ridiculous notion. There was only one world, one Earth, not this psychotic science fiction of alternate histories that Genma apparently believed.

"Anyway," said Genma, placing the headset on Soun's head and securing it down firmly with a strap under Soun's chin. "I've found a world without that lecherous old pervert in it, and it would be selfish of me to not want to share it with my best friend. Right?"

"Mmf?" Soun eyed the device, uncertain what was about to happen.

The computer suddenly spoke, "Initiating upload cycle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

"Sir, I'm detecting a resonator signal of unknown origins."

All movement ceased on the bridge of the Dragon Claw, currently sitting parked at the LaGrange point just outside the moon's orbit, as all eyes turned to the figure sitting at the center of the bridge. Slowly, the command chair swiveled around to the front, revealing the face of a white-haired young man of muscular build, his handsome face marred only by a single deep and ragged scar across one cheek. Like all the others present, he was immaculately dressed in a tailored, dark-green uniform jacket with blue piping, black pants, and calf length, gloss black leather boots. In addition, he also wore a white beret at a slight angle on his head, marking his status as the ship's captain and a line officer of the Musk Dynasty.

"Finally," intoned Herb in the same guttural language as the young officer who had addressed him, before standing up and gazing around at his crew. He tugged his jacket down a bit and smiled. The ship had been waiting here for many days now in this backwater, since first detecting the tail end of a resonator signal transmitting into this tangent's paratemporal coordinates. "Centurion, begin tracking back to the signal's source."

"Aye, sir."

Herb sat back down in his command chair as the technician turned back to his task quickly. His patience had finally paid off. Somewhere out there across the infinity of alternate timeline tangents was the goal he had been seeking for so long, and the fates had finally thrown him a solid lead.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was a moment of non-existence, and then Soun was suddenly aware of the distinctive smell of sake when he took a breath. He blinked rheumy eyes open, feeling them scratching at his eyeballs. He could not remember closing them, only this odd sort of flash while he had been helpless in that chair, before waking up here. Now he was lying in bed with the shades of the room drawn. What had happened? Where was he? How did he get here from Genma's lab?

Soun sat up, hearing a bottle rolling to one side as his motion moved the blanket that had been on top of him, causing him to cringe slightly from the pain caused by the sound. He felt awful, and his head was starting to pound mercilessly.

A sudden kaleidoscope of memories assailed him, causing the room to spin. With a belch, he felt the contents of his stomach about to come up, and he barely managed to grab a trashcan before heaving. He was too caught up in his physical miseries to be aware of much else for a time.

When the heaving finally stopped, Soun took stock of his surroundings. He got up and staggered to the window, carefully drawing aside the shade covering it. He was home, and he saw the familiar walls of the dojo outside. Then he paused, looking at the building, realizing with a start that it was bigger than before. Why had he accepted what he saw before him as normal so easily? He clutched his head, feeling a fresh assault of images, memories that were not his own. What was happening to him?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ensign Shan Pu discovered with some slight embarrassment that she had been holding her breath as the Artemis-Class Solnoid Matriarchy vessel Huntress phased into existence. She expertly ran her fingers along the touch panel beneath her hands, adjusting ship's attitude when the stars had finished their brief shimmering and re-engaging the vessel's cloak. The vessel was quickly engulfed by a thin film of energy that bent the entire spectrum of light around it, effectively rendering it invisible to all types of sensory equipment. She hoped the captain had not noticed her hesitation. It was her first time at the helm during a transition, where a thousand things could go wrong when phasing from one alternate timeline into another, and she was feeling a little bit apprehensive.

The teal blue uniform she wore was rather devoid of insignia, a plain sort of jumpsuit which hugged her trim figure. Ankle-length gray boots completed the ensemble, as well as a single golden pin resting on her collar. It was in the shape of a figure eight resting on its side, the classical symbol for infinity. In jarring contrast to the uniform, a yellow sash was tied around her waist.

"Captain, we have completed our trans-temporal shift," she said in slightly accented Solnoid, the common language used by the Matriarchy. "The cloak is engaged, and our position is stable."

"Well done, Ensign Shan," replied Captain Chow with a smile. Her uniform was identical to the young ensign's, except that her sash was black. "A very smooth transition. My compliments-"

"Captain! I'm detecting a Musk vessel twenty-six thousand li from our present location. They are in a stationary orbit on the far side of the moon."

"Confirmed, Captain," said Shan Pu after a moment, staring into her tactical display. "It appears to be a Spatha-Class vessel. But why would they be all the way out here, so far from the border?"

"Who can fathom the minds of feral males?" Captain Chow replied, leaning forward in her chair and lacing her fingers together, before resting her chin there. What were the Muskys doing out here? This was a long ways from the front lines, deep in Solnoid-controlled territory, where the Huntress was assigned to scout out new potential supply bases for the current campaign.

Captain Chow glanced at Lt. Ming, currently manning the main tactical station. "Any sign that they detected us?"

"No, Captain," Lt. Ming replied, after a moment spent staring at her displays. "There's no record that any active radar sweeps pinged us before the cloak was engaged."

Captain Chow glanced over at Shan Pu. "It seems that you're in luck, Ensign Shan."

"Captain?" Shan Pu turned for a moment to look at the older woman.

"The ink on your commission is barely dry, and you're about to taste blood in battle already." A wolfish smile crossed Captain Chow's face. She turned to Lt. Ming. "Load all fore and aft torpedo tubes and sound battle stations." As the klaxons began sounding, she turned back to Shan Pu. "Take us in closer, Ensign Shan. We have some feral males to exterminate."

"Affirmative, Ma'am," replied Shan Pu crisply.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soun took several deep breaths as his head finally stopped spinning, and he managed to make some sense of what was happening. There had been some advanced work on generating virtual realities being done in the Empire, but nothing he knew of would be this realistic. And then there were the memories to contend with, memories of another life, one lived by another Soun Tendo.

There was only one inescapable conclusion. This was no illusion, no false reality. This was another world, one as real as his, and the man he had thought was the Genma Saotome he knew had consigned him to it, to switch him for the Soun Tendo of this other world, an emotionally crippled man. A man that he was having difficulty accepting that he could have ever become.

Soun felt detached as he began examining those memories, reliving them in a sense but also holding their emotional content distant from him. What he saw troubled him greatly, like looking at his own life through a shattered mirror.

Kimiko was dead here, taken by the same illness that Imperial medicine had saved her from, her vitality and strength stilled forever, years before her death in Antarctica. He had been luckier than this other Soun, having been allowed to enjoy more time with his wife. That event had broken this other self, and he felt tears beginning to form in his eyes, his own dormant feelings for Kimiko responding to these painful new memories. With more difficulty than he was used to, he mastered his emotions and held them firmly at bay. After a time, the sadness receded to manageable levels. He took a deep breath when the crisis had passed, and then he heard a gentle knock at the door.

"Father?" came Kasumi's voice, sounding worried. "I made some lunch. Do you feel well enough to eat today?"

Soun felt shame as Kasumi's voice awoke new memories within him from his other self's life. After falling apart like the man had, it had required his daughters to pull together and salvage the household, a heroic effort, especially from Kasumi. Fortunately for this family, she had been more than equal to the task, but the effort had taken its toll. The eldest Tendo daughter had been forced to remain here and act as 'mother' when she had every right to be off beginning her own life.

He cleared his throat. "Lunch sounds like an excellent idea, Kasumi. Let me get cleaned up first, and I'll join you at the table."

"Of course, Father," Kasumi replied through the door, sounding a little surprised. A timbre of happiness had entered her voice. "I'll have it all ready for you."

Soun began pulling clean clothes from the drawers and closet. Maybe he was trapped here for now, but there was no need for him to continue as his other self had done, wallowing in drunken misery like a child. He felt sincere sympathy for Professor Saotome at that moment, suddenly recalling his departure with his son and the Chinese girl, Shampoo.

That name was oddly familiar, and it took him a moment to recall where he had heard it before. When it came to him, he almost smiled at the irony. His Akane practically worshipped the Amazon, and she even had a life-sized poster of Shampoo hanging up in her room. Here, things were different. So many things were different.

An idea occurred to him while he was gathering clothes. Professor Saotome was apparently also trapped here. Perhaps together, he and Saotome-kun could find a way back home. Who knew what catastrophes could happen while they were both trapped here, and those two fools were free to run rampant in their places?

Soun paused. Saotome-kun? That was how someone addressed a friend, and he had never been the friend of Professor Genma Saotome. Then he paused again, as flashes of the friendship between this world's Soun Tendo and Genma Saotome came to mind. A slight smile lit his face for a moment. Well, maybe they could become friends as well as allies. That might be nice. He had been so involved in his work for so many years that he didn't really have anyone he could call a friend anymore.

Besides, it had been a while since he had enjoyed a good shogi match.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir, I have completed my analysis of the signal," said the young centurion, turning to face an impatiently waiting Herb.

"Go on." Herb stopped drumming his fingers on the armrest of his command chair.

The centurion looked excited. "It comes from a region far beyond our scanning capacity. I've never heard of a signal that could reach this far across tangents on its own, without requiring repeater stations. Not even our phase drives have the range to shift us to its source in a single translation, even using the carrier wave as a beacon, my lord."

"I thought as much," said Herb, sounding pleased. "This is what I've been looking for." He stood up. "Centurion, you have the bridge. Inform my personal guards to meet me in the communications room."

"Sir?"

Herb smiled coldly. "Since we can't follow it in this vessel, I'm going to piggyback a transmission on its carrier wave while it's still available. With any luck, there will be an analog of mine that I can use on that tangent, allowing me to track down the source of that signal and use it to transmit that world's location to the Dynasty homeworld. I sincerely doubt they'll put up much of a fight when a few of our dreadnoughts phase into orbit over their heads. It should make an excellent staging area for a surprise assault on the backside of those Solnoid bitches, once we finish with pacifying it. Wouldn't you say so?"

The centurion saluted. "A brilliant plan, sir!"

"I thought so, too," Herb replied with a nasty smile. "Soon enough, we'll teach those women their proper place in the universe, as servants and concubines to their betters, once we have properly broken them to the yoke of servitude. After all, it is inevitable that the Musk will eventually rule all, for we are the one true master race." He paused briefly at the door to the lift. "This will be a day long remembered, Centurion, as the beginning of the end for the Solnoids' perverted philosophies of female supremacy."

The young centurion saluted Herb as the lift door closed, pride evident on his young face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shan Pu slowed the Huntress to a halt at eight thousand li from the Musk vessel, listening to the lively babble of electronic traffic all around her as various sections of the ship reported in to the bridge. A fifty-kiloton thermonuclear warhead now rested in each of the four forward tubes as well as the two aft ones, their fuses primed. It wouldn't be long now before the Musk vessel was turned into debris.

"Captain, the Musk vessel is still showing no signs of awareness," said Lt. Ming, finally managing to free up her board as the last ship sections reported readiness. "We are at full readiness to begin our attack run."

"Monitor their communications traffic," ordered Captain Chow. "I don't want to be caught by surprise if a Musky battle group is about to join them."

"One moment." Lt. Ming studied her console. "Odd. I'm picking up an incoming resonator transmission here, from a very long range. Wait. Three signal pulses just went out." She looked up. "The source of the original transmission is somehow beyond our detection range."

"That's impossible," Shan Pu broke in. "There has to be some sort of a repeater station within range. There's no way for a resonator signal to reach this far on its own, without some kind of a boost."

"The ensign's right, Captain. What I'm reading is way beyond what's supposed to be possible for resonator technology."

"Can you piggyback a standard scanning pulse back along this mystery signal's carrier wave?" Captain Chow looked over at Lt. Ming.

"Easily enough done, but there's a good chance that the Muskys over there will detect it. Why do you ask?"

"I don't think that's a Musk signal, and I'll be damned if I'll let a bunch of feral males get a hold of technology like this. So I'll take that risk. Ensign, close to five thousand li. Lieutenant Yim, charge up the particle mounts and prepare to launch torpedoes on my mark."

"Affirmative, Captain." Lt. Yim, a short, thin woman, held her thumb poised over the launch button, ready to unleash thermonuclear death at her captain's command.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Herb took a deep breath and smelled the freshness in the air, relishing that unmistakable scent that no shipboard environment could ever begin to duplicate, no matter what sort of advances in atmospheric scrubbers were made. There was nothing quite like air made by nature. Herb inhaled deeply again and detected something odd with this breath, an unexpected weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and looked down.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

This was impossible! He was now a female, a lowly brood mare! Someone was going to suffer dearly for this!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma was growing nervous. A handful of minutes had gone by. It was almost time for him to reverse the signal polarity, before the recall cycle began. This had to work. He needed help to deal with the boy, one so much smarter and stronger than the Ranma he was used to dealing with.

It was all for the good of the Anything-Goes School and its future success, after all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

"I've completed my analysis, Captain. The results are interesting."

"How so?"

"It seems that out of our entire crew compliment of eighty-two, there is only one among us with an analog on the tangent that this mystery signal comes from."

Captain Chow blinked. That was lower than she was expecting. "Who?"

"Ensign Shan was the only engramatic template among the crew database that was able to generate a positive response from my test pulse. This isn't too surprising, since there are one hundred and two different versions of the ensign out of the one hundred and eight member worlds of the Matriarchy. Individuals like her are extremely rare, as you can well imagine, Captain. I suppose it's even possible that the ensign here might even be fairly ubiquitous across all tangents, but that's only a theory. Regardless, it appears that she's the only option we have at present, and we have no idea how long that signal will continue to transmit into the tangent. This may be our only opportunity."

Ensign Shan turned from her console for a moment. She had not expected to be the only possibility among the crew, but she had known that she had a large number of analogs. She had even met a few of the other versions of herself at various diplomatic functions she had been required to attend with her mother, and she had been amazed at the great variety among them.

"I'm reluctant to order you to do something like this, Ensign," said Captain Chow thoughtfully. "So I hope you are willing to volunteer to see what is on the other end of that signal."

Ensign Shan double-checked that her station was secure, and then she took a breath and stood up, facing her captain. She saluted quickly, her right fist tight against her left breast. "For the Matriarchy."

Captain Chow stood up and returned the salute proudly in response to the young girl's bravery in the face of the unknown. Who knew what the other end of that signal held for her? "For the Matriarchy, Ensign Shan Pu."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Report status, Centurion," said Herb when he returned to the bridge. His thoughts felt a little fuzzy, an unfortunate side-effect of the engram recording. Ever since waking up from the procedure, something had felt wrong, a tickle at the back of his neck.

"Nothing to report, sir. All systems nominal."

The centurion's words did not soothe Herb. The nagging worry did not abate, feeling like a splinter in his mind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Now just relax, Ensign," said Doctor Gao, who had been brought in to monitor the procedure. "The recording will only take a few moments."

Shan Pu was certain she was not scared, such a feeling was unworthy of a soldier of the Solnoid Matriarchy, but there was a tremor of disquiet in her midsection, like butterflies bumping around inside her. Her thoughts turned to memories of home as the headset was fitted to her head, and her final night of shore leave.

It was just after graduation, and her classmates had wanted to blow off some steam and celebrate. So they had all gone down to the red light district near the port. As usual, Peh Fum had been the instigator of the event, and Shan Pu smiled at the thought of her best friend and fellow officer-trainee.

Shan Pu had been selecting a 'comfort male' to celebrate the evening with, in one of the port's many pleasure houses. A grinning Peh Fum had been helping a blushing Shan Pu choose. Unlike her more libidinous friend, she had never been to such a place before, and the pink-haired girl had been calmly assuring her on what she could expect from the experience, describing the pleasures in great detail. Several of their cadre mates had sworn that the comfort males there were the most handsome and athletic in the port, with many that were near their own age.

While the group had been boisterously deciding, Shan Pu had noticed a strangely dressed girl stealing food from their table, where the feast celebrating their graduation had been laid out. She would not soon forget that face. She had chased the girl into a nearby alley, furious at the thief's brazenness to steal from Solnoid soldiers like that. There she had been astonished to see that the strange girl had opened a quantum tunnel, and Shan Pu had quickly leaped at her, engaging her in a furious unarmed melee to prevent her from escaping. After a brief but fierce struggle, the girl had managed to knock her out with a powerful kick that slammed her into a wall.

A short time later, Peh Fum had found her in the alley and brought her back to the pleasure house, where her friend had picked out a handsome young man for her, and the evening had ended on a more enjoyable note. It had been Shan Pu's first time with a man, and he had been both a wonderful lover and pleasant company talking with afterwards. All in all, her last night of shore leave had been memorable, before she had to leave for her first assignment as a newly-commissioned officer.

What had been his name?

Oh, yes. Ranma.

She smiled at the memory of his name. Maybe she would look him up again the next time they returned home. After all, unlike some of the more radical extremist elements in the Matriarchy, which had grown more vocal as the war with the Musk had dragged on, Shan Pu had nothing at all against males in general, so long as they minded their place among those of the superior gender.

Before reporting in to the Huntress the next morning, she had consulted with one of the Sibylline Oracles about that strange girl, wondering if she would have a chance at revenge. The white-robed figure had closed her eyes as she held Shan Pu's hands, opening her inner vision to the future. She muttered a few words in Old Solnoid, and then told her that she would see that girl again. Though she didn't much believe in any of the Sibylline Order's reputed powers of divination, it was still a bit comforting to hear that. She was looking forward to having a rematch with the little thief.

"That's it, Ensign," said Doctor Gao, interrupting Shan Pu's musings as she removed the headset. "We've got a clean recording. Wait a few moments to get your bearings back, and then you can head back to the bridge."

Shan Pu watched as the fist-sized data cartridge was carried from the room. Such a small thing to hold memories of a life, she mused. She felt a sudden curiosity about the life that the copy of her engrams would be able to experience, when that recording was imprinted in her analog. What would she be like? What would she dream about?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Beginning transmission, Captain," said Lt. Ming as Shan Pu emerged from the lift.

Shan Pu paused, feeling an eerie sensation come over her. She stood at attention, waiting for the captain to acknowledge her.

"Transmission complete. No irregularities detected in the carrier wave. It was a remarkably clean transmission."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sir! Picking up a fluctuation in the carrier wave. There's another transmission piggybacking on to it from this end!"

Herb felt the tickling at the back of his neck intensify. "Raise shields!" he barked. "Arm positron cannons!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"They're raising shields, Captain."

"Fire!" Captain Chow then quickly whirled to face Lt. Ming. "Raise the shields!" She then turned to face Lt. Aoi. "Bring the engines up to full and give them everything we've got as we pass over their heads, where their shields are weaker. Begin evasive maneuvers and reposition us for another pass as soon as possible!"

Several decks below, the torpedo tubes belched forth fire as four very fast-moving streaks emerged and lanced away.

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"Incoming torpedoes! Brace for impact!"

Despite that warning, Herb was still nearly thrown from his seat when all four Solnoid torpedoes hit his vessel, ripping into the protective gravitic shielding before they could come up to full power. Alarm klaxons began going off loudly. He gnashed his teeth in rage.

"Return fire with all available batteries!" Herb shouted, furious that he had been taken off-guard like this. "Load port and starboard torpedo tubes!"

"Unable to calculate targeting solution," said the weapon's officer, ignoring a gash on his chin from when his face had hit the console in front of him only a moment before. "Firing in a sweep pattern."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Now it was the Huntress's turn to be rocked by enemy weapon's fire, even as she flew past the Musk vessel while blazing away with her heavy particle cannons. A loud klaxon went off as fires broke out from systems shorting out. One of the positron streams had managed to hit near one of the main power conduits, a lucky shot that disabled the cloak as it burned its way through various systems. Without it, her lighter shielding would not be able to resist a full fusillade of the Dragon Claw's firepower.

"Damage control reporting in, Captain," said Lt. Ming calmly. "We managed to get the shields up before they nailed us, but they've taken down our cloak. Fore and aft torpedo rooms report fully operational. Fire control reports fully operational. External communications are now down. Engine room reports some damage to the main drive. We can fight and still outmaneuver them, but we can't outrun the Muskys."

"Then reload all tubes and fire all weapons!" Captain Chow shouted, a dribble of blood rolling down her chin. She had bitten her tongue when the ship had been hit by the Dragon Claw's assault. She was dismayed to see that Lt. Aoi was reeling in her seat, her face a bloody mess from a section of bulkhead slamming into her head. She saw that Shan Pu had returned to the bridge. "Ensign Shan! Take the helm!"

Shan Pu hurried to obey, helping her injured crewmate from the chair and sliding into her place even as a medic emerged from the lift. Her nervousness was gone now as her many years of training took over, and she wheeled the Huntress up and past the Dragon Claw, noting with deep satisfaction that the enemy ship was belching flames from several rents in its hull as it leaked superheated atmosphere. She felt a surge as the rear tubes and particle mounts unloaded into the more lumbering bulk of the Dragon Claw.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This time, Herb was unable to avoid being thrown from his seat as his vessel was struck once more, the hull scored deeply as several of the Huntress's particle beams found their mark through the chinks in his depleted shielding. He howled his rage at the smaller, more nimble vessel as it turned to make another run on him.

"Port tubes one through three are damaged, sir." one centurion began to quickly rattle off a damage report. "Communications are down. We have major hull breaches on decks three, seven, and eight. Engineering reports that we are losing magnetic containment on the primary fusion bottle."

"Fire all weapons! Let those treacherous bitches die with us then!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Tubes emptied, Captain." Ensign Shan Pu reported their status with a professional calm, having taken weapon's control after Lt. Yim was killed by a shard of deck plating exploding upwards into her. Lt. Ming had been killed on a prior pass. Recharging the capacitors on forward mounts one and four. No response from two and three. The acrid smell of burning plastics and the sound of shorting components were all that greeted her in reply. Damage reports had been coming in less and less often as the life and death struggle had raged on between the two ships and had finally stopped coming in altogether.

"Captain?" Shan Pu turned to see why Captain Chow had not responded, then turned her head away from the sight that greeted her gaze. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. The smell of death was in the air, and she knew now that she was going to die soon.

So be it, she thought, her expression hardening. The enemy would not win this battle. She was Shan Pu, daughter of the great hero Ko Em and born of the blood of the revered Admiral Ko Lon. She was a Solnoid warrior, and it was a good day to die. Her only regret was that the Oracle's prediction would not come true.

"Tube one reloaded," she muttered to herself, uncertain if anyone was still alive down there, or if it had only been the automatic systems doing it. There was no response from any of the other tubes, fore or aft. "Maneuvering to fire."

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Herb could no longer see out of one of his eyes, and his arm was now in a makeshift sling. His bridge crewmen were all dead, as well as most of his other crew, and the ship was barely operating on its secondary fusion bottle now, which was failing. A single blinking light was on the helm control in front of him. He had enough charge built up for one more shot from his main positron cannon as he saw the Solnoid ship begin its next attack run, the enemy vessel looking as fatally damaged as his own. Their struggle to the death was coming to its conclusion.

A line from an old story he had once read on some conquered tangent came to his mind.

"From Hell's heart I stab at thee," Herb muttered, coughing up some blood.

Smacking the firing button with his palm, he imagined he could hear the capacitors in the bowels of the ship discharging one last time across the vacuum of space. No one would ever know of his glory here this day, he mused in annoyance. There had not been a chance to transmit their findings, so he could only hope that his distant analog could find a way to notify the homeworld.

Herb smiled wolfishly as he saw the beam rip through the other vessel's hull, his face a mask of blood as he muttered, "For hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee."

He howled his defiance as he saw the Solnoid vessel's torpedo heading right at him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shan Pu felt the Huntress rock around her as the Musk vessel's main cannon coughed up one last blast to ravage her with. Luckily, she had already fired her remaining functional tube before the connection was severed by the energy tearing though the ship's superstructure, and the torpedo was streaking eagerly away at her prey. She tasted blood in her mouth, feeling regret that none of her sisters would ever sing of her glory.

She had a momentary satisfaction at seeing the Musk vessel suddenly explode into a ball of expanding debris and plasma flame, and then the Huntress's main fusion bottle finally lost its own containment.

For a brief moment, the dark side of the moon was lit by two actinic flares of light that swiftly faded into nothingness.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Shan Pu blinked as her eyes suddenly came back into focus, and she swayed slightly on her feet before quickly regaining her balance. She glanced down and noted she was dressed in a sweat-dampened, dark blue T-shirt over a sports bra, the shirt tucked into the waistband of her light purple silk pants. Each of her hands was wrapped with tape, and her feet were bare. A heavy leather bag was in front of her, one that her analog had apparently been punching and kicking for some time, judging by the feel of her shoulders and thighs.

"Hey, why'd you stop?" asked Running Deer, peeking around the bag she had been bracing against the Amazon's furious assault. Shampoo was normally good for another twenty minutes before she needed to take a breather like this.

The young ensign felt a sudden rush of memories assail her, from a life that she had never lived. Her other self was from a small village in China. A village of Amazons, actually, who followed ancient laws and customs that went back thousands of years, almost like a miniature version of the Solnoid Matriarchy in operation. One of the tribal laws caught her attention, one that promoted a rather simple but practical eugenics program on one hand, and a harsh response to defeat by an outsider female on the other.

A blur of more images flashed across her awareness, and she struggled to absorb them. She only managed to glean bits and pieces for now. The rest would come later, over time.

Cocking her head slightly to one side, she was astonished at the sudden wealth of new experiences becoming available to her. Her analog here was a powerful fighter, a martial artist of great skill and strength that had left her village months ago to win glory for her people among their Japanese conquerors. She had remained undefeated ever since, battling her way up through the rankings to wind up here, the Imperial Arena in Tokyo. She set that aside for the moment and began launching punches and kicks into the bag, quickly settling into a smooth rhythm as she dealt out powerful blows, testing herself.

Her body responded to her with a level of fluid grace and strength that left her filled with wonder. A grin grew on her face as she pummeled the heavy bag more and more furiously, her fists driving hard into it relentlessly. After a long time, feeling sweat dripping down her body, she finally stopped and took a brief breather, slowly rotating her right arm and then her left in their shoulder sockets to cool down, already feeling her endurance beginning to rebuild.

Running Deer watched Shampoo curiously. The Amazon seemed a little out of it today for some reason; although it hadn't diminished her power any. She briefly noted a thin stream of sand pouring from the seams of the bag and whistled a single note softly.

Ignoring Running Deer for the moment, the displaced ensign walked over to study herself more closely in the full-length mirrors on the walls, taking stock as her breathing gradually slowed. She was a little startled to realize that she seemed both somewhat taller and better built here. She studied herself more intently, noting with pleasure the solid muscular definition underlying her very shapely figure. A much more detailed inventory could wait until later, in private, but she would stack her new physique against that of anyone her age back home in the Matriarchy, both in beauty and physical might. Her analog here had worked hard to build this body to an amazing level of fitness and combat readiness.

She turned to face the now-familiar girl she suddenly recalled was named Running Deer, her best friend here, as well as a fellow fighter in the Imperial Arena. She smiled brightly.

"Shampoo fine. Shampoo feel great." She suddenly felt very odd as she realized she was speaking Japanese and not very well. Her name also felt a little odd to say mispronounced like that, but she could adapt to that.

It was not encouraging to her as she recalled that she had always been slow at picking up new languages. Why couldn't the dominant language on this world have been Solnoid? That was the main language used across the many worlds of the Matriarchy. Or her native tongue, Mandarin? Or even her one language elective that she had taken during her training, English? If it had been any one of those, then she could speak more normally. But since it was Japanese, it looked like she was going to be speaking this pidgin version of the language for a long, long while.

"That's good," said Running Deer with a grin, tossing Shampoo a towel. "Could you spot me? I still need to do a few sets with the weights."

"Sure." Shampoo wiped the sweat from her face. She wondered how long it would take before she felt completely at home. She could only recall a few things from her classes on resonator technology. Over a period of time the two sets of memories would eventually merge, even on emotional and subconscious levels. In a sense, they evolved together into a new individual that was more or less a mixture of the two, with whichever was the strongest personality dominating the gestalt and absorbing elements of the other.

She wasn't concerned about that. The merger had already begun for her, and it wasn't as if she was going to forget anything from either life. Nothing would be lost, and her two selves offered each other a richness of experience that made them both more complete. In a certain sense, she was already Shampoo, the Chinese Amazon, but she remembered being Ensign Shan Pu, a trained soldier of the Solnoid Matriarchy that had been sent here on a mission. She caught herself briefly wondering what that ensign was doing now, then decided that such thoughts would only make her feel homesick. Besides, she had a job to do here, and the Matriarchy would be watching for her signal, once Captain Chow reported their findings.

What did concern her was finding the source of that resonator signal on this world before the Muskys did. She was little more than a glorified prizefighter here, on a world ruled by feral males. She was going to have to give some thought to the matter and work out some kind of a strategy. For the time being, she would simply act as her other self would normally act and try to learn more about her new home until an idea presented itself.

Her fervent hope was that the Muskys were even more disadvantaged by the status of their analogs on this world than she had been.

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Herb sat heavily on the cot, vaguely realizing that she was in a cell of some sort, but that wasn't very important right now. This analog was female! How could such a thing have happened? The white-haired girl's attention seemed to be focused on her breasts, having ripped open her top to stare down at them in shame and disgust.

"I was a prince of the Musk Dynasty, a warrior of the master race," Herb muttered scornfully to herself. "Now look at me, trapped in the body of a lowly female." Somewhere, she was certain that the gods were laughing, and rage filled her soul, a dark, seething fury at her other self, probably now enjoying a glass of wine in his comfortable cabin on the Dragon Claw and writing up his report. Meanwhile, a copy of his memories was implanted in this body, a form that would be held utterly valueless among the Musk for anything other than breeding stock or pleasuring a male.

Herb began to laugh, a low, melodious sound, filled with as much venom as mirth. Someone was going to pay for this, and pay dearly in blood and pain. She would see to it.

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Genma tapped away at the keyboard in front of him, even as he kept one eye on his apparently slumbering companion. Time was almost up, and he could not wait any longer to commit his deed. He pressed the enter key and watched the screen.

* REVERSING COIL POLARITY

The timer ticked away its last moments, and then the computer's voice spoke once again. "Retrieval cycle complete."

Genma watched expectantly as Soun opened his eyes.

Soun felt odd. The last thing he remembered was drinking heavily and dreaming of how he would take his revenge on Genma Saotome for breaking a promise between men. There was also the matter of that little punk Genma called a son, breaking his daughter's heart and running off with that Chinese girl.

Blinking his eyes open, Soun felt remarkably refreshed, without even a trace of a hangover. Then he saw Genma Saotome standing there before him, and his eyes narrowed. He started to say something before he quickly realized that he was gagged, not to mention tied to a chair.

Genma could not tell for sure which version of Soun he had, so he felt a test was in order. He grinned and spoke one word.

"Happosai."

Soun's eyes seemed to double in size, and he glanced quickly from one side to the other, frantically searching for the Master. Had Genma finally gone insane? He craned his neck around.

"Welcome to your new life, Tendo-kun," said Genma with a grin, undoing the bonds that held Soun tied to the chair. "You and I have a lot to talk ab- urk!"

Soun surged up from the chair, his hands tightly wrapped around Genma's throat. They grappled, Genma struggling to free himself enough to get a breath even as Soun, with manic strength, slammed him back against the lab table. Genma heard a crash behind him as the resonator fell to shatter its innards on the concrete floor.

"C-can't... b-breathe," Genma managed to get out, his back feeling like it was breaking as Soun seemed to be doing his level best to kill him. Had the resonator driven his friend insane? Was it still that other Soun?

"Mmf! MMMFFF!" was the only sound that Soun made, as all his pent up rage seemed to explode out of him at once. His visage began to inflate and grow horrifying as he manifested his infamous Demon Head attack.

Genma, in desperation, drove a knee into Soun's stomach, repeating it a second time when the first didn't seem to yield much of a result. That managed to weaken Soun's grip enough that he could take a breath and get back some leverage. The two began trading body blows like a pair of punch drunken prizefighters, Soun too far gone in his anger to fight very effectively, and Genma already too winded from nearly being choked to death.

Soun's head snapped to one side from one of Genma's punches, staggering him a bit. His body felt like it was weighted down with cement. Had he fallen so far out of shape so quickly? He backed off a bit from Genma, hearing a thundering in his ears. Seeing that Genma was not going to press him, he took a moment to reach up and removed the gag in his mouth. It came out bloody.

"What is the matter with you, Tendo-kun?" Genma demanded, seeing that the madness seemed to be fading from his friend's eyes.

"How dare you ask me what the matter is, Genma Saotome?" Soun growled out, momentarily imitating Ryoga. "Because of you, I've seen Hell!"

"What are you babbling about, Tendo-kun?" Genma was bewildered now. Had he missed and gotten the wrong world? He had double and triple-checked his figures against the boy's notes.

"You broke the engagement between Ranma and Akane!"

Genma was startled. What had happened there since he had found himself here? And why would his other self break the engagement? There was nowhere else for them to go, since going back to Nodoka on that world was utterly impossible, not while the boy's body was cursed like that.

Soun suddenly held his head, his rage having held back the flood of new memories now engulfing him. They surged over him like a tsunami. He was lost among them for several moments, remembering a life that was not his own, but one that he suddenly was intimately aware of. He glanced up at Genma when they briefly receded, confusion in his gaze.

"Tendo-kun," Genma said gently. "It's okay. Let the memories settle. Take your time."

Soun started remembering things vividly, in a fractured, random way. He remembered when he was promoted to Assistant Director. He saw the day Nabiki was accepted by the Imperial Academy. He recalled the first time he kissed his wife. All these moments and more washed over him.

"Saotome-kun, what-? What is all this?"

"It's a new start, Tendo-kun." Genma gave Soun a hug, and then clapped him on the back. "Welcome to a world without Happosai, for starters."

After calming Soun back down from his brief fright at the mere mention of their old master, the two began to talk. While they were talking, and as Soun became ever more amazed at all that he was now hearing and remembering, his cellphone suddenly rang. He pulled it out and flipped it open.

"Tendo here," he said reflexively.

"Sir, it's been nearly forty minutes," came the voice of his driver. I was getting concerned."

"We'll be down shortly." He then shut the cellphone without waiting to hear the other man's response. He flashed a grin at Genma.

"It's a damn shame that only the boy knows the Anything-Goes School," said Genma with a shake of his head. "It would have been perfect if one of your daughters had managed to pick them up like the boy did. I wish we could have run one of them through the device, if you hadn't broken it trying to kill me."

Soun suddenly flashed on an unexpected memory, seeing Nabiki doing her morning training, her movements showing knowledge of the Anything-Goes School. That had been a few weeks ago. He started to chuckle.

"Saotome-kun, there's something I need to tell you." And Soun began to describe the techniques he could recall Nabiki using, as both men began to grin widely. When it was over, they clasped hands.

"Nothing can stop us from uniting the schools together now!" they both shouted, and then they embraced, laughing jovially together.

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Soun felt odd, sitting there eating the meal that Kasumi prepared, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The two of them were alone, since Nabiki was still off at school, and Akane was off on a training trip of some sort. Soun was a little vague on the details, but he did feel a sense of anticipation for when Akane was finished.

"How are you feeling, Father?" Kasumi ventured, somewhat shyly.

Soun glanced at Kasumi and replied in a gentle tone, "I'm fine, Kasumi. Thank you for asking." He set his rice bowl down, feeling his stomach gurgling slightly as it adjusted to having some solid food within it once again. The meal had been excellent. But now that his belly was full, he felt an intense craving for a cigarette. He held it off.

"Kasumi." He noticed the girl jump slightly when he said her name suddenly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's all right, Father," she replied with a smile, one that reminded him so much of his own Kasumi. "I've just been a little bit on edge of late, I guess." She started to stand. "If you're finished, I can get the table cleaned off."

Soun wasn't sure how to respond other than with a nod, watching the girl get up and begin clearing dishes. He was a stranger in a strange land here, and it was paradoxically made even stranger by the fact that it all seemed so ordinary to him on a certain level. Everything around him had changed, and even the Emperor he had sworn to serve did not sit on the throne here, on this altered world. For a man who had devoted his life to his Imperial Majesty's secret service, that realization was disconcerting.

He had been giving some thought as to how he would approach Professor Saotome. A straightforward approach looked like his least complicated option. Standing up, he went into the kitchen, seeing Kasumi washing dishes. She turned to look at him.

"I'm going out for a while, Kasumi."

"How long will you be gone, Father?" She turned off the water and picked up a towel, beginning to wipe her hands.

"I might be late. Don't worry about holding dinner for me." He turned and walked out.

Kasumi was troubled. It was good to see him up and about like this, to see his spirit returning, but there was something off about how he was acting. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. After a few moments, she shrugged. With him out of the house, it would give her a chance to clean his room.

Turning to the sink again, she turned the water back on and began to wash dishes. There was a hidden hope within her that things might be finally getting better. She hadn't liked the mood in the house over the last several days. It all felt wrong to her, but she wondered how much of her disquiet had been caused by Shampoo's leaving.

Kasumi turned the water off, surprised at the direction her thoughts had gone. She shook her head. She was being silly. Shampoo had left with Ranma and his father, and he wasn't- She wasn't coming back, she quickly amended, feeling strange again. Shampoo was a girl, despite her curse, so it was a little confusing for Kasumi to realize that she also missed the presence of that male aspect of her friend.

The dirty dishes still in the sink weren't going to clean themselves, she noticed after a moment. She began washing them, her thoughts going back to more comfortable territory as she consulted her mental list of chores that needed to be done. That made her feel better.

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Genma sat and stared at the tea leaves in his cup, enjoying a quiet moment before he headed home for the evening, half listening to the television news report of a strange light flare from the dark side of the moon that had just been seen, and speculations on what might have caused it. Things were slowly getting better with rebuilding this Ranma's trust in his father, but it was emotionally draining to keep holding the truth back from those around him. He held hope that his son would be contacting him soon, and he could soon leave this place.

Someone slid into the seat next to his, and he froze when the man spoke to him suddenly.

"Hello, Professor Saotome," Soun said in somewhat accented German, knowing from the man's file that he spoke it passably well. If he was wrong about this, he wasn't sure what he would do.

Genma blinked, turning to stare at the man seated next to him, wearing a slightly ill-fitting suit and tie, both a few years out of fashion. "Uh, what?" He glanced around, wondering what was going on. Why was Soun Tendo here? Was he after some kind of revenge for the broken engagement? Then the words finally sank in.

German. Soun Tendo had just addressed him in German. Even more oddly, he had called him 'Professor Saotome.'

"I said hello, Professor," said Soun. "Do you understand me?" He was starting to get a sinking feeling. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe that other Genma had lied to him after all.

Genma wasn't sure what to do. Alarm bells were going off in his mind. He swallowed some of his tea before speaking. "I understand you." He paused as Soun relaxed a little, deciding to play a hunch. "It looks like both of us are a long way from home, Assistant Director Tendo."

Soun let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. He gave Genma a relieved look. "It appears so, Professor. If you have some time, you and I should talk.."

"Yes," Genma said with growing concern. "Is this about my son? Has something happened to Ranma?" He paused and lowered his voice. "Is that why you're here?"

Soun picked up his fedora and tugged it down slightly on to his head. He got up from his seat. He felt nervous talking in such a public place. Ranma's device had caused him to wonder who else might not be who they appeared to be. The potential for espionage was incalculable.

"Come with me, Professor. Your boy is fine, as far as I know."

Genma followed Soun out into the street. They merged into the late afternoon crowd on the sidewalk, walking together. They walked side by side for a time, both of them lost in thought. Soun was the first to break the silence.

"We have a common problem, Professor," said Soun, shifting back to Japanese. "You and I are both stuck here." He waved his hand a bit at the street scene surrounding them.

"What? How?"

"Your... counterpart," said Soun, pausing for a moment to find a proper word. "He knocked me out, strapped me into a chair, and then he hooked me up to some kind of device he had in his lab at the Science Ministry. He told me who he was, and then the next thing I knew, I was here."

Genma felt sick for a moment, and he leaned against a lamppost. "I'm so sorry, Tendo-kun. Uh, I mean, Tendo-san."

"We need to contact your son, Professor," said Soun, looking squarely at Genma. "Without his help, you and I will probably be here for the rest of our lives, and I don't relish that thought." He held out his hand. "I know you have very little reason to trust me, to trust either version of me, but I'd like to work together with you and your son to get our real lives back. Are you with me?"

After a moment of hesitation, Genma took Soun's hand and shook it firmly. "I'm with you, Tendo-san."

On a nearby rooftop, Ranma studied the scene in confusion. What was Mr. Tendo doing down there with his father? Something was up, and it left him feeling confused and more than a little betrayed. What was going on?

"Damn you, Pop," Ranma muttered. "Just when I was starting to trust you again, old man."

Feeling hurt and angry, Ranma turned from the scene and left quickly. He had to think about this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Genma was feeling pleasantly mellow. He grinned at Soun, the two of them having eventually ended up in a small restaurant near their homes, quietly discussing their plans for the future. Soun's initial doubts over leaving his family behind had been mollified by Genma reminding him that his other self would take care of them, and that his daughters were still around him in a sense.

"Here's to the future, Saotome-kun," said Soun contentedly, raising his glass of beer and clinking it with Genma's. He drank lightly, wanting to keep his wits about him. His gaze had occasionally been drawn to the proprietress of the establishment, a handsome figure of a woman, and he didn't want to make a fool of himself. She seemed to be taking an interest in their conversation for some reason, but then he decided that he was just being paranoid. What possible interest would the woman have in listening to two men discussing plans for uniting their families?

Yumi poured some batter on the griddle as she glanced over at the two men in the corner booth. She had heard the bald one mention the name Ranma loudly, piquing her interest, and so she had been watching them off and on while they talked together for the past hour. Ukyo would be home from school soon, and she was curious to hear how her niece's day went. Today had been rather dull, so spying on the two men was giving her something interesting to do, as well as being good practice for her lip-reading skills.

Letting his gaze drift back to the woman serving okonomiyaki behind the counter, Soun took another sip of his beer. The food had been some of the best he had ever tasted, and there was something about the woman that kept drawing his eye. Maybe it was how she carried herself, he mused, noting the easy grace in her movements that marked a skilled fighter. It reminded him a bit of how Kimiko had been in this world. His mouth went dry when she unexpectedly gave him a smile as his gaze met hers. He hurriedly went back to drinking his beer.

"Anything more I can get you gentlemen?" Yumi asked, walking over to their table after serving the beef okonomiyaki she had just prepared for a customer at the counter. She smiled at them both, with a touch more warmth directed Soun's way. It was gratifying to her ego to see the interest in the man's eyes, even if he was trying hard not to show it.

"Uh, nothing for me," Soun replied, taking another quick sip of his beer. "The food was excellent."

"The best in town, sugar." Yumi smiled in a friendly way at Soun, and then moved her gaze over to Genma, her tone cooling a tiny bit. "How about you?"

"I'm fine," Genma replied, glancing up at Yumi and then back down to his plate again. There was something nagging at his brain about this place, but it refused to come to him. "The beer's really good."

Yumi felt her temper flare up a little bit at that comment, her pride stung at the man's offhanded comment on her cooking. She turned and gave Soun another smile. "You let me know if I can do anything else for you, sugar." Turning, she strolled back to her usual spot behind the counter, putting a bit of a sashay into her stride for Soun's benefit.

"That's quite a woman, eh, Saotome-kun?" Soun reluctantly pulled his gaze away from watching Yumi when she was back behind the counter and her attention was now busy with a knot of customers that had come in.

"Eh?" Genma glanced over at Yumi, as if just noticing her for the first time. "Too mannish in her build for my tastes." He took a drink of his beer, neither of them noticing the sudden glance his direction that Yumi cast him, her gaze frosty.

Yumi watched the pair finish their late lunch and leave, giving Soun another smile as he passed by her. "Thank you. Come again, sugar." Genma received a more neutral look.

Reviewing their conversation in her mind as she went on to serve more customers, Yumi decided that she must have been imagining things. The family name Saotome was fairly common in Tokyo, so it probably didn't have anything to do with Ranma. It was also pretty hard to believe that a nice kid like her niece's fiancé could have a jerk like that Genma guy as his father.

Still, for Ukyo's sake, she decided to investigate Ranma's family a bit, maybe say hi to the boy's mother. They were going to be family soon enough after all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm home!"

Ryoko slipped off her shoes and set down her backpack, leaning it against the wall. Behind her, Ryoga kicked off his own shoes and also slid his own backpack off his shoulders. He held it with one hand, a bit reluctant to let go of it.

"Welcome back, Ryoko-chan," said Achika, just before she stepped out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. She looked at Ryoga, not quite sure what to make of his presence. She turned her gaze back to Achika. "Uh, you're just in time to help me prepare dinner." She looked at Ryoga again. "Who might you be?"

"Oh, this is Ryoga, Mom," Ryoko said quickly. "Ryoga Hibiki. He and I met on the road while I was off training."

Achika felt a little faint. Her wayward daughter had been travelling alone with a boy? She dried her hands a bit more, uncertain what else to do with them. All kinds of scenarios flashed through her mind, none of them very pleasant to her.

"Is it all right if Ryoga stays here for a few days, Mom?" Ryoko eyed her mother, uncertain what to make of the looks that she was giving to Ryoga. "Uh, I told him it would be okay. He's looking for someone here in Tokyo, and then he'll be on his way."

"I-I suppose so," said Achika, having sudden visions of her daughter and this vagabond she had brought home with her. She had obviously been too lenient with Ryoko, but she couldn't find it within herself to toss the boy out on the street, as tempting as that was.

"Great! Thanks, Mom!" Ryoko almost skipped past her mother, her pack slung over one shoulder as she headed for her room. She turned back to face Ryoga, a grin on her face. "Come on, Hibiki. I'll show you where everything is."

Achika watched the pair head upstairs and thought. Now that Ryoko was back home, a talk with Nodoka seemed like a very good idea. The girl had been alone with this Ryoga boy for days, maybe even weeks. Who knows what could have happened between them out on the road? As she headed back into the kitchen, Achika decided to talk with Nodoka as soon as possible. Perhaps Ranma would be just the stabilizing sort of influence that Ryoko needed.

The more she thought of it, the better that idea sounded. Luckily, the boy wasn't officially engaged to anyone yet, or Nodoka would have told her. So she still had time to arrange something with her oldest and best friend. That eased her mind a little, since she was fairly well certain Nodoka would be amenable to the idea.

Besides, Ryoko Saotome had a nice sound to it.

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The shop was one of the trendier yet less expensive clothing stores in the area around Ohtori Academy. Since this region of Greater Tokyo had a sizable portion of the wealthy and the powerful living there, fashion was a large market. After all, no one with money wanted to be seen wearing last year's styles, so a brisk business was done in such trade. But for those who could not afford prices starting in the million yen range and up for a single outfit, shops like this offered relatively inexpensive knockoffs for the middle-class.

Utena turned around slowly in front of the mirror and considered how she appeared in the light blue dress she was wearing. Slender straps held the silk cloth of the gathered décolletage up over her breasts, exposing only the tops of their swell and a bit of cleavage, even while it plunged low in the back, almost to her derriere. The skirt region fell well below her knees, and it showed off the calves of her long, coltish legs rather nicely. A matching pair of high-heeled shoes completed the ensemble.

"I don't know," she said, looking at her friends, Anthy and Wakaba, feeling uncertain. "It seems a little," she paused and searched for a word, even while she turned and looked over how it looked from the rear. "Uh, revealing? It also feels sort of drafty."

"I think it looks quite nice on you, Utena," Anthy said with a smile.

Wakaba hopped up to her feet from the chair she had been sitting in. "Well, you can't go to the dance in pants and a jacket." She set her hands on her hips and strolled around Utena, humming thoughtfully now and then. But then she suddenly gave her friend a hug, practically hanging on to the pink-haired girl. "Still, if you want to skip it and go do something with me instead, I'm available."

"Ack!" Utena quickly shrugged Wakaba off, embarrassed at how they appeared to the other patrons. "N-no, that's all right. I made this date with Ranma, and I'm going to keep it."

"Just what do you see in this guy, anyway?" Wakaba asked, sounding a bit jealous. "I mean, you've never paid any sort of attention to boys before, Utena. Not like this. I mean, you're buying a dress to wear on a date with him. That's not the Utena Tenjou I'm familiar with." Then she grinned and waved her hand in the air. "After all, you're the Prince of Ohtori, far superior to any mere male of the species. And there's never been one that can keep up with you in any sort of sport before, or fighting, not even Kiryu-senpai. So why this one? Is it just because he beat you in the match you had with him?"

Utena blushed. "I-I don't know. But there's something about him. He just seems like such a nice guy. But he's strong, too. I mean, if he beat me, he could beat anyone at Ohtori, even my two closest rivals, Juri and Touga. I've never met a guy before who was both strong and nice at the same time."

"What are you, an Amazon like that overbuilt barbarian bimbo that fights in the Arena?" Wakabe said, looking shocked. She then grabbed Utena by the arm, hugging it. "You have me, so what do you need with some guy?"

Anthy spoke up. "Well, I think Utena might have feelings for him. She's been talking about him in her sleep the past few days."

"Th-that's just because I'm nervous about the dance," she blurted out, then looked down at herself. "Especially in a dress like this one. I mean, what would he think, seeing me in it?" She turned around again, noting how the dress seemed to give her a more womanly appearance while showing off the sleek muscles underlying her skin. "Do you think Ranma will like it?"

Wakaba sighed. "Wearing a dress like that, he won't be the only guy who likes seeing you in it." There was a pause, and then she turned away. "Or wants to see you out of it," she muttered in very low tones.

"That's true," Anthy nodded. "You look quite beautiful in it, Utena."

The pink-haired girl turned to look at her reflection one more time. Her expression firmed. "Then I'm buying it. And the shoes, too."

Anthy clapped happily. Wakaba shrugged, defeated for now.

The dance at Ohtori was only a little over a week away now, and Utena Tenjou was armed and ready for it. Unlike their last encounter, Ranma Saotome wouldn't know what hit him this time.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.

Another special thanks goes out to DB Sommer, whose many side-stories set in this universe are one of the reasons I kept writing. Kudos!


	20. Of Cats And Women

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

A soft breeze blew gently from the east across the grassy, sunlit plateau as Shampoo thrust her foot up into the air, the cloth of her pants rustling crisply at her kick. She held that pose for a single moment, her body perfectly poised as she balanced on her other foot, holding her right leg at nearly full extension. The blow would have shattered a ribcage, if there had been a foe at the receiving end.

A moment later, she began executing a dazzling series of moves, weaving through punches, elbow strikes, kicks, blocks, parries and evasions in a flowing blur of motion. Her fists and feet struck outwards all around her with precision and power, mingling linear and circular techniques together into a single, graceful stream of movement, driving her blows without a hint of wasted energy.

Finishing the exercise, Shampoo came to a rest, bringing the palms of her hands together as if in prayer, her head slightly bowed. Her own mother had taught her the core movements of the exercise many years ago, back when she had first learned to walk, for it was the way of her people to begin training children how to fight from a young age. Such traditions kept the village strong. Shampoo often used it to find her center whenever she felt troubled by anything.

A short distance away, Ensign Shan Pu sat on a smooth boulder, having watched Shampoo go through the exercise. It was identical to one she had once seen used before at a martial arts demonstration given at the Academy by some of the Joketsuzoku Sisterhood, an all-female order of warrior-mystics founded some three thousand years ago, back when the Matriarchy first flowered on her Earth. It saddened her a bit, to see the Joketsuzoku here reduced to little more than a feeble remnant of the Matriarchy's greatness that she remembered, sidelined in favor of a male-dominated paradigm by some cruel vagary of this world's history.

"You are being very quiet," Shampoo said suddenly in Chinese, opening her eyes and looking at her uniformed twin.

"I was just thinking."

"About what?" Shampoo began another combat exercise as she spoke, one that brought in techniques from the many styles she had come into contact with through her time in the Arena. She managed to seamlessly flow them together, a sign of how far her skills had improved since leaving her village and learning more about the martial arts than she had ever before imagined was available to learn from the world outside its walls.

"I suppose I'm feeling guilty for invading your life." Ensign Shan looked down at her hands folded in her lap. They were strong hands, a skilled warrior's hands. At the Academy, she had been the very best barehanded fighter in her training class, but she knew in her heart that her skill was barely a quarter of that possessed by her analog.

The girl wearing her face, her analog currently moving with such a level of power and grace through combat techniques that it left the young ensign feeling awed, had done so much more with her life than she ever had. As the eldest daughter of a decorated general like Ko Em and the great-granddaughter of a legendary tactician like Ko Lon, she had ridden those coattails into a slot at the officer's academy. She did exactly what was expected of her to do. Even joining the military had been her mother's choice for her, not her own.

That was not true of the Arena fighter known Empire-wide as Shampoo. This girl was so much stronger and mentally tougher than the young ensign, and she was much more mature. The Amazon's many brutal battles on her path to Tokyo's Arena had forged her into something far greater than she had once been. Her great-grandmother may have originally given her the goal of becoming a citizen, but Shampoo had made that goal her own and remade herself along the way.

Now she was within sight of her goal to become a citizen of the Empire.

What had Ensign Shan Pu ever done with her own life to compare?

Shampoo laughed briefly, startling the brooding ensign. "Mirror Girl is too, too silly," she said, briefly shifting to Japanese in her mirth.

"Silly? What do you mean?" The young ensign looked at her other self, startled at the response to her words. Why wasn't she mad?

Shampoo paused in her exercise and looked at the other girl with a serious expression on her face. "How could I refuse to help an Amazon sister?"

Ensign Shan was surprised again at Shampoo's words. "But I'm not an Amazon. Not really."

"You come from a collection of worlds where women rule over men, and you don't think you're an Amazon?" Shampoo grinned for a moment, and then her face lapsed into a serious look again. "I forgive you your trespass, my other self. Together, we will carry out the task you were given."

Ensign Shan was stunned at the ease of Shampoo's acceptance. It took her a few moments to find her voice again. "Thank you."

Shampoo sat down on a boulder in a lotus position. "Tell me more about this Matriarchy of yours."

Ensign Shan began to speak. "Well, according to our best records, it all began some three thousand years ago, when a Solnoid vessel with its crew in cold sleep crash-landed in ancient China..."

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Shampoo woke to a rolling sound of thunder, hearing rain slashing wetly at the window. For a moment, she thought she was back in the village, and she wondered why her great-grandmother had let her sleep in so late in the morning. Then she blinked quite suddenly and sat up, her silk negligee falling open in front a bit as she turned back her covers and rolled out of her bed into a sitting position on its edge. Her bare feet came to rest on the smooth hardwood floor of her modest apartment, one with a view overlooking Tokyo's fabulous Imperial Battledome. It was on a floor far above the dormitory levels where most fighters lived and shared quarters, a courtesy of the Arena for one of her high status in the rankings.

She sat there, feeling confused for a moment before her thoughts began clearing now that she was awake. She was Shampoo, a Joketsuzoku Amazon warrior, an undefeated fighter with well over a hundred sanctioned Arena matches to her name. After the initial resonator-induced merger of two consciousnesses, she had viewed herself as Ensign Shan, but that was no longer true. As the memories of two lives slid together into a semblance of order, her Amazon identity re-emerged as the dominant one.

Shampoo stood up, shaking her head slightly. She still remembered once being Ensign Shan, but those memories seemed less important to her, less vivid than those of her life here. She blinked for a moment as a slight case of vertigo assailed her. Merger was always an uncertain process, she recalled from one of Ensign Shan's classes, and the human mind was a very complex instrument.

Stripping off her negligee as she headed for the bathroom, Shampoo tossed it into the hamper basket by the door, pausing for a moment next to it to slide off her panties and drop them in as well. Standing up straight, she flipped her long hair back out of her eyes with a hand, thinking to braid it today for a change of pace, especially since she had a match to fight tonight. The crowd loved it for some reason whenever she wore her hair in a braid, since she sometimes used it to taunt her opponents.

Stepping into the bathroom, she stopped before the full-length dressing mirror and took a few moments to admire her figure and its shapeliness, from the generously endowed but youthfully firm breasts set high on her chest, down to her trimly muscular, long legs. She smiled coyly as she slowly turned about in place, looking herself over. She experienced another brief flutter of vertigo at the sight and decided that a hot shower would help her put things back into proper perspective. She reached into the shower stall and twisted the knob over to the right, stepping under the steaming stream when it reached the temperature she liked.

Shampoo's thoughts briefly drifted to Ryu Kumon while she lathered up her hair and body with a lavender-scented soap, her favorite fragrance. After feeling that initial flare of attraction towards him, she had been disappointed when he hadn't proven himself strong enough to defeat her in battle. After months of hearing Running Deer and some of the other girls that competed in the Arena talk about their boyfriends (or male conquests in certain cases), she felt a bit left out. While she was an Amazon, and as fierce a combatant as any other fighter in the Arena, she carried within her the same dreams of someday finding love that any other girl did. However, the main difference between her dream mate and theirs was that the man she chose had to first prove himself strong enough to be worthy of her love.

After all, her own mother had found such a man in her own father, who was acknowledged as the strongest man in their village, earning her mother great honor and respect for having taken such a good husband to father her children. But, unlike almost every other couple in the village, after her parents had wed, her mother had never domesticated her father into being a proper Amazon husband, preferring an element of untamed freedom in her chosen man, which was scandalous to the more conservative members of the tribe. Theirs was more or less an equal sort of partnership, and the happiness they shared together had left a deep impression on Shampoo.

That was why, when she was still a very young girl, she had vowed that she too would find a man to marry who was strong like her father, to have a man who could stand at her side instead of a pace behind her, like the typical servile male that most other Amazons turned their husbands into. That being said, she hoped she found him soon, so she could finally end her nights of sleeping alone. She had managed to hold off her frustrated sexual desires up until now by maintaining a rigorous training regimen, but it didn't help her peace of mind any to now have Ensign Shan's memories of bedding a comfort male, an erotic reminder of what she was missing by not having a mate to call her own.

While she rinsed the soap from her body and hair with jets of hot water from the sprayer, Shampoo's hand brushed across the tiny bump of the contraceptive implant on the inside of her upper arm. She had ceased noticing it some time ago, and only noticed it now because of her new awareness of even the smallest aspects of her own life. Such implants were a mandatory birth control method in the Empire for all unmarried persons starting at the age of thirteen, slowly dissolving away over time and requiring replacement every three years. But her village was so remote that she had not received hers until she had first arrived at Tokyo's Battledome. That she was still a virgin despite its presence was by her own choice, a part of the oath she had sworn to herself when she was younger, to wait and yield up her virginity only to the man who could defeat her, to honor him with it when she claimed him as her husband.

With Ensign Shan's memories now mingled with her own, Shampoo now knew better what she had been denying herself. Before, she had only known about the pleasures shared between a man and a woman in an abstract sort of way, through the occasional stories that some of the other girls had told her about what it was like to have intimate relations with a man. Even back home in her village, some of the older girls had bragged about their experiences with the local boys, leaving a younger Shampoo to wonder about what it would feel like to bed one. And while her mother had told her the mechanics of what to expect, hearing about it and feeling it were two entirely different things.

Such thoughts of home and her mother caused her mind to drift off into pleasant imaginings of her eventual triumphant return to her village, hopefully with her new husband in tow. In her brief fantasy, he was a handsome trophy of her time spent in the outside world, and every other Amazon in the village would be envious of her success in finding such a man, especially her most bitter arch-rival, the pink-haired Peh Fum. Rubbing her triumph in the other girl's face would be one of the best parts of the whole experience, if it ever happened. But that would require a man strong enough to best her, and Shampoo was growing very doubtful that any male near her age possessed such ability.

However, even if such a one appeared and somehow managed to defeat her, her return to the village would still have to wait until after she had won the final tournament in the fall and also managed to deal with the Musk agents, wherever they were lurking. Once those matters were concluded, she would seek out the resonator technology that was located somewhere on this world, use it to contact the Matriarchy and then turn it over to them. Then she would allow herself to relax and settle back in the village with her hoped for future husband, her duty complete, to live out her dreams.

Shampoo sighed happily at the pleasant thought of having children, and of having a strong husband to love her and be loved by her. Every night after they were married would be spent enjoying many long hours of sweaty, amorous exertions with him as they each learned how to satisfy the other's every carnal desire. She and her future husband would work hard at that, as many times a night as their stamina lasted, hopefully producing several strong daughters together during their future years with each other. And who knew? Perhaps someday she might even take over her mother's duties as the Enforcer for the Amazon Council, or maybe even become a Matriarch herself.

As she showered, Shampoo began singing a song she had heard on the radio the other day.

"Yap-pap-paa yap-pap-paa i-shanten..."

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can email the author for them.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Ranko has become a girl cut loose in time. Akane learned the secret of Nabiki's engagement to Ranma and plotted her revenge. Genma was reunited with his best friend, promising further complexities on both timelines. His scheme attracted the attention of a few new players, and they have come looking for Ranma's resonator technology, one of them wearing a face very familiar to him. Ryoko Masaki brought home a guest as the cast of players draws ever closer together. Finally, Utena Tenjou prepared herself for her next encounter with Ranma Saotome.

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Chapter 20 - Of Cats And Women

Men always want to be a woman's first love. Women like

to be a man's last romance.

- Oscar Wilde

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A figure suddenly appeared at the top of one of the walls surrounding the Kuno estate, as rain sluiced down from the skies. A bright flash of lightning briefly illuminated Ranma's face as his gaze studied the grounds. A dark rain slicker he was wearing had kept him mostly dry while he made his way here. It billowed slightly around him as he hopped down from the wall and began making his way to the house.

A shadowy personage watched Ranma pass by while remaining well-hidden, one of the Kunos' numerous ninja retainers. The hand that had drifted to grasp the hilt of a weapon moved back to a neutral posture, when another bright flash of lightning revealed the face of the young intruder to the guard's sight. That face was known to them all, and strict and explicit orders had been given by the young mistress to allow him access to the manor at any hour, day or night.

Ranma paused near the guard's position, sensing danger for a moment, but then it seemed to pass, and he continued on his way to the main house. He leaped up to the trees after taking several squelching steps on the muddy ground of the enormous lawns that surrounded the mansion. Leaping from tree to tree, he advanced towards his goal, Kodachi's bedroom. He hoped she wouldn't misinterpret his sudden appearance, remembering her teasing words from the last time he had visited her. But he needed to use the resonator, and he would not have time after school, because of his scheduled date with Nabiki then.

The thought of a date reminded him of the dance at Ohtori he had agreed to escort Utena to, the thought of the pink-haired girl with the smile a pleasant one to him. She reminded him of Ukyo that way. Nabiki never seemed to smile at him much, her expressions were usually either mocking smirks or unhappy frowns in his direction, unless she was enjoying a fight with him. And as for Kodachi, she kept giving him more dreamy-eyed looks, not really smiles.

Thinking of Kodachi also reminded him of the matter of her dating Miki Kaoru. That bothered him on a deep level, wondering why _his_ fiancée was agreeing to spend time with another guy. He shook his head, amazed once again at his feelings. He wasn't jealous, he decided.

The window to the Kuno girl's bedroom was unlocked and opened easily at his touch, swinging inward quietly. He shed his outer garb and shoes on the small balcony, not wishing to tread mud and water into the finery of her bedroom. Gloom cloaked him as he stepped in quietly and looked around, pausing a moment to shut the window behind him, unable to make out very much in the darkness cast by the heavy curtains that covered the windows. He remembered the general layout of the room from his last time visiting, and he slowly made his way to the bed, hoping to wake Kodachi quietly, without waking everyone else in the house as well by startling her. He could not see her as he approached, only the vaguest shape that he knew was the enormous Western-style bed she slept in.

Something snapped Kodachi awake from the pleasant dream she had been enjoying, and she opened her eyes into thin slits to behold a menacing figure lurking in the dark shadows of her room. It drew towards her, but she could not make out who it was in the darkness. Rain slashed against her window, and there was a distant rumble of thunder. Fear briefly gripped her, and she pulled the covers up higher over her face. But then Sukeban-Kodachi's bravado awakened within her. Without making a sound, she grabbed her yo-yo weapon and slipped from her bed on the far side from the intruder's approach. She would deal with whoever had dared invade her chambers by herself, feeling no need to shout for help.

Ranma froze, sensing a sudden danger in the room. His eyes had still not adjusted to the nearly nonexistent levels of light between flashes of lightning. He scanned the area around him, seeking to penetrate the gloom while he also listened for the faintest scraps of sound, clues that would reveal the location of the danger. A desire to protect Kodachi filled him, as he slowly turned in place, wondering who else was in the room with him and the young noblewoman. As one of the highborn, Kodachi could have made enemies. Ranma had heard stories of the vendettas that occurred between noble houses.

Kodachi made her way quietly behind her assailant, her body clothed in nothing more than her silky black negligee. She wondered who had dared to violate the sanctity of her bedchamber like this. It could not have been Ranma. He was too much of a gentleman to show up in her room at such an early hour, even if they were engaged, especially after how he had responded to her teasing the last time he had visited her. It was likely either that perverted Ukyo or one of those thuggish Tendo girls, intending her some mischief. It might even be that treacherous Asuka Saginomiya, finally attempting to exact revenge for the last beating that she had received at Kodachi's hands. But still, what sort of a dishonorable wretch would sneak into someone else's room at night and attack them while they were lying in their own bed?

Ranma's first warning of an attack was a faint rustling of cloth. His body bent back sharply to dodge the yo-yo that came flying at him from the darkness as an unseen foe struck at him. Not wanting to scare Kodachi from her sleep by shouting to her, he remained silent even as he prepared to fight back, hoping he could finish off his opponent quickly, without making too much noise and waking her. All but blind in the darkness, he could only rely on his ears and other senses for guidance.

Her initial surprise attack having been thwarted, Kodachi shifted her weight and flipped forwards, but her forwards somersault kick was deflected by a block, skillfully executed by her unseen opponent. A wolfish smile lit her face as she leaped back on the offensive with her adversary, wishing she could see their face as she unleashed attack after attack, alternating kicks with her thrown yo-yo. All she could make out with her eyes was a vague shadow, but her ears were sharp. Her mother had been training her in the skill of blindfighting. A momentary breath or a whisper of cloth moving was all she needed to target her opponent with deadly accuracy.

Whoever was attacking him was good, Ranma quickly realized, narrowly dodging aside from another kick. A quick series of side and backflip kicks flashed out at him from the darkness as his adversary maneuvered agilely around him, and he silently cursed at being hindered like this by the dim lighting, even as he evaded and blocked them. His foe seemed much better able to fight in such conditions than he was.

Kodachi finally scored, managing to hit her foe across the face with a strike from her yo-yo. She had been keeping her distance by relying more on her weapon and her kicks to maintain her range, but they were proving to be too slow to deliver effectively against her unseen opponent. A quiver of emotion akin to arousal ran through her as she swiftly followed up her yo-yo with a combination punch and felt her fist striking solidly into flesh. The second punch from her connected as well.

Ranma revised his adversary's abilities upwards even as he struggled to get the initiative in this fight. Unable to connect with his elusive foe with punches or kicks, he shifted over to grappling maneuvers when his adversary suddenly drew closer and landed a couple of solid blows. He managed to get a hold of one of his foe's arms, and he was puzzled when he only felt bare skin. Was his opponent naked?

Her arm caught, Kodachi suddenly shifted in and delivered a brutal knee strike into her foe's gut, narrowly missing the groin area, hoping to free herself. Her ears were rewarded with a sharp gasp of breath, but the off-center blow didn't take as much fight out of her opponent as she had been hoping. Then, before she knew what had happened, her other arm was caught.

Pain ached fiercely in his belly as Ranma tried to catch his breath, angry now after nearly losing his manhood. If his unseen foe's last attack had struck much lower, the fight would have been all over at that point, likely leaving him utterly helpless and retching up the contents of his stomach on the floor. When his opponent abruptly shifted weight to try and shake him loose, both of them ended up tumbling to the floor instead.

The two figures immediately began struggling and grappling with each other savagely on the floor, engaging in a brutal contest as they both brought their close combat abilities fully into play, each still unable to tell who they were fighting with in the gloom but now no longer really caring. A vicious palm strike struck Ranma hard across the face, but he quickly recovered and regained his grip on the offending limb that had briefly escaped from his grasp to deliver the blow. During the struggle, Ranma had become aware that his enemy was somewhat smaller than he was, and that there was something familiar about the shape that kept nagging at the back of his mind. But in his current mental mode he was unable to get his thoughts together enough to figure out why, an aggressive state that precluded other concerns.

Eventually, after a fierce struggle, he managed to muscle his adversary down and pinned to the ground, and both of them paused to catch their breath. Ranma felt an intense thrill of excitement coursing through him at his apparent victory. He savored the sweet feeling for a few brief moments, a visceral sensation that bordered on sexual arousal.

Kodachi panted softly for a few moments as her lungs scavenged oxygen from the air, readying herself to renew her assault. Whoever she was fighting with was a bit larger than her, which ruled out at least one of the villainous Tendo girls and that cross-dressing barbarian, Ukyo. There was something nagging at the back of her mind about the identity of her foe, but it refused to resolve into clarity while her mind was caught up in the struggle occurring, briefly contemplating her position and how best to escape it so that she could savage her adversary for this indignity. Her wrists were pinned to the ground by a strong grip and her body was weighted down by her foe's weight resting on her hips. Her legs were spread apart, leaving her unable to work a knee up in between her opponent's legs to deliver a disabling blow to the groin.

A quiver of arousal was surging through her at the position she found herself in, and the shock of embarrassment somehow managed to penetrate her awareness. After all, despite the recent change in her relationship with her mother, and the new candor they were developing with each other, she had been brought up to believe that well-bred young ladies were not supposed to become aroused from wrestling around on the floor, like some kind of plebian tramp. That was for the likes of that savage Akane Tendo girl. She nibbled guiltily at her lower lip, wondering what her mother would say if she ever found out about this. She tensed her body, preparing to throw her foe off her.

A sudden flash of lightning lit the room through a narrow part in the curtains, and each combatant finally saw their opponent clearly for the first time. Two pairs of eyes went wide simultaneously.

Ranma's gaze was momentarily filled with the stark image of Kodachi, her nubile body pinned down to the ground underneath him, and his brain froze in sudden sensory overload.

Kodachi saw Ranma looming over her in the flash of lightning, and she was immediately caught up in powerful, conflicting emotions, her cheeks blushing more fiercely than ever before, as her brain abruptly locked up. For several moments she could not tell if this was real life or one of the many fantasies she had experienced concerning him.

"K-Kodachi," stuttered Ranma after several long moments, finding his voice first. His mind was suddenly filled with memory flashes of two other versions of the girl pinned underneath him: one that had tried to feed him to an alligator and another one that had tried to feed him to a murderous mutant plant of her own creation. He shook his head and very quickly released his grip on Kodachi's wrists, but ending up still half-laying on her with his hands awkwardly resting flat on the ground.

Kodachi's emotions grew even more confused, now that she knew it was Ranma she had been struggling with, grateful that he was unable to see her blush blazing in the darkness surrounding them. She whispered, in a very soft voice, "S-Saotome-kun." What was she supposed to do in this type of situation? She tried to think, but it was difficult with him still lying on top of her like this. The weight of his hips still rested on top of hers, pinning them down and maintaining her arousal.

"I-I'm sorry," he continued to stutter. "I d-didn't know it was you." He really should be getting off of her, he absently realized, but his body was sending his brain insistent urges opposing that action right now, confounding him. Their hips had become nestled together during their struggle, and now that intimate positioning was suddenly arousing him even further, even as he futilely struggled to will his manhood from responding, to hold himself back from doing what his body was now screaming at him to do. It was all he could seem to manage to keep himself from groping Kodachi as he awkwardly held himself above her.

Timidly, Kodachi broke the deadlock first as she slowly reached up, allowing her fingers to gently brush against Ranma's face in the darkness. "I-I didn't know it was you either, Saotome-kun," she said softly. Her body was feeding her brain too many sensations to catalog at the moment, so she was content to remain exactly as they were and simply enjoy them. She knew she was being brazen, but she also didn't really care at that moment.

Another flash of lightning illuminated the room, and Ranma could not manage to identify the odd expression that had appeared on Kodachi's face. "I- I-" he managed to babble, and then his brain abruptly seized up on him again as his hormones went wild within him. She didn't look angry with him. Instead, there was an oddly needy expression on her face, from what he had seen of her face in that brief moment of illumination.

"It's all right, Saotome-kun," Kodachi whispered in the darkness, her voice taking on more coaxing tones as instinct seemed to take control of her. Her arms slowly went up around him, where her fingers briefly toyed with the length of his pigtail, and her questing hands felt the tensed muscles in his shoulders and back as they trembled slightly from his holding himself above her. She began to gently tug on him, urging him closer to her. He resisted at first, but his resistance began faltering as she alternated her gentle tugs with slow movements of her hands on his back and neck, her fingers tenderly caressing him and playing with his pigtail some more.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Ranma slowly lowered his face to Kodachi's as she continued gradually entwining herself around him in a loving embrace. He could hear her gentle breathing in the darkness, a soft susurration that was awakening rather erotic urges within him. "Kodachi," he whispered. Their faces moved inexorably closer together, and their lips were about to touch in a tender kiss.

Closing her eyes, Kodachi parted her lips slightly, feeling powerful emotions welling up within her. Time seemed to slow to a stop for her as she anticipated the gentle touch of Ranma's lips against hers. She wrapped her arms ever more tightly around him, enjoying the feel of his muscular body as he slid his own arms around her, embracing her warmly in reply, his face drawing nearer to hers.

As he held Kodachi tenderly in the gloom, he could smell her gentle perfume tickling at his nostrils. His body yearned for more of her touch; to feel more of her warmth; to become one with hers.

Bright light from the hallway suddenly spilled across them both as the door was flung open with a loud crash, and Ranma glanced over at the doorway, startled and momentarily blinded.

"Vile wretch," Kuno snarled, taking in the scene in an instant. His sister was held in helpless thrall before the degenerate depredations of the scoundrel Saotome, the brutish beast obviously about to ravage Kodachi of her tender innocence against her will. That explained the fierce struggle he had heard through the wall, awakening him from his slumbers. He gestured with his bokken, pointing the end of his weapon right at Ranma's face. "At last I see that you have revealed yourself for what you truly are, Ranma Saotome. Fear not, my beloved sister! I shall smite this villainous animal and deliver you from his bestial lusts!"

"Hey! Waitasec!" Ranma cried out, still caught up with Kodachi for the moment. He dodged as best he could, somehow avoiding Kuno's attacks, even as he struggled to quickly work his way free of her grasp. She was still holding on to him in her own startlement at the situation, making a rapid escape rather difficult.

"Unhand my innocent sister and accept divine justice, Saotome!" Kuno raged, lashing out at his foe, several of his slashes scoring deeply into the floor tiling. "Taste the righteous vengeance of heaven!"

"B-brother dear!" Kodachi cried, finally releasing her hold on Ranma, quite dismayed at her brother's interruption of the romantic moment she had been enjoying with her fiancé, after sharing a wonderful first kiss with him. Perhaps it might have even become something more pleasurably intimate, if they had not been interrupted. "Stop! Please! You don't understand!"

"I understand quite well, dear sister," Kuno snarled, taking another vicious swipe at Ranma. "This foul, iniquitous beast shall feel my righteous wrath for attempting to prey upon your tender innocence to slake his brutish cravings for your maidenly charms."

Finally springing free, Ranma planted one foot on the floor for support and drove the other one hard into Kuno's face. That slowed the older boy down long enough for him to spring back on his hands and backflip, bringing his right foot up under Kuno's jaw, staggering him. When his adversary did not immediately drop, Ranma followed that up with a rapid series of punches, absently wishing he was fast enough to perform the Amaguriken technique at that moment, since Kuno was proving to be annoyingly resistant to being knocked out at the moment.

"I- Fight- On." Kuno took a single step forward, enunciating each word slowly, a moment before his eyes abruptly rolled back into his head. He fell with a dull thud at Ranma's feet.

"Man, I wish I didn't have to do that every time I see him." Ranma glanced over at Kodachi, and his brain abruptly stuttered to a halt again when he realized that apparently she wasn't wearing anything underneath her thin silk negligee, which was still in disarray from their grappling. His gaze seemed to fixate upon the swell of her breasts of its own accord, and he could not quite bring himself to avert his eyes from marveling at the sight.

Quickly realizing what he was looking at, Kodachi demurely and speedily covered her bosom as best she could with one arm and sidled over to grab up her robe from off the bed. Her face practically glowed red in the light coming in from the hallway, and she cursed herself for acting so shamelessly earlier with him. She had been so brazen. What must he think of her now?

"Uh." Now freed of the mesmerizing display of Kodachi's bust, Ranma's brain stuttered back into activity. He put his hand behind his head and chuckled nervously. He was frightened about the intensity of his feelings when he was about to kiss her, so he chose to change the subject into something safer. "I-I just came over to use the resonator. I really need to talk to my father." Thoughts of asking her about the dance at Ohtori had vanished from his mind.

Kodachi abruptly froze in the midst of tying the belt on her robe, and the expression on her face fell. "Oh, I see."

Calmly, she stepped right over her brother's fallen form, walking over to stop and stand before Ranma. But her emotional state was not nearly as placid as her outward appearance. How stupid she had been to think he could have been here to see her, she mused sadly. While she was happy to help him rescue his father, Saotome-kun had made no secret of the fact that he cared more for his work than he did about her. She left her gaze downcast, feeling depressed. Apparently, her fiancé was uncomfortable about their embrace, which did not make her happy. But it wasn't the first thing he had done that had distressed her.

For example, it displeased her that he chose to spend time with that horrible Nabiki Tendo or those two mannish, cross-dressing freaks, Ukyo Kuonji and Utena Tenjou, when she was obviously a far superior choice for him to spend time with instead of three such unworthy girls. At least that brutal Akane Tendo creature had finally ceased to bother Saotome-kun after she changed schools to Furinkan Military Academy, where she would likely fit right in with the other grunting savages that populated its ranks. Kodachi wondered what sort of a horrible mother could have produced two such villainous offspring like Akane and Nabiki Tendo.

Turning her thoughts away from the utterly unpleasant matter of her rivals, she mused that it would serve Saotome-kun right that she had decided to accept the invitation from Kaoru-kun to the dance at Ohtori. An evening spent in the pleasant company of her childhood friend would be a most welcome tonic to her ego. She found herself looking forward to speaking with him again. She wondered, yet again, why Ranma could not be more like her old friend, instead of the insensitive young man that he kept acting like.

"You could have waited until a more civilized hour, Saotome-kun," she said in cross tones. Grabbing up the key from her nightstand, she thrust it at him. "Here. Take it. You know the way, I'm sure."

Ranma noted her angry posture, and he was at a loss at what to do, not knowing if he should even mention their kiss together. He reached out and accepted the proffered key. "I-I'm sorry, Kodachi," he babbled.

"I do not wish to hear your apologies right now," she replied a bit brusquely, feeling angry with him now over his cowardice. Apparently he couldn't even bring himself to talk to her about their almost kiss. That was fine with her, she mused, taking him by the arm and escorting him to her door. "Go and do what you came here to do, and leave me alone to attend to my fallen brother." Before Ranma could stutter a reply, she pushed him firmly out into the hall and slammed the door in his face.

Standing with her back to the door as she stood in the quiet darkness, Kodachi leaned heavily against it. Why did he have to make things so difficult between them? Why did he not see how strongly she felt about him? He had not even asked her out on a date yet, even though he knew they were engaged to be married. A quavering worry assailed her, that he was more interested in spending time with any of those lower-class harridans infesting his life than with her.

Well, she would show Saotome-kun. She would get all dressed up in a beautiful new gown and accompany her oldest and dearest friend from her childhood to Ohtori Academy's dance and enjoy herself. It was going to be a perfect evening, and she swore she would not let herself even think about a certain pigtailed boy while she was there.

Then, if Kaoru-kun happened to ask her out again afterwards, not only would she accept but she would also make very sure to let her reluctant fiancé know about it. That would show him that Kodachi Kuno's feelings were not to be trifled with, and that there were other boys she could be spending her valuable time with. It helped assuage her conscience that she was certain she could trust Kaoru-kun to not take advantage of the situation, since they had been such close friends as children. Despite the strong feelings for Miki that she had been discovering within herself lately, she kept telling herself that she was only doing this to teach Ranma a lesson. But Sukeban-Kodachi's vivid memories of many pleasurable couplings with his analog on her own world kept rising unbidden in her mind, flustering her a bit at their erotic vividness.

Kodachi flipped on the light switch by the door and turned to gaze at her brother, sighing. She stepped away from the door and went to tend to him, all the while thinking about Ranma and Miki, and how powerfully both boys affected her emotional states. The faltering beginnings of her relationship with Ranma had certainly proven to be star-crossed so far, to her extreme disappointment. And while she fully intended to keep things on a strictly platonic level with Miki, despite the urges to the contrary she felt in his presence, she really was looking forward to spending more time with him and rediscovering the close friendship they had once shared as children.

As she helped her brother, Kodachi mused about her fight with Ranma. Her mother's coaching was already improving her skills. She had managed to strike him when she released her fury. She nibbled on her lower lip as she thought about it. Could she fight as well against Nabiki or her other rivals for Ranma? She felt gratitude to her mother for training her.

A smile slowly lit Kodachi's lips. Her smile gradually turned more predatory in appearance. Soon her enemies would come to fear her power, and she rather liked the thought of that.

Out in the hallway, Ranma leaned his forehead against the heavy door, thinking. His aches and bruises were relatively mild concerns compared to the sudden heaviness he felt in his heart over Kodachi's abrupt brush-off towards him. Why did he feel so bad? If this was one of those other worlds, he would have been overjoyed to have her treating him like this. But not here.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't happy that she had chosen to spend time with that Miki guy from Ohtori when they had all gone over together for his rematch against Utena. But he also felt rather uncomfortable that his gut response to that was to beat Miki up, for daring to invade his 'territory.' Admittedly, the guy had looked down his nose at him, not to mention being far too friendly with Kodachi, but he did seem to be Utena's friend as well as Kodachi's. So, as tempting as it was, beating the guy up should probably be held as a last resort. Unless Miki was dumb enough to start something with him, he would try and be nice, for Kodachi and Utena's sake.

Nabiki seemed to be attracting attention as well. It was odd, since many of her other selves that he was familiar with did not appear to have much of a romantic life, probably due to their money-grubbing natures. But here, Nabiki was beginning to acquire admirers, and rich ones at that. Even so, he discounted Kuno and Mikado immediately as being little threat in that regard, since Nabiki had seemed to be clearly repulsed by Mikado, and Kuno was an idiot.

Touga, on the other hand, troubled him far more. The other boy had spent far too much time ingratiating himself with Nabiki for Ranma's tastes when they had been at Ohtori. He was obviously a smooth talker with girls, and he was a noble with a lot of money to burn. What was he going to do if Touga started giving Nabiki expensive gifts, or even asked her out on a date? His hand tightened into a fist at his side. Fortunately, unlike with Miki, beating up Touga remained a very viable option, one that he might even find somewhat enjoyable.

Thinking about Nabiki reminded him of Akane. She had been a bane to him ever since he had first arrived at the Academy, singling him out for abuse and bullying him mercilessly for weeks. Seeing analogs of the Tendo girl in his other lives, as his fiancée of all things, had been a profound shock. But then, after the accidental memory download through the resonator had left him suddenly able to fight back, even skilled enough to defeat her, their relationship had taken a rather disturbing twist.

Akane seemed strongly enamored with him now, as if she was suddenly seeing him as something other than an object for her aggressions. What was worse, this Akane, even as brutal as her nature appeared, possessed a sense of true self-confidence that many of her other analogs lacked. This version of the Tendo girl did not care that she was not skilled in traditionally feminine skills, for she obviously saw herself first and foremost as a warrior. It made for a rather profound difference in personality from her other selves, and that bravado was even somewhat attractive, now that he thought about it.

Ranma shook his head suddenly. He could not believe that he was even thinking about Akane Tendo like this, even if she was cute.

No, she was _not_ cute.

She was not his fiancée in this world.

She was not a girl he should feel any sort of desire for.

This Akane Tendo was nothing more than a vicious thug, and he was most decidedly _not_ interested in her.

That decided, he moved on to the other remaining girls in his life, ignoring the qualms that thoughts of Akane were still causing him and stubbornly refused to vanish.

At least with Ukyo and Utena, things were simpler, although he would not call those situations simple either. Ukyo seemed so much like her analogs that it had been easy to fall back into buddy mode with her, but with the added dimension of physical attraction he felt towards her. In one reality he had visited, she had been his wife, and theirs had been a wonderful and loving relationship. And, unlike how it was with Kodachi and Nabiki, there did not appear to be any other boys in the picture, so that was another mark in Ukyo's favor.

His relationship with Utena had the same sort of easy feel to it as the one he had with Ukyo did. He was really looking forward to exploring a friendship with Utena, maybe even something more. He could confess to himself that he found her to be pretty pleasing to his eyes, especially the sight of her long, coltish legs. She had a gently tomboyish manner to her that made it seem practically effortless for him to get along with her. And she had kissed him on the cheek as well, which was a pretty good indication to him that she was interested in something more than a friendship.

Wait. What the hell was he thinking?

Ranma stepped away from Kodachi's door with a sigh. Dealing with girls was a far more complex problem than any sort of scientific conundrum that he had ever come up against. But, at least for now, he needed to try and keep the situation stabilized and under control until he could rescue his father. Then he could start dealing with the girls. Then the problems in his life that the resonator had caused would finally be behind him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Herb moved through smoke, hearing the sparking of shattered consoles. He was dressed in the uniform of a junior officer, and the outfit was charred and ripped in several places. He vaguely remembered being in the lavatory of all places when the facility had been bombarded by a Matriarchy dreadnaught. The attack had been as brutal as it had been swift, leaving him to move frantically through the wreckage when it was over. As he walked past a wall console, the crazed plastic reflected a small multitude of both male and female versions of himself, but he did not notice.

"Sage!" he called, coughing from the smoke as he paused to shoulder aside a fallen support beam as flames roared up in the hallway behind him. The muscles in his back screamed with pain as the massive weight grudgingly moved aside from blocking the door to the laboratory. Then, with a loud crash, it fell to one side, and he scalded his hands as he frantically pulled on the battered metal.

When he got inside, more wreckage greeted his eyes. Sage had been in the midst of testing his equipment, utilizing a radical new method of resonator technology when the Matriarchy vessel had struck the research facility. Herb could not see him in the gloom, but he heard a female voice speaking in fits and starts.

"...uploading...error...uploading...error..."

Herb remembered teasing Sage about programming the computer to speak with a woman's voice during the tests.

Please let my brother be all right! That phrase repeated like a mantra as he searched frantically for Sage.

"...uploading...error...uploading...error..."

When he reached the center of the room, Herb could only stare in horror at the headless form lying there on the high-backed, cushioned chair, a sheet of blood-spattered metal embedded in the concrete to one side as mute testament to what must have happened here during the attack.

"...uploading...error...up-load-ing...err-err-or..."

Averting his eyes from the scene, Herb stared at the console display, seeing what looked like a report of an interrupted upload sequence for a moment before the screen abruptly flickered and died. He wailed in rage when unseen figures appeared behind him to drag him away from the scene. He reached out for Sage's body, and one of its arms flopped down, the hand appearing to beckon to him.

"Sage!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Herb started awake suddenly from the nightmare, one that had appeared off and on for a little over two years now, ever since Sage's death at the hands of the Solnoid Matriarchy's forces. Up until recently, that time had been spent fruitlessly searching for the timeline Sage must have contacted at the moment of his death. Her former self had called in every single scrap of political favor he owned to obtain a ship, a crew and a brevet rank sufficient to command them, all to find him.

Exploring well over a hundred alternate timelines in that quest, her former self had driven his crew relentlessly for some sign of Sage, even while maintaining the cover that they were looking for new worlds for the Musk to exploit in their war against the Matriarchy, even as they moved further and further away from the front lines. Herb was certain that Sage was still alive, trapped somewhere across unexplored timelines in an analog of himself, carrying the knowledge of the precious advance in resonator technology that would finally allow the Musk to break the deadlock with the Matriarchy, the knowledge that had been destroyed with his lab.

Confusion quickly transformed into a dull anger when she recalled where she was, and who she was now. Self-loathing roiled through her mind. Rolling over on her side, she grimaced at her predicament, a prisoner now in more ways than one.

In the dim light, Herb stared at the feminine hand she held up before her eyes, briefly closing it into a tight fist, feeling the muscles and tendons in her forearm bunching and tightening. The short nails dug hard into her palm, coming near to cutting into the flesh there, and a strange feeling began to fill her eyes. She blinked away the sudden tears. They were an unacceptable reaction, a betrayal of the strength of her Musk forebears, conquerors one and all, who had built a dynasty that was inexorably fated to grow to rule all possible timelines, once the Matriarchy and its allies were finally crushed into dust.

Getting out of bed, Herb quickly walked the short distance to the small sink in her cell and turned on the tap, cupping the clear, cold water in her hands for a moment before splashing it on her face. When she looked up, the small mirror mocked her angry gaze, showing a head of close-cropped white hair framing femininely beautiful features, instead of the masculine good looks she had once been so proud of. The urge to shatter the mirror rose and died quickly before she could even lift her hand. What would be the point?

Driven by a sudden, almost masochistic impulse to see herself as she was now, trapped in a body she had never expected to have, Herb began stripping off her clothing and tossing each item aside after it was removed. When she was finally naked, save for the thin collar of metal around her throat, she studied herself in the mirror, noting with a clinical eye that she was quite beautiful. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror as she slowly turned about. After a time, Herb realized the sight was turning her on and quickly turned away from the mirror, suddenly feeling perverse.

Sleep had proven to be of limited comfort, offering up a confusing and troubling mélange of images, both from her old life as a man as well as this unwanted new existence she now had as a woman. Life for this analog had been a fairly simple affair repeated in an endless cycle of sleeping, eating, and exercising, with occasional breaks for bathing and taking care of life's other biological necessities. This analog's mind had been oddly content with such a dull routine, one devoid of any significant memories prior to three years ago, apparently from some kind of amnesia. It was a quiet, sheep-like existence, and it offered annoyingly little usable information on this world and what it was like beyond the walls of this place, seemingly a cross between some kind of a hospital and a prison.

Yesterday, guards had solemnly escorted her to a communal hall where she had eaten bland food, where Lime and Mint had been the only other prisoners she had seen. She had been kept separate from them, but she had watched them out of the corner of her eye as they spoke in whispers to each other, occasionally glancing over at her in apparent confusion. After her meal was done, she was taken for several hours of rigorous exercise, left alone with only a pair of solemn guards in plain black uniforms to watch her efforts, before being allowed to bathe, use the facilities, and then return to her cell to retire for the evening.

There had been one benefit of such an existence though, at least as far as Herb's own needs were concerned. Beneath the enticingly feminine curves of this body were sleek, tautly powerful muscles, the result of countless hours spent in rigorous conditioning and weight training, for reasons this analog did not know or even seem to care about. However, combining this body's surprisingly capable physique with the well-honed martial arts skills of a battle-trained Musk warrior should enable her to escape from this place, wherever it was. Then she could pursue her quest to find the source of the resonator technology on this world wherever it led her, and, hopefully, to at last find Sage.

Herb closed her right hand into a tight fist again, feeling her sense of purpose renew itself. Being forced to endure such trials, even the horrifying indignity of a female body, would be repaid in full when she found what she had sought for so long. And whether by force or by guile, it would be hers, although force was her definite preference at the moment. Then the Musk's forces could incinerate this world from pole to pole for all she cared.

Stalking over to the bed, Herb lay back down. She still felt somewhat aroused by the memory of her own reflection and idly touched one of her breasts in curiosity, then cupping it gently, feeling the swell of its fullness filling her hand. The resulting sensations were pleasant, so she began to gently stroke and caress herself, varying her motions and experimenting a little. That felt extremely good, so she continued, feeling her arousal growing as she brought her other hand into play upon her other breast as well. She closed her eyes as her breathing began deepening.

Suddenly aware of what she was doing, Herb stopped with another shudder of self-revulsion. Opening her eyes, she noticed that the small window to her cell was open, allowing some light in from the hallway, and the young guard that was normally on duty in the mornings was watching her. Seeing him gave her a sudden idea.

"I'm lonely," she said coquettishly, attempting what she hoped was a seductive smile. She rolled over on her side and reached out with one hand, crooking her finger suggestively. Inside, Herb doubted any male would really be stupid enough to fall prey to such an obvious ploy, but she felt it was worth a try.

Surprisingly, the guard unlocked and opened the door, and she closed her eyes slightly. Even as she smiled with apparent warmth at the young man, inwardly she noted with distaste the obvious lust in his gaze as it traversed her body and mentally sneered at his weakness. Her escape was apparently going to be far easier than she had first thought.

"Come closer," she purred, sitting up slightly, her gaze glancing at the keys on his belt. Her smile grew more subtly predatory. "I want to show you something."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At Kashuoh Manor, the servants maintaining the grounds, various models of samaels and liliths (male and female replicants), paused in their labors and looked up as a long limousine passed by them in the heavy rain, heading for the main house. A few of them continued to watch for several moments longer, as the car came to a stop and parked, but the rest went back to their labors immediately, showing no interest in anything beyond the scope of their duties. Those few that were still watching saw the driver's door open, and a Puma-class lilith about two meters tall with dark blue hair got out and snapped open an umbrella to shield herself from the rain. She was dressed in a Western-style, dark gray chauffeur's outfit made of armorcloth, with a white silk blouse worn under the jacket and a very short skirt and black silk stockings instead of long pants. Her official designation in Genom's database of active units was serial number 9815-PL2-1138, but her name was Nana.

Quickly reaching into the car, Nana pulled out a chauffeur's hat and set it at a jaunty angle on her head between her two catlike ears, before smoothing her clothing and briefly adjusting the shoulder holster she wore, which carried within it a Kuno Militech 12mm heavy automatic pistol. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she stepped over to the rear door and opened it. She offered a hand to the occupant inside and held her umbrella to cover them both from the rain.

"I can still walk fine on my own, Nana," came the slightly amused voice of Kado Kashuoh, the elderly patriarch of the Kashuoh Family and the current CEO of Genom. He stepped out of the car, a withered old man in a Western-style overcoat, wielding a cane with a solid gold handle. He patted Nana's rump fondly after he stood up, and he left his hand there as he looked about. "I may be old, but I'm not feeble, as you well know." He then cackled slightly and gave her rump a friendly squeeze.

"Even so, you should be careful about exerting yourself unnecessarily, Kashuoh-san," Nana replied with a professional smile, but her ears twitched in amusement as she closed the car door. They began walking towards the house, Kado's hand remaining firmly on her behind. "It will be nice to see your grandson again, Kashuoh-san."

"Yes." Kado tapped his cane on the ground as he made his way up the steps to the front door. "It will be interesting to see what the boy's been up to while we've been gone."

Nana nodded in agreement, moving the umbrella aside and folding it back up when the pair were finally underneath the font eaves of the house. She removed a set of keys from a pocket and unlocked the massive front doors before pushing one of them open easily. She set the umbrella in the stand by the door after the pair entered the house.

"Welcome home, Kashuoh-san," said several of the house servants that had observed their entry, almost in stereo, bowing to him. Each of them was dressed in traditional Japanese clothing and wore the same vacuous smile. "May we be of any assistance to you?"

"Where is my grandson?" Kado inquired of the nearest one, a beautiful, Nordic-looking young woman, as he let Nana help him with removing his overcoat, leaving him dressed in more traditional Japanese clothing that was suitable for a man of his station.

"The young master is in the main dining hall, Kashuoh-san," she replied with another bow.

"Come, Nana," he commanded mildly. "Let's go see how the boy is." He looked at the other waiting servants. "The rest of you, return to your assigned duties."

In the dining hall, Kinnosuke was in good spirits. Today was going to be the day when he finally laid claim to Nabiki Tendo, as well as giving a demonstration of his physical superiority to Ranma Saotome, by crushing his unknowing rival for the middle Tendo daughter. Arrayed around him at their usual places, the trio of catgirls quietly ate their own meals, but each of them would occasionally glance lovingly at him and smile wistfully. All four looked up in surprise when Nana and Kinnosuke's grandfather suddenly swept into the room.

"Grandfather," said Kinnosuke, quickly rising from his place. "And Nana. If I'd known you were returning today, I would have prepared a proper welcome for you. How was Europe?"

"Cold, wet, and filled with a generally unfriendly people," said Kado with a slight grimace, remembering the experience. "Especially the French. I had a much better time in the North American prefectures. You should visit Angel City sometime, boy. I think I may retire there someday to enjoy the warm weather, since I don't think it rained more than twice in the entire month I was there."

Kinnosuke walked over to speak with his grandfather, and Nana moved over to stand with the other three catgirls. She nodded to each of them in turn and spoke to them quietly, noting their modified Security cadet uniforms with mild interest. "Tiger. Lynx. Panther. How has everything been around here? I trust that Kinnosuke-san has been receiving proper care from you all."

Tiger calmly replied, with a slight edge of disdain in her voice, "We have given Kinnosuke-sama the very best of care, Nana." Who did this outdated lilith model think she was, to question their capabilities? Her ears folded back slightly in annoyance. "We have served his needs most excellently, in every capacity that he has ever required of us. I am certain that Kinnosuke-sama has no complaints about our performance in any area of our service."

"Tiger is correct, Nana," said Lynx quietly, but also with a certain professional pride in her voice, stepping forward to take up station at Tiger's left shoulder. "We have taken care of all of his needs as a man." She then frowned demurely, and her ears were slightly folded back as well, a sign of her aggravation at even being questioned on this.

Panther nodded, stepping forward a single pace to stand at Tiger's right, her fists on her hips and her carriage erect with indignation. "That's right. We have satisfied him in all aspects." She then smirked, but her ears were folded back like Lynx's and Tiger's were. "Especially in the bedroom." Her tone was kept soft as well, but she was still somewhat naturally louder-voiced than either Lynx or Tiger.

Nana studied the trio, meeting their gazes levelly, and her hands began to curl into fists at her sides, her own catlike ears folding back at the silent challenges they were each giving her. Just who did these three little prototypes think they were impressing? She had been with her young charge for years, loved him, protected him, and taken care of him as he grew into manhood. She was as much his mother as his genetic parents ever were, and she was not about to be crowded out of his life by these three young upstarts.

After a moment, with a hint of a growl in her voice, she said, "That is good. His well-being should always be your highest priority."

"It is!" all three young catgirls snapped, in stereo.

Kinnosuke, who had been making small talk with his grandfather during this exchange, glanced over. "Nana? Is there a problem?"

"No, Kinnosuke-san," she said pleasantly, her ears perking up and her hands relaxing back open, immediately turning to face him. "I was simply asking them how things were going around here. The girls were just being a bit overly-enthusiastic in telling me."

Tiger, Lynx, and Panther quickly nodded, following Nana's lead. All four of them then smiled innocently at Kinnosuke.

"Anyway," said Kado, tapping his grandson on the shin gently with the tip of his cane. "Tell me how you're getting along at the Academy. I trust things have been going well."

Kinnosuke smiled. "Quite well, Grandfather. Alongside my studies, I have been quietly working on accumulating influence over my fellow cadets, as a sort of hobby. Now only a few last obstacles remain to be overcome, and then I will have solidified my control. I've also found a girl that interests me, one of the subjects of Project Phoenix. I intend to make her my bride."

"What?" Kado sputtered, taken by surprise. "You should have no need to involve yourself with one of them. Trust me on this, boy. Why bother to involve yourself with a human woman, with all their petty needs and obstinacy, when a lilith can provide you with all the companionship, loyalty and love a man could ever want?"

Kinnosuke looked uncertainly at his grandfather. "But where's the satisfaction of conquest in that, to have a girl programmed to love me? Besides, this one is perfect for me. I've been watching her for the past few months. She's cold, calculating, ruthless and quite probably without a single moral qualm in her being. A worthy woman to be at my side, even if she is genetically inferior to me."

"Even worse," Kado remarked sourly. "The absolute last thing you need is a woman with her own agenda. Try again."

"Well, a lilith can't breed with a human, Grandfather. They're all sterile. How can I ever have children without involving a human woman? I know liliths have been used as host mothers, such as for noblewomen who don't want to ruin their precious figures with childbearing, but it still requires a viable ovum. I want to father my children on a woman without any need for a test tube."

Kado raised a finger and waved it from side to side. "Ah, but Genom has finally cracked that flaw, my boy, and that's where those three come into play." Kado pointed proudly at the trio of young catgirls. "Each of them is designed to be as naturally fertile as any mere human woman, but the ovums they produce can only combine with human sperm to form human male children, thereby ensuring Genom remains as the only source for future liliths. Think about it, boy! Our market share will grow to crush that of all of our competitors, now that we can provide any man who can afford one with his own beautiful, perfectly loyal and loving, tailor-made lilith, who can now even give him human sons. No, mankind no longer needs women, now that Genom can provide men with an improved alternative."

Kinnosuke was a bit stunned. The whole idea sounded both appealing and perverse. He looked at the trio of catgirls, who smiled warmly back at him. He turned to face his grandfather. "But I've been with each of them on a pretty regular basis since wintertime, and none of them has gotten pregnant yet."

"Well, they were each given a four-month contraception implant before they were decanted," Kado replied with a smile, then lightly elbowed the boy in his ribs in a conspiratorial manner. "That was so you could enjoy your 'honeymoon' with them without any unexpected surprises. But they've been fully capable of getting pregnant for at least a few weeks now. It's possible that your own contraception implant hasn't fully dissolved yet. But it will, given time. That's why I didn't have you renew it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kinnosuke asked. "Why use me as the guinea pig in this?"

Kado sighed and laid a gentle hand on Kinnosuke's shoulder. "Because I wanted you to be happy, boy. A young man your age needs an outlet for all those sexual urges and adolescent hormones percolating through your body. They were designed to be the ultimate sexual companions."

His gaze grew hooded as he studied his grandson. "Besides, you share some things in common with them, even if the basis of your entire genetic code originally comes from my son."

"But my father, my mother..." A horrible thought was occurring to him.

"Your father died when he was a teenager, Kinnosuke," Kado said sadly. "But I saved enough viable genetic samples from him to create you. As for your mother, she was simply a donor, but she was a woman of good genetic stock. I had the portraits and pictures made up to give you a sense of family while growing up."

Kinnosuke stared at his grandfather in sudden horror, feeling his world crumbling all around him. "I'm a replicant," he said hollowly. "You created me in one of those damned tanks."

"No!" Kado snapped, seeing his grandson beginning to tremble. His voice softened. "Not at all, boy. Yes, while some aspects of Genom's genetic technology was used in your creation, to craft the penultimate human by re-sequencing your DNA, you were born like any other man, to a woman who loves you. She nursed you at her own breast, protected you from harm when you were small and she raised you into a fine young man all these years." He nodded once to Nana, who came over and put her arms around Kinnosuke as Kado stepped back and let her comfort the boy, but he shook his head when the other three started to approach as well.

"Shhh, Kinnosuke-kun," Nana said softly, taking him gently into her arms as he began to tremble and sob, holding him to her bosom. "There there. It's all right." She patted him on his back, resting her chin on top of his head as she enfolded him in the warmth of a motherly embrace. "Nana is here to take care of you. Shhh..."

Inside, Kinnosuke's mind whirled with the sudden knowledge that his entire life had been built on lies. His emotional reserve suddenly shattered, and he found himself clutching tightly to Nana, mournful sobs escaping his lips, just as he had done when he was much younger and something had hurt him. He felt her hands patting and rubbing his back like a real mother would and he was reeling with the knowledge that Nana was his birth mother. Despite his grandfather's words, he wondered if he was really a human being and that doubt was terrifying him on a primal level. But Nana's warmth and her familiar smell were calming him as he sobbed out his pain. As his thoughts gained clarity, he felt disgusted with himself for showing such weakness.

Off to the side, Tiger, Lynx, and Panther ached to rush over to their beloved master's aid, to comfort his emotional wound as Nana was now doing, and their ears were flat on their head from their unhappiness. Kado slowly approached them.

"Kashuoh-san," said Tiger mournfully. "Will Kinnosuke-sama be all right?"

"He'll be fine, girls," Kado replied, patting Tiger on the hand. "My grandson has just had a shock. But he's strong. He'll recover."

All three catgirls breathed a quick sigh of relief.

After several minutes, Kinnosuke's sobs gradually eased. He pulled himself away from Nana and looked up into her face, looking at the face of his birth mother. She smiled at him, drew him close to her again, and then she gently kissed him on the forehead. He pulled her back into a hug, feeling a sense of contentment that he had found a mother, offsetting the emotional pain of having lost so much else. Then he thought about Nabiki and Ranma. His thoughts darkened.

Pulling back from Nana once again, he turned from her, looked over at the three catgirls, and then he nodded at them. "Come with me, you three. We have preparations to finish before class today." He looked back at his grandfather, and his expression became unreadable. "Thank you for telling me the truth."

"Are you all right, Kinnosuke?" Kado asked, studying the boy with some concern.

"I'm fine, Grandfather," the boy replied. He stepped away from Nana and gave her an inscrutable look before turning back again to face his grandsire again. "Certain things have just become much clearer to me now."

With that, Kinnosuke turned and left the room, and the trio of catgirls filed out behind him, following closely on his flanks. Nabiki's face filled his thoughts, as well as Ranma's. Despite what his grandfather had said, he still desired Nabiki, still lusted with all of his being to possess her. And his jealousy against Ranma, the only obstacle he saw in his path to obtain her, flared up to new heights of hatred. His fellow science cadets spoke of his pigtailed nemesis's abilities with varying degrees of admiration, but Kinnosuke had never shown them his true abilities, never made it any sort of real contest between them. Well, today that would all change. He would demonstrate who was truly the superior being between them, and he would begin by beating Ranma Saotome to within an inch of his life.

"Tiger," he said over his shoulder.

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama?"

"I have given the matter some more thought," he said calmly, his look neutral. "You may... indulge yourself where Nabiki Tendo is concerned, while I am dealing with Saotome. But take great care that she is left alive and without any permanent damage done to her." He turned to look at the other two catgirls. "Lynx. Panther. That order goes for you two as well. Break her spirit a bit, and then you can bring Nabiki before me to finish her indoctrination. But be quick about it. I'm sure my business with Ranma Saotome won't take me very long."

A cold sort of smirk suddenly crossed his features as he turned away from them and began walking. He muttered grimly, "After all, he is only human."

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," said all three catgirls, feeling a new spring entering their step as they happily trailed along behind him, looking forward to committing some mayhem upon the one they hated above all others in the world: Nabiki Tendo.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma suddenly sneezed as he closed the door behind him, the lights flickering on quickly in the room. As he absently rubbed his nose, he mused how much better his life would be if it could be dealt with as easily as a lab experiment. He studied the chair that was over by the equipment and then sat down heavily in it. He flipped on the main power switch, hearing the hum of electricity beginning to flow through its circuits when it engaged. As the equipment warmed up, he leaned back in the chair and tried to relax.

He had almost kissed Kodachi, if Kuno hadn't interfered. But the event raised questions in his mind that he had been trying his best so far to avoid. Did he want to be intimate with Kodachi, to do the sorts of things with her that he had heard other guys talking about doing with their girlfriends? For that matter, what about Nabiki, Ukyo, or even Utena?

His adolescent libido was saying 'yes' pretty loudly, but he also wanted to be sure of his feelings before he took such bold steps with any of the girls. After all, despite a few romantic interludes he had experienced through the resonator so far, what had just happened between him and Kodachi had been the first real intimacy he had ever experienced in his own life with a girl, other than Utena kissing his cheek.

Remembering the aftermath of Utena's visit, Ranma then recalled again his mother's words, telling him to try out all the girls, in order to help him make his choice from among them. While his adolescent libido cheered at the notion, the thought also caused a shiver of fear to run up his spine and his pigtail stood out stiffly for a few moments. He was pretty certain that extremely unpleasant things would happen to him if the girls thought he was actively trying to be some kind of a playboy with them. So maybe he should take a page from the lives of his two Jusenkyo-cursed analogs and just ignore the whole situation, hoping that it somehow resolved itself. He decided to give that solution some serious consideration.

With a sigh over his predicament, Ranma picked up the headset unit and settled it on his skull, moving his head slightly to one side and then the other, hearing a satisfying cracking sound from his neck vertebrae as they realigned back into their proper places. Feeling much more comfortable, he turned to the console and set up the program for an hour run, and activating the new buffering algorithms that Kodachi had programmed. An hour would give him enough time before he had to head off to class, to share the schematics with his father for the beacon and talk to him a bit about his concerns over what he had learned recently about himself and his past.

Laying back, Ranma heard the computer speak when it was finished with its calculations.

"Initiating upload cycle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Ranma's first sensation was a brief ringing sensation in his ears, like tintinitis. It faded quickly, and he opened his eyes to see a ceiling over his head, the ceiling of his other self's room. He blinked, and he took a moment to acclimate himself to his surroundings, waiting for the rush of memories to assail him.

He was not long in waiting. A dizzying array of images and experiences passed across his awareness, making him feel slightly nauseous. He sat up and took a deep breath when it was over, reviewing what had been going on around here. School, training and homework dominated most of the new memories and he was pleased to see that his father had been helping his other self with his studies at night, efforts that had been causing a slow but steady improvement in his grades.

This timeline's version of Shampoo dominated a good portion of his other self's memories. He and the Amazon had been spending quite a lot of their time together since leaving the Tendo's: improving their martial arts skills through innumerable sparring matches against each other, studying for school, going skating and even just goofing off and having fun. Neither of them called such activities dates, but that was what they were essentially doing.

Ranma actually felt jealous of his other self for a moment, of his easy friendship with this timeline's Shampoo. The two were slowly beginning to grow closer, a side-effect of much calmer surroundings and far fewer distractions away from spending time with each other. This particular analog's life had quieted down, even as his own life was turning into a romantic maelstrom of emotionally-charged girls all competing for his attention, each of them with significant martial arts skills.

For a moment, he found himself wishing that he had an analog of Shampoo in his own life, to be able to enjoy the same, easy sort of camaraderie that this Ranma was enjoying with this version of the Amazon. But that was never going to happen, he realized, feeling a slight emptiness in his heart at the thought. Shampoo, if she existed on his world, lived far away from him in the backwoods of China and the odds of his ever meeting her were too small to even contemplate, he mused with a wistful look.

Ranma stood up and stretched, and then he pulled on a shirt and some pants and very quietly opened the door to his room. The house was quiet as he made his way to the master bedroom. He took a slow breath to center himself before opening the door.

Two figures lay intimately entwined together in sleep on futon mats that had been pushed together and Ranma goggled a bit at the sight of his mother's counterpart snuggled up against his father's slumbering form so closely, even though were dressed in nightwear. Quietly, he approached the couple and knelt down next to his father. Genma was snoring loudly, laying on his back, and his analog's mother murmured softly in her sleep, clutching herself rather intimately to him and looking contented in repose.

"Father," Ranma whispered in Russian. "Wake up. We need to talk."

Genma opened his eyes, unsure if he was still dreaming. He felt Nodoka lying next to him, and then he saw Ranma kneeling nearby. Struggling free of his slumbers, he blinked his eyes owlishly. "Is that you, son?"

"It's me. Meet me out in the hall. I have some good news for you." Ranma got up and stealthily walked to the door and outside, leaving it open behind him.

Nodoka stirred next to him when he moved, and she sleepily said, "Take me again, Dearest. Last night was so good." She then fell back asleep and snuggled up against him.

Ranma's eyes went a little wide as he stood out there in the hall. He hadn't just heard what he thought he had, had he?

Genma slowly disentangled himself from Nodoka and got up before he quietly stood up and slipped on his robe. He pulled his glasses from the robe's pocket and put them on before sneaking out of the room to join Ranma in the hall. When he got there, Ranma had an odd expression on his face.

"Pop- uh, I mean Father, is there anything you'd like to tell me about what I saw in there?"

"She's been a lonely woman for too many years, because of my analog's idiocy, son. Let's leave it at that." Genma shut the door quietly behind him.

"Uh, okay." Ranma shrugged his shoulders, deciding to set that topic aside for later discussion when there was more time. There were more important matters to deal with for now. "Anyway, I've figured out a way to get you back home."

Genma relaxed a bit. That was good news, but he had to warn the boy about what had happened in the meantime since his last visit. "That's wonderful, son. Unfortunately, it seems that my counterpart has been busy too. Come into the den, where we can talk a bit more privately."

"What kind of problem?" Ranma asked as he stepped into the room, his mind wondering what the other Genma could possibly have been up to. He looked around, seeing numerous scientific books and papers strewn about the floor. There were also a number of history books as well, causing him to raise an eyebrow in brief curiosity.

Genma closed the door behind them and he began speaking without any sort of preamble. "Soun Tendo is here, the one from our world. But it wasn't by his choice." He then took off his glasses and polished them with a handkerchief briefly before putting them back on.

Ranma blinked as a memory suddenly made itself known to him. "I'm afraid it's even more complicated than you think, Father. My analog saw you meeting with Tendo-san yesterday. He thinks you're both up to something about re-instating the engagement." Inside, Ranma had a brief panic attack at the thought of both idiot fathers from this world loose on his own, especially when one of them was able to draw on the resources of the Security Directorate.

"Wonderful," Genma sighed, sliding into the deep-cushioned chair at the desk. "I thought I was making progress with the boy, repairing the damage my other self had caused in their relationship. Now it looks like I may be back to square one. Well, tell me what you have in mind."

"Yes, Father." Ranma pulled out several sheets of paper and began sketching circuit diagrams and writing down lists of components that would be needed. "I've discovered a way that should allow me to physically transport you back home, bypassing the risks of using the resonator and trying to reverse the accident. One of my analogs was using a device that can open up a quantum tunnel between different realities, like a kind of molehole. Combining it with my resonator technology, I've come up with a way to set up a beacon of sorts, both here and at home, allowing me to safely navigate from our world to this one and back."

For most of the hour, Ranma explained the technologies involved in fair detail, making sure that his father understood all that he needed to acquire, and how to assemble it to make it work. When he was done, he glanced up at the clock, seeing that his time was almost up. As much as he wanted to know what might have been happening between his father and this timeline's version of his mother, there was still the matter of Project Phoenix to ask his father about.

While Ranma considered the matter, Genma pondered the papers before him. He could find nothing wrong in the equations or schematics, but much of it was over even his head. He decided to trust his son that this would work.

"It will take me some time to find all the components, but I'm fairly certain I can do it with this world's technology," Genma said finally, nodding at his son. He noticed the boy's troubled look. "What is it, Ranma?"

Ranma looked his father steadily in the eye. "Mother is pregnant. I found out the other day."

"Well, that- that puts a certain sense of urgency to things," Genma replied, caught off-guard for a moment. He looked at his son, his expression unreadable. "Thank you for telling me, Ranma." He noted that the boy still looked like he had something important to say. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine." Ranma looked away from his father's gaze. "But there's something else." He looked back, meeting Genma's eyes. "I know about Project Phoenix."

"Oh. I see." On top of learning of Nodoka's pregnancy, Ranma's flat statement about the Project broke his composure, and he removed his glasses and began polishing them for a few moments while he re-gathered his thoughts. He wasn't surprised that Ranma had finally become aware of the Project, but it was a definite shock when heard within moments of hearing the news of his wife's new condition. For a moment, his mind turned to thoughts of the other Nodoka upstairs.

Truthfully, he had never meant to keep the Project a secret from Ranma for so long, but he had never managed to find the right words to tell him about it. There always seemed to be something else more important to do. And just how did you tell a mere boy that he was an enhanced human being? No matter how intelligent Ranma was, he still only had the emotional experience of a teenaged boy on the verge of manhood. After several moments spent polishing the lenses, he put his glasses back on and met Ranma's gaze. "I meant to tell you about it some time ago. How much do you know about it?"

Ranma's gaze did not soften. "A fair amount. Someone sent me a flash drive with my file from the Project on it, with a note daring me to figure out the encryption it was protected by. But it didn't tell me why, or who it was from. It was a pretty tough code, but I broke it." Ranma suddenly clenched his fists at his sides.

"I was part of an experiment, Pop! And you knew about it and didn't ever tell me!" He turned his gaze away from his father's face as he lowered his voice. "It makes me wonder what else you haven't told me about."

"Relax, Ranma," said Genma solemnly, still considering how to explain the matter before speaking. Unlike how it had been between their two counterparts here, theirs had been far and away a more open and honest relationship, except for this one thing. "Remember that I'm not the same as this other Genma. I didn't engage you to random girls around the world in exchange for food or money, and I certainly didn't subject you to anything like this Genma did to this Ranma. And as far as things go concerning Project Phoenix, there's really nothing sinister going on."

Ranma relaxed his hands, looking away to one side. "Father, I really want to believe you. But after seeing what some of your counterparts are like-"

"Son." Genma abruptly took Ranma by the shoulders. "I'm not like them, and we've always been truthful with each other. So let me be honest with you now." When his son turned his face back and met his gaze, he continued.

"Project Phoenix is to be the rebirth of humanity, Ranma. A rebirth for those whose bodies can tolerate the symbiote you bear, into a life freed of disease, infirmity and possibly even the ravages of aging." Genma paused for a moment, feeling the same sense of wonder come over him at all the myriad possibilities for the future his son would enjoy that he had when Fuyutsuki had first invited him to make Ranma a part of it. He looked at his son, and his expression was filled with fatherly pride.

"Think about it, Ranma. Men have sought for such things for countless millennia. Because of that symbiote placed inside you, you've never been sick and you've always healed quickly. It purified your gene code, enhancing your basic traits, leaving you with the potential to be faster, stronger, and smarter than your natural capabilities would have allowed you to be. There's even a strong likelihood that you'll live for decades longer than other men, possibly even for centuries more than you would have lived otherwise, remaining strong, healthy and in your physical prime, instead of withering with age and dying after only a few score of years."

Genma paused again and his gaze was serious. "As your father, I saw it as my duty to give you that life before the window of opportunity closed forever, before you were too old to undergo the treatment safely and I did so. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you for so long and I'm not proud of having kept it from you. I should have told you a long time ago. And I would have, eventually. But I could just never seem to find the right words or an appropriate time." There was another pause, and he bowed his head. "Forgive me." His tone was sincere.

"Father." Ranma looked at Genma and felt the anger drain from him. He started to say something more, but then suddenly his vision blurred, and then the world went dark.

Ranma blinked, wavering on his feet and nearly falling until Genma caught him and held him up. He was uncertain what was going on and where he was. He looked at Genma. "Pop? What happened?"

"Looks like you were sleepwalking, Ranma," Genma said, after a brief hesitation. "Why don't you go wake Shampoo and the two of you do some training in the backyard before breakfast? I'm sure it will make you feel better. I'll be along in a bit." He began carefully gathering up the scattered papers on his desk and storing them safely in a drawer.

"Uh, sure thing, Pop." Ranma headed out of the room, holding a hand to his head. He could not shake the feeling that he was missing something important. He glanced at Genma from the doorway, wanting to ask for an explanation for what he had seen the previous day. Then he shook his head and left, mumbling to himself for a moment, trying to order his thoughts. Maybe the old man was right. Practice always helped him to focus, and he needed some focus right now to cut through the confusion of his thoughts.

Genma sat back down in the chair heavily after Ranma was gone and a deep sigh escaped him. With a little luck, he would be able to return home to his own wife and son. And he had to get back, especially with Nodoka now pregnant. But how could he just leave this family back in the hands of a man like he knew his counterpart to be? That thought weighed heavily on him. This wasn't his life, but he felt responsible for it anyway.

Maybe that was the difference between him and his analog from this timeline, he mused, that sense of responsibility. It was certainly something that bore thinking about.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"Retrieval cycle complete."

Ranma opened his eyes, finding tears in them, and he quickly wiped them away with his sleeve. When he had confronted him, his father had been candid about Project Phoenix, without attempting any of the lies or evasiveness that his analog would have tried and that was comforting. He slipped off the neural interlink headset and stretched his arms out until his spine popped lightly. Bracing one hand against the edge of the couch, Ranma flipped himself off of it with unconscious grace and landed on his feet.

Enhancing your basic traits, he mused, thinking over his father's last words. That would mean, in a sense, the enzyme the symbiote used to edit his DNA had left him as more of what he was already inclined to be. He had always possessed curiosity in abundance and an insatiable desire to learn, which his analogs had channeled into their martial arts skills, whereas he had focused it on scholastic achievement.

That reminded him of something. Classes would be starting pretty soon for the day. After shutting down the power to the equipment, he very briefly debated getting a ride to the Academy with Kodachi. Then he remembered that a ride would also likely mean sharing the car with Kuno, an unpleasant prospect at best. It was only a few miles to the grounds of the Academy. He could run it easily now without getting winded; something he would not have been able to say several months ago.

Ranma shut off the lights and was in the process of locking the door when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He came within an instant of decking Lord Kuno before he realized that the man wasn't attacking him.

"Good reflexes, boy!" said Lord Kuno approvingly, noting Ranma's brief change in posture to a more combative stance before it reverted back to a more neutral one. "You certainly remind me of your father when he was younger. He was always ready for a fight."

"Uh, good morning, Kuno-sama," Ranma replied, relieved that he had kept enough presence of mind to avoid punching the man. That would have been awkward, to say the least. And it was odd that Lord Kuno didn't seem startled to see Ranma in his home so early in the morning, but he wasn't going to bring it up. "I was just on my way to classes."

Lord Kuno put an arm around Ranma's shoulders and guided him away from the lab. "Then you're fortunate we ran into each other. Come with me, Ranma. It's time we had a little talk."

"Uh, sure." He let himself be led, wondering if he was going to miss classes entirely or just be late. Lord Kuno took him out one of the back doors, ignoring the bows of the servants as they passed them in the hallways. The early morning storm had dwindled to a stop for the time being, but dark clouds promised more rain before long.

The older man was quiet during the walk, leaving Ranma to wonder what he was getting into. The pair headed out into the garage, where Lord Kuno produced a key and let them in by one of the side doors. A smile lit his face as he flipped on the lights, his expression practically beatific. Several rows of motorcycles greeted their eyes.

"So tell me, Ranma," said Lord Kuno, finally releasing his hold on him. "Did your father ever teach you how to ride a motorcycle during your time out in the world?"

"Uh, kind of." Ranma was a bit bewildered. "When we were in Moscow, I used a scooter to get around." He was startled when Lord Kuno made a derisive sound.

"A scooter is a child's toy, Ranma," Lord Kuno said disdainfully. He walked over to one of the newer model motorcycles and ran a hand along the gleaming red paint on the gas tank. "But a motorcycle is a man's vehicle, a modern horse for a modern samurai." His tone grew a little wistful, almost rapturous. "No, not a samurai, but a ronin. A ronin of the open roads, answering to no man, freed of the stifling demands of our society." Memories of past glories resonated in his voice. He turned back to face Ranma and smiled. "It will be my honor to give you one from my own collection, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

"Huh?" Ranma looked around at the well-kept assemblage of motorcycles, brought together from manufacturers from around the globe. "Why me?"

Lord Kuno turned back to study the ranks of motorcycles. "While it is my sincere hope that you'll marry my precious daughter, any prospective son-in-law of mine has to possess certain qualities." He stood a bit taller when he turned around, suddenly appearing more imposing. "One of these I demand is skill with a motorcycle. Choose any one you see here. It is my gift to you and a charge that you will master the skills in riding it."

Ranma gaped a bit. He looked around, a brief flash of memory appearing from the depths of his mind at the sight of all the motorcycles, and a name: the Road Ronin. It took him a moment to place it, the timeline tangent where one of Nabiki's analogs had taken the fateful training trip with Genma instead of the Ranma of that world. After several moments, he heard Lord Kuno step up behind him and pause, and then a hand came down on his shoulder.

"Choose," said Lord Kuno insistently.

Ranma's gaze was caught by one of the motorcycles, painted black and red. It was a much more current model, one of the Katana-series from Mendo Motors, as opposed to the majority of more classical styles that dominated the room. He slowly approached the vehicle and briefly ran his hand along its chrome and steel skin. A smile suddenly lit his face, and he turned to Lord Kuno and nodded. There was a momentary pause and then the older man smiled as well.

"A good choice." Lord Kuno walked over to a wall cabinet and opened it, revealing sets of hanging keys. He pulled one set down and tossed them to Ranma, still smiling. "Now you'd better hurry. You don't want to be late for classes, boy."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Belldandy stepped into the interior of the shrine and looked around, hearing the rain start up again outside. Rain seemed to be leaking in through holes in the roof, adding to the melancholy feel. There was a sadness born of long neglect to this place, and the spirits within it carried it within themselves with a quiet resignation. Her heart ached at the feeling, and she set her cloak and carrybag down, a determined expression settling across her lovely features.

Tenchi came in, loaded down with his grandfather's luggage, and saw Belldandy suddenly cast her arms wide apart, as a glow of holy power coruscated through her frame and her outfit swirled around her. She began loudly incanting words in a foreign language, and he could only stand there, awestruck, as the building began healing around him, for lack of any better term to describe the experience.

Broken pieces of wood rose into the air and settled back into their former places as Belldandy slowly turned about in place, feeding her divine power into the building's structure. Cracks vanished and the wood and mortar took on a renewed appearance. When it was finally done, a quiet contentment seemed to be felt in the building, and Tenchi looked about, his eyes filled with wonder. His gaze finally settled back on Belldandy and he felt an unfamiliar feeling suddenly come over him at the sight of her, standing there and looking so beautiful and radiant with inner peace and holy power. He swallowed down a suddenly dry throat.

Belldandy walked over to a support beam and ran a hand along it. "So much time has passed since this building last felt useful, Masaki-san," she said to him, having learned his name during the brief car ride over from the Tendo household. Then she staggered, and Tenchi hustled over to catch her before she fell. "S-sorry," she muttered, blinking for a few moments as she rested in his arms. "That took more out of me than I expected. There was such need for healing in the spirits here."

"Uh, that's all right," said Tenchi, swallowing nervously again. He helped her back to her feet. Belldandy was certainly different from any girl his age, he mused, watching her gracefully step away from him to pick up her things. There was a serene maturity to her, but then he realized that she could be thousands of years old, since she was supposedly a goddess descended from the heavens. He suddenly felt very plain, ordinary and young next to her.

"There you two are," said Katsuhito jovially, stepping into the room and setting the rest of his luggage down. Rei Hino came in a moment behind him, looking around curiously and Sakura Sakuranbo brought up the rear. He looked around at the shrine's interior, before bringing his gaze back to his grandson. "So what are you standing around for, Tenchi? Get home and get ready for school," he said gruffly.

"Yes, sir!" Tenchi scurried to head home, which was luckily only a few blocks away, when Rei suddenly stopped him by taking a quick grip on his sleeve. There was a light blush on her cheeks as he saw her shyly hold out a cloth-wrapped package to him, her gaze lowered demurely.

"I-I made you a lunch," Rei said, feeling her heart fluttering in her chest like the wings of a hummingbird as she kept her eyes lowered from meeting his gaze. Looking at him always made her feel so timid inside. She loved him so much that sometimes her heart seemed to ache with the strength of her passions for him. Sometimes she even had rather vivid dreams about him, with Tenchi as a prince and her as a princess, usually set on some alien world and filled with watching his swordplay as he fought some enemy or another to rescue her. Occasionally, there were also rather naughty romantic interludes between them. She blamed those sorts of dreams on the large number of romance comics she read, and she felt her blush deepen a bit as she continued gazing at the ground.

"Thank you, Rei-chan," said Tenchi in a gentle tone, taking a moment to take the small package from her hands and giving her a smile. He then waved at her as he dashed out. He didn't want to be late to classes at the Imperial Academy.

Sakura cleared her throat, and Rei jumped a bit. She turned, wondering what she could have possibly done wrong to be assigned such a scary lady as a mentor. "Y-yes, Sakuranbo-sensei?"

"Find a broom and start sweeping this place out, Hino-san," Sakura said gruffly, looking around the room and nodding. There was a good feel to this place, she noted. It would make an adequate place for training her young protégé, passing on to the girl all the mental and spiritual discipline she would need to become a proper shrine priestess.

"Yes, ma'am!" Rei hurried to obey, rushing out of the room to start her search for a broom.

Off to one side, Katsuhito studied Belldandy and Sakura, thinking about what the days ahead could hold. Then he shrugged. It should prove to be interesting at least.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma drove his new motorcycle through the rain-slicked streets, the wind in his hair making him feel more alive. He grinned, realizing that taking Lord Kuno's gift was proof that he was still his own man, that the new memories he had obtained through the resonator had not totally over-written his personality with those other selves, only enhanced the person he had always been.

As he parked his motorcycle in the small parking area by the Academy, he put one foot down on the ground to balance it as he knocked the kickstand down. The troubles he had experienced with Kodachi could be dealt with, and his injuries were already healing. Finally having had a chance to clear things up with his real father had made him feel much better about things, and starting today he would be learning from the legendary Bruce Lee himself. Given that, his loss to Nabiki was only a temporary aberration, to be corrected after he had some time to train. After all, Nabiki wasn't better than he was. She had simply caught him off-guard by using the Amaguriken.

Looking forward to his day, Ranma ran for the main building with a few minutes left to spare before the first bell rang. But he stopped short when a small crowd of girls suddenly emerged from the building, many of them armed. They streamed at him, declaring their feelings for him even as he charged through them. He was doing his best not to hurt any of them even as they ganged up on him and tried to subdue him. Other cadets watched his progress through the windows with interest and amusement. He still had no idea why they kept doing this, and he made a mental note to find out in the near future.

He just managed to make it under cover before the skies opened up with more rain, leaving semi-conscious girls scattered in his wake, and a few more bruises on his body as a reminder of their group attack. He felt a bit guilty about the girls outside, but they were the ones who kept attacking him. It was a lot like what Shampoo-kun had endured a while back.

Ranma shook his head, banishing the stray thought from another world's events. A few of the girls were from his class, so maybe if he was circumspect about it, he could get one of them to explain why they kept attacking him. He went to his locker to change his shoes, and he found a small note inside. He pulled it out and opened it.

It read, 'Ranma-kun, please meet me over by the old dormitory after classes are over. Don't mention this to anyone. Nabiki'

Ranma considered the note. It looked like Nabiki wanted to keep their date tonight a secret from the other girls. Thinking about it for a few moments, especially after what he had just been through, he decided that was probably for the best. He pocketed the note and headed off to class.

Peeking from around the corner, Lynx watched Ranma depart and smiled. It appeared that the first of the targets had taken the bait. She hurried off to report to Tiger.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is ridiculous. We're not getting anywhere at this rate."

Ryoga looked over at his green-haired companion, both of them shielded from the pouring rain by umbrellas they each held. Ryoko did not look very happy to his eyes, and he suddenly felt guilty at needing her help to find his way around such a big city. Compared to the small village of his home, Tokyo felt like an alien planet. It would have taken him days just to walk a few blocks, or weeks to try and navigate the whole city, if he even knew where he was supposed to go. The sooner he dealt with Ukyo and went back home, the better it would be for him.

"I'm sorry," Ryoga mumbled, looking away from her and feeling the shame of his situation clutching at him. The miserable feeling was quickly rechannelled back into his rage towards Ukyo, and his mood darkened as he suddenly railed to the skies. "Damn you, Ukyo! This is all your fault!"

Ryoko sighed as a few passersby eyed them curiously. "Let's stop for a minute and wait for the rain to let up a little," she suggested. It would have been nice to hole up in a cozy cafe somewhere, she mused, and then she suddenly recognized where they were. Yumi-sensei's place was nearby. And wasn't her last name Kuonji as well? Maybe she knew where this Ukyo guy was staying at. Without another word, she bodily dragged Ryoga across the street to stand under the awning in front of the restaurant, where she was a bit disappointed to find it closed up. Yumi-sensei was probably out shopping for fresh ingredients, or maybe she was indulging her passion for Go at one of the neighborhood parlors until the lunch hour rolled around.

"That's just the way my luck is going today," she muttered, glancing over at Ryoga, who appeared to be plotting his revenge again in his head. She sighed, realizing that it was going to take days, if not weeks, to find this Ukyo guy, unless they caught some sort of a lucky break and Yumi-sensei knew where they could find this Ukyo person. Besides, it would be nice to do some catching up with the woman as well and show her teacher how much she had improved on her recent training trip, maybe with a sparring match.

Oh well, she mused, trying to look on the bright side, at least they were out of the house. Her mother had been eyeing Ryoga quite darkly all through dinner and again through breakfast this morning, and she would swear she could have heard the wheels turning in the woman's mind. Just because a girl helped out a guy did not mean they were dating or something like that.

Ryoko hung her head. It was far easier beating people up than dealing with her mother. At least Ryoga's quest got them out of the house and away from any of the woman's inquiries, as if she and Ryoga were a couple or something, not that she would mind it very much if they were. She sighed again.

Standing to her right, Ryoga kept himself warm from the occasional gust of wind by picturing his eventual vengeance upon Ukyo. You smirk-faced jerk, he thought darkly. Just you wait, Ukyo Kuonji. Just you wait.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At lunch, Nabiki was given a note by one of the minor associates in her organization, who bowed to her and then departed. She unfolded it.

It read, 'Nabiki, please meet me over by the old dormitory after classes are over. Don't mention this to anyone. Ranma'

She was pleased to see that Ranma was making an effort to keep their date a secret from her rivals for his attentions, and the covert aspect appealed to her as well. She folded the note back up and pocketed it and then she felt a sudden cold shiver run up and down her spine. She glanced around quickly for the source of danger, expecting some sort of an imminent attack. When it didn't materialize, she shook her head and headed over to sit with Yoko, chatting with the Devil Hunter as they ate lunch together.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Through binoculars, Tiger watched Nabiki eating and smiled grimly. It was going to feel so good to finally deal with her, and Tiger could hardly wait until the Tendo girl felt her wrath. She would have to be careful though, to avoid losing control of herself and doing permanent damage to her nemesis. As much as she would wish otherwise, she had been given very strict and explicit orders on the matter.

Lowering the binoculars from her face, Tiger whispered, "Soon, Nabiki Tendo. Soon."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well? What do you think?" asked Ukyo, gazing at Ranma expectantly as he ate the lunch she had prepared for him.

Ranma swallowed. "It's good," he said with a grin.

Ukyo grinned back, pleased to see Ranma enjoying her cooking. She had been making a sincere effort to improve her okonomiyaki skills with her aunt's assistance, and it looked like her efforts were paying off. She started grilling him up another one on her portable unit. At the start of lunch, he had turned his desk around to face hers to share mealtime together, since it was too cold and rainy to eat outside.

Ranma ate the next one that Ukyo made him just as quickly as he had consumed the first, his body needing to refuel after the grueling morning he had undergone with Master Lee. So far the man had been a solemn figure, offering very few words, and they had spent the entire morning doing nothing but sparring, as his new teacher tested his abilities to see what his limits were. It had been difficult and yet exhilarating trying to keep up with the older man, an intense test of his capabilities, but he had kept at it and persevered to the end.

When it was over, Master Lee had told him that the next few days would be spent in more of the same, so he could fully gauge Ranma's current abilities and weak points, before the real training began. Truthfully, Ranma looked forward to it, discovering new strength in himself with each passing day, ever since his accident with the resonator had gifted him with his fighting skills. He wanted to see just how far he could take those abilities. He had taken a shortcut in training by what he had received through the resonator, but how far could he take himself from here? How strong could he become? He wanted to see the answer to that, to see what his genetically-enhanced limits were, if he even had any now.

Kodachi had not joined them for lunch, and Ranma was feeling a bit guilty over being able to enjoy a peaceful lunch with Ukyo without the girls arguing over him. He wondered how long Kodachi might stay mad at him over what had happened, and he had been thinking over what he might do to smooth things over between them. An answer had been quick in coming, that the logical thing to do would be to ask her out on a date. It was only fair, after all, since he had gone out with Ukyo, and he was spending this evening with Nabiki. He owed Kodachi a date, at the very least.

In the back of the room, Gosunkugi ate his meager meal of rice and vegetables while he absently heard Minami grumbling under her breath next to him, apparently having a rough time of it with her training with Kisaragi-sensei. His attention was focused on Ranma as he ate, his eyes filled with dark menace. Now and then, he would spare a glance or two at Ukyo, letting the ninja boy feel the full weight of his glare as well, hoping something particularly nasty happened to both of them.

Across the room, Yuka glared at Ranma too, her emotions seething within her, watching him eating lunch with Ukyo. She had flaunted herself at the handsome ninja boy, practically throwing herself at him, only to see the object of her desires and newfound passions choose to spend time with the Saotome boy. It seemed that girls were not enough for Ranma, she mused grumpily, since he was poaching on the cutest boy in their class as well. She grimly watched Ukyo and Ranma as they talked and ate lunch together. It just wasn't fair.

Their other classmates had chosen to clear Gosunkugi and Minami some space during lunch, since a malevolent cloud of angry menace and evil spirits seemed to hover around them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The early afternoon sun shone down on a solemn fortress that stood at one end of a peaceful, mist-shrouded valley. Beyond it lay a vast wall that encircled a multitude of still pools of water, scattered all over the length and width of the valley. All of them were clearly marked with metal signs on posts, but the many bamboo poles that once stood upright within them had been removed a long time ago. Scattered guard towers monitored the perimeter around the outside of the wall, normally alert to any trespassers that may come from beyond, but they were oddly empty now.

Inside the fortress, a scene of battle had finally ended. The bodies of a few scattered guards lay face down. Many of them were contorted in directions that were normally quite impossible for the human skeleton to do, their limbs dislocated and broken. Scores of bullet holes had shattered consoles and damaged walls and smoke still drifted up from some of them, as well as the crackle of sparks. One elderly scientist had fallen within inches of the alarm button that would have locked down the entire facility. His unconscious form was nudged away from the button by a bare female foot.

"Weaklings," Herb spat in Mandarin in the direction of her piled foes. Every soldier in the facility had come against her, only to end up falling by her hand. But, despite that, the battle had lacked true glory. All of these men had been taken by surprise, obviously never expecting such an act from one of their docile charges. At least when some of them had begun shooting at her, that had been more interesting, but now it was already over, leaving her naked body spattered with splashes of her enemies' blood as she contemplated the aftermath of her efforts. Calmly ignoring the numerous drying splotches of vital fluids on her frame, she casually appropriated a cloak from the unconscious remains of the guard commander and swept it around herself with a dramatic flourish.

She had felt an odd reluctance to kill any of them during the battle, but many were likely permanently disabled and might never walk again. She shrugged, dismissing the matter as a necessary act. The guard she had enticed into her cell had only been the first of them to fall, and his keys had enabled her to remove the inhibitor collar that had been fastened around her neck, as well as open her cell door. Idly, she kicked aside one of the fallen guards, rather disappointed at their poor showing against a small wisp of a girl like herself.

She muttered under her breath, "Such pathetic weaklings. If idiots like these are the current crop of warriors that this world can muster, then my path to find Sage will be an easy one."

Herb turned and stalked through the chamber with arrogance worthy of nobility, stepping over several battered and bleeding guards. She scanned the cells in turn, finding most to be empty, until she finally found the ones she sought. The lock on the first door opened quickly when she swiped the cardkey through the lock. The figure within stirred at her entrance, the inhibitor collar on his neck blurring his thoughts with random pulses of electricity. She undid the locking mechanism with the key that had unfastened hers, and it clicked open.

Leaving the young man to regain his senses, Herb went to the other cell that interested her. She opened the lock barring her entry, and then she stepped inside to see another young man. This one was not quite as muscular as the first, but his skills would be useful to her and his loyalty was unquestionable. She quickly removed his inhibitor and went back outside the cell. The two figures emerged from their respective cells after a time and stood before her. At a stern glare from her, they knelt down and bowed their heads.

"Milord Herb," said the smaller one in a slurred voice, knowing her name from the memories in his new body, and that his sworn master was within the fierce beauty that stood before him. He looked up at her, devotion appearing in his eyes. If his gaze hadn't stopped a foot below her face, then she would not have had cause to grow cross with him. She hurriedly shut the front of her cloak and kicked him hard across the jaw for his impudence, almost knocking loose a few of his teeth. Quickly, he prostrated himself low before her when he finally regained his senses. The other one had not lifted his eyes yet.

"That I should suffer such indignities," Herb muttered. She whirled to face the other way. The cloak gave a brief glimpse of finely-toned legs as it swirled up.

After a moment spent in thought, she whirled back to face her minions. Herb was furious to think that the three of them were all that remained of the once-mighty Musk Dynasty on this misbegotten tangent's version of history. Both young men looked up at her, awaiting her orders. She was not long in giving them.

"Lime. Mint." She spoke in commanding tones, wisely keeping her cloak shut tightly in front of her so as not to distract them. "We will gather some supplies for our journey, then we are leaving this place to find my lost brother and his resonator technology." She then laughed deeply. "After we call our brethren using it, I will have them visit so much blood and terror upon this world that our ancestors' disgrace in this misbegotten timeline will finally be blotted out."

Both men clapped their right fists against their chests and bowed to her deeply. "By your command, my lord Herb."

Herb paused briefly in thought. "Lime, I want you to see if you can get some information out of these consoles while Mint and I seek out supplies, such as where we are, how we came to be here and anything else that might be of interest to me."

"At once, my lord Herb." He bowed deeply to her once again.

"Excellent. Mint, strip these fools of anything that resembles this world's currency. I will investigate the storerooms myself."

With that, the three separated to their tasks. When Herb was far out of earshot, Lime and Mint looked at each other.

"What do you make of Lord Herb's condition, Mint?"

The other sighed slightly. "It was a shock to hear his commanding tones coming from the lips of that beautiful girl, but I will obey his orders, no matter what his outward form might be." He cocked his head slightly to one side, thinking. "Despite being handicapped by that tempting female body, he is still Lord Herb inside. He has not changed where it matters."

Lime nodded his agreement. His fingers began dancing across the keys of the console, counting himself fortunate that one of the scientists had been logged in when Herb had staged her escape. He was grateful that he knew the language of his analog's captors, since his analog would not have been able to read the displays. He paused when he came across something interesting. "Hmmm."

"What is it?" asked Mint, currently riffling through the pockets of one of the unconscious guards. The man started to wake up, and Mint calmly snapped his neck with a quick, brutal twist. None of the men he had searched so far appeared to be dead, but that was likely due to Lord Herb's weaker new form. Being female, perhaps she was unable to generate enough power in her blows to kill a man.

Mint could conceive of no other reason why a warrior of Herb's great skill in battle would fail to take an enemy's life. For that was the way of the Musk Dynasty, that the strong lived to breed and improve the next generation, and the weak perished to make room for their betters. It was natural selection, a fierce embrace of the natural order that most timelines had abandoned out of some senseless weakness, until they were indoctrinated back into the true way by Musk conquest. The few survivors of the brutal purges of those deemed genetically unfit by the Musk would then be allowed to have their world serve the Musk Dynasty as a vassal state.

The foolish women of the Matriarchy were the only ones the Musk had ever encountered that stubbornly refused to bow down and take their natural place in the universe as brood mares and pleasure companions. But they would be ground into the dust in due time. On his own world, the ancestors of the Matriarchy had been defeated long ago, their strength subsumed into the Musk's genetic heritage, so it was the height of irony that on some misbegotten timeline they had emerged as the dominant group. But their days were numbered. After all, the news services had been reporting nothing but an endless series of victories over the enemy for months now. Mint was looking forward to personally breaking one of the proud Matriarchy soldiers to the yoke of servitude. He smiled lecherously at the thought.

"This is a biological research facility," Lime said after a moment, as he scanned the flowing lines of text, interrupting Mint's musings. "Among other things, they are studying some local phenomenon they refer to as the Jusenkyo Effect. Waters from some springs nearby cause living things to transform into other living things when splashed with cold water and one version turns men into women. Sound familiar?"

"The Holy Waters?" Mint's eyes widened a bit, remembering the legend telling of the founding of the Musk Dynasty many centuries ago, before an earthquake had destroyed the springs, burying them forever.

"Yes, apparently it still exists on this world, and these barbarians used it to reshape Lord Herb's true form into that delectable one we saw," said Lime, anger tinting his voice. "She is really a he." He continued to read. "It appears that they then used an artifact stolen from the Musk when they were conquered on this world, the Chiisui-ton (Stopping Water Bucket), to lock Lord Herb's analog into that frail girl's body he now has. Since they lacked a breeding age female among their subjects, they chose Lord Herb to become one, even performing some sort of telepathic brainwashing at someplace called the Mobius Institute to domesticate 'her' into accepting that role as natural."

"Then we must find a way to reverse it! We must return Lord Herb to his true form!"

"Agreed. We'll need to take some of the Jusenkyo water with us when we leave and use it after we unlock his present transformation. There are too many potential bad side effects for us to try it in his present condition, unfortunately."

"Do they have the Kaisui-fuu (Opening Water Pot)? Is it here?"

"No, for that we'll need to travel to Japan, to the heart of their empire. It is held by this Mobius Institute organization, it seems." Lime paused for a moment. "Hello. What's this?" He tapped at a few keys, quickly scrolling through some text.

"What have you found?"

"The name of our people's original jailer: Colonel Hisato Tendo. Hold on. I'm checking family registries." After a few moments, Lime said with a wolfish grin, "Well, it appears that there are several direct descendants of the good Colonel living in Tokyo, and one of those is even a high-ranking officer in their Empire's Security Directorate. I think we should pay the man and his family a brief visit, to express our displeasure at the captivity his ancestor put our ancestors in."

"After we restore Lord Herb to his proper form, of course."

"Agreed. But let's keep this a secret from Lord Herb for now. He has enough on his mind as it is, being trapped in that frail female body."

Both men shuddered in misogynistic horror at the notion. They nodded in agreement to remain silent on the matter for Lord Herb's sake, and then each of them continued with their assigned tasks without any need for further speech to the other.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After classes were over for the day, Ranma said his good-byes to Ukyo, who had given him a friendly punch to the shoulder and hinted pretty strongly that she wanted to go out on another date with him soon. As she walked past them, Kodachi had given him a rather terse goodbye, her nose in the air. She had then gotten into her waiting limousine and departed without any further words. While the scene was better in some ways than having the girls fighting with each other, it still wasn't very pleasant.

The old dormitory building was scheduled to be torn down during the upcoming quarter break. The students that had been living there had moved to the newer and larger facility on the other side of the campus, where Ranma had suffered through a week of hell to prepare for his rematch against Utena. As he headed over to the abandoned structure, it began to rain again, and the occasional arc of lightning gave the scene a rather spooky look. None of the lights were on at first, but then a single bulb suddenly flickered into life as he approached. He saw Nabiki go into the building, and he made his way over to the door she had used.

"Nabiki?" he called, stepping into the darkened building and setting down his umbrella into the stand. "Are you in here?"

"In here, Ranma-kun," he heard her say in reply, hearing the sound of her voice coming from further down one of the halls. "Come this way."

Ranma tried the hall light switch a couple of times, but there was no response. He shrugged and followed after the sound of Nabiki's voice leading him on, eventually ending up in an auditorium area. It was dimly lit by a single bulb holding back the darkness, and he saw Nabiki standing on the stage with her back towards him. He paused briefly, admiring the rather enticing view of her shapely backside and her long, coltish legs. He quickly shook his head, dispelling the lecherous thoughts that had shot through his mind in those moments, certain that Nabiki would have pounded him into a pulp if she had been aware of them.

"Come on up to the stage. I have something special to show you."

Dressed in a regulation girl's security cadet uniform, her hair and catlike ears covered up with a wig that resembled Nabiki's hairstyle, Tiger quietly waited for Ranma to enter their trap. She kept her face hidden by remaining in the shadows, but her voice was now an identical match for Nabiki's, courtesy of an electronic modulator she wore up against her throat.

"So what's with all the secrecy, Nabiki?" asked Ranma as he hopped up on the stage and walked towards her, looking puzzled. "Why'd you want to meet here?"

"Like I said," Tiger replied in Nabiki's voice, turning around suddenly and pulling off her wig. "I have something special to show you." She grinned malevolently at a shocked Ranma as Lynx pulled a lever over on one wing of the stage. A trap door opened up beneath his feet, and he vanished into the darkness with a brief cry of surprise, the opening closing behind him.

"Now we have fun," said Lynx, smiling like a predator as she emerged from the shadows a few moments later.

Tiger smiled back. "Yes, now we can finally deal with Nabiki Tendo to our hearts content, at least until Kinnosuke-sama summons us to his side for the grand finale to this little spectacle."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki made her way to the old dormitory building for her rendezvous with Ranma, having spent a little longer chatting with Yoko after class than she had originally been planning to. Rain sluiced down from the skies in heavy sheets and bright bolts of lightning ripped across the heavens, punctuated by loud rumbles of thunder. She saw one light lit over on one side of the building, and she made her way towards it. The door opened easily at her touch, and she saw a single umbrella in the stand, still wet from the rain.

"Ranma-kun?" she called out into the dark building, trying the light switch a few times as she set her umbrella down next to the other one. Her eyes began adjusting to the dimness. "Where are you at?"

"In here," she heard Ranma's voice, coming from farther down one of the hallways. "Follow my voice."

A little suspicious due to her training and inherent nature, Nabiki paused. "Come on out where I can see you, Saotome."

"Uh, it's a little embarrassing," came the reply after a moment. "I was looking around while I waited for you and got my foot stuck in a hole in the flooring. Could you come help me out?"

Nabiki shook her head, grinning. Leave it to him to get in trouble with something silly like that. He really did need her around to take care of him. She walked down the hallway, following the sound of his voice. "Keep talking, so I can find you."

"I'm in here," came Ranma's voice through one of the doors. "Hey! Can you hurry it up? My foot's starting to itch."

"Yeah, yeah," said Nabiki, still grinning at his plight. She put her hand on the knob of the partly open door and opened it. Within the gloom of the room's interior, she saw a figure crouched on the floor near the middle. Shaking her head, she stepped into the room. "I just can't believe how stupid you are sometimes, Saotome."

"Yeah, well, that makes two of us," she heard Ranma say. Then the door behind her suddenly slammed shut, and all the lights came up. Nabiki recoiled at the sight laid out before her, taking in the scene in an instant.

The room was filled with cats, and they were all looking right at her. Tiger presided over the scene, dressed once again in her usual uniform and seated in a chair over by one wall. Her legs were crossed at the knees in a demurely seductive pose as she gently petted one of the cats, idly bobbing one booted foot. Lynx stood up from where she had been crouched in the middle of the room, and she pulled away a voice modulator from her throat and let it dangle from her hand by its strap, a very nasty smile on her face. To Nabiki's suddenly terrified perceptions, the two catgirls were like demon queens from hell.

Nabiki whirled around, her mind jabbering in terror. She had to get out of here! She had to get out!

Panther stood there like an immovable wall, her sleekly muscular arms crossed beneath her full breasts. She smiled evilly at Nabiki, her catlike ears pricking forward. Nabiki hastily backed up a step and then another, her mind yammering with mounting panic. When Panther lowered her arms to her sides and stepped forward, her hands closing into tight fists, Nabiki hastily backed away again. But after a few steps she bumped up against the other two catgirls who had quietly come up behind her. All three now hemmed her in as they surrounded her, smiling like predators.

"We must insist that you stay awhile, Nabiki Tendo," said Tiger in a malevolent tone of voice. "After all, we've prepared such a special experience for you, and it simply wouldn't do for you to leave without enjoying it fully." Her voice chilled in tone and increased in menace as she spoke, even as she gently stroked the stray cat she held cuddled in her arms. She leaned in closer to Nabiki, who had begun to tremble from the presence of the many cats in the room, not to mention that of the three catgirls themselves.

Tiger smiled menacingly. "Welcome to hell, Nabiki Tendo."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma shook his head as he rose to his feet, his body's few remaining aches from his fight with Kodachi and his training with Master Lee having gained some new friends from his uncontrolled tumble into the darkness. As he stood there, a sound came whispering across his awareness that caused an involuntary shiver to wash over him.

It was a cat's meow. One soon joined by others. Many others.

The wails raised a sudden, atavistic terror within him that nearly unhinged his mind in that moment, almost masking his notice of the sound of a single human footstep.

"Wh-who's there?" quavered Ranma's voice, latching on to the sound to focus himself away from his mounting horror. He quickly shook his head and demanded more forcefully, "Show yourself!"

"As you wish, Ranma Saotome," came a male voice as the lights in the room came up. As the gloom in the room dispelled, Ranma saw a single male figure dressed in a blue uniform like his own, his hand still on the wall switch. "It is good that we can finally meet at last. Our meeting has been delayed long enough."

Ranma blinked when he saw the other boy standing there, fighting to keep his attention away from the small horde of cats that filled the room, surrounding them both. There were so many of them! Countless slit-pupiled eyes gazed at him, and he could feel a quivering of raw terror run through his body when several of them gave out meows. He had to get out of there! But, for the moment, he forced himself to face the stranger, when he suddenly realized that he had no knowledge as to who the other boy was.

"Uh, do I know you?" Ranma inquired. He was startled when the other boy suddenly crashed to the ground in a heap, before springing back up.

"It's Kinnosuke Kashuoh, you idiot!" shouted Kinnosuke, incensed with Ranma for causing him to lose his temper and ruin his planned dramatic entrance. But he quickly smoothed his appearance and picked up one of the cats, cradling it gently in his arms and petting it. It obligingly began to purr for him, and he smiled coldly as he observed the tic that crossed Ranma's face at the sound. "I'm the one that's going to crush you, Ranma Saotome, for all the trouble you've caused me."

Ranma blinked. "Me? What the hell did I ever do to you? I've never even talked to you before, Kashuoh."

"Ah, but you have frustrated several of my plans and caused me many difficulties, Saotome," said Kinnosuke as he slowly approached, still slowly stroking the silky fur of the cat held in his arms. It yawned sleepily. He saw another nervous tic flit across Ranma's face as his gaze kept slipping nervously to watch the cat. Kinnosuke smiled coldly at the sight.

"The first time was when I sent my Wolf Pack to deal with Akane Tendo," he began. "They had been ordered to brutalize the girl, to work her over to send a message to Nabiki Tendo that her days spent controlling this campus were over. But you stopped them. I gave them one chance to redeem themselves and you beat them again, ending up costing me their services when they were expelled. Then, after that utterly pathetic showing you gave against Utena Tenjou, I loaned Tiger to the Academy to assist in your training, costing me her valuable services for a week while you built up your strength for your rematch at Ohtori Academy."

Kinnosuke paused, still stroking the cat in his arms. "But your most heinous crime against me was your engagement to the very beautiful and intelligent Nabiki Tendo, against whom I have so enjoyed scheming for many months now, maneuvering amidst the shadows as I slowly eroded her network away from her, learning how her mind works as she struggled to find me. For it was while doing so that I came to realize her to be the only girl in the world worthy of me, and so I mean to have her as my own."

He paused, standing in front of Ranma, his glaring gaze filled with brooding menace. "I'm taking Nabiki away from you, Saotome, and there isn't a thing you can do to stop me. And once I have her, I intend to bend her to my will, to make her mine, body and soul." He laughed chillingly.

"You're nuts!" Ranma shouted, his anger now overcoming his fear. He had to keep this psycho away from Nabiki, no matter what the cost to himself. He had to protect her, since that was what a true man did for someone he cared about.

Kinnosuke suddenly surged forward before Ranma could analyze that last thought more deeply, brusquely tossing the cat he had been cuddling off to one side and grabbed Ranma by the front of his outfit. He hauled the pigtailed boy in close, his face now filled with a cold rage. "You will _never_ address me in such a disrespectful fashion again, Saotome," he commanded, an icy calm in his voice.

"L-let go of me," Ranma warned, after a moment of surprise, his gaze now locked with Kinnosuke's. "I'm warning you right now. You'd better stay away from me and Nabiki. You don't know who you're messing with."

"I am not used to being addressed in such a cavalier manner, Ranma Saotome," said Kinnosuke calmly, releasing his grip on the pigtailed boy. "Apparently you require some instruction in how to speak to your betters." Then, in a blindingly fast move, he snapped an uppercut into Ranma's jaw, his fist moving in a blur.

Pain exploded across Ranma's awareness as his head popped upwards and a spray of spittle blew from his mouth as he came close to biting his tongue. He stumbled back a couple of steps and sat down heavily as his knees suddenly gave way beneath him. It had happened so fast! He had just barely sensed it coming, and he had been too slow to respond in time to dodge or block it.

Kinnosuke stepped over to the still stunned Ranma, then reached down and hauled him up by the collar. A wicked smile rested on his face. "I was just going to pummel you unconscious, Saotome." He punched Ranma solidly in the gut, blowing the air from the pigtailed boy's lungs. "But now you've really angered me." He then hurled Ranma across the room to land with a crash after bouncing off one of the walls. Screeching cats scattered away. The Kashuoh heir smirked coldly as he began stalking across the room towards the fallen Ranma, who had already begun painfully struggling to rise, and he began cracking his knuckles coolly.

"Now I'm going to make you really suffer."

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"G-get out of my way," commanded Nabiki, her will forcing her fear back for the moment. Her father had never let his emotions rule over him, even when her mother had died. So it shamed her that she would do any less than her sire, the man she had admired for so long in her mother's absence. She was able to hold it back for now, and she would continue holding it back for as long as it took to deal with this situation, she fumed, feeling a fury at the trio building within her. She was Nabiki Tendo, the true heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts!

"Or what, Nabiki Tendo?" whispered Lynx in a sultry timbre from behind her, her voice holding a purring undertone to it.

"How about this for starters?" growled Nabiki, suddenly elbowing Lynx sharply in the ribs as hard as she could and then springing clear of the trio during the brief confusion, narrowly evading them grabbing at her. Several fearfully yowling cats scattered at her landing point, and she instinctively recoiled from them. It took her a moment to force down her fears again.

Lynx glanced once at Tiger, angry with herself for being overconfident and allowing Nabiki to actually strike her. It would not happen again. "Let me be the first, Tiger. I know I can take her."

Tiger nodded once, curtly. "Very well. But save some for the rest of us, Lynx, if you can."

Lynx leaped at Nabiki, her eyes scanning the girl's defensive posture as she cleared the distance between them in a single bound. Landing right in front of Nabiki, she began dueling with the Tendo girl, the two of them exchanging a rapid series of blocks and blows. Her senses were alert to detect the slightest weak spots in the middle Tendo daughter's defenses, her subliminal programming compiling every response Nabiki made against her and scrutinously analyzing them for vulnerabilities to exploit.

When she felt Lynx's fist slam hard against her lower ribs for the first time, Nabiki grunted once in surprise, even as her own punch was deflected away from Lynx's jaw. The catgirl was fast! Even with the Amaguriken training under her belt, she was having a difficult time keeping up with Lynx's sheer speed. A punch cracked solidly across her chin, driving her back a step, but she rallied again quickly. It was as if the leggy catgirl was able to tell where her defenses would be weak a moment before it even happened.

A cat meowed behind her, and Nabiki quivered as the fear threatened to explode past her control, distracting her for a moment. Lynx was quick to pounce on the opening and laid into her savagely. Several punches drove into her body, and then a solid kick impacted into her ribcage, blowing the air from her lungs as it lifted her off her feet to fly back and slam hard into the wall. She fell to her hands and knees, stunned, struggling to take in a breath, even as cats scattered away from her.

Lynx sighed as she lowered her extended leg and relaxed her posture. She had barely even broken a sweat so far. "Somehow, I was expecting much more of a challenge from you," she observed in a mocking tone. "The great Nabiki Tendo. Or should I call you the Iron Bitch as the other cadets call you? Either way, this is just... sad."

Tiger strolled over and grabbed Nabiki by the hair, lifting her head back. "This isn't going to be very fun for us if you collapse so quickly, Tendo," she said with a smirk, feeling joyous inside at the other girl's plight. "The rest of us still want a turn with you."

"G-go to h-hell, you b-biomechanical love doll bitch," Nabiki groaned out, glaring back at Tiger. Nothing felt broken, but she was sure she would have some colorful bruises in the morning. "I-it's not over yet."

Tiger's eyes flashed as her ears cocked forward. She grabbed Nabiki by the throat in an iron grip, lifted her up with one arm, and slammed the other girl back into the wall once again. She held her battered foe suspended there, Nabiki's toes hanging just above the ground. "Now that wasn't a very nice thing for you to say," Tiger growled out. "And it also wasn't very smart."

Nabiki felt her vision swimming as she fought for breath. Tiger's grip was like a vice upon her throat, and she grabbed at the arm the catgirl was using to hold her up. Her breath refused to come as her trachea threatened to collapse under the pressure from Tiger's hold on her. Then a fist suddenly hit her hard in the belly once and then again. Tears of pain leaked from Nabiki's eyes.

"It seems your abilities were far overrated, Nabiki Tendo," sneered Tiger, allowing her prey to drop from her hand to collapse on the floor and roll on to her back. "To think that our beloved master would want such a pathetic weakling of a creature like you at his side is simply incon- urk!"

Now it was Tiger's turn to suddenly lift up and fly backwards as Nabiki planted her hands on the floor before launching a double-footed kick with all the strength she could muster, impacting into Tiger's upper body and coming close to cracking several ribs. Lynx was caught upside the head by one of Tiger's flailing arms as she flew backwards, giving Nabiki a brief window of surprise to spring back to her feet and make a staggering dash for the door, pushing her battered body as hard as she could. She charged across the room as she gained speed with every step, as Lynx staggered after her in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, Tiger struggled to free herself from some old chairs that had shattered under her body when she impacted into them.

Nabiki's fear was leaking at the edges of her iron control even as she tried to catch her breath and keep moving. She had to get out of this room! She had to flee and make a stand someplace better, not this place filled with monsters from out of her nightmares.

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Kinnosuke paused when he heard the crash in the distance, and he hoped that the three weren't treating Nabiki too harshly. Then he shrugged and smiled. They had their orders, and his lethal beauties would never disobey any command he gave them. They were designed to be that way, after all. He would let them have their fun, just so long as Nabiki wasn't permanently damaged in the process.

Ranma groaned from the pain of his mounting injuries, tasting blood in his mouth, even as he struggled to rise to his feet. The siren call of the boost danced at the back of his mind, promising a fury to lay his enemy low, if only he unleashed it, embraced it. Now that he knew what it was, he feared it even more than he had before, feared becoming addicted to its effects like a drug. But he needed its power now, and so, without any hesitation, he let it free and boosted. He felt its power come roaring upwards from the most primitive and atavistic depths of his hindbrain. He had to win this fight, both to protect himself and to protect Nabiki.

Kinnosuke saw Ranma, who was still on his hands and knees, suddenly seem to quiver as the pigtailed boy boosted. That would make things a bit more interesting, he thought with pleasure, finding the fight so far with Ranma to be an utter disappointment. He reached into the depths of his own hindbrain and released the beast waiting there, as his own boost took hold. He felt its rapture and knew joy, looking forward to savagely beating his foe down, avenging himself on Ranma for all the many frustrations that the pigtailed boy had caused him.

Then, once he was done breaking Ranma's body, done with proving his physical superiority over his chosen nemesis, tomorrow he would show the Academy the bright star that had been in their midst all along. No longer would he force mediocrity upon himself, holding himself back among the pack of his lessers to suit his grandfather's wishes. When the other cadets spoke of the most brilliant and capable one among them, it would be him that they praised, not Ranma Saotome, which was as it should have been all along. After all, he was greater in every respect. His was the superior intellect, not this base pretender now pathetically kneeling before him. The pigtailed boy would never be his better.

Ranma's head snapped up as a furious light seemed to ignite within his eyes. Everything had shifted into slow motion around him as the boost took hold of him, and the intense fear that the cats had caused him was abruptly gone, washed away by the chemical stew now loosed within his system. He spat blood to one side as he stood up, seeing Kinnosuke standing there and watching him with an odd smile on his face. It was time to show this guy who he was dealing with. He was Ranma Saotome, the true heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts!

Charging across the distance that separated them, Ranma's lips split into a feral grin. He threw a punch with all the speed and power his boosted frame could muster, but he was startled when Kinnosuke's hand suddenly snapped up and grabbed it before it struck him. They stood there in a brief tableau, gazing at each other.

"Was that your best shot, Saotome?" sneered Kinnosuke suddenly.

"I haven't even begun," Ranma snarled back. Without hesitation, he unleashed the full measure of his martial arts skills upon the other boy, bringing everything he had within him to bear against his foe. Wrenching his hand free, the pigtailed boy battered away at Kinnosuke's defenses furiously, determined to break through them and finish this quickly. His mind was now cleared of all doubts and fears, and his thoughts attained a crystalline focus. His only desire was to put Kinnosuke down hard, to end this and to dominate his enemy utterly.

They dueled about the room, each of them moving at incredible speed, as Kinnosuke played a waiting game. He had trained his body to tolerate the serums the boost utilized for many months, so he was confident that he could outlast his opponent. In the meantime, he would enjoy their battle.

However, he was astonished to discover during the match that several of Ranma's blows were actually managing to connect with him. Most of those were glancing blows, but one was a fairly solid hit. Blood dribbled down his chin from his nose where Ranma had driven his fist into it, but the flow dwindled quickly as the boost's serums supercharged its clotting and his healing factor by several-fold. He revised his initial assessment of the other boy's abilities upwards a notch as he continued fending him off, as he waited for his foe's boosted speed and strength to run out.

When it did, then it would all be over, and he would be the victor this day, as it was always meant to be. After all, even as capable as Ranma Saotome was showing himself to be, he was still nothing next to his own power and skill, and the Kashuoh heir was looking forward to crushing his nemesis. But it was so difficult to wait. Even so, he would endure to the end, until his moment of victory arrived, savoring the savage journey along the way.

Then nothing would stop him from claiming the fierce and proud Nabiki Tendo as his own, forever.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki's hand was about to grasp the door handle and make her escape from this chamber of horrors when Panther's knee slammed into her back, right between her shoulder-blades. In all the chaos and confusion, she had lost track of the third catgirl. Pain exploded all through her body as she was driven into the wall next to the door from the impact, and she slumped to the ground again, her vision dancing with spots as she struggled to remain conscious.

"Looks like I get to have some fun with you after all, Tendo," snarled Panther with savage glee. She grabbed Nabiki by the back of her skull and drove her stunned foe face first into the wall again, scraping Nabiki's forehead and leaving behind a thin smear of blood. Her lips quirked into a grin. "And here I thought I was going to be left out."

Nabiki's only response was a moan of pain. Flashes of memories fired at random in her brain. She tried to re-gather herself, even as her battered body screamed at the abuses it was suffering. She could not remember ever being beaten this badly before, in either life.

"To think you were brought down by this," sneered Panther, snatching up a large cat that moved too slowly to evade her grasp. It yowled in fear and frizzed out its fur as she held it up by the scruff of its neck. She brought the animal closer to Nabiki, and the middle Tendo daughter cringed away from it as best she could while held in Panther's steel grip. "Aw, what's the matter? Afraid of a little kittycat?"

"N-no. D-don't." Nabiki's voice was a whisper, memories of Genma putting her in the pit suddenly surfacing in her mind, vivid and clear. She could suddenly smell the scent of fish cakes and cat urine in her nostrils, hear the yowls of hunger and fear the animals made, feel their claws and teeth ravaging her young body even as she screamed and begged for Genma to come pull her out. But he never came. He left her there, alone in the dark, with a pack of starving cats biting and clawing at her, in an endless torment of fear. When the first attempt failed, he did it again and again, until her young mind finally broke.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Panther taunted, and she shoved the cat into contact with Nabiki's face.

Battered, bleeding, exhausted, Nabiki trembled uncontrollably when she felt the cat's fur come into contact with her skin. Her fear finally exploded beyond her tentative control like a wild thing. When the cat clawed at her face in its own terror, she willingly yielded herself up to the embrace of warm, numbing darkness. Her last conscious thoughts, before that oblivion washed over her mind, was to curse Genma Saotome, even though she knew she was about to unleash the most powerful weapon in her arsenal.

Panther tossed the cat aside and grasped Nabiki from behind in a choke hold, her muscular arm tightly wrapped around the other girl's neck. It was over. Nabiki Tendo was defeated and would soon be unconscious. She idly noted that all she had to do was flex her arm just a little more tightly, and the object of her hated would be dead. The desire to snap the girl's neck like a dry branch warred against the orders she had been given.

The muscles in her arm bunched and tightened as Panther struggled with herself, her programmed need to obey matched against the sheer hatred she felt towards Nabiki for stealing away the heart of her beloved Kinnosuke-sama. Then her ears suddenly twitched forward, picking up a stray sound. Her captive seemed to be trying to say something, and she relaxed her grip a bit, curious to hear what it was.

"Mrowr," growled Nabiki-neko.

"What?" Panther blurted out in confusion.

Nabiki-neko, in an incredible surge of strength, hurled Panther away from her. Whirling around, she glared as she crouched down and a growl filled her throat again. Every cat in the room suddenly scattered away from her presence, hiding in the corners as best they could, trembling with fear, sensing something that the trio of catgirls were just barely becoming aware of.

"What's with her?" Lynx said in confusion. She could not get a reading on Nabiki now. She was acting totally differently. The Tendo girl was moving like a stalking cat now, like her mind had somehow transformed into a beast. It made no sense!

Standing next to her, Tiger had a sudden flash of memory. This was how Ranma had defeated her. The stance was identical.

And after he had defeated her...

After he had defeated her...

Tiger could not remember what happened. Why could she not remember? Why could she not remember what happened next? The redhead suddenly clutched at her skull as a blinding headache surged to life within her, forcing her down to her knees as her personality governors fought to re-assert their control over her sudden resistance. Why could she not remember?

"Lynx! Tiger! Snap out of it!" Panther shouted, getting back to her feet. She was eyeing Nabiki, puzzled by the feral look in the girl's gaze, but she immediately discounted it. "She's beaten. That was just a desperation move. Now, let's finish her off!"

Nabiki-neko's gaze narrowed in her wrath as she focused her gaze on the trio of catgirls in front of her. These three had hurt her. These three had dared to challenge her. It was time to teach them all a lesson, a harsh one. With a snarl of rage, Nabiki-neko hurled herself at her three foes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma was beyond fear now as he dueled with Kinnosuke, both of them moving and striking within the span of mere eyeblinks. A savage joy was within him as he felt an epiphany come over him, fueled by the stew of endorphins and serums flooding his brain. This was what he was meant to be, a warrior. He embraced that feeling, savoring its seductive sweetness as he hurled blow after blow into Kinnosuke's defenses. What did his studies have to compare to this? What did books give him that could replace the fierce pleasure of driving your fist into an enemy's gut, to breaking down their defenses, to finally gaining the upper hand in battle and then savagely exploiting it?

Even the pains caused by Kinnosuke's blows added to the experience for him. They were gone in moments, wiped away by the heady brew of serums and endorphins filling his system. Each one was a punctuation to the symphony of battle that raged between them. His head snapped to one side as Kinnosuke caught him with a punch, even as he drove a knee upwards into the other boy's gut. On and on it went, as Ranma felt himself fading away slowly into the savage beast he had unleashed from the most primitive cells of his hindbrain and given his skills to. It was like he took a step back away from himself, freeing his body from any conscious thoughts or doubts that could hinder his responses.

Kinnosuke was quickly growing tired of waiting for Ranma's limiter to kick in, finding it increasingly difficult to restrain his desires to unleash himself fully in brutal battle. Why didn't Saotome fall? Both of them had wracked up bruises and other injuries and Ranma had taken the worst of it by far. Yet the pigtailed boy was still boosting and still fighting him hard at every turn. He was better than Kinnosuke had expected, pulling out techniques that came from no combat style he had ever seen before, and the struggle between them was the most brutal and intense he had ever faced.

It was glorious.

This was what he had wanted! This was an enemy he could sink his teeth into! Unbidden, he loosed the small bit of control he had retained over himself, and he put everything he had into the fight. Things began moving even faster and fiercer between them, as their feet danced over the floor, and Kinnosuke slowly began gaining the upper hand.

Ranma suddenly felt his clarity shatter, as the boost reached the wall of what his body could withstand, and his subliminal limiter kicked in. His muscles, pushed to their limits by the sustained adrenaline surge, suddenly weakened as the accumulated fatigue poisons hit him all at once. He missed a block, and Kinnosuke's full power punch caught him squarely in the stomach, just below his sternum. He folded over the blow as his knees buckled, unable to get his body to roll with it and lessen the damage.

Sensing his imminent victory, Kinnosuke did not hesitate. He laid into Ranma with a savage fury before the pigtailed boy could even fall to the ground. Brutal blow after brutal blow pounded into Ranma's head and body before the Kashuoh heir finally managed to regain control over himself, only after several moments of beating a helpless Ranma. He panted deeply as the pigtailed boy was finally allowed to slump down to the floor into unconsciousness. And he felt godlike as he gazed upon Ranma, seeing a small trickle of blood leaking from the other boy's face and pooling upon the floor.

"And so you fall, Ranma Saotome," Kinnosuke whispered, feeling himself slump to his knees as the accumulated fatigue poisons caught up to him in a rush. His belly roiled within him, hunger gnawing at his guts. But none of his discomforts could erase the joy he felt inside. He had beaten his chosen nemesis. He was victorious. Now all that remained was to claim his prize: the infinitely desirable Nabiki Tendo.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hold her!"

"I've got her!"

A cacophony of battle raged behind the door as Kinnosuke paused outside in the hallway. Behind him he dragged Ranma, still unconscious, his hand gripping the back of the pigtailed boy's shirt collar as he hauled him along. Somewhere along the line Ranma had lost his shoes, and a sticky matting of blood stained the front of his Chinese-style shirt. That it sounded like Nabiki was still resisting impressed Kinnosuke, but he was also surprised that the trio sounded like they had their hands full with the Tendo girl. After all, she was only one and there were three of them.

"Aiyee!" came a sudden howled cry of female fear, quickly drawing closer. Kinnosuke was startled when a body abruptly hurtled upside down through the closed door just in front of him, blowing it completely off its hinges with a loud shattering of wood and rending hinges, where it ended up slamming against the far wall of the hallway. Lynx, the rather unwilling missile, collapsed heavily to the ground in front of him, badly battered and bleeding a bit, her uniform scored by numerous slashes.

An animalistic growl of rage resounded from within the room, and the Kashuoh heir cautiously peeked his head around the edge of the opening, wondering what could have possibly done something like that to Lynx. What he saw caused his eyes to widen. He blinked, but the image did not change.

Nabiki-neko stood facing off with Panther, her body crouched and ready to spring. Off to one side, Tiger was struggling to return to her feet, not quite as badly beaten-looking as Lynx was, but it was obvious she had been in a fight. Blood dripped from the fingertips of one of her hands from gashes in her arm, and her jacket was ripped in several spots. Even so, she did not seem to be very seriously injured. Panther, on the other hand, had one eye swollen shut, was sporting three thin slashes along her jawline, and her clothing was rent in several places, as if from some kind of knife.

Tiger noticed him out of the corner of her eye, and she shouted, "No! Stay back, Kinnosuke-sama!" She forced herself to her feet, and she hastened to stand between Nabiki and the Kashuoh heir. "There's something wrong with her! She's gone mad!"

While Tiger had been distracted, Panther had leaped to the attack, driven by her own rage and combat programming to render the Tendo girl unconscious as best she could, especially now that her beloved master was in the danger zone. Punches that would have shattered concrete blurred past Nabiki-neko's head, the girl evading the blows by the thinnest of margins. On one of Panther's attacks, her fist crashed through the floor, and then Nabiki-neko first backhanded her, before her other hand raked downwards quickly, clawing Panther's shoulder and then her chest and spattering a few droplets of her blood across the floor, as invisible claws of chi energy ripped through her flesh.

Tiger was about to leap back into the fray when she was startled to find Kinnosuke suddenly step in front of her and place an arm before her. Her eyes shimmered for a moment with tears at the gesture, one obviously meant to protect her, and that he would do such a thing for her filled her heart with joy. She started to speak.

"I'm disappointed in you, Tiger," said Kinnosuke coldly. "I'm most disappointed in all three of you, that you could not deal with Nabiki more effectively than this." He watched, his gaze icy, even as Panther was brutally batted around by Nabiki-neko's fists. He turned his gaze to Tiger once again. "I'll deal with this."

Kinnosuke boosted, feeling the rush surge through him. He would pay a steep price for boosting again so soon after the last time, but it was necessary. Before Tiger could say anything, feeling as if her heart had been crushed within her chest, he then shoved her back behind him. "Stay out of my way for now. Tend to Lynx and Panther while I subdue Nabiki."

Nabiki-neko paused in her battle with Panther, holding the now almost unconscious catgirl up by one paw. Her hair suddenly stood up a bit as she sensed a new enemy approach, and she let Panther fall limply to the floor, no longer interested in her. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat as she sniffed the air, like a puzzled growl. Her gaze narrowed as she glared at Kinnosuke.

"I can't tell you how long I've been looking forward to this day, Tendo-san," he said to her arrogantly. "I plan to remember this battle well." Then he charged at her.

Nabiki-neko dodged her head swiftly to one side and then the other as the unfamiliar boy tried to hit her. She growled low in her throat as he laid into her defenses, forcing her to give some ground even as she blocked and evaded his strikes. She slipped her body away from his attacks, but she found him to be a more capable foe than the three catgirls.

Her lips split into a feral snarl. "Mrowr!" she growled as a warning to him that he should back off, if he knew what was good for him.

Kinnosuke pressed his attack, his mind caught up in the lust for battle that the boost caused him. He ducked low and threw an uppercut that grazed across Nabiki-neko's face, and then Nabiki-neko lashed out at him with one hand, swiping at his chest. He backed off in surprise, and a strip of cloth from his uniform fluttered to the ground between them.

Nabiki-neko was annoyed. The strange boy was standing between her and the remaining catgirl, preventing her from finishing her off. She glared at him, and her throat rumbled with another growl, her back arching as she suddenly hissed her rage.

Kinnosuke pressed a pair of fingers to his chest, and when he pulled them away, he saw his own blood. Then he raised his eyes to gaze at Nabiki with a look burning with sudden passion. He charged her, caught up in the desire to conquer her, to take her to the floor and ravish her. A savage lust filled him, mixed with rage at her defiance.

Nabiki-neko hurled herself at the strange boy when he came rushing at her, and the two became enmeshed in a vicious exchange. Kinnosuke struck his elbow across Nabiki-neko's face, but the brutal blow only seemed to irritate her. He kneed her in the gut, and it barely seemed to register on her awareness. Meanwhile, her return strikes were savaging him in return. Some he managed to turn aside or dodge, but there were others that impacted hard into him, and more of his blood spattered on the floor.

Kinnosuke slowly began to experience a sensation like he was burning up inside, and discomfort began to penetrate through the fog of endorphins masking his body's pains. Quite suddenly he realized that he was losing, that the Tendo girl was rapidly gaining the upper hand, and it galled him. The fight with Ranma must have taken too much out of him, and he knew that he would have to retreat for now, that Nabiki had won the day here only due to his overconfidence.

The boost ebbed away at his will, and Kinnosuke felt himself fall to his knees on the floor, then over on to his side. He felt sick and weak, and every muscle in his body seemed to be trembling all at once. Hunger was like a ravaging beast raging inside his guts, and he wavered on the edge of consciousness. In the haze of that moment, he now knew how close to his limits he had gone.

"KINNOSUKE-SAMA!" came a simultaneous cry from three throats, and only the fierce growl of Nabiki-neko kept them from his side. The trio eyed the Tendo girl, an unspoken communication passing between them.

Nabiki-neko backed away from her fallen foe, never taking her eyes off of the trio of catgirls as they slowly came forward and picked him up gently, making sounds of concern over his state. Each of them glared at her with hate-filled eyes for several moments, and a growl rumbled deep in her throat, a warning that she was more than ready to continue if they so desired. Each of them looked away from her eventually, but the one with red hair kept a wary eye in her general direction as the other two half-dragged the male human away. When they were gone, she sighed once and hunkered down on the floor to rest for a bit, her body's exhaustion like a dull ache.

A faint groan came from the hallway, and Nabiki-neko lifted her head warily. She padded over to the doorframe, and her senses were alert for an attack. When she peeked her face around the corner, she saw Ranma lying where he had been abandoned, his bruised and battered form still where Kinnosuke had left him.

The face was familiar to her, and she sniffed the air delicately. Her nose caught a whiff of a faintly musky scent, and then she recognized him at last. Unlike the other male with the strange scent, this one smelled right, and her instincts identified him as a highly-desirable mate. But the male had been injured, and a feeling of intense sadness filled Nabiki-neko's chest.

Quietly, she lay down next to the pigtailed male, uncertain what else to do. And as they lay there together, face to face, she gave his lips a gentle sort of cat kiss. She then nuzzled softly at his face, and a soft, questioning sound arose in her throat. But he made no reply and remained unconscious.

"Mrowr," Nabiki-neko called in a low and mournful tone, before settling herself down to sleep. She would stay with him and protect him until he was better. Closing her eyes, she fell into a doze, ready to wake up if any sort of danger threatened. She snuggled up against him a bit, softly purring.

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"How do you think it's going, Saotome-kun?" asked Soun as he lifted his sake cup to take another sip.

"I'm sure it's going fine, Tendo-kun," replied Genma happily, feeling the warmth of a couple of bottles of sake already inside him. "Here's to the joining together of our two families, and the future of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts." He raised his cup, and the two men clinked their cups together.

"Can I get you gentlemen anything else?" Akemi Roppongi said with a saucily professional smile.

"Another round of sake for us both!" announced Genma with a grin.

"Sure thing," Akemi replied with a grin. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at them. She sat down and laid a gentle hand on Soun's thigh. "Whatever you need for a couple of such good customers like yourselves. Can I join you gentlemen for the next round or two?"

Noting her touch, Soun looked at her. "That would be good," he said with unaccustomed boldness due to his mild drunkenness, studying the woman's appearance for a moment. His gaze briefly dipped down to the ample cleavage displayed by her tight dress, and he couldn't seem to look away for several moments, his thoughts scattering at the sight. He ordered her a bottle of sake even as two more were delivered for himself and Genma from another one of the waitresses.

When her bottle arrived, he gallantly poured for her while Genma drank happily next to him. She pressed herself against Soun in a friendly manner as they drank, and she laughed at all the right moments when he spoke to her.

Soun Tendo could not recall ever having had such a good time.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.

Another special thanks goes out to DB Sommer, whose many side-stories set in this universe are one of the reasons I kept writing. Kudos!


	21. Yin And Yang, Part I

*** Earth +3.182, +1.226

Ranko eyed her opponent, half hidden in the darkness of the forest they were in. Sweat dripped down her body, droplets silently falling from her face to the soft mulch, and her breathing was deep and even as she waited. The night was still around them, even the cicadas quiet. The only noises reaching her were those of her opponent breathing, in soft gasps like her own breath now came, a sign of the intense efforts they had made against each other so far. She had still not seen his face clearly. Even when they engaged each other up close, his features remained cloaked in shadow, but she knew she had to overcome him.

The boy sprang at her, one of his hands lashing out at her in a quick punching attack. She blocked the strike and drove her knee upwards into his belly before snaking around behind him, trying for a solid hold. They struggled intensely, warm bodies meshed together into a tight embrace as they battled to get leverage against each other, their physical strength almost evenly matched. Ranko felt her opponent's body straining against her grip, while she maneuvered her free hand to strengthen her hold upon him. He was strong, a little stronger than she was, and that was oddly exciting to her.

He was a few centimeters taller than she was, she noticed, even as she struggled as hard as she could to improve her hold and finally win the battle raging between them. Their hot sweat mingled together as she felt his body gathering itself for an escape. A scent tickled her nose while she was so close to him, faintly redolent of musk. The elbow of his free arm suddenly slammed into her ribcage, but she did not ease up on her grip. As she quested for a better hold on him, he tried to shake her off, and as they grappled his hand came in contact with her breast. They both froze.

The next thing that she knew, they were both down on the ground, his body pinned loosely beneath hers, his lips locked against her own in a very passionate, openmouthed kiss. They still struggled, wrestling with each other, but each now desired something other than defeat for the other. His tongue probed into her mouth as he rolled on top of her, setting off a firestorm of desire within her as she returned the kiss with equal fervor. She still couldn't see his face clearly, only a hint of a profile, a flash of dark blue eyes filled with passion to equal her own. At some moments he wore an Academy uniform, and at other times a Chinese-style shirt and gi pants. His hair was black and seemed to be braided into a short queue, much like how she oftentimes wore her own.

The deep kiss finally ended, and his lips moved down to her jaw and then to her throat, as she felt herself gasp and sigh, softly and lustily. Warm breath touched one of her ears as he nuzzled her there and down her neck. She had never felt so alive before.

His lips nibbled at her earlobe. One of his hands was held fast by one of hers, their fingers interlaced together, his palm warm against hers. Her stroking thumb and littlest finger felt the calluses on the edges of his hand, a clear sign of a trained martial artist. Her free arm slowly caressed down his side, enjoying the solid musculature she discovered there. She ran her fingers lightly through his hair as his lips kissed her throat. Her legs were loosely wrapped around his hips.

Ranko rolled her head to one side, enjoying the pleasant feel of the boy's lips on her neck, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from her. When she glanced up for a moment, she noticed another figure standing nearby, and their eyes met.

"I suppose I should be flattered you keep having this dream, Ranko," said Ranma Saotome dryly.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. In the Imperial Arena, Shampoo began integrating the memories that have been granted her, of a life spent as a loyal soldier serving the Solnoid Matriarchy in another timeline. After a misunderstanding, Ranma and Kodachi shared a private moment together and came near to exchanging a kiss before they were rudely interrupted. Ranma used the resonator and visited the other Earth where his father is currently trapped and confronted him about Project Phoenix. Kinnosuke Kashuoh learned an unpleasant truth about himself, but it only steeled his resolve to crush Ranma and claim Nabiki as his own. Herb and his cronies escaped from their prison in China. Kinnosuke and his trio of faithful catgirls battled Ranma and Nabiki, and Nabiki was forced to unleash the Nekoken in a desperate bid for victory during the brutal struggle against the four. Finally, the two fathers enjoyed drinking in the company of Akemi Roppongi and looked forward to uniting the two Schools.

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Chapter 21 - Yin And Yang, Part I

Romance is like a game of chess: one false move and

you're mated.

- Anonymous

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Ranko snapped awake, the loose shirt she was wearing falling off one shoulder a bit as she sat up quickly in bed, panting. The sounds of the city outside drifted in through the partly open window of her hotel room. It was a nicer one for a change, the owner of the hotel grateful to her for helping his daughter Yuka out with some bullies, an analog for the girl she remembered from home as one of Nabiki's cohorts. As she sat there, she grimaced, recalling the fading bits of her recent dream as she tried to calm herself. A sigh escaped her lips.

"Damn you, Ranma," she muttered. Her life already had more than enough difficulties going on without this.

It was all the fault of a boy named Ranma Saotome, a male version of her, who had apparently been working on a means of contacting other worlds by temporarily possessing the bodies of his analogs, and she had been one of them. All she remembered of the experience was blacking out for a time, and, when she came to, finding her clothes in disarray, and she had apparently been about to undo her blouse.

"Pervert," she muttered darkly, blushing in embarrassment. Luckily, there had not been another incident, and she had dismissed the blackout as a sign of overwork. Then the accident in her lab had occurred, and she had bigger problems to deal with. Nothing had seemed different about her until quite recently, when something suddenly changed within her, during a fight of all things.

Ranko closed her eyes, recalling that incident. Her small cache of funds had run out before a transit to a world she was stuck on for over two full days, an Earth ruled by militant feminists called the Solnoid Matriarchy. Starved and desperate, she finally resorted to petty thievery to get something to eat, sneaking into one of the pleasure houses near a starport and swiping a few morsels of food from a table while a party of some sort was going on. Her next transition was soon coming up, and she wanted to at least fill her belly first.

Unfortunately, one of the guests, a uniformed Chinese girl with short, lavender hair had spotted her, apparently taken great exception to her theft and given chase. Ranko recognized her from some of the worlds she had visited so far in her travels. They ended up fighting each other in a nearby alleyway, in what very quickly turned into a pretty vicious struggle between them, the other girl managing to press her a bit as they both fought to gain the upper hand. Perhaps it was the stress of the experience that triggered what happened next.

It was like something suddenly clicked into place inside her. She found herself fighting much better than before, even without using that strange adrenaline surge that sometimes came over her during difficult fights of late, like when she had battled some tricky little old pervert who had groped her on another world, who she later learned was called Happosai.

After throwing a quick feint, her spin kick cracked across the other girl's jaw, putting her out of commission. It had been just in time. While the Chinese girl was still slumping to the ground, after having bounced heavily off a nearby alley wall, Ranko had activated her device and quickly left that world and that version of Shampoo far behind her.

However, in the days that followed, she discovered new memories within herself, of two very different lives, both of male versions of herself. One was from a world pretty much identical to her own, of a science cadet at Tokyo's Imperial Academy and the one she blamed for messing with her brain. The other was of a Jusenkyo-cursed martial artist, who spent half his time as a girl that looked a lot like her, only maybe a bit shorter.

Blinking her eyes open, Ranko grumbled to think what Kaneda-baka would say about her predicament. She knew she wasn't very feminine at the best of times, but now she possessed memories of being male. While the increase in her martial arts skill was really nice, things didn't end there.

She was now noticing other girls. Not noticing them as in admiring their clothing choices or comparing herself to them, like how she had viewed them before. No, now she was _noticing_ them, like a boy did a girl, like she used to just notice boys. The other day was when she finally realized it, when she caught herself checking out a cute girl passing by her on the street.

Ranko cursed Ranma Saotome for doing this to her. How could he have been so careless, for not using some kind of buffer in his device at least? She curled her hands into tight fists. If she ever met the guy face to face, she was going to give him a severe beating for what he had done to her, at the very least.

Hoping to distract herself from her anger, Ranko picked up the remote for the television. It came on with a flurry of colored snow that quickly resolved into the late-night news.

"...and Chancellor McCartney is still negotiating with the House of Lords concerning the wording of the latest bill," said the pretty, dark-haired newscaster in English. "He continues to express his support for the besieged German peoples and has threatened military action if France continues with this aggressive course of action. In other news..."

Disinterested, she flipped to the next channel.

"...are seeing pictures showing the results of the latest attacks in Kyoto," said a handsome man in Japanese. "Fear of what the Australian regime will do next has everyone on edge. The Prime Minister has been seen in the recent polls as a failure for..."

"Oh, great," she complained to no one in particular. "Just what I want to see, more news." Switching the station again, she settled on the next channel in rotation.

"...where you'll always find a friendly face prepared to fix you up a piping-hot plate of our finest cuisine," said a smiling Ukyo Kuonji, dressed in the traditional garb of an okonomiyaki chef and looking very attractively feminine. "We're unveiling our tenth restaurant in the Tokyo area this weekend, so come on down for the grand opening. We promise our food will make you smile. So be sure to visit us at..."

"Ucchan's looking really cute," Ranko mumbled and then she hastily turned the station again.

"...but I love you, Utena," said the handsome young actor on screen, his facial expression one of obvious passion as he held the pink-haired girl he was speaking to. "I simply can't deny my feelings for you any longer."

Ranko snorted. Soap operas. Only housewives watched this stuff.

As the music swelled dramatically, the screen suddenly changed to a station identification and a deep male voice announced, "You are now watching 'Roses and Swords' here on Channel Six. We will be back after a word from our sponsors."

"Pass," she said, flipping channels once again.

"...going to do, Yumi?" said a concerned male voice in Japanese. On the screen an animated drawing of a young man in a boy's school uniform was speaking with an animated drawing of a girl dressed similarly. "Now that they know you're really a girl, why are you still going to fight that gang's leader? I know you're strong, but..."

"Girls can fight just as well as guys, jerk," she muttered, flipping the television back off.

Ranko flopped back on the bed, arms spread wide on the thick quilt atop it. It was still many hours until dawn and her next transit time, and she needed to be as ready as possible. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep again.

Maybe the next world would finally be home.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Tonight had been an incredible experience for Shampoo, and she knew she would have trouble sleeping. Having Ensign Shan's memories within her had given her a totally new perspective on her own life, and how good a life it was. She had won her match, of course, maintaining her record as an undefeated contender. It had been a little scary at first when her much larger male opponent had first stepped into the Arena to face her, a feeling she was not used to having, but it had transformed into exhilaration after they began mixing it up.

She had been struck once in the face early on, bloodying her nose, but that had snapped her out of the fear and replaced it with anger. She had fought the rest of the match with intense passion, which the crowd always loved witnessing, losing herself in the sheer joy of facing a strong opponent. She saw with renewed eyes how much fun it was to fight, to give it her all in fierce struggle against another.

Then, when it was over, the crowd had loudly roared their approval of her victory as she walked off the floor, waving casually at them and putting a sensuous bounce into her stride. She was looking forward to facing another strong opponent next time.

Grinning broadly at Running Deer, Shampoo poured herself another glass of apple juice from a plastic carafe. She recalled that she still wanted to re-read the latest letters from her mother, great-grandmother and her little sisters, LinLin and RanRan, the last two probably her two biggest fans. It would be nice to hear what was going on at home, although the letters from her mother and great-grandmother were usually filled with comments on where she needed to improve in her fighting skills, with the occasional compliment thrown in on how well she was doing at proving to the world the superiority of Amazon fighting techniques. She knew they were both proud of her, and that felt good.

That reminded her that she needed to send some more money back to her great-grandmother. Her mother had mentioned in her latest letter that the village needed a few more things from the outside world, which always required money, and Shampoo was happy she could help out. Sales of her new posters and video were doing very well, and her fan club's ranks were constantly swelling, which only meant even more money coming in. All in all, it was somewhat overwhelming at times the way her popularity kept growing throughout the Empire, but it was very nice too. She was getting an ever-increasing pile of fan mail every week, but her inability to read Japanese very well had limited her enjoyment of it.

Running Deer had won her own match tonight as well, the debut of one of the new hopefuls out of Shanghai's arena, a Taiwanese girl about their age by the name of Shenhua whose fighting outfit consisted of a white jacket over a short-skirted, red cheongsam-style dress that showed off her long legs and bustline. She had fought very skillfully. Shampoo was a bit concerned that the girl was seen talking quietly with Mina Li afterwards, with the occasional glance towards Running Deer. There was something dangerous in the Taiwanese girl's gaze, the same sort of look that the Korean girl often had towards Shampoo.

After their matches and Running Deer getting some ice bags for a couple of deep bruises on her ribcage, they celebrated by eating dinner in one of the local restaurants they favored. Then they went back to Shampoo's small apartment to watch some television together and enjoy a private toast to their victories. It was now a regular ritual between them, one that began when they had first become friends, when Shampoo had arrived in Tokyo for her own debut match in the Imperial Arena a few months ago.

That was when she had first met the Korean girl, Mina Li, Shampoo mused. Mina had been in Japan for only a month then, but her fame and popularity were already growing, since she gave a good, if rather brutal, show on the floor. She was the one selected to face Shampoo when the Amazon made her own debut in Tokyo's Imperial Battledome, and it had been advertised as a match of titans. Both of them were hot commodities with undefeated records at the time, so the pairing was played up by the media a lot.

While it had been a somewhat challenging match, Shampoo had not doubted the outcome after the first thirty seconds of exchanging blows with Mina, and she had left the overconfident Korean girl face down on the floor of the Arena in well under two minutes. The crowd had been utterly stunned at the speed of her victory, and Mina took that humiliating loss bitterly, having been unexpectedly torn down from her previously unchallenged rise to the top of the rankings of female fighters in their age bracket.

Running Deer had been the first to come up to Shampoo as she exited the main combat floor and welcome her to the ranks of those who fought in the Imperial Arena, even taking her out to one of the local restaurants to celebrate with some of the other contenders. Ever since then, the tall Apache girl and the Chinese Amazon had become the best of friends. Running Deer reminded her of an Amazon in many ways, with an enjoyment towards life and a passion for giving her best in a match that was invigorating to be around.

Mina had lost her next two matches before she regained her pacing, by savagely beating her opponent to death and taking her time at it. It was a renewed Mina Li who had then stalked off the Arena floor that night, splattered with the blood of the other girl, the roar of the crowd filling the Battledome. She had never forgiven Shampoo for winning against her so easily, not that the Amazon particularly cared after seeing such a grim spectacle as that other girl's fate, or the look Mina had directed her way as she passed by her without a word. The message was clear.

"So what's with your mood tonight, Shampoo?" Running Deer took another drink, finishing off her bottle. "You really got a charge out of your match it seems."

"Shampoo just happy," she announced, leaning back on the couch and taking a sip from her glass as she thought about more pleasant things than a certain Korean girl. "Shampoo have good life and good friends." She could have been drinking something alcoholic like Running Deer was, but she preferred to keep her wits about her. The Amazon watched with an amused look on her face as her friend popped open a fresh bottle, her second for the night, and quickly took a deep drink from it.

"Yeah! That's the stuff!" Running Deer flopped back on to the couch, her bosom bouncing nicely within the tight black T-shirt emblazoned with the Tokyo Battledome logo she wore over cutoff bluejeans, and she kicked her bare feet up on to the table. "I gotta say one thing for the Impies. They can sure make a damn good beer. You should taste some of the local swill they've got in bars in Angel City back home. It's piss in a bottle compared to this."

Shampoo grinned, relaxing on her side of the couch in a set of light purple silk pajamas. Her own feet were up on the table too as she sighed and stretched, feeling her muscles loosen. The movie they had watched tonight was good, a sappy martial arts-filled love story that had left both of them crying by the end of it. She listened to Running Deer start chattering about the latest gossip on their peers, nodding absently.

One new thing lately was that the Apache girl had been keeping tabs on the new boy, Ryu Kumon, and she had even been running interference for him now and then. He had only been here a few days, but he was having trouble fitting in. That was understandable. The Arena was a hard world to live in. Shampoo counted herself fortunate in having made several friends so far, even with those she had beaten in matches. Of those, Running Deer was her best friend, a better friend than any girl had ever been to her while growing up in her home village.

Unfortunately, Ryu was not proving himself lucky that way, not that Shampoo felt responsible for his situation. He had faced her in battle and lost, and that was not her fault. He had been keeping to himself a lot as his injuries healed, so he had no allies right now except for Running Deer. And it was pretty obvious from the start to Shampoo that the Apache girl liked him a lot, but she kept getting tongue-tied and calf-eyed whenever she was around him. So, instead of talking to him properly, she would just follow him around like a puppy, protecting him as best she could while he healed.

Because he was Japanese, the less savory fighters in the Arena's ranks had singled Ryu out for their abuse, especially their unspoken leader, Tarou, Mina's current steady boyfriend. As the undefeated champion among the male fighters in their age bracket, the Chinese boy had shown an immense ego, and he enjoyed bullying other people whenever he could. It made him a perfect match for Mina, and the Amazon found it difficult to say which of them she despised more lately. While he was quite handsome, Shampoo found his personality utterly repulsive, and she hoped someone showed up to put Tarou in his place soon, before she had to do it herself.

While Running Deer continued to ramble on, Shampoo sipped her juice and nodded at the right moments to show she was listening. But her mind had already begun to drift to her mission again. She knew she was going to have to begin her search for any clues to the source of that resonator signal soon. There was no telling where the Muskys might have gone on this world, or what they were up to, so she had to find it first. She could not let them beat her to it.

When the Huntress reported in at headquarters, the Matriarchy would surely station a ship on patrol there, in the timeline tangent where they had first detected the incoming signal. It had been pure blind luck that they had found it, and the Musk vessel, when they had been so far from the frontlines. The Huntress had been performing a random jump exercise to give the crew experience in dealing with such things, not actively hunting for Musk activity.

To discover another timeline variant that had apparently managed to develop resonator technology on its own was an added bonus to the situation. To Shampoo's knowledge, other than the Matriarchy itself, only the Musk had ever shown knowledge of such technology until now. To have discovered another resonator-capable culture was an historic event, even if they were a patriarchal-based society instead of a properly matriarchal order. But despite such a flaw, they seemed less objectionable than the misogynistic Musk Dynasty and could likely be indoctrinated eventually into a healthier social dynamic, one where women made the decisions instead of hormonally-driven males.

There had to be a vessel there, she decided, otherwise her mission was already a failure. For without anyone there to listen for her signal from this world, the odds were slim that she would ever be able to even find the Matriarchy again in her lifetime, not with countless millions upon millions of inhabited timelines to choose from. No, she decided, she had nothing to worry about. After the Musk vessel was destroyed, the Huntress would have immediately initiated a phase translation towards home. Her other self was undoubtedly there already, with a fresh kill on her record and enjoying the camaraderie of her shipmates in some port bar, probably bragging about it to others her age.

Shampoo sipped her drink and thought about how she was going to locate the resonator signal source on this world. It wasn't going to be easy, but she was a Joketsuzoku Amazon, and quitting was not in her nature. Somewhere out there was the prize she sought, those who had crafted a new development in resonator technology with such incredible range. She would not give up, no matter where her search took her, or to whom.

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Ranma slowly stirred to consciousness. With a groan, he realized that he was lying on something hard and cold, but there was also something soft and warm next to him. His mind was still a bit fogged from his injuries, and he could not recall immediately where he was or how he had gotten there. He reached out a hand to try and determine what it was he was lying against, and the first thing he encountered was something soft and rather squishy in feel, covered in cloth. Puzzled by the odd sensations, he gently squeezed it as he opened his eyes, trying to figure out what it was, and why it felt so pleasant to touch.

Feeling someone suddenly groping her breast and squeezing it, Nabiki's eyes snapped open in surprise, at the exact same moment that Ranma's were opening more slowly. She blinked once as her brain engaged and then her expression hardened. Her response was as quick as it was brutal.

"Ow!" Ranma yelped, as Nabiki reared up and then planted her fist into his face. When she pulled it back, he demanded, "What the hell did ya do that for?" He rolled over on to his back and held a hand to his jaw, a fresh bruise on his cheek. "That hurt, ya know!"

"Good!" Nabiki snapped, sitting up and putting some distance between her and Ranma. "Keep your hands to yourself, Saotome."

Nabiki's body ached in a multitude of places, and it took her a few moments to remember where she was. The last thing she could recall was when Panther shoved a cat into her face. She suddenly began to shiver and forced herself to stop.

Ignoring Ranma for the moment, she began checking her injuries, wincing a bit at the pains of the bruises on her body. It felt like someone had worked her over with a sledgehammer, but nothing seemed broken, which was a relief. Ranma appeared to be worse off than she was, she noted, glancing at him briefly, and she felt a slight twinge of guilt for punching him while he was in such a state.

Meanwhile, the pigtailed boy sat up gingerly, feeling like his entire body was one big bruise. He winced as he felt several sharp pains in his chest, and he touched his ribs gently. He grunted at the resulting pain, causing Nabiki to look over at him again.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked, her tone still a little harsh. "I didn't hit you that hard."

"I think it's my ribs." Ranma slowly lifted his shirt and was dismayed to see several broad contusions on his chest, black and purple in color. It hurt a bit to breathe, but he was relieved that nothing seemed to be broken. He had broken ribs and other bones before during training, so he knew what that felt like. Actually, one of the other Ranma's had, he amended. While his chest hurt a lot, the pain wasn't bad enough to indicate a break. "That psycho Kashuoh jerk really got me good. I almost had him."

The bitterness of losing was almost as bad as the fierce aches still racking his body. He looked away from Nabiki as memories of the fight came to him. Despite the anger and regret he felt over losing, he could still feel a dim echo of the fierce joys of the boost, and how much the fight had thrilled him. It bothered him to realize how much he had changed inside, how easily he could cast aside the joy he had once taken in his studies, and replacing it with this undeniable glow he felt in physical competition.

No, not just physical competition, it was fighting that excited him, and he realized how little he now differed from Akane in that regard, knowing how much she loved to fight. Suddenly, he felt he understood the youngest Tendo a little better. He was certain that his eyes had burned with the same fire he had often seen fill Akane's and also Nabiki's eyes. He had felt an intensity to life while fighting, one he was growing more used to. And when he boosted, the sensations were magnified many-fold, the thrill burning like a fire within him, like a previously unlit torch existing within his heart suddenly igniting.

Nabiki had been a bit startled at hearing Kinnosuke's name from Ranma. But suddenly everything made sense now, since the Kashuoh heir's three biomechanical playthings had been the ones who had worked her over pretty good. She cursed herself for totally overlooking him as a possibility for her mysterious enemy, for letting him manage to fly beneath her radar. He certainly had the money and the resources to do it. But why would someone with all that money and power want to take control of her network on campus? For that matter, why attack Ranma?

"Why would he attack you?" She tried to stand, and her knees wobbled, forcing her to lean on Ranma for a moment to keep her balance. She still seemed to be in a slight state of shock from the damage, she realized. She heard him suck in a breath at the sudden strain she put on him, but he didn't utter a complaint.

"I dunno," said Ranma with a grunt, when she finally eased up on her leaning on him, finding himself slipping into rougher speech patterns again as he continued to pull himself together. He forced himself to stand up as well, taking it slowly. "Man, you're heavier than you look."

That remark earned him another quick fist into the face.

"Ow! What the hell did ya hit me for now?" Ranma held his nose, hoping she hadn't broken it.

"First you grope me, and now you're calling me fat?"

"I never said that! I just said you're heavier than you look."

Another solid punch impacted into Ranma's face.

"Ow! Quit hitting me, damn it! You're gonna give me a concussion!" There was an odd feeling of déjà vu to the whole experience as Ranma rubbed his face, but he was not sure why. "Man, not only are you bossy, but you're at least as violent as Akane."

Nabiki glared at him and debated punching him in the face again. "Stop making stupid remarks, and I'll stop hitting you. You brought it on yourself." She huffed and turned away from him, irritated with herself for letting Ranma get to her like that. She made an effort to regain her usual cool poise and reign in her flare of temper. Why was he being so irritating? Why couldn't he be like that other Nabiki's Ranma was? Sure, that one was a little rough around the edges at times, but at least he didn't insult her analog and was certainly nicer than the jerk next to her was.

Ranma grumbled under his breath, but he decided to leave well enough alone for now. Three blows to the face in under a minute was giving him a severe headache and rattling his thoughts, making it difficult to stop himself from acting like his martial artist analogs. He still kept feeling as if he had been in almost this exact same conversation somewhere, most likely with some other world's Akane.

He shrugged. It was probably best to avoid making any more comments about Nabiki within her hearing, even though he still didn't have the slightest idea why what he had said could have made her mad enough to hit him. Maybe he would talk to Ukyo about it sometime and get her opinion.

As Nabiki walked in front of him, she stumbled a bit, but he caught her before she could fall. They ended up leaning heavily upon each other for support for a few moments, before abruptly letting go and moving apart, neither one wanting to admit to any sort of weakness in front of the other. Ranma decided to change the subject back to something safer for him.

"Anyway, he just kept ranting about how I'd gotten in the way of his plans for you. That he was going to-" He paused at that point and looked away from her, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "He said he was going to hurt you."

"And you fought him for me, to protect me." Nabiki studied Ranma as he stood there in front of her, feeling a fresh surge of annoyance with him at the thought of him believing she needed defending. It made her sound weak, like she couldn't handle her own fights. She frowned at the whole notion, as her emotions swirled from a mixture of that other Nabiki's fierce martial artist pride and the 'Iron Bitch' persona she had crafted so long for herself. Her right hand clenched into a fist at her side, but then it relaxed back open as she forced herself to calm down. "I didn't need your help, Saotome," she finally said.

"Hey!" Ranma snapped, glaring briefly at Nabiki. "The guy attacked me! He trapped me in a room full of damn c-c-cats, and then he attacked me!" He moved to stand right in front of Nabiki as he shouted at her, feeling frustrated by her attitude, as if the fight was somehow entirely his fault. The two of them glared at each other as they stood toe to toe, Nabiki remaining grimly silent. He then looked away when he was done. "Anyway, I didn't do it for you. Let's just be straight about that."

Nabiki sighed as she suddenly realized what she was doing, how twisted up her feelings were getting at the moment. Was it always going to be this difficult between them? This tense? She had proven in their last fight that she was his better, restoring herself to her proper place after the brief aberration that had occurred after her loss to him in their first duel with each other. She felt again that part of her that wished Ranma was more like the one she was familiar with, the one her other self had as her fiancé.

The one who had been willing to stand in her shadow, she mused, turning to look at the pigtailed boy with a new regard in her gaze. No, the Ranma before her now wasn't like him at all, wasn't content to be her... inferior. Instead, this one had memories of experiences like hers, of ten years spent travelling with Genma Saotome, of undergoing intense trials and training methods that would turn him into a superior fighter. She knew he would keep pressing her, striving and struggling with her to surpass her in skill, a true rival in the Art, because that hunger to be the best was now in his nature.

Nabiki knew just how good Ranma was in a fight, and she was genuinely intrigued by the sheer challenge he presented her, something her other self had never known with her version of Ranma. In fact, her other self had never really had any rivals in the Art to match skills against. So the thought of having him with her, both as a husband and as a rival, watching her back and also competing with her as they drove each other onwards to ever greater levels of skill, felt pretty good, even kind of exciting. But she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud, her stubborn pride refusing to let her give in to him even that much, so she changed the subject instead.

"It's getting late," she said finally, glancing at her watch and seeing that it was nearly ten at night. They must have been unconscious for several hours now. "Let me take you to someone I know who can fix us both up and keep it quiet. Then I'm going home to a bath and some sleep."

"Is it Tofu-sensei?" Ranma asked with a sudden look her way, suddenly remembering the man from two versions of his life. He was taken for a moment by how cute Nabiki was in profile, even as bloodied and bruised as she was right now. He quickly attempted to banish the thought. She was not cute. It was only a biological imperative speaking, his brain reacting to her pheromones due to the symbiotes within them both, nothing more.

Reminded about the symbiotes, Ranma briefly wondered if Nabiki knew about Project Phoenix. She most likely did, knowing who her father was, but now wasn't really a good time to talk about such things. Visiting Dr. Tofu would be a better use of the time, if he wanted to be able to move at all in the morning. He could always feel her out later about what she might know about the Project.

Nabiki glanced at him and nodded, quickly realizing that Ranma must have known of the man from one of his analogs. "He married Kasumi a little over a year ago." She then looked away from the pigtailed boy, feeling somewhat embarrassed to remember the crush she had once had on Tofu, back when he had first become engaged to marry Kasumi. It was the first time she could recall feeling such a strong physical attraction to a man, like she did towards Ranma. Akane had felt it as well.

It had been something they had shared in private conversations with each other. They had both been a bit envious of their eldest sister for marrying a handsome doctor like Tofu Ono, but happy for her as well. It had only been a little over a year now, but it felt like forever.

Nabiki forcibly turned her mind away from thoughts of Akane, and her mind was still regrettably blank on how she would explain her recent engagement to Ranma to her little sister. She was certain that Akane wasn't going to take it very well when she found out, no matter how she presented it. So she would wait a while longer to tell her, when she felt she had the proper words to do so. That would be for the best.

"Anyway," she said, moving away from Ranma and slowly making her way down the hallway to the front door. "I'm sure we can trust him to fix us up and keep it to himself. I don't want Daddy getting involved with this. It's my problem." She felt her body aching with every step.

"Nabiki," Ranma spoke up suddenly behind her. "There's something you should know about your father."

"What?" She turned back to face him, her look questioning.

Ranma couldn't meet her eyes, feeling a fresh wave of guilt for the chain of events he had unintentionally set into motion on the day of his father's accident. "Genma constructed another resonator unit. He used it on your father."

She suddenly surged forward and grasped him strongly by the collar of his shirt, and he looked up to see her glaring at him, their faces now only inches apart.

"What did you say?" she demanded.

Ranma swallowed. As he looked into her eyes, he thought she was going to hit him again, but he didn't drop his gaze and met hers steadily.

"Genma switched your father for the one from the timeline where he came from. It happened a day or two ago, I think." He then put his hands on hers, beginning to pull them free of his shirt when she suddenly let go. He was startled when Nabiki's shoulders slumped, her head drooping down.

"No," she whispered hollowly, having seen the truth in his eyes. Brief images of her father flashed across her vision as she stood there, of his strength, his courage and his willpower. She suddenly whipped her face back up, glaring at Ranma fiercely. "How could he even think of something like this? This is Genma Saotome we're talking about. If he's anything like the man I know, he's an idiot!"

Seeing Ranma's eyes suddenly fill with compassion, the strength of her fury tempered itself, and she dropped her hands to her side as she looked at the ground. Her father had always been the one thing she could depend on in her life after her mother died. He was the stern patriarch of their family, the one person in this world she had always respected and could always count on to be strong, no matter what the world threw at them. And now that foundation was gone, taken from her, replaced by a much different Soun Tendo, one like the weak man of her counterpart's life, maybe even far worse. Tears of rage began to roll down her cheeks as she shut her eyes, her body beginning to tremble as her fury built again, a fury at Genma Saotome messing over her life, like the Genma her other self knew had so often done.

"We'll get him back, Nabiki," Ranma said firmly, putting a hand on her left shoulder and squeezing companionably, absently noting its lithe solidity under her clothing, a result of the intensive training her mother had once given her as well as their training at the Academy. He was certain her body would only get even stronger and more capable at fighting, as his own was doing, as their muscles continued to gain in strength and their flexibility improved, becoming better able to perform the maneuvers that their brains already knew.

Nabiki had already improved enough to master the Amaguriken technique. While it gave her a clear advantage at present, he was certain he could match her speed, given time. He had to. He was not about to let her advance beyond his reach, not in this life, not ever. He would not let himself become like that other version of himself, his male ego simply refusing to do so.

"You're damn right we're going to get him back, Ranma," she said slowly as she lifted her face to look at him once again. "We're going to get them both back, no matter what it takes."

Ranma was surprised to see the tears on her cheeks, underscoring the determined set of her jaw and mouth. As far as he knew, nobody at the Academy had ever seen her like this. Nabiki Tendo was near legendary for her ability to maintain a stoic composure and remain in control of a situation, no matter what. So it was a shock for him to realize that inside the hard shell she always projected was a girl with feelings and passions, that this was the same person who had coolly beaten him up in a fight only mere days ago. He nodded as they looked at each other.

Nabiki suddenly felt a bit ashamed of herself, for showing weakness like this to anyone, let alone him. She was the Iron Bitch of the Imperial Academy, and to show tears in front of Ranma, her rival, the guy she had taken down in a duel recently, offended her pride. But she just couldn't seem to bring herself to push him away, to reassert that role, her pride be damned.

They stood like that for some time, Ranma's hand gently squeezing her shoulder supportively, gazing at each other with a quiet intensity there in the dimness of the hallway. Ranma felt tears of his own welling upwards in his eyes, realizing that they had both lost their fathers in a way. They had that in common. He tried to regain control of himself, not wanting to appear unmanly in front of her.

Nabiki was the first to break eye contact. "You tell anyone about this, and I'll kill you, Saotome," she muttered. She heard Ranma chuckle for a moment as the tension between them lifted a bit, and she felt a brief moment of irritation that he might have been laughing at her.

"I believe you, Nabiki," Ranma said sincerely after a pause. "Your secret is safe with me."

She lifted her face and looked at him again, intending to laugh with him at the situation they were in. Their gazes met for a moment, and time seemed to stop for each of them. Nabiki felt her breath catch in her throat.

Ranma froze when his eyes met hers. He felt an unexpected urge come over him, to take her in his arms and kiss her. A single swallow went down his throat, but otherwise he didn't move. He couldn't move.

Nabiki was barely in the lead to look away first, her heart pounding in her chest, a bit overwhelmed by what she was suddenly feeling inside. She had almost kissed him. No, they had almost kissed each other. She turned away from Ranma as she wiped away her already drying tears, her mind shying away from that thought to a sudden concern about her appearance.

After suffering a beating a few hours ago and a brief bout of crying just now, she was certain she looked like a horrible mess, and she half expected Ranma to make some more smart-mouthed remarks. But even as her mind sought to block it out with such concerns, to not deal with it, she could remember back when she had impulsively kissed him. He had been unconscious at the time, during his accident with the resonator, the one that had left him linked for most of a day to his analog in the world where Professor Saotome was still trapped.

Since he wasn't aware of it, it didn't really count.

Boys had always been far too afraid of her, or her father, to come near her and try to pursue a romantic relationship, at least until recently, thinking about Kuno and Touga. Kuno she could dismiss right away, but there was something about Touga that was interesting to her. He had a certain quality to him that appealed to her strongly, as well as being a marvelously handsome boy.

However, despite her attraction to the young nobleman, during a moment of self-realization, she actually wanted her first real kiss to be with Ranma. She felt shocked at how easily that thought occurred, and how natural. It had almost happened now, but the circumstances were all wrong. Both of them were too stressed right now.

Nabiki forcibly slowed her breathing. When she finally regained some control over herself, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, just as he looked her way at the same moment. Both of them quickly blushed and turned their gazes away from each other again, and Nabiki's breath caught in her throat again.

"A-anyway," said Ranma, feeling uncomfortable at the situation, unsure what had almost possessed him to kiss Nabiki, wondering what it would feel like to have her lips pressed against his. So what did that mean? Did he like her? Maybe he did, a little bit, he finally conceded. She wasn't that same girl he'd first met months ago, not anymore.

He put his hand up behind his head and rested it there a moment, a nervous gesture he had inherited from his other selves. "We should get going," he managed to finish.

While he acknowledged he felt a definite physical attraction towards the middle Tendo daughter, Ranma still couldn't decide how much he liked the person she was, or if he really even did like her at all, beyond what his hormones were controlling. She was supposed to be his fiancée, but they weren't exactly even friends yet. They were unlikely allies at best, thrown together by chance. But the intense passions conjured up within him during that brief moment when they had looked at each other had thrown his mind into turmoil, filling it with many more questions than answers. He backed away from her, hoping some distance would clear his thoughts.

"Right," Nabiki quickly agreed, feeling her own confusion flaring up as well. "Let's go." She took a few steps and then paused a moment, her thoughts still shying away from thinking about kissing him and what it might mean in order to focus on something easier. "Ranma?" Her tone became a bit fiercer. "I want to deal with this Kinnosuke creep myself. I want him to know he's picked a fight with the wrong girl, him and his three overbuilt playthings. Just so you understand. I want you to stay out of it. Okay?"

"Hey, I owe the guy too," Ranma protested as he caught up with her. They began walking side by side. "I owe him big." Nabiki only grunted at him in reply, feeling irritated again at his continual defiance of her requests.

Luckily, when they got outside, they saw that the rain had stopped, leaving behind numerous puddles to reflect the stars and the moon in a now cloudless sky. They both sagged a bit when they reached the door, and they helped hold each other up. Neither of them thought anything of it this time. Nabiki glanced down at Ranma's feet.

"Where are your shoes?" she asked, curious.

"I must have lost them in the fight, or when I was brought upstairs, I guess." He looked down at his feet, a bit distracted by the feelings generated by holding his arm around Nabiki. Well, to be fair, she was holding him up as much as he was supporting her, he thought. "I have an extra pair in my locker. I'll go get them, and then we get going to Tofu-sensei's place."

Nabiki sighed again. "That's going to be a long walk." It felt nice to hold each other like this, she mused absently, deciding to tolerate it for the time being.

"Gotcha covered," Ranma said with a grin, pulling his new set of keys out of a pocket and jingling them in front of her. "I'll give you a ride."

"With what?"

"I've got a motorcycle," he replied, as they started to head towards the main academy building.

Nabiki's gaze narrowed slightly. "And where did you get that from?"

"Uh, I got it as a present from Kodachi's father," he said and then he felt Nabiki stop walking.

"I see." Nabiki's tone was calm, but irritation seared within her. It was just like the nobility to try and buy loyalty with money or gifts. Her thoughts flickered briefly to Touga again for a moment and she blushed, wondering why she had thought of him. Did she hope he might send her a present? It would leave her indebted to him, and Nabiki did not care to ever be in anyone's debt. She was grateful that Ranma wasn't looking at her face at that moment as she fought down the sudden blush that thoughts of Touga were causing her.

A few minutes after they had retrieved Ranma's spare shoes from his locker, they were speeding along the road on his new motorcycle, Nabiki sitting astride it behind him, her arms around him as the wind rushed through her hair. It was an exhilarating sort of feeling. She leaned up against his back, finding herself enjoying being this close to him. A stray thought of the Road Ronin on that other Nabiki's world came to her, but she quickly banished it.

Ranma's injuries were hampering his abilities to drive, so he took it easy as they drove through the town. He glanced down at Nabiki's arms, her hands locked firmly together at his waist, feeling her body pressed up against him from behind, the warmth of her. He felt the familiar tingles of desire for her running up and down his spine at the contact, even over the pains of his injuries.

Ranma still wasn't sure he liked her, but maybe that was because he was not letting himself get to know her as she was now, instead of holding on to the image of her former self, the Iron Bitch, or those other versions of her that his counterparts knew. She could be nice, he suspected, but they seemed to keep rubbing each other the wrong way. Nabiki was almost a year older than him, supposedly more mature, but he suspected she was feeling just as confused by all that had happened as he was. He could not bring himself to talk to her about it. He wasn't even sure how to broach the subject.

Sighing once, Ranma leaned forward a little and concentrated on his driving. He would give some consideration as to how he should deal with this. He was sure some logical thought would give him an answer. Maybe he would have another one of those dreams and talk to Ranko about the matter. As it was, he was coming up empty on his own.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miyuki and Natsumi were sitting in their parked patrol car, enjoying some fresh pork buns on their break, when Ranma and Nabiki sped by in front of them.

"Those kids looks like they're out kind of late on a school night," Natsumi commented, sitting up straight as she tossed the last bit of her pork bun into her mouth.

"Saves us from a slow shift." Miyuki grinned as she started the engine and pulled out of the side alley they had been parked in. She eyed the pair receding away from them down the road, and her eyes glinted for a moment in anticipation of the chase. She floored the accelerator and switched on the lights. "Hang on."

Ranma blinked as he noticed the lights and siren quickly approaching in his right rearview mirror. He glanced at the speedometer, which read comfortably within the speed limit, and he was puzzled why they were being followed by a peaceforcer vehicle. "We've got company," he said over his shoulder.

Glancing back behind them, Nabiki grimaced. This wasn't going to look good. Both of them had obviously been in a fight and were covered with cuts, scrapes and bruises. She turned back. "Better pull over and let me do the talking," she suggested.

Ranma nodded and pulled the motorcycle over to the side of the road, only realizing then that he was driving without a license. He had never been in trouble with the authorities before. He felt a cold sweat come over him and swallowed nervously as the patrol car quickly slid up behind them. The siren switched off, but the lights were left flashing as the occupants got out, both carrying flashlights. Even through the glare of the beams shining on them, he could tell that they were both women, the one on the driver side coming up with her hand resting casually on the butt of her service pistol as she flipped open a ticket book with her free hand. The other one was remaining by the patrol car, but he could feel her watching them closely.

"Is there a problem, officer?" Nabiki asked pleasantly.

"Let's see some ID, kids," Miyuki said professionally as she stopped next to them, shining her light over them. Upon seeing their beaten-up condition, her eyes narrowed a bit. "What happened to the two of you?"

Nabiki pulled her identification card out of her pocket, handed it over and then replied calmly, "We had a little accident is all. We're on our way home now."

Miyuki grunted, having heard the same thing from countless delinquent kids before, and many of them came from good families. Her opinion of the pair dropped as she took Ranma's proffered ID as well. "License?"

"The idiot forgot it at home," Nabiki lied smoothly. She bapped him on the head as Ranma tried a sheepish grin to look more innocent.

Miyuki paused as she saw the name on Nabiki's ID card. "Tendo?" she asked, looking at Nabiki more closely. "Any relation to Soun Tendo?"

"He's my father," Nabiki said calmly.

Miyuki nodded. "You kids wait here. I'll be right back." With a calm look, she headed back to the patrol car. Inside, her heart thudded in her chest. She had just stopped Soun Tendo's daughter, the daughter of the man who was thought by many to be first in line to become the new Director of Imperial Security when the current one finally retired. She sat down in the car, her hands shaking a little as she pulled out the computer's keypad and started to tap in their ID numbers out of reflex.

"What's the matter, Miyuki?" asked Natsumi in curiosity, taking her eyes off the couple on the motorcycle to look into the car. Her partner looked rather pale.

"That's Soun Tendo's daughter on the back of that bike." Miyuki looked back at her partner. "She looks like she's been in a fight and so does the guy with her. They might be involved in one of the local gangs." Both of them were well aware there were a lot of delinquent youths in the Nerima area, almost all of them attending either Furinkan or St. Hebereke.

Natsumi whistled softly. Soun Tendo was a name a lot farther up the bureaucratic food chain than they were. If his daughter was hooked up in some kind of gang trouble, this could break his career. On the other hand, that sort of scandal could get squashed rather quickly, along with anyone who could report such a scandal.

"So what are we going to do?"

Miyuki thought for a moment and then said, "We're just going to do everything by the book." She went back to keying in their ID numbers. Ranma's file came up first, and she noted that he had just been issued his license that day, through some kind of special permit. His record was absolutely clean of any criminal activity, without any trouble with the authorities listed, hardly the profile of a troubled kid.

She started to input Nabiki's ID number, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead from her nervousness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinako Ninomiya relaxed in her car while driving home, listening to the radio playing one of Mozart's symphonies. Work had been stressful, and rumors were starting to fly around now that Director Sagara had finally made the announcement that his retirement would take place in June, which had placed every upper-level bureaucrat in the Directorate on high alert. There was likely going to be a major shakeup in the power structure after the Emperor and his inner council chose a new leader to head up the agency. So, to relieve her tensions, she had visited with Major Rokubungi, an unannounced one, finding him alone in his office at Furinkan Academy as sunset faded.

The subsequent encounter on his desk had taken some of the edge off of her, and more had been dealt with at his apartment over the past few hours. While she was still feeling slightly unsatisfied, she had left him asleep on his bed after having taken all that he could give her, enjoyed a long, steaming hot shower, dressed and then left his place without a word of goodbye. That was the way it was between them, and it suited them both quite well.

What concerned her most was that the only person who had been quite noticeably unconcerned with Directorate politics lately was Soun Tendo. He had been working less than his usual twelve-hour days, and her spies among his underlings reported that he was far more interested in this engagement going on between his middle daughter and the Saotome boy for the past couple of days. Such a breech in his character meant he was up to something clever, she was certain of it.

Soun Tendo, no matter how she despised him, was no fool. No, he had to know something. Could it be that he already knew he was going to be selected as the next Security Director? Why else would he be acting so calm about it? That could explain the recent change in his demeanor, an attempt to throw his rivals off the scent. If he was to become the new Security Director, that meant he had the trust of the Emperor himself. That represented tremendous power in the Empire.

It would also mean that she would be under his command, she thought unhappily, her fingers whitening as her grip tightened on the steering wheel. If that happened, he could crush her ambitions, even block her off from her plans for Ranma, and she was not about to lose such an opportunity. She had been reading the files Ranma had been kind enough to unknowingly decrypt for her, and the details of Project Phoenix were proving to be fascinating material. Except for the boost, the genetic improvements that were caused by the Eucharist symbiote matched her own abilities far too closely to be coincidence, so she had taken a sample of her own blood to be tested by a technician she controlled in one of the Directorate's biolabs.

In a few days, she would know if there were any pathogens matching the Eucharist's characteristics within her body. Regrettably, she would have to quickly eliminate the technician in question once she had her answer, to prevent any leaks, but years of experience dealing with men and their weakness for a beautiful woman had taught her that they were nothing more than an infinitely replaceable commodity, to be disposed of as necessary. However, she mused, Ranma Saotome might prove to be an exception to that rule, and maybe the first male to truly satisfy her physical needs, since he was the first being like herself she had ever discovered.

An almost predatory smile brushed across her lips at the notion. It had been a long time since she had felt this sort of anticipation about spending time with a man (or boy in Ranma's case). Well, she mused, she would make him a man soon enough and she was confident that it would only take a little coaxing on her part. She chuckled at that.

Hinako turned the corner to the street her apartment high-rise was on, and she was surprised at who she saw sitting astride a motorcycle with a girl who was vaguely familiar to her for some reason, parked over by the side of the road. A peaceforcer patrol car sat behind them, its red and blue lights flashing. She started to drive past when an idea came to her, and she pulled her car over to stop in front of Ranma's parked motorcycle.

Miyuki looked up as the strange car came to a halt. She got out of the patrol vehicle, and so did Natsumi. The two glanced at each other for a moment, unsure what to make of this. The license plates on the car were Security Directorate issue.

Ranma and Nabiki watched as a rather stunning beauty of a woman emerged from the car that had stopped in front of them, dressed in the familiar gray uniform of a female Security Directorate officer. She was rather tall, with long legs that seemed to draw Ranma's eyes to what he could see of them below her knee-length skirt and to her generous bust. Her hair was worn long and hung straight down her back, ending just a little below her shoulders in a lustrous wave.

"Hinako Ninomiya," Nabiki whispered, her voice sounding hollow, sudden memories surfacing of the woman, brought in as a special disciplinarian in order to impose order at Furinkan High School in that other world, shortly before the memories of that life had been downloaded into her. Normally, that other Hinako appeared as a child, but she could grow to look exactly like the woman in front of them after draining chi energy from a human. But Nabiki also knew of her in this world, from studying who was who among the top brass of the Security Directorate. This situation she found herself in with Ranma had suddenly turned worse.

Ranma glanced back at Nabiki, wondering why she had sounded almost awed when she said that name. She was just sitting there staring as the tall woman strode forward, her heels clicking on the pavement as she started to walk past them. Then she paused and glanced at them.

"I'll take care of this, you two," said Hinako with a neutral look, her gaze briefly studying their appearance, noting their battered condition with mild interest. Now that she was closer, she could tell that the girl with Ranma was Nabiki Tendo. She eyed Nabiki and smiled coyly. "Consider this a favor to your father, Tendo-san." Then she continued on past them, her heels clicking as she reached into her jacket pocket and casually pulled out her ID.

"Whatever it is you stopped them for, please forget about it," Hinako said firmly to both women, flipping open a leather case and showing her badge and ID. "This is Security Directorate business, so I'll take it from here, ladies."

Miyuki and Natsumi blinked once, and then they pulled up straight and snapped crisp salutes to Hinako. After receiving a brief nod from her acknowledging the salutes, Miyuki hastily handed Ranma and Nabiki's ID cards over to Hinako. The pair got back in their patrol car and drove away quickly. Miyuki watched the scene receding behind them in her rear-view mirror.

"Hey, Miyuki," said Natsumi, a little subdued. "What just happened?"

Her partner replied, "I don't know. But I don't think we should even be asking. Let's just forget it. Our shift is over in a few hours, and I think I'll want a drink. Actually, I know I will."

Natsumi grunted once in agreement and settled back in her seat.

Meanwhile, Hinako calmly replaced her badge into her jacket pocket and turned around. She strolled back over to the young couple watching her. A single streetlamp lit the scene as she stopped in front of them again. She handed them back their ID cards.

"Uh, thanks," said Ranma, looking confused as he took his.

"Yeah, thanks," Nabiki added, taking the proffered card. She studied the other woman uncertainly while she maintained a cool demeanor.

"It was no problem," Hinako replied in a personable tone, and then she smiled slightly at Ranma. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hinako Ninomiya of the Security Directorate. And you're Ranma Saotome and Nabiki Tendo."

Ranma was surprised. "You know us?"

"My father's spoken of you," said Nabiki at almost the same time in a flat tone. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Hinako turned her gaze to Nabiki. "I'm sure he has, Tendo-san," she replied back coolly, locking eyes with the Tendo girl as they glared at each other in a subtle fashion. Both of their expressions were calm, except for around the eyes. "I'm sure he has."

"If you'll excuse us," said Nabiki calmly, bowing her head slightly without quite breaking eye contact with the other woman. "We have to get somewhere." Still not moving her gaze from meeting Hinako's, she said in a firm aside to Ranma, "Let's go, Ranma-kun."

"Uh, right." He turned the key and kick-started the motor back to life. He bowed as best he could to Hinako, taking care not to strain his ribs. He had never seen this woman before in any of his lives, but he could feel tension practically radiating from Nabiki. The strange woman's lush femininity was an almost tangible presence to him, quite similar in many ways to how Kodachi, Nabiki and Ukyo made him feel, so it was likely just as well for them to leave this situation behind. He felt a bit nervous around Hinako for some reason, even though he could not sense any sort of threat to him coming from her. "Goodnight, Ninomiya-san."

Hinako stepped back a little from the pair. "Farewell, you two," she said pleasantly, briefly breaking her staring match with Nabiki to look at Ranma and smile rather sensuously at him. "Saotome-san, perhaps we will meet again another time."

"Uh, sure," said Ranma, twisting the throttle up a bit as he put it in gear. They accelerated away from the woman smoothly, Ranma keeping his eyes on the road now.

Nabiki leaned against Ranma's back as she held him around the waist, her expression one of worry. The woman had obviously wanted something, and she had been entirely too interested in her fiancé for Nabiki's liking. Her grip around his waist tightened imperceptibly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After visiting with Dr. Tofu, Ranma dropped her off at her house and left. Nabiki walked inside, feeling dragged out but no longer in any significant pain. Her brother-in-law's skills were the best, she mused with a tired smile. But now all she wanted to do was soak in some hot water for a bit, and then collapse into bed.

The next few days were going to be busy. Now that she had a name for her foe, she could begin formulating a strategy to deal with Kinnosuke and his trio of walking, talking sex toys. She practically crawled up the stairs of the quiet house and went into her bedroom to undress for her bath, the wood planks of the floor creaking very so slightly from her footsteps. She could not remember ever feeling so tired before.

She wondered what she was going to do about her father. It was going to take all of her skills at subterfuge, but she would not let him even suspect what she knew. Until her real father was back, she would just keep pretending that the man inhabiting her father's body was him. It should only be for a few days, so she just had to hold out for a little while longer.

As she started to remove her clothing, Nabiki noticed that the message light was blinking on her private phone line. She reached over and casually tapped the playback button before going back to undressing. Most of the messages were minor things, messages from her subordinates reporting in and one from Yohko, wondering if she would be free to do some shopping this weekend.

Then came a surprising voice.

"Nabiki Tendo, this is Touga Kiryuu," she heard the message begin. "It seems that Ohtori Academy's spring formal is coming up once again. I would like you to attend it with me, and I promise you an entertaining evening in my company. Please call me when you get this message, and we can discuss when I shall pick you up for our date." He then recited a brief series of digits. "That number is my private line. I expect your call. Until then." The message ended there.

Well, that was interesting, Nabiki mused, pulling out the chair from her desk and sitting down. When she gave him her telephone number during the visit to Ohtori with Ranma, she had known he would call, but she was not expecting an invitation to a formal dance. It sounded like it would be fun, and it would help take her mind off things.

A smirk appeared on her face as she reached for her telephone. She would show Ranma Saotome that he needed to treat her better, before some other boy like Touga swept her off her feet. Not that she was the type of girl to let herself get carried away like that, she amended, but Ranma didn't need to know that. The threat of competition would be good for him and should bring him around to trying to treat her better.

Nabiki began dialing the number Touga had given her, already thinking about what sort of dress she would buy for herself while she was out shopping with Yohko. It would have to be something stunning.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm home," Ranma called out tiredly as he kicked off his shoes in the entryway, closing the front door behind him. Even after being treated by Dr. Tofu and being assured that nothing was broken, he still felt like he wanted to sleep for a week. Luckily, the man was as skilled as the ones that Ranma knew from those other lives. After showing up at the house he and Kasumi lived in together and explaining the situation, he had let them in with a professional smile.

Dr. Tofu had worked on him first, since he was worse off. The man had flipped him around, adjusting wrenched joints and popping everything back into place, all in under thirty seconds, even poking pressure points that would speed healing. Then, as he recovered on the couch and drank some orange juice that Kasumi had kindly offered him, Tofu had repeated the process with Nabiki. Hearing Nabiki yelp a bit as she was getting fixed up had certainly made him feel a little better about her beating up on him earlier.

It was nice to see Kasumi married and living a more normal life, but it was also weird to see her anywhere else other than taking care of the Tendos. And there had also been something that felt a little false about the smile she gave him, as if she was tense about something but not wanting to show it. It was probably just his imagination. Kasumi was one of the happiest people he knew, in any world he was familiar with so far, so he was sure he had just been seeing things due to his exhaustion. Besides, Nabiki didn't seem to notice anything out of place, so nothing could have been wrong. He decided to chalk it up to a minor variance between timelines and leave it at that.

After dropping Nabiki off at her house, he went straight home. All he wanted to do was fall down and sleep. He started to walk towards the stairs.

After classes were over tomorrow, he would finalize the construction of his copy of Ranko's device, incorporating within it the ability to home in on transponder units like the one he had instructed his father how to create. Of course, once it was built, he would then have to test it, trusting in his own technical expertise that he would be able to return to this world, to the transponder unit he had already created and would leave activated in his lab. If the test failed-

No, he couldn't think like that, shaking his head. Nothing would go wrong, and he would return to his lab on the Kuno estate.

Nodoka came out of the kitchen, smiling as she wiped her hands on a towel. "Hello, Ranma. How was your eve-" she began and then stopped, staring at his battered appearance. "Ranma! What happened?"

"Hmm?" said Genma, coming into the room. "Something happen on your date with Nabiki, boy?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it," Ranma muttered, walking past them both and heading towards his room.

Nodoka was worried. She turned to Genma. "Perhaps you should talk to him, Dearest. I think this is one of those times when a boy needs his father more than his mother."

Genma nodded and grunted, and then he headed off to Ranma's room. He knocked once at the door and then walked in without waiting for any response. He saw Ranma in the midst of pulling his shirt off, and he noted the bruises the boy had. Shutting the door behind him, he said, "So, what happened, boy?"

Ranma wadded up his shirt and tossed it into a corner of his room. He glared at Genma and said, "Look, Pop, I've had a really bad day. The last thing I need right now is you."

"Nabiki beat you up on your date?" Genma ventured, grinning a bit. He shook his head. "I swear, you're an even bigger loser with the girls than my own son is. If it was all left up to you, you and Nabiki will never get married."

Ranma hung his head and tried to repress the urge to kill Genma.

"Luckily, you've got me in your corner, boy. It looks like the first thing we need to work on is your conditioning. It just won't do to have you getting beaten up by your own fiancée. Don't you have any pride at all? What kind of a man loses to a woman?"

Ranma's temper finally snapped, and his eyes flashed as he glared at Genma and sprang to attack. "DIE, OLD MAN!"

There was a brief commotion heard from within Ranma's room, and then Genma's body went flying out the window. Luckily, the opening was just sizable enough to fit his bulk through, although Ranma still had to aim pretty carefully. After Genma slammed into the ground out in the yard, Ranma shut the window, drew the curtains closed and then turned off his lights and went to bed. He fell asleep within moments.

Genma rested upside down on the lawn briefly before falling over, unconscious.

Nodoka sighed as she went out to pick her husband up and assist him back into the house. If only she knew what the trouble was between them, then maybe she could help them sort it out.

Still, it had been a very good throw on Ranma's part, she noted with no small amount of pride in him, pleased at the high level of his fighting skills. She hoped that things were working out as well for him with the girls in his life now as his training was going. Other than that nice Utena girl, he hadn't brought any of the others home yet. He was spending the most time after school with Ukyo, so maybe she would be the next one to visit for the night.

Well, she was probably worrying over nothing. They all seemed like such nice girls, even Kenseiko's daughter, Kodachi, and she was glad he was enjoying such an active social life now. It hadn't been good for a boy his age to spend all his time cooped up inside some lab. And he was acting so much more manly lately, so there was likely nothing for her to worry about.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Defeat. Failure.

Kinnosuke Kashuoh lay in his bed, his wounds wrapped in gauze as he considered both words, finding a strong distaste for them. He rested in between a bandaged Lynx and Panther, both catgirls now sleeping. Tiger had been banished from his bed for her part in the fiasco, for leading him to believe victory was within his reach. He should be enjoying that victory now, but he held only ashes. The other two had narrowly escaped sharing Tiger's fate, but they were on notice that he would no longer tolerate any further mistakes.

However, the truth of the matter was that it was all Ranma Saotome's fault. He had stacked the deck in his favor against the other boy, chosen his terrain carefully for their duel by exploiting a known weakness in his enemy and then was victorious over Ranma, savagely beating him unconscious. But he had won the battle only to lose the campaign to claim Nabiki Tendo. In turn, she had defeated him in single combat and forced him to abandon the field of battle and retreat to consider his loss.

However, he could not bring himself to hate Nabiki. No, her victory over him had only strengthened his desires for her, to have her at his side as his mate. Her power and skill were undeniable and defeating her at the height of her abilities would make his inevitable conquest of her all the sweeter.

This was only a minor setback for him. He would let Nabiki have back the pieces of her organization. It no longer interested him, and pawns were meant to be sacrificed after all, as he had sacrificed the Wolf Pack when they proved too weak for his uses. No, his only interest was for the queen now. He had let himself get distracted from that goal, playing petty games with pawns. But, once the queen was taken, the game was all but won.

That left the matter of Ranma Saotome, the enemy king. Kinnosuke felt his anger swell again within him at the mere thought of the pigtailed boy. Time after time, Ranma had disrupted his plans and cost him allies and resources. He closed his eyes and reviewed what he knew of the other boy.

Where had Ranma learned how to fight so well? Until several weeks ago, he had been Akane Tendo's favorite target for bullying, displaying no talent whatsoever for martial arts, apparently unable to fight back even as the youngest Tendo gleefully tyrannized him. But that had obviously been a clever disguise of the pigtailed boy's true skill. It was obvious now that he was always much more than he had let himself appear and now he was even the new apprentice to the Arena legend, Jun Fan Lee, also known as the Dragon.

No, no one suddenly woke up one day and manifested fighting skills like Ranma's. Ability like that took years of training, maybe a decade, so Ranma must have had them all along. He had simply kept them hidden until the youngest Tendo must have just pushed him too far one day.

Kinnosuke frowned. How he hated Ranma Saotome now, with a clarity of passion that was almost liberating in an odd way. The next time they faced each other, there would be no clever tricks or traps. It would just be the two of them in single combat, doing battle in a Darwinian test of fitness, and Ranma would fall before him, leaving the field clear for him to claim Nabiki Tendo for his own as a mate.

Kinnosuke sighed, his injuries still paining him a bit. He knew he needed some time away from this situation, time to heal and prepare. Grandfather had suggested Whitehall, and it would be a simple enough matter for him to transfer there. Money and influence helped in such things.

He closed his eyes and snuggled down with a warm body on either side of him, and he let himself sleep and dream of conquest over his enemies.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In her bedroom, Tiger sat on her bed with her knees drawn up, dressed in a sheer nightgown in pink her master had once given her as a gift. She had worn it hoping to cheer herself up, but it wasn't working. Her face was wan with sadness.

Kinnosuke-sama was angry with her.

After returning to the manor, he had called her useless and upbraided her as a failure. She sniffled at the memory of him yelling at her, blaming her for what had happened with Ranma and Nabiki, while Lynx and Panther watched her fall from grace with glittering eyes. She lowered her face to rest between her knees and let herself cry. How had it all gone so wrong?

Tiger felt miserable as she desperately tried to think of some way to return to her master's side. There had to be something she could do. At this point, she would do anything to escape this sadness filling her. The night felt so lonely without being near him.

Even though her master had defeated Ranma Saotome, she received no credit for bringing him the information on the pigtailed boy's fears. While Kinnosuke-sama certainly had not needed it, didn't she deserve a little leniency for finding out such a thing about Ranma? Perhaps this really was her fault. Why did she not remember until it was too late what had happened when his fear had overcome him? Nabiki Tendo had done as Ranma had that final day they had fought each other, becoming this fearsome fighting machine.

Why could she not remember what had happened? Just what had occurred between her and Ranma after that fight? There was this vagueness in her memories from the point Ranma changed into that bestial mode and then her first clear memory was of waking up cuddled next to him in his cot, their clothing in disarray. She suddenly felt confusion as she explored these thoughts, and her personality governors redirected them away from Ranma. She sighed, feeling lonely for her Kinnosuke-sama, for the time being having already forgotten her musings about Ranma.

She went back to hugging her knees, her catlike ears flat on her head as she began softly sobbing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning was wet as Ranma walked along with his bookbag slung over his shoulder, a black umbrella shielding him from the light rain. He yawned. A good night's sleep after Dr. Tofu fixed him up had left him feeling a lot better, but he was still pretty stiff and tired. He shifted his bag to the hand holding the umbrella and rotated his now free arm, trying to work out a bit of stiffness in his shoulder. As he was doing so, he felt a tap on his arm.

"Mornin', Ranchan," said Ukyo when Ranma turned around, standing there with a bright smile on her face, holding an umbrella of her own. She studied him for a moment, noting the bandage on his cheek. "You okay? Looks like you ran into some trouble. Was it that group of girls I saw going up against you yesterday?"

"Nah, they're not so bad," he replied, bragging a little, shifting his bag back to his other hand as they started walking along together. "I just wish I knew what was going on with that."

"Well, maybe I could do something about that." Ukyo's smile turned into a playful grin. "I can be pretty sneaky. Maybe I could find out what's up."

Ranma laughed. "I'll bet you could. No, thanks anyway though. This is my problem."

Ukyo shrugged. Even though Ranma didn't want her help, she was curious about the matter herself. She walked alongside him in a companionable silence for a while, enjoying the warm feelings he awoke inside her just by his nearness. She wondered if what she was feeling was love, and she blushed at that, a shy smile appearing on her face.

Even though it was raining, nothing seemed able to spoil her day now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Saotome household was quiet as Nodoka came into the bedroom. Now that Genma and Ranma were safely off, she could prepare for her own activities for the day. She slid open the door to the walk-in closet in the master bedroom and stepped inside, her hand reaching up to tug on a slender chain. A single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling lit up in response.

Kneeling down, Nodoka reached into her kimono and produced a key on a thin silver chain she wore around her neck. She slipped it off over her head and used it to unlock the large trunk she kept in the back of the closet. Various artifacts of her family's history and her past days of youth were reflected in the items and photo albums that could be seen carefully stacked within it as she opened the lid.

She began carefully removing them from the trunk one by one, starting with a long, wrapped bundle. She undid the cloth almost reverently, revealing a sheathed katana, the very same one once wielded by her great-grandfather: Kenshin Himura. Sliding it a couple of inches from the sheath, she studied the steel of its reversed blade and recalled that it was time to oil it again, a task she did monthly without fail.

Re-sheathing the katana and setting it aside, she continued removing items, pausing at one photo album in particular. With a wistful sort of smile on her face, she flipped it open and began paging through it, remembering what once was. Various pictures of herself and Achika as teenaged girls filled most of the pages. She stopped on one photo of her younger self dressed in her uniform from St. Hebereke, her younger self flashing a victory sign at the camera while she hugged a similarly uniformed Achika with one arm and grinned. How long ago it all seemed sometimes.

Turning the page, Nodoka felt her heart flutter at the sight of the photo on the next page, of a roguishly handsome young man with a lithe build, dressed in casual clothing. He was perhaps sixteen or maybe even seventeen years old, smiling at the camera as he rested a naginata on his shoulder in a relaxed pose. He stood next to her younger self in the picture, who was posing with a bokken in hand and looking both fierce and happy. Tears swelled within Nodoka's eyes as she gazed at the treasured photograph, and her fingers gently brushed the edges of it.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not remember his name, and she did not know who he was. She could not even remember this picture ever being taken. But looking at it always awoke something buried within her, something deeper than conscious memories.

She had discovered the photograph in a box of her old things years ago, while her husband and son were off on their trip. She had kept it in this album ever since, the only picture she had of this boy, whoever he was. She had never shown it to anyone else, not even her best friend Achika, for reasons she wasn't even sure of.

After several moments spent gazing at it, Nodoka shut the album. She had more urgent things to do right now than wallow in memories and mysteries from her youth. Setting the album aside, she reached into the bottom of the chest and pulled out a small lacquered box. Opening it, she saw a single book inside the box, no more than a few centimeters thick. It was plainly bound, without title, and it was wrapped on the outside with what once had been a white ribbon, now grayed with age, the ends sealed with red wax. Her family mon was imprinted into the wax, and it had been sealed by her great-grandfather's hand.

She carefully put all the other items back into the chest before shutting the lid. After picking up the small box and the katana, she stood up and turned off the light as she exited the closet and closed the door. There was a possibility, albeit a rather small one, that she would not be returning from her task today, and she had to make sure the book and katana remained in safe hands, passed down as it had once been passed down to her before her father's death.

Nodoka sat at the desk in the bedroom, setting the items down near her right hand. She pulled out some paper and a pen, and she began to write, a letter that she hoped Ranma would never have to read.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryoko was surprised to see her mother in the small training hall behind the Masaki household when she arrived there for her usual morning workout. Maybe she would drop by St. Hebereke and let them know she was back in town. Even though attending classes was dull, she missed her friends a bit, and it wouldn't do to let her mother think she was a drop-out. Rain spattered against the windows, and dark clouds hid the sun as she watched Achika going through a sword-fighting exercise at a blur, her every motion as clean and precise as it was lightning-fast. She set her towel down and waited while her mother flowed through the movements of the Masaki family's sword style.

"You're training pretty early, Mom," she said in a conversational tone of voice when her mother had concluded the exercise. "Normally, you don't get in here until the afternoon."

Achika bowed once to the small shrine and turned to face her daughter, briefly bending over to pick up a water bottle near the edge of the mat. "Ryoko-chan, come over here and sit down. I think it's time we had a little talk, mother to daughter." She took a drink from the water bottle and picked up a towel to dab at the perspiration on her face.

Uh-oh, Ryoko thought. But she did as she was told and knelt down in front of her mother, looking a little nervous. "Uh, so what did you want to talk about?"

"Ryoko-chan, I've been doing some thinking ever since you came home." Achika paused and studied her wayward daughter, briefly overlaying the tough little girl she had once been over the beautiful and strong young woman now before her and she wondered where she had gone wrong as a mother. She had tossed and turned for two nights now, her mind caught up in all kinds of fearsome imaginings about her daughter and this boy she had brought to their home. "Is there something you'd like to tell me about that Ryoga boy? Are you and he... involved?"

"Mom!" Ryoko yelped, suddenly blushing brightly. "There's nothing going on between me and Ryoga-kun."

"I'm not stupid, Ryoko-chan," Achika said a little crossly. "You go off on one of your training trips, I don't hear from you for a couple of weeks and then you show up on our doorstep with some strange boy in tow. What am I supposed to think, knowing my daughter has been alone with some teenaged boy out on the road? I was a girl your age once myself. I know what it's like when youthful hormones get going."

Ryoko's blush deepened. This was not the sort of thing any teenaged daughter wanted to hear from her mother. "Nothing happened, Mom! We just did some sparring while we traveled together, and we talked a bit. That's all!"

"All right," said Achika, relenting her tone a little. "But I've come to a conclusion from this event. As your mother, who only has your best interests at heart, I've come to realize it's high time I arranged a husband for you. After all, your brother has a fiancée, and he's a full year younger than you are."

Ryoko gaped. She started to sputter a denial when Achika held up her hand.

"Save it," Achika commanded, motherly steel reappearing in her voice. "My mind is made up. Now, I've spoken with your father, and he agrees with me that a girl your age should start planning for her future, and part of that is having an arranged marriage to look forward to."

"But-" She didn't want a fiancé.

"I've given it a lot of thought about who would be a good candidate for you, and my best friend Nodoka has a boy who's only a little younger than you."

"But-" He sounded too young.

"He has a fine future ahead of him in the Science Ministry, and he's at the top of his class at the Imperial Academy."

"But-" He sounded like a weakling.

"Nodoka has also been telling me all about his abilities as a martial artist too. Why, just recently, Master Jun Fan Lee himself even took him on as an apprentice. Even you should appreciate what that says about his skills as a fighter."

The last statement caught Ryoko off-guard. She blinked, unable to even think of a single rebuttal, not that she had been able to get a word in edgewise yet.

Achika smiled and pressed her advantage. "Now I know this is quite a shock to you, Ryoko-chan. I remember how surprised I was when my own mother told me that I was going to marry your father, but everything worked out for the best. Marriage is far too important a decision to be entrusted to youthful lusts and desires, but you really needn't worry. Nodoka's son is very handsome and well-mannered, and I'm just positive you'll come to love him in time, as he will you."

"Now, there are a few other girls already pursuing him, or so Nodoka confided in me, but she's told me there aren't any formal arrangements yet. I'm confident that you can turn the boy's head, if you set your mind to it." She smiled proudly. "Besides, nothing would please me more than to see you marrying my oldest and dearest friend's only son, uniting our two families together in an honorable marriage."

Ryoko sighed, realizing she was beaten for the moment, now that her mother had played the honor card, her weakness. "So, what's his name?"

"Ranma. His name is Ranma Saotome." Achika beamed to see that Ryoko actually seemed to be considering it. She had been anticipating more resistance, possibly even a physical confrontation with her oftentimes willful daughter to get her to accept her decision. Achika wasn't sure where Ryoko had gotten her stubbornness from, but she was glad that she didn't have to deal with it today. "Well, as soon as I talk to Nodoka, we can arrange for you to meet him." She strolled out of the training hall and headed for the house, intending to call her best friend later that morning and invite her out to lunch to discuss the matter.

"Great," Ryoko muttered dispiritedly at her mother's departing back.

Left alone now, Ryoko grumbled and gnashed her teeth a bit as she sat in the middle of the room and realized her mother had gone off the deep end over her bringing Ryoga home with her. She thought with a grimace that it was going to be no use trying to talk her out of it now, as stubborn as the woman was. She would have left Ryoga by the side of the road somewhere, if she knew things would turn out like this. Now look what she had to put up with, being forced to meet (and likely marry) some boy she didn't know, with her mother waving the family honor card in her face if she even tried to balk.

Ryoko rested her chin on her hand, her elbow resting on her bent knee, mulling gloomily over this latest development in her life, when a stray thought suddenly occurred to her. She sat up. There was an easy way out of this, she realized. All she had to do was go find this Ranma guy and threaten him a bit to get _him_ to be the one to break it off, thereby preserving the Masaki's honor.

She decided to take Ryoga with her, which might add to her intimidation factor, on the pretext that she was helping him find this Ukyo guy he was hunting for. They could spend the morning on that task, and she could hunt down Ranma before lunch. At the very least, it would get them both out of the house and far away from any possible interrogation attempts by her mother. Luckily, Ryoga still seemed unaware of how the woman felt about his presence.

Her fist cracked solidly into her other palm, and then Ryoko slowly rubbed the knuckles. No way was she getting engaged to some guy she didn't even know, let alone love. Luckily, all it should take was a little bit of bullying to scare Ranma off, maybe even some applied force if he really was good enough to study with a teacher of Jun Fan Lee's high caliber.

Ryoko wasn't concerned, if it actually came to violence. She had never met a boy yet she couldn't beat into the ground in a fight. It seemed a good, workable plan, nicely simple and straightforward, practically guaranteed to work.

Ryoko stood up and started her training, already feeling better.

Out in the hallway, a figure silently emerged from the shadows. Ryoga had been looking for the bathroom when he had gotten lost in the house, wandering through seemingly endless corridors before ending up in the downstairs hallway that led to the training hall in the back. When he had heard Achika coming, he had quickly hidden himself, using a stealth technique that Ukyo had once taught him when they were younger. He was pretty pleased with himself that he had finally gotten it to work when he really needed it to.

While eating meals with the Masakis for the past couple of days, Ryoga had gotten the impression that Ryoko's mother was bothered by his presence, although she hadn't said anything to him. Now he knew why.

While he had been unable to hear the whole conversation between mother and daughter, having somehow found himself in a broom closet when he had thought he was drawing nearer to the door to the training hall, he had heard enough. Poor Ryoko was obviously being forced by her mother into a marriage that she didn't want. As her friend, it was up to him to do something about it.

Turning around, Ryoga began wending his way through the enormous house, while he thought about how he would help poor Ryoko. Maybe he could offer to pretend to be her boyfriend?

Then again, maybe it didn't have to be pretend. She was the first girl he had ever spent so much time with, and she was really beautiful too. A glazed look came over his face, and he drifted off into a pleasant fantasy about the older girl.

In the midst of this fantasy, Ukyo inexplicably appeared in Ryoko's place, and Ryoga snapped out of his fantasy with a cold shudder, his heart suddenly pounding with horror. His hand balled into a tight fist at the thought of the boy ninja, and he trembled with a sudden rage, smashing his fist into a nearby oaken wall post, almost shattering it. Even within the privacy of his own fantasies, that damned Ukyo still haunted him.

The unwanted feelings of intense attraction he felt for the ninja, and the dark stain they left on his soul, would only be expunged when he faced Ukyo in combat and defeated him. Maybe when the other boy's shattered body was laid out broken and bleeding in front of him, then Ukyo's spell over him would finally be ended. He would finally be freed of this dark torment he felt inside, and the intense shame of feeling attracted to another boy. Then he would be free to love Ryoko, if she would have him.

In his trek to find the bathroom, Ryoga tramped up and down innumerable stairs, counting at least six floors in the building, his rage slowly building to a heavy boil. Luckily, Ryoko's little brother, Tenchi, he absently recalled as his name, came across him before he finally lost his temper at finding himself back at the guest room for the ninth time and started breaking walls in his frustration. He was certain that the house was somehow mocking him by shifting its innards around and hiding the bathroom from him. A proper Hibiki house was only a single floor with few rooms, one easy to navigate around in, not this multi-level monstrosity. How did anyone ever find anything in this place?

"Um, can I help you, Hibiki-san?" Tenchi asked uncertainly. This was the first time his sister had ever brought a boy home, and he was uncertain how to act around Ryoga. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure how he felt about his sister having a boyfriend. Ryoko had never dated, as far as he was aware, so this was totally unknown territory.

Ryoga turned to face him, a pained look on his face from his bladder feeling like it was going to burst. He struggled to remain calm. "Uh, I'm having trouble finding the bathroom. Can you help me?"

"Huh?" Tenchi blinked. He pointed to a door directly across the hall from the guest room Ryoga was staying in. "Uh, it's in there."

"Argh!" Ryoga stomped across the hallway and flung the door open, before he quickly disappeared inside and shut it behind him.

There were a few more bangs and crashes, and then Tenchi saw light come out from underneath the door. He raised an eyebrow and wondered if Ryoko's new boyfriend was slow in the head or something. He shrugged his shoulders.

At least Ryoga's idiosyncrasy with directions gave him something to tease his sister about when it came to her relationship with the guy. After all, she had certainly tormented him enough about his engagement to Rei Hino, constantly teasing him about when he would finally have the guts to kiss Rei and asking him when he was going to start doing this and that with his fiancée. None of which he had done yet. He blushed at the thought, knowing he wasn't anywhere near being ready yet to take such bold steps with Rei, even if they were promised to each other in marriage.

As he headed to get his things for school, Tenchi idly wondered if his sister was still a virgin, not that he was about to risk life and limb just to satisfy that curiosity. Ryoko had always been, and still was, archetypically tomboyish in her attitudes, disdaining activities that most other girls seemed to like. Until she had shown up with Ryoga, he could not recall his sister ever spending any time with any boy, outside of fighting with them, and she had left a very long trail of defeated foes behind her, ever since he could remember. Nowadays, she mostly fought with the local delinquent types, like so many of her peers at St. Hebereke were, where she had earned her nickname as 'The Demon Ryoko' from them.

Tenchi was looking forward to teasing his sister about her love life. It was about time she gave him some ammunition like this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yumi eyed her empty restaurant, the last of the morning crowd having already left for work or other business, leaving her alone to enjoy the quiet. She bent back and twisted her shoulders from left to right, hearing a few crackling pops softly reverberating up from her spine. She sighed with relief.

Working out with Ukyo each morning was proving to be just what she had needed. In her prime, she had been practically undefeatable, but a year of easier living had seriously dulled her fighting edge, which was a dangerous thing. However, sparring with her young niece was gradually honing that faded edge back to its old level, restoring her back to the powerful warrior she had once been. That was good.

A rumble of thunder rolled across the sky, just before the front door was slid to one side. Yumi put on her best professional smile, with just the proper twinkle in her eyes to put a customer at ease. When she saw who it was, her eyebrow raised slightly.

"Welcome to Yu-chan's," she said pleasantly, gazing at the two figures standing in her doorway. "It's been a while, Ryoko. Who's your young friend?" She smiled archly at the girl.

Ryoko came in with Ryoga in her wake, wondering about the expression on the older woman's face. "G'morning, Yumi-sensei." She glanced back and frowned. "Hey! Close the door, stupid."

"Oh! Right. Sorry." Ryoga hastily slid the door closed, shutting out the rain. There was a pleasant scent of okonomiyaki permeating the air he could smell. It reminded him of the times Ukyo had fixed him lunch during his weekly visits to her great-grandfather's place in the mountains. Reminded of Ukyo, he felt the old rage kindle within him.

Drying her hands on a cloth, Yumi watched the girl. "So, what can I do for you, Ryoko? How was your training trip?" She slid her gaze over to the boy with her. He looked angry about something, she noted.

"That's why I came here this morning, Yumi-sensei." Ryoko pointed at her companion. "This is Ryoga Hibiki. He's looking for a boy that might be related to you. Maybe a nephew?"

"Do you know where Ukyo Kuonji is?" Ryoga demanded, stomping up to the bar. "I have to find him!" He was almost choked with equal measures of eagerness and rage, now that his quest was nearing its end.

Yumi's gaze narrowed. A typical Hibiki, she mused. She was about to deny knowing anything about Ukyo when their words finally sank in. They both thought Ukyo was a boy? This could be entertaining.

"Sure, I know Ukyo," Yumi said with a smirk, setting her towel down. "He's a fine young man. He's staying with me while he's in town."

"Is he here?" Ryoga's gaze somehow became even more manic.

Yumi casually picked up her battle spatula from underneath the bar and whacked him over the head with it. "Calm down, Hibiki-kun," she said in a mild tone as he stood there, looking a bit stunned. While her spatula was looking a little dented, at least the blow seemed to calm him a bit. To the shocked girl, she said, "Ukyo isn't here right now, Ryoko, but I know where he is. Both of you make yourselves useful and help me clean up, and I'll tell you where you could find him when you're done. Ukyo's not too far away."

When Ryoga started to bluster out another demand to know where Ukyo was, Ryoko promptly decked him. While Ryoga picked himself up off the floor, she bowed to the older woman and said, "Okay, Yumi-sensei." She then bent down and whispered to him. "Let's get to it, Ryoga. The sooner we do this, the sooner you can find Ukyo."

Grumbling all the while, Ryoga did as he was bid. But he blamed this latest indignity on Ukyo. The ninja was going to pay when Ryoga Hibiki finally caught up to him. Oh yes, how he would pay.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the Saotome household, the sound of a telephone ringing broke the silence. After four rings, the answering machine picked up.

"Hello, you have reached the Saotome household," came Nodoka's voice in a pleasant tone. "There's no one here to take your call right now, so please leave us a message. Have a nice day." There was a pause, and then a beep.

"Nodoka? This is Achika. Please pick up the phone if you're there. I wanted to talk to you about something." There was a pause. "Okay, I guess you aren't home. Please call me when you can. Bye." There was a click heard from the other end as the call ended.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rain started letting up while Nodoka waited in one of the sitting rooms of Kuno Manor. The chair she sat in was comfortable and the surroundings were pleasant, but they could not ease any of the disquiet she was feeling in her spirit. It galled her, coming here to the home of her oldest enemy like some kind of supplicant. Then her hand gently stroked her belly for a moment, imagining she could feel the child growing within her, and a soft sigh escaped her. It was for her future child's sake that she was doing this, she reminded herself.

After a time, the door opened, and Kenseiko Kuno swept into the room in her typically grand fashion, looking every inch the noblewoman in her manner. She was dressed in a magnificent kimono in light green, one obviously made of the finest silks and laced throughout with heavy gold thread. Her hair was braided in back and reached down to rest between her shoulder-blades, a white ribbon wound into the braid. Elegantly coifed hair spears framed her face in front.

"Saotome-san, it's so wonderful of you to visit," Kenseiko said with a bright smile, but there was a touch of gloating in her gaze and voice. She sauntered across the short distance that separated them as Nodoka stood and then she bowed in greeting, taking care to remind Nodoka of their relative social stations by the brevity of her bow. It pleased her greatly to see the slight tic that crossed Nodoka's face at the gesture.

"Thank you for seeing me, Kuno-sama," said Nodoka, bowing back more deeply in reply out of politeness, the honorific almost choking her to say.

Kenseiko seated herself gracefully, gesturing for Nodoka to sit as well. "Please, we can forego the proper formalities when we're alone. After all, you and I have known each other for such a long time. Tea?" She snapped her fingers imperiously and a house servant scuttled in with a tray.

"Uh, thank you," Nodoka said, bowing again slightly. She doubted that Kenseiko had poisoned it this time, but old habits died hard.

The servant poured the tea quickly and withdrew from the room, leaving the two women alone. The storm occasionally tossed a burst of rain at the glass, but the earlier fury was dying down. Kenseiko sipped at her tea in a ladylike fashion.

"It's not poisoned, Nodoka," Kenseiko said with an arched eyebrow when she saw that her guest was not drinking and guessing her thoughts. She chuckled somewhat throatily.

Nodoka took a cautious sip of her tea, realizing she was probably being a bit silly. There was an odd citrus sweetness to it, and she looked at the cup suspiciously. Then she glanced at Kenseiko. "What's in it?"

"It's flavored with a few drops of condensed pineapple juice," said Kenseiko with a sly smile. "Odd, I know. It's a taste that my husband acquired when he visited one of our plantations in Hawaii, but I've gotten to like it myself over the past few years." She continued to sip her tea calmly.

Nodoka drank her tea, occasionally glancing at the dwindling power of the storm outside. A Swiss-made grandfather clock sitting in one of the corners gave off a deep tick-tock sound as the two women sat in silence. She felt decidedly odd, sitting and drinking tea with a woman she had fought with in countless brutal battles when she had been a girl. At times, when it was cold, she still felt a twinge in her left shoulder from the time that Kenseiko had snapped her collarbone and savagely dislocated that limb.

"So, why have you come to see me, Nodoka?" asked Kenseiko finally, as she set down her teacup. She studied her old enemy warily, wondering what sort of devious trick Nodoka had up her sleeve this time. She rested her hands in her lap, briefly touching her right leg, the one that Nodoka had broken in two places many years ago, in the last fight they had with each other. It had been their fiercest, their most savage, and perhaps their most glorious fight together.

Kenseiko flashed back to battles past with the woman seated before her. Nodoka had been the one foe in her life who had forced her to stretch her combat skills farther than she would have ever done on her own, and she could admit to feeling a grudging sort of gratitude over that. Their mutual enmity towards each other had somehow forged an abiding bond between them. Thinking on it further, Kenseiko was startled to suddenly realize that she felt much closer to Nodoka because of that bond than she did with any of her peers among the nobility, as if she and her hated nemesis shared a perverse form of deep friendship. But that was a ridiculous thought.

Nodoka set her teacup down, steeling herself inside as she locked gazes with Kenseiko. "I have come to ask for-" Then she paused, looking for the right word, feeling the weight of her samurai ancestry upon her, calling out to her to engage her enemy once again in glorious combat and crush her. "I have come to ask you for a reprieve from fighting with you." Nodoka nibbled her lower lip for a moment, pained at her vulnerability as she saw Kenseiko studying her with a rather malicious glint in her eyes.

"I see," Kenseiko said finally. Then she sighed, losing most of her usual imperious attitude and feeling an unfamiliar concern towards her old nemesis that surprised her greatly. "What did that doctor tell you?"

"That I'm pregnant." Nodoka did not take her eyes off of Kenseiko, as the two women gazed at each other warily.

"You're certain?"

"Yes."

"Damn you, Nodoka," Kenseiko suddenly whispered, looking away, feeling an odd mixture of emotions swirling inside her. "I finally receive the chance to pay you back, to deal to you the first of many such defeats I had planned for you, and then you pull something like this."

"Pull something?" growled Nodoka, standing up suddenly. "How dare you say that to me! You think I planned this?"

Kenseiko sprang to her feet, grabbing Nodoka roughly by the front of her kimono. "This is exactly the sort of underhanded surprise you used to pull on me when we were younger, whenever I managed to obtain any kind of advantage over you!"

"Like you ever really had any chance to beat me," sneered Nodoka, her hands grabbing the front of Kenseiko's kimono in reply. "The only time you ever came close was when you made me fight that stupid duel with you when I was three days sick with the flu! And I still won!"

Kenseiko growled back, "You bitch." She tightened her grip in Nodoka's clothing, her fingers whitening. A blazing fury began filling her.

"Same to you!" Nodoka snapped, finally losing her ladylike demeanor in the sudden rage which possessed her. How could she have ever thought to try and make peace with this creature? "You were a bane to me then, and you're a bane to me now! I've never hated anyone more than I hate you! Thank the gods your daughter is nothing like you!"

Kenseiko immediately retorted, "You leave Kodachi out of this! She's a far better girl than that whelp you call a son deserves!" She pulled Nodoka in closer, until they were nearly touching nose to nose. "He should count himself fortunate to be marrying her. Once he becomes a Kuno, I'll teach him how to be a proper nobleman, despite the handicap he has of having _your_ blood in his veins."

"You think I'm going to give up my only son to you?" Nodoka's eyes narrowed in her wrath. "If your daughter's anything like the spoiled brat you were at that age, my son would be better off without her!"

Clothing began to tear as the two women suddenly started struggling fiercely with each other, both of them far too angry now to employ any proper combat techniques. With a sudden shift of weight, the snarling pair went tumbling over one of the couches, knocking it over in a flurry of flailing limbs. Nodoka's kimono-covered elbow was briefly seen over the couch as she cocked her fist back for the first punch.

For the next several minutes, the only sounds in the room were those of fists striking hard against flesh and loudly-grunted curses as the two women grappled and pummeled at each other in their savage fury, rolling around the floor of the room. The pair exchanged brutal blow after brutal blow as they raged against each other, struggling with each other fiercely. But, after a time, it slowly began winding down as their emotional frenzies finally expended themselves against each other, and then it abruptly stopped.

A hand slowly rose up over the back of one couch, and then a rather disheveled-looking Nodoka appeared, a thin trickle of blood trailing from her mouth, and her nose looking somewhat swollen and maybe a bit crooked. One of the arms of her kimono had been torn clean off. She swallowed the coppery taste that was welling up in her mouth from her split lip and probed gingerly at her teeth with her tongue.

A few moments later, an equally disheveled-looking Kenseiko slowly arose next to her, her right hand cautiously rubbing at her jaw as if to make sure it was still connected. The area around her right eye was pretty severely bruised, promising a very colorful result, and her once-fine kimono was tattered and torn. She looked at her old enemy, her battered face neutral in its expression.

"You still throw a pretty good punch for a woman your age, Nodoka," Kenseiko admitted with a grudging look. She tongued at her teeth, grimacing when she found a molar that seemed a little loose. She grinned suddenly. "Seemed like old times, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did," Nodoka replied thoughtfully. "You still have a pretty solid right yourself, Kenseiko." There was a pause as Nodoka looked at the other woman. "So, do I get that reprieve until I have my baby, or do we go another few rounds with each other first?"

Both women suddenly started to laugh, beginning with a chuckle, and then finally exploding into full-blown laughter.

"OH HOHOHOHO!" Kenseiko's ringing, demented-sounding laughter mixed with Nodoka's more demure ones, and the two of them kept laughing for a brief time. Kenseiko was the first to stop, feeling pain flaring up from a deep bruise on her ribs, courtesy of Nodoka's fist early on in their struggle. She suddenly put a companionable arm around the other woman for a moment.

"You can't imagine how long it's been since I could cut loose like that, Nodoka," said Kenseiko with a conspiratorial look. "I missed it so much."

"I know what you mean." Nodoka dabbed at her face with a handkerchief, grimacing when it came away bloody. "After getting married and having our own families, we both turned into our mothers, didn't we?"

"Now _that_ is a frightening thought." Kenseiko looked a bit pensive, remembering what her own mother had been like. Very gingerly, she moved away from Nodoka and headed to the front of the couch they had ended up behind. She plopped down into it, sighing with relief. "But I suppose you're right." She waved a hand grandly. "I'm going to give you that reprieve you asked for, Nodoka, but only on one condition."

"Condition?" Nodoka asked suspiciously, still leaning over the back of the couch as she continued trying to catch her breath. "What sort of condition?"

"If you have a son, then Ranma will join the Kuno family register. But if you have a daughter, he'll stay a Saotome and Kodachi will join the Saotome family register." Kenseiko filled her teacup and took a large drink, swishing the liquid around in her mouth a bit before swallowing it. It helped dull the pain in her jaw a little. "I also hope that you'll continue to visit me from time to time." She smiled. "I promise a much less strenuous encounter next time."

Nodoka blinked in surprise. "Did I miss something somewhere?"

Kenseiko chuckled and said, "Believe it or not, I realized something while the two of us were down there on the floor trading blows like we once did so often years ago, how much I missed those carefree days of our youth, Nodoka. With you, I can just be Kenseiko again, instead of Lady Kuno." She studied the leaves in her teacup, and her gaze hardened. "Anyway, that's the deal. Take it or leave it."

Nodoka laid her hand on Kenseiko's shoulder, and she wasn't sure who was more shocked of the two of them. "I accept."

Kenseiko turned her head and met Nodoka's gaze levelly. "Excellent. Mind you, I'm only giving you this reprieve until you've given birth and had some time to recover and prepare yourself. Don't take this as an offer of friendship. It's not. And I won't go so easy on you in our next fight."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Nodoka with a wolfish smile, her hand moving to gently stroke at her belly. Everything is going to be all right now, little one, she thought.

Kenseiko chuckled, and then both women started to laugh out loud again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I don't suppose you're willing to tell me how you got those bruises?"

Ranma remained silent as Master Lee studied him, the pigtailed boy catching his breath after sparring for a while with his new master. The two of them were on one side of the gymnasium area, as it was raining outside. He could see Nabiki and Kodachi sparring fiercely on the other side of the room, under the watchful guidance of Coach Fujinami. They looked like they were going at it with their usual vigor, although Nabiki seemed a little slower today, possibly due to lingering effects of her injuries from last night.

As much as he wished to, Ranma could not meet the man's gaze. He still felt shame over losing to Kinnosuke on top of losing to Nabiki. He heard a sigh from the older man.

"Well, since you appear a bit too injured to spar any more with me today," Master Lee said, sitting down in front of the pigtailed boy on the mat. "We will talk instead." There was a pause. "Ranma, look at me."

Ranma looked up. If this had been Genma, not his real father but the other one, he would have seen disappointment on the man's face over his losing to Nabiki. Thinking on it with regret, he was depressed at how his counterparts in those other two worlds always seemed to find a way to win their fights in the end. But he had lost two important fights in only a few days.

However, when he looked up, he saw that Master Lee did not seem to be disappointed. Instead, the man appeared thoughtful.

"Ranma, let's start with a basic question, from master to disciple. Do you know why I chose to train you instead of Nabiki Tendo?" Master Lee looked solemnly at the pigtailed boy and waited for an answer.

Ranma was a bit taken aback by the question. He shook his head. "Not really, Lee-sensei. Why did you?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here," the older man said, still looking at him thoughtfully. "Do you consider me to be a true martial arts master?"

"Of course!"

"Then tell me what you define as mastery of the martial arts."

Ranma instinctively stated the answer Pop had taught him a long time ago. Actually, to one of his analogs. "A martial artist is someone who knows how to fight well, who has trained his body and spirit for combat and proves it by defeating all foes."

Master Lee shook his head. "That's not truly mastering the martial arts, Ranma. That answer means someone is a great fighter, yes. But to perfect the forms, to memorize the lore, or even to be the best fighter around, none of that shows a mastery of the martial arts. No, to be a true master of the martial arts is to master oneself. Everything else is just window dressing."

"But you fought in the Arena," Ranma interjected. He paused for a brief moment, regretting his outburst. He looked at Master Lee. "I mean, you showed the world that your martial arts skills were the strongest, that you were the best."

Master Lee smiled and chuckled slightly. "Yes, I fought in the Arena. I was young like you once and eager to prove myself. I faced many great fighters in that crucible of combat, and I learned a great many techniques. But simply defeating others does not make one a martial arts master, Ranma. A true master of the martial arts is determined by what's in here." He poked Ranma in the chest with a forefinger. "And in here." He tapped Ranma's forehead. "It's not by how skillfully one wields their fists or feet, or even what special techniques are known."

"This is why I chose you over Nabiki, Ranma," Master Lee said calmly. "You are both surprisingly similar in many ways, as if somehow formed from the same mold, but there is... an arrogance in Nabiki Tendo, an arrogance you don't seem to share, at least not to the same degree. While I have no doubts at all that her physical skills are currently superior to yours, and may continue to remain better than yours if she is diligent in her training, I find myself wondering if she truly has the potential to be anything more than merely a great fighter, like I think you can."

Ranma tried not to, but he winced a bit at Master Lee's comparison of his fighting skills to Nabiki's. It took him a moment to pick up on the rest of what the man had said.

"As to your bruises, you don't have to tell me how you received them." Master Lee paused and glanced over at Nabiki and Kodachi's sparring match, noting how Nabiki was dominating the contest, a confident smirk on her face. He frowned at the sight. Someday he would ask Ranma how he and Nabiki knew this Anything-Goes style, an unfamiliar school of Kempo to him, learning of its name from Fuyutsuki, but for now he would leave the matter alone. "I imagine Nabiki wasn't too happy with you over my choice," he said mildly.

"Nabiki didn't do this to me," Ranma stated emphatically, looking up, honestly surprised at the suggestion.

Master Lee looked back at him, meeting his gaze and then nodding. "I believe you, Ranma. However, as your new master, it doesn't look good upon me to see you all beaten up like this." He leaned forward. "So I'll make you a promise. I'll train your physical skills as far as you're willing to take them, so that few, if any, would be able to do something like this to you ever again." There was a pause. "But the rest of it will be up to you."

"I can make you a great fighter, Ranma, if that is all you wish to be. However, I believe you can be more, to someday truly master the martial arts, and I can help you. But only you can make that choice. Only you can walk that path. No one else can do it for you. And that path will not be easy."

"I understand, Lee-sensei," Ranma said sincerely. He was suddenly aware that he was in for a much different experience than his analogs had learning from the likes of Happosai, Cologne, or Pop. He bowed to the man. "Thank you."

Master Lee grunted and nodded, an inscrutable look on his face. "Don't thank me yet. Let's see how far you can walk the path first, my young disciple."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well? What do you think?" asked Ukyo, gazing at Ranma expectantly as he ate the lunch she had prepared for him.

Ranma swallowed. "It's good," he said with a grin.

Ukyo grinned back, pleased to see Ranma enjoying her cooking. She had been making a sincere effort to improve her okonomiyaki skills with her aunt's assistance, and it looked like her efforts were paying off. She started grilling him up another one on her portable unit, commandeering a desk near theirs to use in preparing lunch for him, since it was too cold and rainy to eat outside.

Ranma ate the next one that Ukyo made him as quickly as he had consumed the first, his body needing to refuel. He was still recovering his strength, and Ukyo's delicious cooking helped a lot. After yesterday's ordeal, not to mention the one he faced that morning when he arrived on campus, he felt worn. His morning training session with Master Lee had ended up as another grueling affair as well and there was still the afternoon left to face.

He had barely made it through the gauntlet of girls today. They might have taken him down at the end, but Ukyo had interfered. While he was grateful to her for her assistance, it bothered his pride that she had helped him. He didn't feel he should need anyone else's help where a fight was involved, but he really needed to deal with that particular situation before it turned into something more dangerous. After all, they could start showing up at his house or something.

At their respective desks in the class, Yuka and Gosunkugi repeated their glaring at Ranma and Ukyo. Yuka was growing convinced that she was going to have to do something drastic to save Ukyo from Ranma's perverted interest in the ninja, unable to miss the signs of attraction between the two boys. Gosunkugi was simply busy making plans for the pigtailed boy's destruction.

Tsubasa Kurenai quietly ate her lunch and casually observed Ukyo, still uncertain why the ninja boy was here. As far as she knew, the Kuonji and Hibiki clans had already destroyed the last of the tainted Goju that the Shogun of the Dark had subverted over to his cause, the last one of them dying years ago in the final, ill-fated attack on the Kuonjis. Was Ukyo here seeking out the few Untainted remnants of the once-proud Goju clan that remained?

That suspicion didn't feel right to Tsubasa. The Hibikis were stupid brutes who got lost crossing a street and bore grudges that could linger for years, so that sort of delayed retribution could be expected of one of them. But the Kuonjis were more reasonable. And there was a treaty still in place, wasn't there? She took another bite of food and continued to observe Ukyo.

The two tattoos on her lower back twisted slightly under her skin as she mused. One enabled her to manipulate shadows into becoming a vast arsenal of weapons and the second enabled her to shape shift into other humanoid forms. Her current shape was the only one she had practiced regularly, the only one she could hold all day before reverting back to her true male form.

Tsubasa was grateful to her mother for escaping from the Gojus' fate before Shadowlaw could imprint her with the third tattoo, one which would have enabled her to transform into almost anything but would have given her soul to the Shogun, becoming little more than a faceless puppet of his will. Tsubasa shivered at the thought of that, saddened to think of the men, women and even children that the Shogun had forced into slavery. Only a handful of the Untainted remained, like her mother. She bit into more of her lunch, pondering the mystery of Ukyo.

Many of the other girls in the class also eyed the pair, an occasional sigh heard. Sayuri was one of those girls, but not for the same reason as Yuka was, as she watched her friend and sipped at her juice. She occasionally rolled her eyes. Yuka had been like this for the past few days, ever since Ukyo started attending classes at the Academy.

"Isn't he wonderful?" Yuka sighed, gazing at Ukyo.

"Yeah, wonderful." Sayuri's tone was matter of fact. She eyed the lunch in front of her companion, seeing it was barely touched. "You going to eat that omelet?"

Yuka absently slid the box over to her friend and sighed again, gazing raptly at Ukyo.

Sayuri just shook her head and started eating from both lunches. First Tendo-senpai, her idol among the upperclassmen, started losing her previously unshakable cool over Ranma Saotome weeks ago, and now even her best friend Yuka was practically drooling over the newest addition to the campus. With Yuka uncommunicative, it was looking like another boring lunch period.

Standing on the grounds of the Imperial Academy next to Ryoko, Ryoga gazed up at the windows of the main building. After spending the morning cleaning the Yu-chan, his quest was finally drawing to an end.

The rain came to a stop while they stood there, so he folded up his reinforced bamboo umbrella and was about to slip it back into the straps on his pack when he saw a familiar visage through one of the upper windows. Rage contorted his features when he saw that laughing face and he charged in the direction of the building and then leaped high into the air, his fury propelling him across the distance that separated him from his target.

Ryoko blinked when Ryoga suddenly sprinted off and then leaped, taking his umbrella in both hands, his mouth opening to scream.

Ranma was about to take another bite of his lunch when he heard a voice coming through the window, one that he had never expected to hear in this life.

"UKYO KUONJI! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Time seemed to slow for Ranma as he took a single glance at the human missile heading straight for them. Without thinking, he grabbed hold of Ukyo and leaped for safety. An instant later, it was like a bomb went off as the window and that section of wall shattered inward, the concrete and steel ripping aside as an enraged Ryoga Hibiki plowed through it, his red parasol umbrella in hand and leading the way.

Tsubasa gaped at the sight of Ryoga. She shook her head slowly and got up from her desk, moving towards the door. First a Kuonji, and now this? She studied the new arrival intently as she tried to leave the room amidst the sudden press of bodies. Was the boy a Hibiki? He certainly seemed to be powerful enough to be one.

Kodachi paused in eating her lunch, feeling the entire room suddenly shake and hearing a nearby rumbling. She had chosen to avoid Ranma today, still feeling miffed at him over his recent actions towards her. So she had been enjoying a quiet lunch with some of her new classmates, in the classroom right next door to the one that Ranma was in.

Several cadets immediately rushed for the windows, trying to see outside. A flurry of conjectures began being quickly exchanged.

One of the girls who had stuck her head out one open window suddenly said, "Hey, some kind of martial artist guy just attacked the next class. I can just see him standing there in this big hole in the wall."

"But we're on the third floor!" another girl said in disbelief.

Kodachi was the first one out the door, leading the charge to see what was happening in the next classroom.

Nabiki paused in eating her lunch when the building suddenly shook, interrupting her discussion with Yohko on the matter of the Kashuoh heir, as well as the shopping excursion they would be doing that weekend. She glanced at the young Devil Hunter, and both of them looked around. It had sounded like an explosion of some kind had occurred, coming from the floor above them. Several cadets were now rushing to the windows, to try and see what was wrong.

"Hey, some girl dressed like a martial artist of some kind just leaped up to a big hole in one of the upstairs classrooms," one of the male cadets suddenly said. "And she's a babe."

Nabiki's first thought was of Ranma. She hastened out of her seat and leaped out the window past a startled Kyosuke, grabbing hold of the upper frame and agilely swinging herself up to the next level while her fellow classmates gaped at the casually acrobatic move.

Ryoga Hibiki paused as bits and pieces of glass and concrete continued to rain down behind him, his umbrella resting in the center of a wide, rounded depression in the concrete floor of the room. Fortunately for the class, no one had been sitting right where he made his entrance. He stood up and looked around for Ukyo, catching sight of the ninja boy held by some guy with a pigtail who was wearing a blue uniform. His gaze narrowed darkly at the protective way the boy was holding Ukyo.

In the back of the classroom, Minami and Gosunkugi watched the tableau with interest, both of them secretly hoping that Ranma was about to be beaten up by the intruder but unaware that they shared the same desire on that front. Like other cadets, they both began moving away from what was looking like a fight about to begin. There was an odd feeling of importance to the scene that Minami could sense, like a momentary concentration of those strange energies she had been sensing on campus since arriving for her first day.

Heedless of Ryoga's attention falling on him, Ranma quickly asked Ukyo, "Are you all right, Ucchan?"

"I-I'm fine," she replied. "I just had the wind knocked out of me a bit when you grabbed me." She smiled at him. "Nice save, Ranchan."

"Wow!" said an unfamiliar voice from the window, followed up by a brief whistle, as Ryoko made her appearance, having leaped up to the new opening in the wall. "I gotta say, you really know how to make an entrance, Hibiki-kun."

Ranma glanced back at Ryoga and back at Ukyo. "You two, uh, know each other?"

"He's a friend of mine," Ukyo replied, looking confused. "But I don't know why he's so angry."

Ranma glanced back at Ryoga again and wondered why his life was turning into some twisted reflection of the life his analogs lived. Now Ryoga had shown up. But why was he hunting Ukyo? It had better not be over some stupid bread, he thought. This was all getting too weird and too coincidental for him. He started to move when Ryoga suddenly gave out a growl and charged to the attack.

"How dare you ruin my life, Ukyo! Die!" He leaped at the ninja, and the two on the ground rolled apart as Ryoga brought his umbrella down on the area they had just occupied, deeply cracking the concrete floor. The boy with the pigtail came leaping at him, and Ryoga batted him aside without a second thought and continued charging towards Ukyo, his current focus. "I'm going to kill you!"

Whoa! He's fast! Even though he knew he wasn't in his best shape at the moment, after what had happened last night and this morning, he just couldn't stand by and let Ryoga beat Ukyo to a pulp. But he had been caught off-guard by Ryoga's speed and skill, and the umbrella slammed him in a solid blow across his midsection. His trajectory carried him towards the new opening in the wall, where he came to an abrupt stop when he suddenly impacted headfirst into Ryoko's chest, burying his face in between her breasts. The sheer force of the collision stunned him and actually knocked her back half a step.

Ukyo met Ryoga's charge head on as cadets started evacuating from the classroom, and the two came together as his umbrella strike was blocked between her crossed and upraised arms. While she was shoved back a ways from Ryoga's momentum, her feet skidding on the floor, she managed to keep herself upright. The two of them then began a dazzling display of fighting skill as they clashed, her opponent having a murderous look on his face.

"What the hell's your problem, Ryoga? What are you doing here? What did I ever do to you to make you so mad? Is this about that thousand yen I owe you?" She knew she was at a bit of a disadvantage here, with her battle spatula currently in her locker, since the Academy had a strict policy against students coming to class armed.

"I'll tell you," Ryoga replied, thrusting his umbrella against past Ukyo's evading body, narrowly missing her. She grabbed hold of the umbrella, trying to wrest it away from him, and both combatants leaned into the brief test of strength. Ryoga shouted into her face, "You made me like guys!"

Ukyo blinked and looked startled, and so did the few cadets who still remained in the room. Even those who had been desperately trying to get out through the door came to an abrupt halt to stare at Ryoga, one among them being Tsubasa. It was very quiet for a moment.

Just then, Kodachi appeared in the doorway, having struggled to get in past the flow of cadets streaming out of the impromptu battle zone. She gaped at the new opening in the wall, and the strange boy glaring at Ukyo, but her only concern right now was Ranma. Hurriedly, she scanned the rest of the room looking for her fiancé, deeply concerned for his well-being.

When she saw him with his face buried in the bosom of some strange girl with weird hair, her concern for him abruptly vanished, and she turned away with a feminine harrumph. She trudged back to her own classroom, a frown on her face. He obviously didn't need her, and she hoped that Ukyo wretch was severely beaten by that unruly boy, whoever he was.

Ryoko paused for several moments, startled by the boy who had impacted into her as well as Ryoga's revelation. She glanced down at the guy with his face currently stuck between her breasts, and a vein suddenly sprang up in her forehead and throbbed. She grabbed him by his uniform and hauled him up to her face, his head coming free from her bosom with a slight popping sound.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she raged at her still somewhat insensate assailant.

"That sounds like a question I should be asking you," said Nabiki's voice suddenly from her right and just behind her, a hint of menace in it. "Let Ranma go."

"Ranma?" Ryoko glanced once at Nabiki and then back to the pigtailed boy she was holding. "Are you Ranma Saotome?"

Ranma blinked, startled by the question as he dangled in the strange girl's grasp. "Uh, yes?"

Ryoko paused, ignoring the furious melee currently going on over on the far side of the room. She studied him for a moment, and she suddenly realized he was pretty cute. She smiled, for the moment forgetting her original reason for coming here was to frighten him off, baring her fangs a little in the process.

"Hey! I told you to let him go!" demanded Nabiki, interrupting the brief tableau when she grabbed Ryoko by the wrist, feeling the muscles bunched in the other girl's forearm. She must be another Hibiki, she decided, noting the fangs. "Let him go _now_, Goblin Girl!"

Ryoko paused, but she did not release her grip on Ranma. "What did you call me?" she asked, her tone turning dangerous. She shot Nabiki a very sharp look. "What the hell did you just call me?"

"With those fangs and that weird hair color, I called you a goblin, Goblin Girl," Nabiki replied with a fierce grin. "Now let Ranma go. If you want a fight, face me." Even though she was still injured, she knew she was in better shape for a battle than he was.

"Um, girls?" Ranma ventured, but both of them were now ignoring him, their attention focused on each other.

Ryoko absently released Ranma, and he decided to get out of the way and let Nabiki handle this one herself.

"What's your name?" Ryoko asked, taking a moment to crack her knuckles dramatically before assuming an easy stance, ready for anything. She was looking forward to utterly pulverizing the annoying girl who had dared to mouth off to her like that. She quickly estimated that it would take maybe five seconds at most, but that was probably being pretty generous.

"Nabiki Tendo. What's yours?" Nabiki assumed a more nonchalant pose, visibly unimpressed by the other girl, even if she was a Hibiki. It was a common ploy of an Anything-Goes stylist, used to distract an enemy and make them lose focus by insulting them while waiting for them to make the first move.

"Ryoko. Ryoko Masaki." She gave Nabiki a nasty grin. "Maybe you've heard of me? At St. Hebereke, they call me Ryoko the Demon."

Nabiki seemed to consider it and then she shook her head. "Hmm. Can't say that I have." Although St. Hebereke was familiar to her, a bastion of violent delinquents in the region, the other girl's name was not.

"Then let me show you why I'm called that," Ryoko growled, her fury at Nabiki growing by leaps and bounds from the other girl's arrogance. She started to take a step forward.

Meanwhile, Ukyo managed to catch Ryoga in a solid blow across his chest with a roundhouse kick, and he flew towards the window, blasting aside a few desks in his path and narrowly missing Ranma. Ryoga impacted hard into Ryoko, and the pair went sailing out the window. The ninja took that opportunity to leap out the door, intent on retrieving her spatula from her locker.

Nabiki spotted Ukyo's abrupt departure, and she went after the other girl, looking for answers. Just what trouble had the cross-dressing hick brought with her?

Ranma took a moment to catch his breath. His ribs were aching, and he knew he was pushing his still healing body too hard. He tried to focus past the pain as he looked around for Ukyo. He didn't see her, and Nabiki was gone as well.

As he fell, Ryoga flipped himself into a landing position and absorbed the impact in his knees. Next to him, Ryoko did the same. He sprang back immediately, landing lightly amidst the debris of his initial arrival. Ukyo wasn't around, but the pigtailed boy was, the one who had tried to stop him from taking his righteous revenge on the ninja.

"You!" Ryoga snarled, catching Ranma by the front of his school uniform and hauling him close. "Where's Ukyo?" He shook him to emphasize his point, rattling the pigtailed boy's teeth a bit. "Tell me!"

"Hey, let Ranma go, Ryoga." Ryoko laid her hand on his arm. "I don't want you to hurt him. He doesn't have anything to do with your feud with Ukyo."

Several emotions went through Ryoga at that moment: surprise and joy that Ryoko was touching him, but then ending with misery and jealousy as her words sank in. With an effort, he released his grip on Ranma's uniform jacket. Ryoga glared menacingly at the pigtailed boy, his emotions seething darkly within him.

Ranma was startled by the look, but familiar responses within him took over. He met Ryoga's gaze, and the two locked glares. Tension filled the air between them like heat lightning.

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"Hold it, Kuonji!" Nabiki commanded, grabbing the other girl when she caught up to her in the hall. "What was all that about back there?"

Ukyo managed to slip free of the grip and straightened the jacket of her male uniform. "I really don't know, Tendo-senpai," she said, adding the honorific a bit grudgingly. "But I need to get my spatula, if you don't mind." Without waiting for a response, she headed towards the stairs.

"I think I do mind." Nabiki leaped in front of Ukyo. "Just what is Ryoga's problem with you?" She then blinked, noting the masculine look that Ukyo was sporting, wearing male clothing and with her breasts bound down, and suddenly remembering Ryoga's words. "Oh, so that's it." She then started to chuckle. "You're such an idiot, Kuonji."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Ukyo faced the Tendo girl, her hands balling into fists. "If you want a fight, you're going to have to wait your turn. I've gotta deal with that jackass Ryoga first, then you're more than welcome to take a shot. I've got no problem with knocking you on your ass once I'm finished dealing with him." She brushed past the other girl and continued stomping towards the stairs, her look grim.

Nabiki suddenly smirked behind Ukyo and shook her head, already considering possible angles to turn this situation to her advantage.

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"I've got no time for this," Ryoga suddenly announced, breaking off his staring contest with Ranma, trying to focus past the anger he felt at Ryoko's sudden change of heart. "I don't know who you are and I don't really care. I'm just looking to finish things with Ukyo." He shoved Ranma aside abruptly and charged out of the room. "Where the hell are you, Kuonji, you coward? I'm going to kill you!"

Ryoko sighed. She gave Ranma a shrug and headed out after Ryoga.

Left behind, Ranma looked around at his partially demolished classroom and wondered aloud. "What the hell just happened?"

After finally retrieving her battle spatula, Ukyo looked around the building for Ryoga. With his usual bellowing that shouldn't have taken her very long, but it had been a little while since she last heard his voice in the halls. Where could he have disappeared to?

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"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?"

Ryoga stood on a street corner somewhere in the Nerima area and looked around for some sign that was even vaguely familiar. Passersby eyed him, and his rage just seemed to intensify at the interest they paid him. With a growl, after putting his fist through a nearby stone wall, he began stomping down the street, certain that the campus was around here somewhere.

"DAMN YOU, KUONJI! JUST WAIT UNTIL I FIND YOU!"

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Ryoko called her house from a payphone and left a brief message on the answering machine before starting her search for Ryoga. He had left a pretty clear path of destruction after leaving the Academy, such as holes in walls and other such destruction of property. But she had lost the trail quickly after he left the campus for some reason and stopped destroying things. Could he really have gotten lost that easily?

Well, it shouldn't take her too long to find him. After hanging up the telephone, she headed off, looking for the wayward Hibiki boy. In the back of her mind, Nabiki's taunting voice was heard, and she frowned, feeling anger simmering within her.

"Nabiki Tendo," she muttered, her hand tightening into a fist. "When I see you again, I'll show you why nobody gets away with talking to me like that. Nobody calls me names."

With that, she began her search for Ryoga Hibiki.

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After classes were over for the day, Ranma walked Ukyo home.

"Crazy day, huh?"

Ranma glanced at Ukyo, walking along with her battle spatula slung over her shoulder. He nodded and said, "Yeah, but I'm kinda getting used to them."

"Oh?" Ukyo looked over at him and smiled.

Ranma shrugged. "So how long have you known Ry- uh, that Hibiki guy?"

"Since we were both little kids," Ukyo said as they continued walking alongside each other. Her look was thoughtful and maybe a little bit sad. "I thought we were pretty good friends, but I guess I must've done something to make him hate girls."

Ranma blinked, realizing he had been just about to put his foot in his mouth. Of course Ryoga must know Ukyo was really a girl. A guy would have to be really stupid to not notice, not after so many years, even if she did dress and act like a guy. He filed that piece of info away.

"Friends don't usually try to beat each other up," he observed. "Well, not seriously, at least. Sparring can be fun."

"Yeah." Ukyo grinned at him. "You wanna spar with me sometime?"

"Sure," he said, grinning back. "Sounds like fun. How about in a few days? I ran into some trouble last night, and I need to heal up a bit first. But once I do, I'd love to spar. How about this Saturday, after classes? We could grab dinner afterwards, maybe go ice skating or to a movie. It'll be my treat."

Ukyo's grin grew wider. She loved ice skating. "It's a date, Ranchan." She sidled up to him and said, "Mind you, I won't go easy on you. Hope that doesn't bother you."

"Nah," Ranma said, shaking his head, feeling glad that things were so comfortable with Ukyo, unlike how hard it was with Nabiki and Kodachi. "I'm looking forward to it."

They arrived in front of the Yu-chan, and the early dinner crowd was already going in. Ukyo waved goodbye to Ranma and ran in to help her aunt out. Ranma watched her go and then he turned around and headed home.

The day had started out kind of rough, but it ended on a pretty good note. His step was light, and he hoped that this meant he was turning a corner, and that things would finally start getting better for him.

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Touga Kiryuu leaned back, allowing his head to rest against the side of the hot bath as his tense muscles unwound. Of all his personal rooms in the Kiryuu Estate (his wing of the mansion being larger than most commoners' houses) the bath was his second favorite. The first was his bedroom, since over the course of the last few years he had spent more time there than anywhere else.

His eyes scanned the room, enjoying the texture of the place. He had never cared much for Japanese style baths, and had instead opted for something grander in an ancient Grecian style. Fluted columns and marble were everywhere. The tub was built flush with the floor, like a pool, and closer in size to one rather than a standard bathtub. A number of hand-sculpted statues of exquisite nude men and woman rounded out the decor. Like most things Touga Kiryuu owned, it defined the term opulent. But when one was due to inherit control of the fifth largest zaibatsu, there were certain expectations to uphold. Doing everything in extravagant style was one of them.

"Hard day, sir? I know how difficult it must be doing nothing." The statement was issued in crisp, clear, and very dry, tones.

Touga idly lolled his head to look in the direction of the only other occupant of the chamber. He was a gaijin, English, specifically. Dry and wrinkled, as befitted his ninety years, he looked like a piece of leather than had been left out in the sun to long. Still he retained a full head of immaculately groomed hair, and stood with posture so stiff Touga wagered one could have set a greased rubber ball atop his head and it wouldn't move a millimeter. His tailored suit was fitting that of his position in the Kiryuu household: butler. Not a post used often in the Empire, it was seen as too foreign and there were other jobs that filled the same requirements and whose names were native to the land. But that was the title Laughlin insisted upon when he was introduced to others. It had been the name of the job when he had been hired; it would remain so until the day he died. And despite the man's advanced years, Touga would not be surprised if the wizened butler outlived at least another generation of Kiryuus.

"I was thinking, actually, Laughlin," Touga answered. "I need the measurements of a woman."

"Shall I take them while she's riding your baloney pony, sir, or would you like me to wait until you're done with her?"

"Actually, she hasn't shared my bed yet."

"A girl you haven't slept with? I didn't think there were any of those left."

The corners of Touga's mouth curled upward slightly. "You're being exceptionally impudent today."

"Indeed. Perhaps it would be best if I was released from my position." The withered face betrayed no emotion. Only the voice held its distinguished tone, despite the sarcasm of the words.

"What would you do with all that time on your hands?"

"Find peace of mind? Allow these ancient bones to have some rest? Not have to put up with impudent, decadent people that won't even wash their own back?" He paused for a moment and then continued. "You're right, there is nothing for me, is there?"

Touga laughed slightly. Laughlin's sharp tongue was one of the reasons he liked the man whose origins were shrouded in mystery. All anyone really knew was that when Touga's legendary grandfather (legendary in both his business dealings as well as decadence), Maasaki, was a young man, he had gone to England to strike some sort of huge business deal with the monarchy there. Rumor had it that just when the deal was about to be finalized, Maasaki left abruptly, the deal falling through and with only a young man he had taken on as his butler to show for the journey. Since then the Kiryuus never had any dealings with England, and the English wanted nothing to do with the Kiryuus. No one knew exactly what happened, and no one spoke about it save in hushed tones when they believed none of the Kiryuus were about.

As to Laughlin, he was an enigma. It was common knowledge around the house that he was Maasaki's personal manservant, going everywhere with him and being so perpetually at his side that people commented something was missing when he wasn't present. Touga was also convinced the butler was every bit as impudent then as he was now, which was probably why his grandfather had favored him above all others, including most of the family. From what Touga understood, Laughlin was probably the only man his grandfather would have called a friend. Certainly the butler had been treated far better than any servant Touga had ever heard of. His salary was the equivalent of a highly paid CEO of their zaibatsu, and upon Maasaki's death, Laughlin inherited an enormous quantity of stock as well as a home and lands in the Hawaiian islands.

The salary and inheritance had been a cause of consternation among the Kiryuus but Maasaki was a force no one ever crossed, even in death. Those that tried never lasted long. He had made the Kiryuus into the second most powerful zaibatsu in the Empire when he was alive and had personally held the Emperor's ear. Having no proper successor was why the Kiryuu fortunes and prominence had slid slowly over the last decade. No one had ever replaced the old man. However, Touga would change all that, once he was given control of the family. Everyone agreed he inherited Maasaki's wits (and rather decadent tastes when it came to women), and it had been decided internally that he would be groomed as the successor of the family. Such unanimity in a succession was nearly unheard of. There were always power struggles within the nobility for the right to control the family fortunes when there was no heir apparent, but the Kiryuus agreed something had to be done to prevent the downward spiral which hurt all, and it was likewise decided Touga would be their best chance for salvation. Oh, the members of the family would court his personal favor, but none would challenge his rule.

Shortly after the matter had been settled, Touga decided he wanted Laughlin to fulfill the same position he had when Maasaki had been alive. No other member of the family could stand the man's scathing tongue, and he had been left to run the household instead of personally taking care of anyone. Despite his age and surly nature, he ran the vast Kiryuu Estate like no other. Touga once tested Laughlin's skill by giving him a list of a hundred things he wanted done by the end of the day. Within an hour everything had been completed. It was after accomplishing that remarkable feat, and far exceeding Touga's expectations, that he informed Laughlin he wanted him as his personal butler. The old man simply gave a flat, "Oh, goody," and promoted his second-in-command to take over the house. Kazuya was a good man, but never managed things as well as Laughlin could.

Oh, Laughlin could retire at any time, but Touga was fairly certain he enjoyed being scathing to those that were supposedly his betters far more than any enjoyment retirement could give.

"I find I fancy this girl," Touga explained at last. All secrets were safe with Laughlin. He wouldn't even betray any of Maasaki's to Touga, no matter how hard he tried to cajole the butler about some of the secrets only he knew regarding Touga's grandfather. "I mean I really like her. There's something intangible about Nabiki that draws me to her like no other I've ever met."

"Ah, a flavor of the month, then. I see. Given up on the Tenjou and Arisugawa girls, have you? Or are you planning on inviting them in a four-way?"

Touga laughed at the imagery. "I think not. Juri is... let's just say she's beyond even my impressive means. As to Utena, well, she would be a rather pleasant girl, but not really someone I would want to keep around for very long. Nabiki's different, though. Very different. She's intelligent and clever, I could tell from the first time I laid eyes on her. She's someone with a quick wit, and not lacking courage, even in the face of danger. I did a background check. She's not nobility, but her family is well connected. A very interesting girl indeed."

It was while he was marking some of Nabiki's more intriguing aspects that Touga espied something odd about his butler. A rarely seen reaction in a man that wouldn't react to a gunshot wound. "What is it?"

"What is what, sir?" Laughlin asked.

"Your eyebrow shot up. You only do that when something catches your interest. Something that you think shouldn't catch your interest, but did anyway. On you, it qualifies as an emotional outburst."

For a moment, it appeared Laughlin would dismiss the accusation. Instead he said, "For the first time in your vapid little life, you've mentioned a woman's intelligence before her appearance. It's quite shocking."

Touga was about to argue that -he had noted women's intelligence before mentioning their looks- then realized he only did so in the company of others. When he thought of Nabiki, though, it was her mind, not her looks that came to the forefront. How very... interesting. The security cadet was affecting him in ways he wasn't fully aware of. And they had only met twice, neither being a particularly remarkable experience. Of course, Nabiki was quite attractive as well. Not with model gorgeous features, like Juri, but definitely visually appealing.

However, it was that mind that excited him. Even now he was trying to maneuver things before the dance so that he had the upper hand against his newest romantic interest. He wondered how she'd react to his present. It was something of an unusual approach to courtship, this scheming for an advantage, but they were exceptional people, and needed to do things in exceptional ways.

In a tired voice, Laughlin said, "I see your periscope has surfaced, sir. Shall I send one of the bath girls to scrub it free of barnacles while I acquire the information you desire?"

Touga looked down at the part of his anatomy Laughlin was referring to.

Thoughts of Nabiki had made him feel frisky. "Yes. Send that new girl, Natsuki." With her short, almost pageboy haircut, she looked a bit like Nabiki. If Touga tried hard enough, he could probably envision it was his true interest that would be taking care of his physical needs. Something that, with a little skillful manipulating, would become a reality before overlong.

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Laughlin instructed the head of the servants to send the requested girl to Touga. Natsuki knew what was expected of her, it was one of the reasons she was hired in the first place. He then continued on to the basement and the cellars below. It took him but a moment to locate his target.

A man in his late thirties was stocking shelves for some of the more exotic foods that were needed for the cooks. The Kiryuus' frequently entertained guests and prided themselves on being able to serve any dish a person could request.

Laughlin said, "You there, the nameless stockboy we pay half as much as myself. The young master wishes to know the measurements of a Nabiki Tendo. If I need to tell you more than that, you're not doing your job, and will be released from your duties." He bowed and left.

The 'nameless stockboy' growled under his breath. As head of the Kiryuus' ninjas, it was his job to ferret out secrets almost before they became secrets. He knew of Touga's recent interest in Nabiki Tendo. He knew all the names in Touga's little black book, having made certain every girl was who she was supposed to be and not someone trying to get close and discover some of the secrets the Kiryuus held. All the truly notable families tried to spy on one another. But that damned butler was an enigma that no one had ever figured out, no matter how hard the Kiryuu (and other families' spies) had tried. That he seemed to know everything before even the ninja did was even more annoying. He was no danger, betrayal would have come long before now and any been intended. He was more like an itch that couldn't be scratched.

He put Laughlin in the back of his mind and decided to personally acquire the Tendo's measurements. Touga was the future, and while he was not wont for emotional decisions, too many failures would result in demotion and possible firing. The task would be simple enough, and it would be a break from his cover of being a simple stockboy. It would be a simple enough matter to sneak into the school and go through the medical files on her. He had just the right costume. No one ever questioned a janitor, after all.

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Thanks go out to DB Sommer for the last couple of sections, one of his many contributions to the Quantum Destinies storyline.

My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their very detailed help with grammar and plotting.

Another special thanks goes out to DB Sommer, whose many side-stories set in this universe are one of the reasons I kept writing. Kudos!


	22. Yin And Yang, Part II

*** Heaven 0.000, 0.000

Skuld frowned as she sat at her usual terminal in Yggdrasil's datacore, waiting for the system to respond to her request for a status update. The two small dolls that looked like super-deformed versions of her sisters watched sightlessly as she tapped at the keyboard made of solid light in front of her. She raised her hand and pulled aside a second processing window from the main one, and the scrolling text within it faintly reflected from her eyes. The display suddenly paused and briefly cleared itself, before presenting several more lines of text.

* MIDGARD REALITY PARADIGM ADJUSTMENT: 42% COMPLETE.

* ERROR: ANOMALOUS DATA IN SYSTEM.

* ERROR: MISSING PARAMETERS IN EQUATION.

* SEARCHING FOR SOLUTION FOR MISSING PARAMETERS. PLEASE STAND BY.

It had been like that for weeks, and Skuld was growing concerned. As Yggdrasil's datacore hummed in the background, she could somehow detect a faint difference in its tonal harmonics, as if the crystalline matrix was developing some kind of strain, but there was nothing she could find wrong when she called up various analysis algorithms. Everything was operating right within its normal working parameters, if perhaps higher than she had ever seen before.

The young goddess wished Belldandy was back, but her older sister was on an extended mission to the Earth realm. There was Urd, of course, but Skuld was not about to take her rather vague concerns to her oldest sister, since the only way she could explain why she was bothered would be to admit she had been poking around the datafile containing the list of Probability Nodes for the system, not to mention messing around with the Destiny Protocols, which was a definite no-no.

Something was missing that needed to be present, some element that was being referenced from the supporting datafiles. But, what?

She called up the master index to take another look at the Class One Probability Nodes, and she was startled to see that another person had been recently upgraded from Class Three to Class Two and then to Class One status in rapid succession. And this one was near the other two. To have multiple spontaneous upgrades occur within close proximity to each other was a rare event, and usually preceded a major adjustment to the reality matrix.

A few other people that were cross-indexed with the new Class One Node had risen in status as well, to Class Two and Three, and all of the proper authentications were present as with the first two, but there was still something that felt a bit off about the whole thing. Skuld glanced over at Yggdrasil's datacore, puzzled. What was going on?

The young goddess nibbled her lower lip, worried about her dreams again. Events were beginning to unfold in them that had their birth here in the present, scary things. She could sense a sort of pressure looming in the future, like something leaning against a screen door, trying to get inside. Changes needed to be instituted soon into the system, or it might be too late to affect whatever was coming, to try and stop that future from becoming reality.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +0.001,-0.001 – The world of Scholar Ranko (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Mousse had finally made his way home after several years away from the Joketsuzoku village when he ran into some difficulties. Meanwhile, Shampoo did some thinking about her life, now that she had the new perspective that memories of being Ensign Shan offered her. Nabiki and Ranma made their way home after the fight with Kinnosuke and the three catgirls, and the Kashuoh heir made new plans. Nodoka and Kenseiko had a talk about the engagement between their children, and their plans for the future. Ryoga and Ryoko arrived at the Imperial Academy, but Ryoga's revenge against Ukyo was left incomplete. Tsubasa Kurenai appeared, but a far different one than the original. Finally, Touga Kiryuu began his first moves for his seduction of Nabiki Tendo.

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Chapter 22 - Yin And Yang, Part II

Yin - n. - The feminine passive principle in nature that in

Chinese cosmology is exhibited in darkness, cold, or wetness

and that combines with yang to produce all that comes to be.

Yang - n. - the masculine active principle in nature that in

Chinese cosmology is exhibited in light, heat, or dryness and

that combines with yin to produce all that comes to be.

- Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Kasumi Ono was lying on her side in the bed she shared with her husband, facing away from him, a part of her attention listening to his slow and steady breathing as he slept. The house was otherwise very quiet and peaceful around them, but she could not seem to fall asleep.

Where had it all gone wrong in her marriage to Tofu? Or, had it ever been right? Kasumi pondered those questions, nibbling lightly on her lower lip. She had been so certain that she would come to love him, the handsome doctor that the matchmaker had introduced to her. After all, her parents had been an arranged marriage, and they had been happy together. So why wasn't she happy?

The marriage ceremony had been beautiful. Her father had been so stoic in appearance, but she knew he was contented to see her married and to a doctor with a fine career ahead of him. Her sisters had been envious of her, especially Nabiki, but they were also openly pleased to see her married. It had been a wonderful, magical day.

Their honeymoon in Kyoto had been quite romantic, and Tofu was gentle with her that first night, treating her like the most precious thing in his world. Still, while that night had been a pleasurable experience, something had seemed to be missing, something intangible. But she had convinced herself that she was just being a nervous new bride. After a few weeks, she was certain she would settle down and then discover the contentment from being a married woman.

However, several weeks passed and then a few months, but the vague feelings of wrongness continued. The contentment her mother had once told her to expect as a wife never appeared. She was married to a good man who provided a nice home for her, but she wasn't happy. What had gone wrong? She had done everything that was expected of a young woman by getting married. Perhaps a child would help, she finally decided, so she had her birth control implant removed in a simple procedure.

The months continued to roll on, and pregnancy eluded her. Tofu began drifting away from her, a little bit more with each failed attempt. He never yelled at her or struck her, not like some of the other husbands in their neighborhood would do with their wives, and he never cheated on her that she could tell. Instead, he simply began to spend more and more time away at work and the two of them settled into a sort of quiet desperation as the initial passion between them gradually faded away to nothing, if it had ever really existed at all.

Kasumi felt a few tears roll down her cheeks and stain her pillow. It wasn't fair. She had done everything properly, playing the role of the dutiful daughter and then the honorable bride. She had willingly sacrificed her career in the Security Directorate, one in which she had shown a true calling; putting on the unstated, unofficial, but highly regulated uniform and status of a lower noble's wife. Even in the one thing she had always secretly taken pride in, her skills as a martial artist, she had been recently surpassed by Nabiki. When had her little sister grown so skilled and strong? To lose to her had been humbling. This wasn't how her story was supposed to end up, not like this.

As she thought about her life, discontent roiling within her, something suddenly occurred to her. She rolled over, glanced at her husband for a moment with a thoughtful look and then settled back. Actually, now that she thought about it, there was nothing stopping her from reactivating her commission. The pride from wearing her true uniform and serving the Empire surely outweighed the duties of cooking and cleaning a house that was empty of love. With an internal puff, ladies don't snort, she doubted if Tofu would notice as he was hardly ever home now.

A new excitement seemed to fill her, having made the decision. She felt she had to tell somebody about it, and the first person she thought of was Lt. Yusaku Godai, startling her a bit. She blushed.

Kasumi had never felt so attracted to someone else before, like she was to Lt. Godai, and she would be lying to herself if she tried to deny it. She smiled wistfully as she thought about the young soldier, only a few years older than herself. She had met him by chance at her father's house, and the feelings he had awoken within her when she first laid eyes upon him were as unexpected as they were pleasant.

She had been quite startled by those feelings at first, and she still felt a bit guilty over having them, but she could no longer deny their existence. Not that she intended to act upon them, since that would just not be proper. No matter how she felt, she was a married woman after all. However, if she had never met him, she might never have made her decision to rejoin the Security Directorate. So she wanted to thank him for that, and perhaps he would even be willing to have dinner with her sometime. As a friend, of course, she hastily amended in her thoughts.

In the morning, she would go down to the Directorate and fill out the necessary paperwork and request to be an active agent again. She made a mental note to pull her uniform out of the back of her closet and check to make sure it still fit her all right. It had been many months since she last wore it, but she was already looking forward to putting it on again. Perhaps she would even visit her father while she was there, or see if any of her old co-workers were still around.

As if a burden had been lifted from her, Kasumi finally drifted off into a contented sleep, feeling that her future was now a much brighter place than it once had been. And as her mind fell to slumber, images of herself and a certain young soldier of the Empire floated across her thoughts, and a number of her imaginings were quite scandalous.

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The thrumming sounds of a military helicopter approaching disturbed the stillness of the night air. Dawn was still a little ways off, but the arrival was expected due to the recent misfortune that had befallen the facility. Losing three prized subjects, the result of years of effort at eugenics and genetic manipulation, had been enough to bring to this place the man who pioneered both Project Phoenix as well as the Empire's decades-long study of the so-called Jusenkyo Effect. It was also one of the few times he had left his private laboratory in almost a decade.

Two armed soldiers flanked the portly figure of the facility's current director, Doctor Taiko Gaido. He appeared Chinese, but he was actually a third-generation Imperial Citizen, his grandfather having earned the honor many years ago as a fighter in the Arena. He sweated nervously as he waited near the helicopter pad, occasionally mopping his face with a white cotton handkerchief. One of his hands was bandaged, from injuries he sustained during the escape of the three young fugitives.

The helicopter settled down and came to a rest. Immediately, a soldier hopped out from the front and opened the side door of the vehicle. A dark shape loomed for a moment in the interior, lit by the helicopter's cabin lights and then it emerged, a rotund figure dressed in a dark trenchcoat, holding a hat down over its head and concealing its features.

Gaido stepped forward. "Moreau-sensei, Director Sagara informed me of your arrival. While I am extremely distressed at the circumstances necessitating your visit, let me start by saying what an honor it is-"

He abruptly stopped as the figure raised one gloved hand and waved it once sharply, abruptly cutting off his welcoming speech. A female figure emerged from the vehicle behind the trench-coated figure, coming into the illumination provided by the spotlights pointed towards the tarmac. She was an attractive Japanese woman with her hair worn long and pulled into a single loose braid that fell to the middle of her shoulders, dressed in a finely-tailored business suit with a modest skirt and carrying a thin, metal briefcase. A professional look of disdain was seemingly permanently etched upon her otherwise lovely features.

"Moreau-hakase has not come here to exchange pleasantries with you, Gaido," said the woman grimly. "He is here on business."

"And you are?" Gaido turned to face the woman. He was not used to being spoken to in such a way.

"I am Moreau-hakase's attaché. You will call me Silk. Now, the doctor has had a long journey, so I expect you have prepared a room for him to refresh himself in before we conduct our investigation." It was not phrased as a question but a command.

Gaido glared at the woman briefly, but then he saw something quite dangerous in the gaze she directed back at him and quickly backed down. He bowed to them and gestured with his arm to one side. "Right this way, Moreau-hakase, Silk-chan." He then led the way, Moreau stepping up next to him and matching his pace with his own lumbering gate, still holding his hat down over his face with a heavy, gloved hand.

As Gaido led them towards the main building, Silk fell into place a single pace behind them, her eyes scanning their surroundings as she walked, alert for any sort of threat. She moved gracefully but with an almost predatory power in her step. The two guards fell in at the rear, their automatic weapons held in a ready position.

"Have you made any progress in retrieving the subjects?" Silk inquired after a few moments.

"I have my men out scouring the area," Gaido assured them, his comments more directed at Moreau. "They may have had a day's lead, but it's only a matter of time before they're found and brought back. They've never been outside the walls of this facility, so they can't possibly know the terrain."

"The doctor has invested a great deal of time and effort into those three. They must be returned alive and in good condition. If they aren't..." She left the statement hanging, an unspoken threat.

Gaido sweated some more and suddenly swallowed. "I-I'm doing everything I can. There was no reason for them to do this. They have always been compliant to their captivity, especially Herb. But she fought with such skill, such great ferocity, it was amazing. I don't know how it was possible. They have never received any such combat training."

"The doctor is aware of their physical capabilities," Silk commented calmly. "But you are right on one thing. How could they know how to fight without training? Someone must have taught them in secret, so I will be reviewing the security recordings after we've settled in. It's possible that something could be discovered there." She noted from a change in his posture that Gaido suddenly seemed to be even more nervous, and her eyes narrowed. "Is there a problem?"

"W-well," he began, mopping his forehead with his handkerchief again, glancing over at Moreau. "It's just that the security recordings were somehow erased during their escape. I'm not sure how it happened. It appears that the trio somehow accessed the main computer, or perhaps someone on the staff was coerced into helping them. Our chief of security was one of those killed during their escape, his neck broken, but I have his assistant working on the matter."

Moreau growled, an animal sort of sound. Gaido cringed a bit at the unexpected noise, and he was extremely grateful when they entered the main building. The two guards made no appearance that they were even listening to the conversation, but they kept a wary eye on everything.

After a brief walk and an elevator ride, Gaido led them into the staff housing region of the building. He paused outside a door just down the hall from his own quarters and slid a magnetic keycard into the lock. When the lock's light turned green, Silk calmly stepped up and took the card from his hand.

"Thank you for your welcome, Gaido," she said smoothly, opening the door and letting Moreau walk past her. "The doctor and I will let you know what we'll need. For now, continue your search, and also inform Director Sagara of our safe arrival."

She left a startled Gaido behind her as she shut the door. The look on his face went from surprised to angry after several moments. Who did that woman think she was, addressing him in such a fashion? With a grim look at the two guards, who immediately snapped to attention, he stalked off down the hallway, still mopping his sweating forehead.

Once inside, Moreau finally pulled off his hat, and the furred face of an Asian gorilla was revealed, more commonly known as a yeti, a beast thought to be extinct, and his legacy from his early work on Jusenkyo's secrets. He grumbled a bit as he clumsily pulled off his heavy gloves, revealing powerful, fur-covered hands. With a deep sigh, he pulled off his long trench-coat and sank down on the comfortable bed, dressed in a loose tunic and pants. As he relaxed, Silk proceeded into the bathroom to investigate the facilities. After several moments, the sound of running water was heard.

"I thought a hot bath would be in order for you, sir," said Silk as she came back into the bedroom. "Moreau-hakase?"

Hearing a rumbling snore, she sighed. The man was one of the most brilliant geneticists on the planet, second only to that megalomaniacal madman, Keel Lorentz (now hopefully dead, although Silk had lost track of the number of times the Security Directorate had declared him and his albino maidservant, Rei Ayanami, so). While remaining in his cursed form extended his life, he seemed to enjoy the lazy nature of a gorilla far too much.

Silk shivered a moment, recalling Keel and her fortunate escape from one of his abandoned labs in Thailand over five years ago, her memory blank of so many things. She was grateful to Moreau-sensei for liberating her from that facility, for helping an amnesiac woman without an identity to find a place for herself. She owed him so much.

She shook her head. No, that monster Keel had to be dead this time. There was simply no way he could have survived the destruction of his base in Antarctica six years ago. The maniac had vaporized it and whatever he had been working on rather than being taken by Imperial Special Forces, and over four hundred of the Empire's best soldiers had lost their lives in an instant.

It was for the best. Both he and the products of Germany's own attempt at eugenics, their Human Instrumentality Project, were better off dead and buried. They just had to be, for the world should never have been subjected to Keel's 'ubermenschen' creations, powerful, intelligent, and physically attractive boys and girls, born to rule over ordinary humans, but without a single shred of morality in the lot. The future belonged to the results of Moreau-sensei's labors, the children of Project Phoenix, not to that madman Keel's twisted vision of what the ultimate human should be.

Wandering over to the window, Silk looked out at the fading night as Moreau napped. She casually unbuttoned her jacket, revealing more of the plain white silk blouse she wore underneath it and pulled out a silver cigarette case and matching lighter from an inner pocket. She lit the thin cigarette with a practiced move and held it to her lips, before setting the lighter and case down on the sill. The tip's golden glow reflected on the glass in front of her, even as she gazed at her image dimly shown there, a pensive look on her face, lost in thought.

Somewhere out there, wandering in that darkness were the prototypes for Moreau's greatest creation, the Mark-II Newtypes, the next stage in the evolution of humanity. But where were they now? Why had they escaped? And what were they doing?

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Mint could not seem to remove his gaze from Herb's chest as she slept there in the moonlit darkness in front of him, her cloak having fallen open. Lime stood guard a short distance away. He should have been asleep as well, but he was unable to. Intellectually, one part of him knew that the two soft mounds of flesh beneath her tunic were merely glands that women had for feeding newborn young. But there was another part of him that yearned to touch them, that felt oddly fascinated by the mere sight of them, concealed from his view by thin cloth, and he could not deny that he felt very attracted to Herb's female body.

Swallowing once, Mint stared at those breasts. The way they rose and fell slightly with Herb's gentle breathing was mesmerizing in a way that he could not explain. He could not seem to stop himself as his fingers moved of their own accord, reaching out to touch them.

A hand seized his wrist, suddenly and painfully.

"What do you think you're doing, you idiot?" came Herb's voice, her eyes now open and glaring at him.

Mint sat up quickly and then fell to his knees. "A thousand pardons, Milord Herb." He all but buried his face in the soft loam of the forest floor. "Forgive me."

"If I didn't need you for this mission, I would break your spine and leave you for those soldiers to find." Herb increased the pressure of her grip on Mint's wrist, the bones grinding a bit beneath her fingers, feeling unfamiliar emotions at his halted attempt to molest her. Other sensations caused by his nearness did not bear even thinking about, and they only made her angrier. "Do not forget that I am Herb, your lord, not some pretty plaything for you to amuse yourself with, no matter how I may appear. I will never aga... I will NEVER be any man's woman. Now, I hope I don't have to tell you this ever again."

She suddenly released her grip on his wrist and wrapped her cloak more tightly around her, glaring at her companion for another moment before closing her eyes again. "Get some rest, idiot. We move again at first light."

Lime, his senses alert, kept watch on the forest around them for any movement, but he spared a glance in Mint's direction. He hoped the other boy took Herb's warning to heart. It would damage their chances of success to indulge in such things.

His own gaze then drifted over to linger on Herb's face, noting how beautiful it was, but he quickly looked away, his face blushing. Such feelings were counter-productive. Lord Herb was female in body only, and that would be rectified when they found the tools they needed to restore him to his proper form. Then they could begin their search for this resonator source Lord Herb sought.

It was probably a fool's errand, Lime mused, but he would not allow such thoughts to take root. Lord Herb had commanded they would find the source of that signal, so find it they would. He was a Musk, as were they all, so failure was not an option.

That decided, Lime turned his gaze outwards again, his ears alert for any signs of pursuit while the others rested.

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"Director Kasuga? We've received the report from the post-cognitives that you requested. I thought you should hear about it."

"Come in then, and shut the door behind you." The elderly man closed the folder on his desk as his aide did as ordered, taking a seat in front of him. He folded his hands and looked expectantly at the young man. "So, what can you tell me?"

"Well, most of it you already know, sir. Several weeks ago someone managed to penetrate our highest security database and downloaded numerous files concerning a location in China known as Jusenkyo and the effects of the waters from its many pools. While our standard tracing methods proved to be less than adequate, the post-cognitives you requested did succeed."

"Stop trying to build the suspense," Director Kasuga said a bit tartly, waving his hand slightly. "A name. Give me a name."

His aide immediately replied, "It was Ranma Saotome, sir."

"Now why would-" Director Kasuga started to ask, then he paused and thought. What interest would the Saotome boy have in Jusenkyo? For that matter, how did he even know about it? Ranma had spent most of his youth in Europe and the American Prefectures, far from the pools of Jusenkyo. Why would he want to know about them? Perhaps he should have the boy brought in for questioning, or maybe even a telepathic inquiry.

Director Kasuga abruptly paused. Cherry had told him very specifically that he was not to do anything to hinder the path that both Ranma and Nabiki walked. Was this a part of it? Was this why he was warned? He could not afford to take a chance, not with the dangers Cherry hinted at, so he chose to trust the old monk and played a hunch instead.

He leaned forward. "There's a storage depot the Institute maintains in Nerima, isn't there? What are its contents?"

His aide pulled out his datapad and performed a quick search. As he scrolled through the inventory and saw what was listed there, he looked up, startled. "Why, there are several vats of Jusenkyo water there, sir. Multiple varieties, in fact. A few have been in storage there for years, but a new shipment was just delivered there last week from the research station near Jusenkyo. Shall I alert the guards to increase security?" He started to stand up.

"No!" the older man said sharply, waving him to sit down. "No, don't do anything of the kind. In fact, I want you to remove the guards from the premises until I say otherwise. All of them. And uncover every vat."

"Sir?" His aide looked at him, startled.

"You heard me," said Director Kasuga. "This is going to be designated a Level Indigo situation, and no records will be made of this order. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." The aide snapped to attention and saluted. Level Indigo was one of the highest security ratings the Institute had. "But what do we do if someone is affected by some of the Jusenkyo water? Do we take them into custody?"

"No," Director Kasuga replied, casually leaning back in his chair and thinking about the possible outcomes. "We do absolutely nothing. As far as the Institute is concerned, we let whatever happens happen."

"All right, sir. I'll take care of getting the guards pulled from the facility." The man saluted again and then left.

Director Kasuga turned to face the window, watching the falling rain outside. "Such an interesting day today has become," he mused.

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"Where is that idiot?" Ryoko grumbled to herself as she stood outside the public bath in the rain, holding a dark blue umbrella over her head, angry with herself for having let Ryoga out of her sight so she could clean up a bit. After taking nearly a full day to find the Hibiki boy, using what little money she had with her to sleep in a cheap hotel and eat fast food, getting more and more irritated and frantic with each hour spent searching for him, she had finally came across him camped out in a city park, calmly boiling some water for soup. After a few minutes spent pummeling him to ease her stress levels, she joined him at his camp.

She was currently wearing some of his spare clothing, since her own were not fit for use right now after being worn for so long with her sweating in them without a washing. She dearly wished she had thought to bring a change of underwear with her though. The bath had helped her mood, until now.

Ryoko glanced at her watch again as the rain poured down around her. It had only been thirty minutes. How could a guy get lost from inside a public bath in so short a time? He wasn't illiterate, so was reading a sign too much to ask for? She growled again.

At least sharing his sleeping bag in his tent last night had shown her one thing. Ryoga Hibiki might be a total idiot, as well as inexplicably dyslexic with directions, but he was a trustworthy guy. He didn't try a single thing with her all night, keeping his back to her the whole time and going right to sleep.

Ryoko growled again and set off hunting for Ryoga, her free hand twitching at her side. He was probably on his way to find that Ukyo guy again, she quickly decided, so she headed off in the general direction of the Imperial Academy. She was just as eager to return there herself anyway. After all this time spent brooding about it, a habit she had picked up from spending time with Ryoga on the way to Tokyo, she was yearning to pound some respect into Nabiki Tendo for her remarks. Calling her 'Goblin Girl' had been, well, just plain rude.

"Just you wait, Nabiki Tendo," Ryoko murmured grimly, as she stomped down the street. "Once I catch up to that idiot Ryoga and tie a bell around his neck, you're getting yours. Just you wait."

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"An engagement?"

Nodoka set down her teacup and began refilling it from the pot on the table as she considered the somewhat startling offer she had just heard. As she did so, Achika sipped at her tea, trying to hide her nervousness, feeling worried that Nodoka might not grant her request. She was near to her wit's end. She had not heard from Ryoko for a couple of days after that brief phone call, and all sorts of very worrisome thoughts had been filling her mind during that time, wondering about her wayward daughter and what was going on between her and that Hibiki boy. After all, he seemed to be a healthy young man, and Ryoko was a healthy young woman. Both of them were filled with the passions and hormones of youth. She glanced at Nodoka again.

"I know we never really discussed it much," Achika began, setting down her own teacup. "But now that Ranma is back and settled in at home, we should talk about it. Having our children marry would please me very much, Nodoka." She bowed deeply. "Please consider it."

Nodoka put her hand gently on Achika's shoulder as her best friend looked up from her bow, and she asked, "Why this sudden interest?"

"Oh, Nodoka, having a daughter is so troublesome sometimes," Achika sighed. "When Ryoko's only contact with boys was beating them up, I never felt this concerned, but now she's brought a young man home with her from her last training trip. His name is Ryoga Hibiki." She picked up her teacup and drank from it briefly. "You're lucky you only have a son to raise. Boys are much less worrisome, like my Tenchi is. He never gives me cause for concern."

"Well, I might be having a daughter this time, so I will rely on your advice in raising her," she said with a smile. The thought that she might have a little girl around the house pleased her as she briefly stroked her belly. If she had one, she would teach her how to be a proper Japanese woman, and that made her happy. And she would never quarrel with her daughter, she was quite sure of that. Theirs would be a relationship of mutual and sincere respect, Nodoka mused, unlike how she had gotten along with her own mother. "When Ranma first came home, I did consider talking with you about such a thing, but Ryoko seemed a bit much for my son to handle." She smiled as she thought about the girl, so active and filled with life, so much like Achika was at that age. It was like looking back in time, in a way.

Achika nodded. "Yes, Ryoko-chan can be a handful, which is why Ranma would be good for her. He could be a stabilizing influence on her." She paused a moment, then asked a bit tentatively, "How is his martial arts training going?"

"Oh, Ranma is becoming such a fine young warrior," Nodoka said with a proud smile. "He trains so hard now, and Genma and I are both deeply honored that a living legend like Master Jun Fan Lee has taken him on as a student. Ranma's even been getting into fights lately, but I'm sure he's winning them. I was a little worried about how quiet he was when he first came home, but he's become so manly nowadays." She took a sip of her tea.

"Yes, that's why I feel more confident about approaching you like this now. We've been best friends for so many years, Nodoka. I can't think of another woman I would want to have as an in-law instead of you. Tell me, of the girls you were looking at to marry Ranma, have any of the agreements been signed yet? Is there still a chance that Ryoko could become Ranma's fiancée?"

"Well," Nodoka said with a brief pause. "Unless Genma signed one of them without consulting me, there aren't any official agreements." She chuckled at that and then looked thoughtful. "However, there is now a tentative verbal agreement between myself and Kenseiko Kuno, concerning her daughter, Kodachi. That's the only agreement that I'm aware of, but it's nothing formal."

"Kenseiko?" Achika exclaimed, surprised. "But you hate her. You two were always the worst of enemies. Why would you agree to engage your own son to a daughter of that psychotic bitch?"

Nodoka sipped her tea for a moment. "Oh, we had a talk the other day, and while she's still a little shaky mentally, she's not quite as bad as she used to be years ago. We cleared the air a bit between us, and I actually had what turned out to be a most enjoyable visit. I suspect Kenseiko is actually a bit lonely, so I was even thinking of inviting her to join our workouts. After all, you'll need a sparring partner for when I get too heavy to move around well."

"I'd love to," Achika said with a wolfish smile, savoring the thought. Kenseiko and Nodoka had mostly clashed with each other as enemies, but she had been involved in her own share of run-ins with the crazy noblewoman.

Nodoka set down her tea. "I also secured her promise to hold off on challenging me to duels until after my baby is born. However, if it's a boy and Ranma does marry Kodachi, he will become a Kuno, a Lord of the Empire. If it's a girl, then Kodachi will join the Saotome registry. But nothing is definite or official yet. Kenseiko and I both agreed to wait and see how Ranma and Kodachi's relationship develops. But it might become problematic for me if things don't work out between them."

"Don't worry," Achika said, laying her hand on Nodoka's. "If Kenseiko does challenge you before you're ready, I will stand in as your second. Nothing would please me more than to have another chance to pound that annoying woman into the dirt. Gods, how I hated her psychotic laugh." She shuddered.

The two women held hands. "Thank you, Achika. When Ryoko returns home, we will have an omiai and introduce our children to each other." She smiled. "And you're right. It would be pleasing to wed our two children together, to seal our friendship in such a way. I'll talk it over with Genma. I'm sure he won't object." Visions of grandchildren, little black-haired boys and green-haired girls, danced in the back of her mind, and she wondered if Achika would mind if Ranma showed Ryoko how manly he was, like he had done with the Tenjou girl.

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The heavy rain spilled down outside the walls of the Yu-chan, briefly punctuated by occasional loud rumbles of thunder rolling across the skies. It had been raining like this for several days.

Yumi sighed, eyeing her empty restaurant, the last of the lunch crowd having already left for work or other business, leaving her alone again amidst the solitude of her own thoughts. She bent her spine back a bit and twisted her shoulders from left to right, hearing a few crackling pops from her back as the bones realigned back into place, causing her to sigh with relief.

She and Ukyo had enjoyed another strenuous workout on the roof just after dawn, during a brief lull in the rain. It had become their habit to do so, and those first few days had quickly shown Yumi that she had definitely been letting herself slide over the past year of softer living, far too much for her tastes. The rigorous training sessions with Ukyo were gradually knocking the rust off her skills, bringing her back again to being the powerful fighter she once was.

It seemed like just yesterday to Yumi that she was Ukyo's age, a proud young martial artist and ready to take on the world. Looking at her niece now, filled with the passions and strength of youth, it was a reminder to Yumi that she was getting older. The fiery-tempered girl she had once been was now matured into an adult woman, still relatively young, but she was most definitely not a teenager anymore. Where had all the time gone?

Ukyo had left for school in really good spirits again this morning. A little bit of friendly persuasion (which included an admittedly rather painful joint lock applied to the girl) had loosened Ukyo's tongue as to the cause, a second date with Ranma coming up. Yumi was pleased that things were going so well for her niece, and that the business the Hibiki boy had with Ukyo the other day must have concluded quietly, since the girl had not talked about it.

Still, Ukyo's eventful social life reminded Yumi of the doldrums her own was in. She had been throwing hints of interest at the few men she had been noticing eyeing her, like Kozo Fuyutsuki, the Dean of Ukyo's new school, but so far none of them had asked her out yet. She sighed a bit wistfully, eyeing the rain coming down outside. She considered heading over to the local Go salon and relaxing with a game or two before the lunch crowd was due. At least she wouldn't be alone, even though everyone there this time of day was her senior by at least some twenty years.

A bolt of lightning cracked across the sky almost directly overhead, lighting up the front of her restaurant. It illuminated a figure on the other side of the front door, just before it was slid to one side. Yumi put on her best professional smile, with just the proper twinkle in her eyes to put a customer at ease. When she saw who it was, her eyebrow raised slightly and her expression darkened a bit.

"Welcome to Yu-chan's," she said neutrally, gazing at the figure in her doorway as he tipped his head back, eventually revealing a familiar face under the broad-brimmed straw hat. The expression on Yumi's face became inscrutable and she said a bit grimly, "I was wondering if I'd ever see you again, Cherry."

She paused for a moment and frowned deeply. "You're late."

"On the contrary," Cherry replied a bit stiffly, as the elderly monk lifted his hat from his head and casually tossed it up to land on the stand by the door. "A true follower of the Buddha's teachings is never late. Neither is he ever early." He removed his rain slicker, hung it up and then he rested his seven-ring staff against the wall with a soft jingle and turned to face Yumi. She could see a small, tightly-wrapped bundle in his hands. "Nor is he ever on time, he simply arrives where he is intended, for such is his fate."

For a few moments, the two stared at each other. Then Yumi's grim look faded into a grin, one quickly matched by Cherry.

"It's good to see you again, old friend," said Yumi with a mirthful chuckle. "So, where have you been hiding yourself these past few months?"

Cherry hopped up on one of the stools in front of the griddle. "Oh, here and there. I try to keep my hand in things as I can." He dropped the small bundle on top of the counter and gave her a wry grin. "I don't suppose you might have anything vaguely edible in this place for a tired old man, cold and wet from the rain?"

"I'll see what I can do," said Yumi with false solemnity, even as she was already mixing together several items into the batter before skillfully pouring it on to the griddle. She smiled at the blissful look that appeared on Cherry's face at the scent of fresh okonomiyaki cooking in front of him. She briefly eyed the package he had brought with him.

As he felt his body warm in the heated interior of the restaurant, Cherry contentedly inhaled the delicate odor of Yumi's cooking. After a while he said quietly, "Three months goes by fast."

"That it does," agreed Yumi, flipping the okonomiyaki over, where it sizzled slightly and steamed a bit as it cooked. She reached over and picked up the bundle from where it sat, placing it behind the counter. "Although," she paused. "Things have been getting livelier around here lately."

"Oh?" Cherry licked his lips briefly, the delicious smell of the food enticing him. "Business picking up, or is it something else?" He glanced up at Yumi's face.

"My niece is staying with me," Yumi replied, listening to the sizzling sounds as a gauge to judge the optimal moment to serve it. Her left hand snagged up a sauce dispenser, and she began writing wishes of good fortune on the top of it in kanji in a loose-handed script. Ukyo had been delighted at seeing her do such things for special customers, and she had begun practicing writing Ranma's name in sauce and drawing a heart around it. It had been rather cute to watch.

Cherry licked his lips again. Eating good food was the one weakness he allowed himself as a man, but it was a struggle sometimes to hold it in moderation. The smell of Yumi's cooking was distracting him quite a bit, but he forced himself to look at her again. "Your niece?"

Yumi grunted once in affirmation. "Her name's Ukyo."

"That must make things more difficult for you."

Yumi served the piping hot okonomiyaki to Cherry, putting it on a plate in front of him. "Nothing I can't handle. I've had a lot of practice in hiding it over the years." She wiped her hands on a towel and then poured him some tea. "It's not like the old days."

"True," Cherry acknowledged. "It's not like the old days." He raised his cup of tea to her in salute. "Do you ever miss it?"

"You mean all the hairbreadth escapes and life and death fights?" Yumi paused, shrugged, and then grinned conspiratorially. "Sometimes. But at other times I'm glad I got out when I did. A person can only have so many victories in life. Sooner or later, you push your luck too far and buy the farm, or maybe just a piece of it. I saw it happening to too many of my peers, but it wasn't going to happen to me. Still, while doing my part for emperor and country cost me my chance at marriage and a normal existence as a woman, I don't have many regrets about what I've done with my life."

Cherry nodded. "You were the best agent I ever had, Kuonji-kun. I'm glad things are going well for you." Cherry began consuming the meal in front of him, savoring it fully. "So, what brings your niece into town? Cooking training? Combat training?"

Yumi grinned. "Nothing like that. She's engaged to a local boy named Ranma Saotome. She's staying with me while they get to know each other a bit better."

His meal already half-eaten despite his best efforts at holding back, Cherry suddenly paused and glanced at Yumi. "I see," he said and then he went back to eating, this time a bit more slowly.

"He's a nice kid," said Yumi with a smile, looking down at Cherry. "I like him a lot. And I think he'll make Ukyo a pretty good husband."

She then thought back to the somewhat furtive conversation she had observed yesterday between the two men in her restaurant, one of them a high-ranked officer in the Security Directorate. It nagged at the back of her mind that they might have been talking about Ranma marrying some girl other than Ukyo, but Saotome was a fairly common last name in Tokyo. She was sure her concerns over Ukyo's future happiness would ease after meeting the boy's parents. The girl had practically been floating on air ever since her first date with Ranma.

Cherry slowly finished his meal, looking thoughtful. Yumi could tell that something was bothering him. She studied the elderly monk.

"What is it, Cherry?" She started cleaning the grill.

When he was done eating, the little monk hopped down off the stool and headed for the door. But he turned to face her before opening the door. "The past always seems to have a way of catching up to us whenever we least expect it, Kuonji-kun. I suppose it's fate." He put on his rain slicker and hat, before picking up his staff. Then he left without another word.

"Uh, yeah," Yumi replied after several moments, mystified at Cherry's enigmatic words. Then she shrugged her shoulders. After he was gone, she pulled down the banner outside and locked up. The weather was still storming pretty heavily outside. Passing the counter, she picked up the small bundle behind it and carried it upstairs, humming softly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While casually leaning back in the comfortable chair in his office, Soun stretched. He set down the newspaper he had been perusing, one he had picked up during an early lunch he had taken when Kasumi had shown up at his office unexpectedly. Seeing her dressed in the paramilitary uniform of the Empire's Security Directorate had awakened a feeling of intense pride within him, and there was a part of him that was pleased to see her back in uniform. She had saluted him with a professional smile and then they had gone out and enjoyed a pleasant lunch together. He did not choose to question her decision to return to active duty, since he knew Kasumi was not one to do impulsive things, but he did wonder how her husband felt about her decision.

He tamped out the cigarette he had been smoking. It was curious to read about the events taking place in this world and find them both familiar and strange at the same time. He pulled his feet off of the desk and rocked forward, yawning a bit, part of him still unused to working an actual job. Getting up before dawn each day had probably been the worst part of the adjustment to his existence here, especially since his dreams were troubling his sleep.

No, not dreams. They were more like nightmares, with voices accusing him of being weak, a failure, voices that sounded like his own and those of his family.

To distract himself, he quickly pulled out another one of the files he had been given to review, one marked 'For Your Eyes Only.' He flipped it open and began to read. It turned out to be a rather dry affair, a detailed report on business activities by the Sanzenin zaibatsu. The name was familiar to him, reminding him of the skating competition Ranma had been in a while ago. The Ranma of his original world, he amended in his thoughts after a moment. But he quickly grew bored with reading the file, picked up his signature stamp and inked it, and then he marked it as having been reviewed. It joined several others on another stack on his desk.

This was not the exciting life of an intelligence agent that he would have once imagined, spending his days shuffling paperwork from one pile on his desk to another. This was bureaucratic drudgery, not adventure. Where were the fast cars, the vodka martinis and the daring feats, like that English fellow had in those movies he had seen a few of back home?

In his youth, his counterpart had enjoyed such things while serving in the field for His Imperial Majesty's Secret Service. He had been a solo operative dealing with one seemingly impossible mission after another. He had enjoyed that life; that is, until Budapest and the Contessa. It was shortly after Akane was born. He was investigating Shadowlaw, a dangerous proposition at any time. This time, however, they knew of him and sent the Contessa to deal with him. She left scars on him that he still bore. So, after a stay in the hospital, his other self had taken a desk job and became a bureaucrat after that, beginning a meteoric rise up through the ranks. There was even some speculation that he was next in line to head up the entire Directorate now that Director Sagara was retiring next month, but Soun didn't put much faith in such rumors.

Thinking about the past, his other self's past, there were a few things he had left unfinished out in the field, old scores to be settled (such as the one with the Contessa) and other matters he meant to get back to someday but never did. Soun mused about them even as he lit up another cigarette. He snapped the lighter shut with a well-practiced move and set it down, swiftly drawing his holstered service pistol fluidly a moment later, the same one that had served his other self so well in the field years ago.

He sighted down the barrel at some of the pictures on the wall for several moments before quickly re-holstering it. Right up until that final mission, those had been good days, days of service to the Empire to be proud of. He sighed rather wistfully, remembering past escapades and last-second victories, but he shied away from any thoughts of the occasional beautiful woman his counterpart had been involved with on missions, not wanting to betray Kimiko's memory.

Too late he realized his mistake. He quickly closed the file in front of him and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing back the tears and sorrow that suddenly welled up within him at the memory of his late wife. She had been taken from him much later here than his own had been, but she was still gone and the emotional pain was like an ache.

Not here. He couldn't afford to cry here. He had to be strong like his counterpart had been, holding back the pain of his emotions instead of giving in to them, damping them out by sheer will, a discipline he himself had never found the strength to master.

After a time, he managed to regain control of himself and returned to his work, picking up another file. He could not afford to lose his discipline, to let slip the mask and return to being the broken man he once was. No, he had been given a new chance, and he would not fail in his duties as a father and a man. Not again.

As he read through the report, the theme music for England's most famous secret agent played in the back of his mind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi looked up from her lunch when Nanami Jinnai, one of the girls in her class, slid into the desk next to her. The other girl seemed to be in high spirits as she quickly pocketed a thick bundle of yen notes. They had never spoken much to each other, just casual exchanges of greetings each day, and Kodachi sensed that Nanami seemed to be avoiding speaking with her for some reason. She quickly went back to enjoying her meal and trying not to think about Ranma, still feeling a bit confused after their encounter on her bedroom floor earlier in the week.

Her thoughts quickly defaulted to thinking about the other boy in her life: Miki Kaoru. The dance at Ohtori was coming up quickly, and she knew Kaoru-kun would be calling her tonight to finalize their plans. She was looking forward to speaking with him again, remembering with fondness the last few times they had been together. The friendship she had felt for him as children was still strong, only now it was laced with something extra, feelings of a much more adult kind of attraction to him.

Unbidden, images arose in her mind from the life of Sukeban-Kodachi, of her relationship with that world's Miki Kaoru. Memories of being with him came over her, of kissing with him and of being intimate with him, sometimes gently and sometimes much more passionately. A light blush appeared on her cheeks at such thoughts, and she indulged in them a bit, fantasizing about Kaoru-kun, wondering if he felt the same sort of interest in her.

She shook her head, dispelling her fantasies. She should be thinking about Saotome-kun, since they were engaged, even if he did continue to spend time with those other, far less worthy girls that sought his attention. Still, they had almost kissed, if her brother had not interrupted, and that must mean he felt something towards her. After all, Ranma was not at all like her brother's best friend, that vile and disgusting womanizer, Mikado Sanzenin. Still, that other Kaoru-kun in Sukeban-Kodachi's world was a wonderful kisser, so gentle and yet so passionate, and she wondered what a kiss from this world's version of him would be like.

Another fantasy triggered off inside her, and she drifted away, a smile on her face, the rest of her lunch sitting untouched.

Nanami glanced over at the wistfully sighing Kuno girl, and she shook her head. The young noblewoman must have been thinking about Ranma again. What was it about the guy that had so many girls so wild about him lately? She glanced at her watch, wondering how things were going with the girls from the fan club. Ranma had better not lose. That would be bad for her plans concerning him. He was proving to be quite the moneymaker for her, so long as he remained unbeaten by any of the girls, like their own local version of that Chinese barbarian girl fighting in the Arena, the one she had heard Akane Tendo talking about a few times.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The cafeteria areas at Whitehall and Blackhall were more like five-star restaurants than the humble eateries most schools throughout the Empire enjoyed, only Ohtori Academy boasting comparable fare. Small groups of students sat in booths or at the various tables in Whitehall's dining hall, eating and chatting. In one booth, Tatewaki Kuno enjoyed a quiet lunch with his friend, Mikado Sanzenin. Today was a selection of Chinese cuisine for the menu.

"So what's been bothering you this week, Kuno-kun?" asked Mikado, as he set down his soup spoon to sit back and wait for the serving staff to bring the main course. All of the training he had been doing lately, as well as the many intensely heated encounters he had been having with Asuka, the White Lily, had raised his appetite quite a bit. "You've had a sour look on your face for days now, and it's hindering my enjoyment of this fine food. Are you concerned about this omiai you have coming up?"

"Nay, that is not the cause of my disquiet," Kuno replied. "While the Arisugawa girl is no doubt politically-expedient as a choice, which would suit the aims of my mother and likely further the interests of the House of Kuno, I know little of her, or care to. My warrior heart hath already been claimed, by the clever and skilled Nabiki Tendo and her stout-hearted and strong young sister, Akane. Gods, what women they both are!" He clenched his soup spoon in one hand, his eyes glazing over as he imagined them both.

"I know what you mean." Mikado nodded at the thought of Nabiki Tendo. Akane didn't interest him that much, but Nabiki was a different matter. It was rare for a girl to reject him as forcefully as she had, but that rejection had only served to whet the intensity of his own interest in bedding the middle Tendo daughter. There was just something innately attractive about her that he yearned to experience, to feel her body against his as he took pleasure from her. Once he was done with her, his friend Tatewaki could have her for a concubine, as for himself the thrill was in the chase, not the holding.

In the next booth, Kinnosuke Kashuoh paused in what he was doing, his hearing having picked up the conversation despite his being somewhat distracted. Lynx and Panther both sat next to him, and the curtain was drawn on their booth to allow the trio some privacy. Lynx was still eating quietly, but he had already finished his own lunch. Panther had not finished hers, but she was currently otherwise occupied. Several buttons on her blouse were undone, and Kinnosuke's hand had been gently kneading one of her bared breasts while they shared an intimate kiss. But he broke off the kiss to listen more closely to the conversation going on next to them, even as Panther began nuzzling and kissing at his neck, her attention still fully on him.

Lynx's ears twitched as she heard Nabiki Tendo's name mentioned nearby, but she showed no other sign of interest and continued eating without pause. Her muscle-bound (and muscle-headed) fellow lilith, Panther, had not appeared to notice, she mused with no small amount of disdain, glancing at the couple as Panther pawed at Kinnosuke-sama. Her ears perked up a little bit as she listened to what was going on behind her in the next booth.

"I have dedicated myself to preparing myself these past days," Kuno said in fierce tones. "If Nabiki Tendo will only accept a conqueror to her arms, then I shall conquer her. After all, am I not Tatewaki Kuno? Am I not the rising star of the kendo world? My skill with a sword shall overcome her, like a bolt arcing down from the very heavens themselves, for I am the lightning and the thunder personified."

The last word seemed to awaken a new thought within Kuno. "Yes, a thunder, but thunder alone is not enough of a sobriquet for my most puissant skill at arms." He paused in thought, distracted for the moment from his true concerns.

"Perhaps a blue thunder?" Mikado asked jokingly, noting the color of the clothing that Kuno usually affected when they were outside of class.

"Yes!" Kuno crowed. "Verily, thy words ring true with me. Let the word go forth, my good friend. Tatewaki Kuno shall henceforth be known as the Blue Thunder of Whitehall Academy." He sat back, contemplating his new nom de guerre and finding it worthy of himself. However, his good mood faded quickly, being crowded out by his other concerns.

Noting the mood shift in his best friend, Mikado sighed. "Now what?"

"Ranma Saotome," was all Kuno said in reply.

"Oh. Him." Mikado's pleasant mood vanished also. "What happened?"

"A scene too vile to endure." Kuno closed his eyes, feeling his rage build up within him, but he forced himself to remain calm. "I caught the knave forcing himself upon Kodachi, right there on the floor of her own bedchambers."

Mikado blinked. "What? He did what?" He realized he was raising his voice, noticing some of their peers looking their way, and he hastily calmed himself and assumed a more casual appearance. Tatewaki did not mind causing a stir with his antics, but appearance was everything to a Sanzenin, after all.

"I saw it with mine own eyes," said Kuno darkly. "My innocent and virtuous young sister was pinned down on the floor while that- that animal was about to ravish her of her purity. Would that I could sear the memory of that scene from my mind. I rushed to her aid, but that most wretched of scoundrels used his foul sorceries upon me, and I somehow lost consciousness. Then, later on, my poor, deluded sister even defended the lout. Tis utter insanity the hold he doth have on her mind. To think that my chaste young sister would have ought to do with that vile beast, Saotome. It defies comprehension."

Mikado's gaze narrowed as he listened to Kuno continue to rant about Ranma Saotome. A cold rage filled him. Something had to be done to the pigtailed boy, to show him that the noblewomen of the Empire were not for the likes of him, least of all Kodachi Kuno. It was like a clarion call to battle had sounded, and he would answer it.

Ranma Saotome would pay for his crimes, for daring to sully the virtue of that precious, innocent jewel of womanhood, Kodachi Kuno. Mikado's hand clenched into a fist, one he yearned to use to totally shatter every last bone within Ranma's body.

I shall defeat you, Ranma Saotome, Mikado mused darkly, even as Kuno continued to vent his hatred for the pigtailed boy. I will prove that your victory over me was merely bad luck on my part. Kodachi Kuno's pure heart shall never be yours, for I am Mikado Sanzenin, and you are mere trash, a lowly peasant who dares to rise from the gutters and look his betters in the face as an equal. But soon I shall be the one to send you back to where you belong, ground beneath my feet. I swear it!

Kinnosuke went back to kissing with Panther as the conversation in the next booth continued on, hearing her purr softly with pleasure into the kiss, but his thoughts were more on what he had just heard. So Ranma had feelings for the Kuno girl and had acted on them, he mused. That could be potentially useful, and it seemed the two imbeciles in the next booth did not care for what Ranma had done. Perhaps his search for allies to crush the pigtailed boy would be much easier than he had imagined.

Feeling smug, he turned his full attentions back to Panther, his lips pressed tightly against hers as their tongues dueled. His injuries no longer pained him; his meal had been quite good, so now he was looking forward to slaking his other hungers with Panther's assistance. Doing such things in a semi-public place like this only seemed to increase his ardor, and he growled softly with pleasure as he felt Panther's hand sliding up his inner thigh caressingly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane was quietly waiting for Sakura to join her for lunch, keeping herself occupied by watching some members of the Combat Club battling in the rain behind one of the main buildings, when she felt someone suddenly bump into her from behind, almost knocking her down. Already feeling irritated at not being able to join in on the fights yet, she whirled around to face her assailant.

"Watch where you're going," she growled out, one hand balling into a tight fist and ready to pound whoever it was.

"Um, I'm sorry," a chastened Ryoga replied, bowing as best he could and still keep the rain off himself while backing up a step. Tokyo was a very large and confusing place, and he was still angry at losing Ryoko at the public bath that morning, which he promptly added to Ukyo's tab. He had been wandering for several hours now, but he had let himself become so involved in his own grim musings that he had bumped into a girl, mortifying him. He quickly bowed again. "I-it was an accident. I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Well, be more careful next time," Akane replied, her tone softening a bit as she looked the stranger over. She felt a familiar, pleasant tingling sensation running along her nerves, one she had only felt a handful of times before, most notably with Ranma or that rich idiot, Kuno, and it was equally powerful to the sensations the pigtailed boy awoke within her. She studied Ryoga intently for a moment, seeing by his clothing that he appeared to be some kind of wandering martial artist. She wondered if he was a decent fighter, and a sincere hope that he was suddenly blossomed within her. "You're not a cadet here. Are you lost or something?"

"Uh, kinda." Ryoga suddenly looked bashful. Even though she was still frowning at him, he suddenly noticed that the girl in front of him was really cute, and he was pleasantly astonished by the fact that he felt the same sort of warm feelings inside himself that he had previously only felt before around Ukyo. Desperate to think of something to keep the conversation going with the girl, he wished he had some smooth line to use on her, but all he could stammer out was, "I-I'm Ryoga Hibiki. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Akane Tendo," she said simply in reply. She then went back to looking him over, which only made Ryoga more nervous. "Do you study martial arts?"

"Yeah!" Ryoga said, brightening at the chance to keep talking with Akane. "I've been in training all my life."

Akane nodded, only showing a flicker of interest in her gaze. "Are you any good?"

Ryoga felt a bit of irritation at the question. "Of course I am," he growled. He noted her posture taking on a more combative air to it. "But I don't fight girls," he quickly added. Well, except for Ryoko, he amended in his thoughts, but she was a special case, almost like she wasn't really a girl, since she acted so macho all the time.

"What?" Akane said, startled. Her gaze narrowed and a note of anger came back into her voice. "Why not?"

"I-it's just not right for a guy to fight a girl," Ryoga explained, stammering a bit, wondering what he had said wrong. He decided to try again, deciding to define it how his great-grandfather had once explained it to him. "It's a man's duty to protect women. So it's wrong for a guy to fight with a girl."

Akane growled out, "Listen, you. Girls can fight just as well as boys can, and I certainly don't need any boy's protection. Want me to prove it to you?" Her eyes glinted more dangerously now, and she was getting really excited at the prospect of an unknown new challenge. Her intensive training sessions spent with Sakura had been building up her fighting abilities, and she was eager to test them out on someone, to see if she was ready for Nabiki yet. Her goal of joining the Combat Club still hovered out there, but it had been temporarily pushed aside until she had dealt with the much more immediate issue of her sister.

Ryoga backed away, waving his hand. "N-no, no, that's okay. Um, I'm sorry for bumping into you." He quickly departed, heaviness in his heart. He would probably never see that girl again. But that sadness quickly transformed into more anger at Ukyo.

Akane watched Ryoga retreat and harrumphed disdainfully. The boy had been handsome, but his moral code perplexed her. What was it about some boys that they didn't think girls could fight just as well as they could? She felt disappointed at his running off so quickly like he had. It was a good thing Ranma wasn't like that. He was a real man, one willing to treat her as an equal, like he had shown by fighting with her. She went back to waiting for Sakura to arrive, watching with interest as one Combat Club member put the other one down on the ground with a brutal axe kick, and then stood over him victoriously.

She sighed wistfully. Fighting was so wonderful, even just to watch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shielded from the rain by his umbrella, Hikaru Gosunkugi gazed through the chain-link fence surrounding it at Mobius Institute Storage Facility #13, located several blocks from the Imperial Academy. After breakfast, he had just been wandering around the area aimlessly and eventually found his way here. Suddenly, everything came back into crystal clarity.

Words came unbidden to his mind, and he whispered them as he gestured at the gate. The padlock melted, the chain sagging as the metal heated up, quickly becoming a searing white mass that rain steamed off of as droplets of metal fell to pool on the ground. Within seconds, it was over and the metal pool on the ground congealed quickly.

Gosunkugi waited for the metal to cool before touching the gate, and he pushed it open and shut it behind him. He whispered the words of a spell, setting it in place here at the gate, a subtle glamour that would draw the Saotome boy within. The storage facility was on the path that Ranma normally traveled. Gosunkugi was so focused on his need for revenge against the pigtailed boy that he did not think to question how he knew such magic, drawing on it by instinct alone.

"Ranma Saotome," he muttered. "The day of your doom is here."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma relaxed a little as the last girl stumbled back from his punch to her solar plexus and collapsed. Today they had varied their routine, waiting until lunchtime to attack him in the hallways as he made his way to the cafeteria to buy some food, since Kodachi was still not speaking to him yet and he didn't feel right about having Ukyo feed him every day. The nubile bodies of his attackers lay strewn about in numerous odd positions, but none were seriously injured. Luckily, his injuries were healing well, so he was far better able to deal with them than he had been the day after his fight with Kinnosuke.

"You're certainly popular with the girls, Saotome," observed Kyosuke in a conversational tone as he took a sip from his juice container. He carefully stepped over one fallen girl in a blue uniform. "This is getting to be like a ritual."

"Yeah, I'll say," Ukyo agreed with a grin, as she stood leaning against one wall. She had been standing off to one side during Ranma's battle today with the female cadets, since he had explicitly told her to stay out of it when it erupted. It was true he hadn't needed her help, and she could understand his pride as a martial artist in wanting to deal with it on his own. It had actually been quite interesting to her to watch him fight, maybe even a little arousing. She hastily distracted herself from that line of thought by casually slamming her fist down on the head of one girl who was already starting to wake up while Ranma's back was to them, the cadet quietly collapsing again.

"It's annoying is what it is," Ranma replied sourly, looking at each of them in turn. He flipped a thin notebook towards Kyosuke, having brought it with him from class just in case he ran into the older boy during lunch. "I made some notes on those problems you were having troubles with. They should help. You just gotta understand the steps you need to follow."

Kyosuke caught it out of the air. "Thanks." He began leafing through it, nodding at what he saw there. After the events at Ohtori a while back, and at Yohko's more recent urging, he had been making an effort to become friends with Ranma. And he was also getting to be good friends with Ukyo in the process, since the other boy seemed to hang around Ranma quite a lot, but that was okay. He rather liked Ukyo and was a little envious of the other boy's good looks. Even Yohko had once remarked on them, not that she appeared to be interested in Ukyo.

Asking for help on his homework had seemed the easiest approach to talking with Ranma, and he quickly flipped to the section that had been giving him trouble. He suddenly brightened as he read the pigtailed boy's scrawled notes. "Oh, I see it now."

Ukyo came over to them and stood next to Ranma. "Well, I'm glad that someone understands the material. Ranchan, I could use some help with my homework, too. Do you think we could go over it when you come by after classes are done today?"

"Sure. Not a problem."

"Great." She grinned. "Maybe you can give me a ride on that new bike of yours too."

"You two guys doing something tonight?" Kyosuke asked, briefly looking up from his reading. "Yohko's dragging me to some new movie she wants to see. It's something romantic, I think. You know how girls are." He shrugged.

"Heh, yeah," Ranma replied casually, glancing briefly at Ukyo to see that she was nodding in sympathetic understanding like any boy would have at the comment. He grinned at the sight and turned his gaze back to Kyosuke. "We're just going to hang around together tonight. I'm going over to Ucchan's aunt's place for some sparring, and then we're going to grab some dinner and maybe go skating." Ukyo seemed to prefer her gender be thought of as male around campus, so Ranma tried to avoid pronouns when speaking about her.

While the three chatted, off to one side, Ami watched them through her camera. She sighed very softly as she focused in on Ranma's face, how beautiful she found him to be, his appearance and athletic body nearly as exciting to her as the brilliant mind he possessed. She jumped when a hand suddenly came down on her shoulder. She looked back.

Yohko stood there, a serious look on her face. "Nabiki wants to talk to you, Mizuno-san. Please, come with me."

"Uh, yes," Ami replied, feeling a little frightened. Some of the few cadets who were within earshot gave her sympathetic looks. There had been some kind of shakeup in Nabiki's organization recently, and a rumor was floating around that someone had tried to poach on the Tendo girl's turf. There was another rumor that it was a science cadet, and so there was an uneasy tension now forming between the two groups of students.

Ranma noticed Yohko half-dragging Ami off, and he turned to Kyosuke and pointed it out. "What's up with that, I wonder?"

"I'm not sure," Kyosuke replied. "Yohko won't talk to me about it, but it's probably got something to do with Nabiki, I guess." He shrugged. Yohko had been very tight-lipped on the matter, not that he had tried to press her very hard on it. The matter with Madoka Ayukawa was still a sore spot between them, even though it had been a few weeks since he had last seen the biker girl, so he was trying to make as few waves as he possibly could with Yohko. He was also still trying to figure out a way to broach the subject of Azusa Kanzaki with the young Devil Hunter without looking guilty of anything. The girl desperately wanted to be Yohko's apprentice and had begged Kyosuke's analog for help during the brief time they were switched.

"Yeah. But why Ami Mizuno? She's harmless." Ranma considered the girl briefly. He had seen Ami around sometime when his morning bouts with the girls occurred, always with her little video camera. Even so, he found it hard to believe that she might have been involved with that. No, that was just paranoia speaking.

Ranma was far more concerned about Kinnosuke Kashuoh to worry over what was going on with Ami. The day after the fight with Kashuoh and the three catgirls occurred; Kashuoh had transferred to Whitehall, without any explanations being given. The rumor mill had not yet connected it with the shakeup now going on in Nabiki's network, but it was probably only a matter of time.

He wasn't sure why, but he was convinced that it wasn't quite over yet between him and Kinnosuke. His experiences from his other selves gave him a better insight on such matters than he would have had before. No, the Kashuoh heir might have retreated for now; but he would be back someday, likely an even more powerful fighter than before. And Ranma planned to be ready for him.

He turned to talk to Ukyo about it, and he was startled to see that the ninja girl had vanished. He scratched his head. She was really good at her stealth skills, much better than any of her counterparts in those other worlds, and she seemed to enjoy startling him each morning by suddenly appearing next to him while he left his house. He wondered where she had gone off to.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Minami grumbled to herself as she sat down in a deserted hallway in one of the sub-basements, enjoying a quiet lunch by herself. She ripped off the cover to the boxed meal she had made for herself and began eating, spearing chunks of fish and vegetables. She shoveled the food into her mouth, barely even chewing it.

"Damn that Hikaru Gosunkugi," she muttered darkly in between bites. Despite numerous opportunities to ask her out for a date, he continued to be obtuse about her interest in him. She mentally recounted some of her attempts so far: dropping a book near him, bending over to retrieve a pencil, listening to him appreciatively, letting him know she was free certain nights. Did other girls have such problems with the boys they liked? She took a swig from her juice box, sipping on the straw noisily.

The day could not get any worse now, as far as she was concerned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +6.199, +5.423

Ranko paused as she moved through the darkened hallways underneath Kolhotz High School, currently lit only by emergency lighting, a pack strapped to her back as she hurried along. She had been doing a bit of exploring, trying to find someone to talk to, since the entire area of Nerima seemed to be deserted. Ever since her arrival yesterday, she had yet to see any human beings, only strange aircraft flying overhead, perhaps military of some kind. She had chosen to hide from them.

Scorch marks were visible on walls and the pavement in places outside, and there were burned out cars on the roads, the signs of some kind of battle damage. She had also seen corpses in those vehicles, so she was no longer looking in any of them. Whatever had happened here had apparently happened days before her arrival on the scene, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get off this creepy world as soon as possible now.

She glanced at the timer on her device. There was less than a minute left before the paratemporal flux aligned with another parallel Earth. She had been so involved in her explorations that she had almost missed her window, and she wanted out of here, unsure when the next one would be. She didn't know what might happen if she were to try opening a portal underground, so she was heading for the stairs as quickly as she could.

It was at that moment that she came across a patrol that emerged from an intersecting hallway, several figures in some sort of heavy body armor and carrying guns of unfamiliar make. She reacted quickly and took off running, cursing herself under her breath for not being more wary. She couldn't afford to get tied up in some kind of fight here, especially with armed men. She didn't recognize their insignia, but they all moved like trained soldiers, their features only dimly visible behind semi-transparent faceplates in the current lighting.

Bullets began whining and ricocheting past her down the hallway as she ducked and weaved while running to make herself a harder target to hit. Who were these guys? Was Japan fighting a war?

"Now there's a good-looking breeder female," commented Centurion Ranma Saotome in the guttural language of the Musk Dynasty, chuckling as he admired the shapely backside of the girl currently fleeing from them. He drove a fist into one of the men nearest him who had been shooting to kill, knocking the soldier down. "Aim down for her legs, Tendo, you idiot! I swear you're as useless as a female! That goes for the rest of you! There's a thousand credit bonus to the man who brings her down alive for me without any permanent damage. I want her for my family's household."

The young centurion's gaze was hungry as he studied the running girl in front of him, even as the soldiers under his command hastened to obey. He admired her pert derriere as she agilely evaded their fire. As he did so, the soldier he had knocked down got back up, the face plate smeared with some blood from his backhanded punch.

Kaneda Tendo regained his feet and directed a murderous glare at the other boy. He briefly flipped up his faceplate a little and dabbed at the blood dribbling from his nose, grimacing at the splotch of gore on the visor from when it had been driven into his face. It would have been so easy to level his weapon and empty the magazine into Ranma's back, but that would not have been satisfying. No, he yearned for the other boy to acknowledge him as the superior fighter, to prove to him that he was the stronger one between them, the true heir to Great Master Happosai's teaching. It galled him that the other boy, barely a year younger than he was, kept beating him in fistfights.

Noticing Kaneda's look out of the corner of his gaze, Ranma realized he was going to have to teach the other boy to respect his authority again when they got back to the base camp. While it was close between them in their relative skill, Kaneda Tendo was his inferior as a fighter, and it was time to grind that fact into the older boy's face yet again. At least it would be a pretty decent match. Perhaps Kaneda had even learned something new since their last duel.

Ranma grinned wolfishly as he and his men pursued the fleeing girl, certain that his father would be pleased with him for acquiring the redhead for their household. He couldn't wait to bed her. It was the most pleasurable benefit of being an officer in the Musk's legions, to have his pick of any booty found, such as the very attractive girl now before them, ripe for the plucking. Years ago, his father had acquired his mother on a past campaign the same way.

He himself had already obtained two playthings for his own amusement this way, who waited for him back home to ease the tensions acquired on foreign battlefields: Ukyo Kuonji, the pretty, young geisha he had picked up on his second combat drop as a newly-commissioned officer and the athletic and well-built Perfume. The pink-haired Chinese Amazon had been quite a fierce hellcat when he first defeated and captured her on another Earth, amidst the destruction of her home village going on around them.

He still relished the memory of that first battle with the girl. His rifle had jammed after he had been forced to kill the lavender-haired Amazon he would have preferred taking as a prize, and a savage struggle had erupted between him and Perfume that could have gone either way. The strength and spirit she had shown during their fight had captivated him. Even after her defeat, after dragging her all the way back to his home timeline in chains, it had still taken weeks for her to be broken in properly and brought to know her place as a woman, but now she lived only to please him.

However, his pride and joy was Kasumi Tendo, Kaneda's older sister by two years, the one who kept his house in order and the other girls in line, and who was such a wicked delight in bed with her fondness for leather and bondage. There was definitely something to be said for more mature women, and Kasumi was indeed a proper Musk woman through and through. His father's purchase of her from Legate Tendo to unite their two Houses had been a wise investment, and he was looking forward to bringing this new girl to her as a gift when he returned home, for proper training at Kasumi's hands like she had done with Perfume.

A lecherous grin crossed his face. After all, while not as fortunate as his better-placed analogs were among other Musk-controlled worlds, he was the undefeated heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts on his own, as well as the strongest fighter among all his analogs he had met so far. It thus fell to him as his masculine duty to father many strong male children and pass along to them the teachings of Great Master Happosai. That required a proper harem. But he was already beginning to grow a bit bored with the girls he now had, even the sensuous Perfume.

There was something quite tantalizing about the girl in front of him. He shrugged, shouldering his rifle and sighting in on her leg. Perhaps he had seen an analog of her on another world somewhere.

It was a shame this Earth had offered the Musk such little challenge, since that meant smaller bonuses for officers like himself. The people here had been sheep, having enjoyed peace for centuries. They were unable to muster any kind of armed defense when the Musk warships had arrived over their heads, and legionnaires like him had attacked their cities. Their precious art and literature did them no good when the wolves came. The Musk Dynasty's forces had ravaged this world from pole to pole within the span of mere days, a quick but very dissatisfying victory.

Even his own counterpart here had been a mewling weakling, a musician, not a true warrior like himself. Snapping his analog's neck had been a mercy killing, an honorable death, sparing the other boy the ignominy of spending the rest of his days as some honorless, nameless slave on one of the agricultural collectives or mining facilities that fed the Musk war machine. It left him unsatisfied though, that so many of his analogs were weaklings. Where was an analog who could challenge him?

It was the sixth such killing he had done, and it always gave him an exquisite thrill to eradicate one of his own analogs, reaffirming his own physical superiority. It fit the Musk's guiding philosophy that the strong took what they wanted from those weaker and the weak perished. Killing his first analog had been an epiphany, how easy it was. He quickly came to realize that all of his other selves were weak, nothing but pathetic shadows of himself. Even those living on other Musk worlds were but pale imitations, and he despised them all. He was the one, true Ranma Saotome, the only one genuinely worthy of the name in the entire multiverse, and he intended to keep killing his analogs until either one gave him a proper challenge, or he was the only one left.

A short ways ahead of the pack of soldiers chasing her, Ranko glanced at the timer as the firepower from behind her slackened for a few moments, and the soldiers hustled to catch up to her and round the same corner she had. When it reached zero, she activated it and pointed it in front of her, still racing headlong away from the group of men. A portal immediately yawned open in front of her, and she began sprinting even harder towards it, pushing herself for all she was worth.

"A quantum tunnel!" yelped one of the men. "Sir, she must be a Matriarchy spy! She's escaping!"

"No!" Ranma shouted, taking aim at her legs. He pulled the trigger a bit hastily in his eagerness to have the girl. "She will be mine!"

Ranko leaped headlong into the opening in the same moment that she heard several bullets whine past her. She cursed loudly as the vortex of the quantum tunnel sped her away to her next destination and then snapped shut behind her seconds later, cutting off her stream of rather unladylike invective.

Lowering his rifle, the young centurion had a wrathful look on his face. How could he have missed? He immediately turned to the radio man. "Report in that we have encountered a possible Matriarchy spy and there might be more. I will accept the blame for her escape and personally apologize to Legate Ikari when we return to base." As the man hastened to do as he bid, the young centurion raised a hand and made a gesture forward, and the squad continued on with their patrol.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Off balance from her diving entrance into the quantum tunnel on the other end, Ranko went from being in a dimly lit corridor to a much brighter chamber. Even as the portal immediately snapped shut behind her with a brief flash of light and a fading distortion of the air, she slammed full tilt into Minami, knocking the other girl to the ground and stunning her as they fell down together.

"Ow!" Ranko grunted, feeling the bruises on her body from the impact as she gingerly rolled off of the Ghost Sweeper trainee. She glanced at the device still in her grip and nodded at the time remaining. She had a margin to explore a bit. That last world had been too close. She swore again at almost getting shot.

She glanced over at the other girl, currently lying with her limbs all akimbo, and her eyes rolling back in her head. Ranko blinked when she recognized the uniform, the gray cloth and black piping of a security cadet. The signet ring on her finger was also noted, identifying the redhead as a member of the Mobius Institute and a mage trainee of some kind.

"Could I finally be home?" Ranko wondered aloud. Hope blossomed within her, since the few instances she had come across Kolhotz High School showed her it occupied roughly the same physical location as the Imperial Academy. However, she needed to make sure and that required a disguise, since she couldn't walk around campus out of uniform. She studied the unconscious girl, noting that their frames were not too dissimilar in their proportions, except that the other girl was a few centimeters taller. Ranko was grateful that she wasn't quite as small in stature as all of her analogs seemed to be, so the other girl's uniform would probably fit reasonably well.

Ranko knelt down next to Minami and began removing the Ghost Sweeper's clothing. When the girl started to stir, Ranko grimaced and slugged her hard in the jaw, sending Minami back into unconsciousness.

"Sorry about that," Ranko murmured, quickly continuing to strip the insensate girl. When the Ghost Sweeper was finally unclothed, she speedily began removing her own clothing and putting on Minami's, trying hard to not feel aroused by the sight of the other girl's body, now clad only in bra and panties.

When she was finally dressed in Minami's gray uniform, Ranko began putting her old clothes on the other girl, dressing the Ghost Sweeper in the light blue Chinese-style shirt and black gi pants she had been wearing on her arrival. She was pleased to find that her initial assessment was right, that they were about the same clothing size, except her own legs were a little shorter than the other girl's and her body more compactly muscular.

Just to be on the safe side, she gagged and tied up Minami before locking the door to the room, leaving the other girl in what was hopefully a relatively comfortable position. After hiding her pack and stuffing her device into a pocket, she quietly headed off down the hallway. When she suddenly heard voices, she hid in the shadows.

Ami and Yohko walked by, and Ranko wondered where the pair was going. Yohko looked just as she remembered her and Ami had been a friend, a pretty good one, actually. Curious, she stealthed after them.

Ukyo emerged from the shadows momentarily, curious who the girl in the gray uniform was, and why she was following the same quarry she was. She flitted silently from shadow to shadow, keeping the redhead and her original targets in sight as best she could.

Unaware of being followed by anyone, Yohko halted and knocked on a door. There was a pause for a few moments and then it opened up to reveal Yuka, who nodded at her and quickly stepped aside. Hiroshi was currently kneeling on the floor behind her, holding his stomach and gasping for breath. A thin trickle of blood leaked from one side of his mouth, and a livid bruise was on his cheek. Sayuri stood behind him, looking a bit grim.

Ranko leaped up into the ducting overhead, hiding herself there. She had caught a glimpse of a girl who looked like Nabiki Tendo in the room. She settled down to wait, one leg and arm looped around a pipe to hold herself in place.

A little ways down the corridor, Ukyo also took to the ceiling area, quietly moving closer. Whoever this other girl was, she moved very well, almost like a ninja herself. Without a sound, she crept closer.

Nabiki was in the process of slipping her uniform jacket back on when Yohko escorted Ami in. She turned to face them and then her gaze slipped briefly over to Sayuri.

"I think we're done with him," she said calmly. "I'm sure I made my point quite clear. Sayuri, please escort Hiroshi-kun here back to class, would you? Make sure nothing happens to him along the way."

"Yes, senpai," Sayuri replied, before grabbing Hiroshi by the collar and half-hauling, half-helping him to his feet. "Come on, Hiro-kun." She helped him to the door, beginning to berate him as they left. "How could you have been so stupid, you dummy? You should've trusted that Nabiki-senpai would take care of things. Now look at-" The closing door cut off the rest of her words.

"-should've trusted that Nabiki-senpai would take care of things," Sayuri berated Hiroshi as she passed underneath Ranko. "Now look at what's happened. You betrayed Nabiki-senpai. And for what? A single threat and you fold like a house of cards? You're totally pathetic." The pair continued on down the hall, Sayuri still chastising Hiroshi and occasionally slapping the back of his head.

Ranko watched from overhead as they went out of sight. So far that she had seen, everything was the same as how she remembered it.

A few feet back from Ranko, Ukyo silently waited and observed the new girl, wondering what she was up to.

Ami swallowed nervously as Nabiki settled herself into a chair and leaned forward, folding her hands together and resting her chin on the tips of her fingers. There was a second chair in front of her that Yuka promptly righted, and Yohko escorted Ami to sit in it. She felt even more nervous to see the calm look on Nabiki's face. After Ami sat, Yuka left the room to stand watch in the hallway. It was quiet for about a minute.

"Mizuno-san," Nabiki said calmly, breaking the silence. "I'd like you to explain to me just what is going on with Ranma being attacked by all those girls each morning."

"Uh." Ami blinked. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because I've been hearing some things about you and that Jinnai girl somehow being behind this matter," Nabiki replied. "Now, I thought I'd start my questions with you before I dealt with her. So, what can you tell me about it?" She smiled, but there was little pleasantness in it. "This will go so much easier if you're honest with me."

Ami swallowed again and looked down. She was a bit startled when Nabiki reached out and gently placed her fingers on her chin, lifting her face up to look at her. Remembering the sight of the boy who had been on the floor when she arrived, bleeding, she began trembling.

"I'm not angry, Mizuno-san," Nabiki said, her tone a little more gentle now. "I just want to know what's going on with those girls and Ranma. I'm concerned about him. You see, he's very important to me, and I don't allow anything to happen to something I value. It's not how I operate."

Yohko nodded as Nabiki spoke. When the middle Tendo daughter had first begun establishing her network towards the end of their first year at the Academy, she had shown no hesitancy towards being harsh, even brutal at times, in her methods when dealing with the politics and shifting alliances here. Now even the upperclassmen respected Nabiki's position in the Academy's hierarchy. But gaining that level of respect had meant a bit of violence was sometimes necessary.

She and Nabiki had already become good friends by then, both of them on the outskirts of the Academy's social circles. Nabiki's exclusion was due to her father's position in the Directorate, from a desire to avoid any hint of trying to depend on his coattails, and Yohko's was due to her status as a Devil Hunter. It was perhaps inevitable that the two of them had drifted together and became friends, and it was only natural for her to act as the brawn to Nabiki's brains, since Nabiki was much better than she was at scheming. Together they were running a rapidly growing organization inside of a month. Nabiki even began blackmailing some of the instructors into looking the other way while they conducted their business, and that was not an easy task here. But once her power base had been firmly established all those months ago, everything proceeded pretty smoothly.

This matter with Kinnosuke Kashuoh had upset that calm, Yohko mused, and Nabiki had been dealing with the aftermath. It was slow going at first, but word was getting around that Nabiki Tendo, the Iron Bitch, was intent on getting all of her affairs back to normal running mode. Making an example of Hiroshi and a select few others for their acts of betrayal, while rather distasteful to the young Devil Hunter, was simply part of re-establishing Nabiki's authority. But her friend was also now realizing she needed to be on the lookout for some hotshot first-year cadet trying to do the same thing to her that she had done to the upperclassmen. That Nabiki-wannabe, Nanami Jinnai, was up to something, and Ami Mizuno seemed to be involved as well.

However, Nabiki was using gentler methods of interrogation to find out what Ami knew, which Yohko was secretly grateful for. It was more of a 'good cop' approach this time, a sign of how much Nabiki had mellowed over the past several weeks, not that Yohko was complaining at all. If anything, they were becoming even better friends now, since Nabiki had loosened up quite a bit, at least in private with her.

"Mizuno-san," Nabiki said calmly, disturbing Yohko from her musings. "Tell me what is going on. It's in your best interests. I'm sure that Jinnai girl is just using you." What went unspoken was, "It's what I would do."

"I-it's nothing bad," Ami stuttered. "J-just a fan club."

Ranko felt she had waited long enough. Even if this wasn't her world, she didn't feel right about leaving Ami alone in there with Nabiki and Yohko. The girl had looked pretty scared, and someone had beaten up Hiroshi inside that room. She eyed Yuka, standing off to one side of the door, and she shifted her position, readying herself.

The Yuka she remembered was a middling fighter at best compared to her, but there was no reason to take any risks. With a soft breath, she released her hold on the pipe and dropped down next to the other girl, the rubber soles of her borrowed shoes barely making a sound. Her arm quickly snaked around Yuka's neck, and she pressed down tightly on her carotid artery in a choke hold, not wanting to make any noise out here.

Yuka struggled briefly, desperately throwing her weight back against Ranko in an attempt to crush her assailant against the wall and loosen the iron grip around her throat. Ranko grunted, but her hold remained firm. She hoped nobody inside heard anything as the two struggled.

After several moments, Yuka's eyes rolled back up into her head as she passed out, her body's weight slumping limply into Ranko's arms. The pigtailed girl laid her down gently and briefly checked her pulse, laying two fingers against her neck. Yuka would have a headache when she woke up, but nothing more serious.

Ukyo, still quietly observing, nodded at the strange girl's technique. She moved and fought well, Ukyo judged. It would be interesting to see how she fared against a more challenging opponent.

Inside the room, Nabiki blinked at Ami's words and was about to inquire further when there was a faint sound from the hallway. She glanced up at Yohko, who seemed aware of it as well. They exchanged looks and then the Devil Hunter quietly walked over to stand beside the door.

Opening it revealed Yuka lying up against the wall, apparently asleep. Yohko had only a moment to wonder what was going on before Ranko swung down from where she was hiding among the ducts and pipes running along the ceiling. Her hands firmly grasped the top of the doorframe, and she kicked both her feet hard into Yohko's midsection, knocking the other girl back a few feet and to her knees.

Nabiki sprang up when Ranko finished her maneuver, coming into the room in an acrobatic flip and landing with feet spread, her knees soaking up the shock of landing. When Yohko came at the redhead in retaliation, Ranko ducked under the other girl's strike and threw an uppercut to Yohko's jaw in reply, knocking her to the ground again when the Devil Hunter's knees promptly buckled. A second hard punch across Yohko's face knocked her completely out. Ami just sat there, amazed at the sudden intrusion.

"Who the hell are you?" Nabiki demanded, surprised to see someone put the Devil Hunter down so quickly. She would avenge her fallen friend, her gaze narrowing wrathfully as the two girls eyed each other intently for several moments. "You're wearing an Academy uniform, but I don't know you." While she didn't recognize the pigtailed girl, she was obviously very well-trained.

"I'm Ranko," the redhead said simply, meeting the older girl's look levelly. She paused and thought a moment about what name she would give and then decided to use one that Nabiki would probably never have heard of before on this world, not wanting to get her own analog in trouble, if she had one here. "I'm Ranko Kuonji. I'd suggest you don't get in my way. You'll only end up like your friend here."

Out in the hallway, Ukyo nearly lost her grip on the ducting she had been clinging to. Did that girl just say she was a Kuonji? Ukyo's mind whirled for several moments and then the answer suddenly came to her.

Something had happened in the past with her Aunt Yumi, something that the rest of the clan would not speak of. A child born out of wedlock made sense, and the girl seemed to be the right age. That would mean that Ranko was her cousin. That was great! She grinned. It would be fun to have another girl around to talk with, and she was looking forward to seeing the look on her aunt's face when she told her that she'd figured out her secret.

She considered going in at that point, but decided to wait and see how things played out. But she would be ready, if Ranko needed any help.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at the name the girl gave her. "Let me get this straight. _You_ are threatening me?" She assumed a casual pose, lowering her arms to her sides, her gaze still locked with Ranko's. "I don't think you realize just who you're dealing with, shorty."

"Come on, Mizuno-san," said Ranko, finally breaking eye contact with Nabiki as she ignored the insult. She went over to where Ami sat, looking stunned and relieved that she was being rescued. The redhead put a hand down on her shoulder. "I'm getting you out of here."

"You're not going anywhere yet, Kuonji-san," Nabiki said coolly after a moment. "You come in here uninvited and brutalize my closest associate. That's rather rude, you know."

Ranko shrugged. "I'm just helping out someone in trouble is all." She helped Ami up and stood the girl behind her to protect her. "I'm not really sure just what's going on here, but I'm saying this interview is over."

"You're not being very respectful to an upperclassmen," Nabiki said with a cool look, her temper aroused by the other girl's disrespectful attitude.

"Sorry about that, Tendo-senpai," Ranko replied sarcastically. "I'll try to do better in the future."

Nabiki moved to bar their way. "You're not going anywhere until I get a few answers out of you."

"Wait here a moment, Mizuno-san," Ranko said in an aside. She stepped over closer to Nabiki. "Look, here's how this is going to work. She and I are going through that door, so I'd suggest you get out of my way, right now." Her hands dropped to her sides, partly closing into fists. There was nothing she would like better right now than to knock the Tendo girl on her rear, feeling more and more aggravated by the older girl as she drew nearer.

Irritated by the smaller girl and her disrespectful attitude on several levels, Nabiki threw the first punch, one swiftly blocked by Ranko and then the fight between the two began in earnest. Off to one side, Ami stood and wondered who this Ranko Kuonji was, and why she was helping her.

Out in the hallway, Ukyo heard the sounds of a major fight breaking out in the room, and she peeked down from the ceiling to peer inside. A fierce battle raged between her supposed cousin and Nabiki, and both fighters were looking pretty intent on putting the other one down as harshly as possible. She saw Ami watching the whole thing, an almost rapturous look on the girl's face, her attention apparently focused on Ranko.

Nabiki reeled back as one of the shorter girl's punches slipped past her guard to drive into her face, releasing a brief spurt of blood from her nose. But her own response was equally swift and powerful as she regained her footing, a snap kick that caught Ranko in her ribs, just under one breast. The two girls circled each other for a few moments, and then they began trading blows again, very few actually connecting as they weaved and danced around each other, taking each other's measure as a fighter.

Ranko was startled that this Nabiki was so formidable a fighter, a rarity amidst the few analogs she had seen of the older girl. Feeling a familiar sensation now percolating in the cells of her hindbrain, aroused by the passions of the fight, she boosted and felt her senses quickly expand as her muscles swelled with new strength and power and her reflexes turned lightning-fast. In front of her, Nabiki's motions seemed to slow to a crawl and Ranko grinned, setting up the Tendo girl to be finished off quickly. She drove a few solid punches past the other girl's now glacial defenses.

"Enough of this," Nabiki growled, reeling back, irritated at Ranko's sudden burst of speed. She would show the redhead what speed really was! "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" She unleashed a furious storm of punches at the smaller girl. This would finish her off, she thought with certainty.

To Ranko's accelerated awareness, Nabiki's fists suddenly seemed to blur in at her, almost too fast to perceive each individual punch. She strained to keep up with the sheer volume of strikes coming at her, recognizing the technique even though she had not trained herself to use it. Ranko ducked and wove her body among the blows, her hands deflecting still more, and she just soaked up the damage caused by those that did hit her midsection and face by virtue of the stew of endorphins, adrenaline, and other serums surging within her. But the effort was taxing her more than she could have ever imagined. Luckily, it was over quickly.

Nabiki was caught off-guard when Ranko seemed unaffected by her attack, despite a couple of bruises now adorning the other girl's face. Her body sagged, still unused to such a staggering demand of energy made on her muscles so quickly. She realized a bit too late that she had just over-committed herself and tried to brace herself to absorb the smaller girl's counter-attack.

Grinning mirthlessly, Ranko took advantage of Nabiki's misjudgment, and she laid into the middle Tendo daughter with heavy punches and kicks. Despite the euphoria of the boost, she could sense she was reaching her limit soon, dealing with Nabiki's attack having drained her reserves much more quickly than normal, so she needed to finish this fast. Her attacks ripped through the other girl's weakened defenses, shredding them away before her punches and kicks began driving hard into Nabiki's body and face.

Nabiki grunted in rapid succession from each blow as the smaller girl's fists and feet slammed into her again and again without letup. She tried to rally, but it was too late. Her knees eventually buckled from the damage, and Ranko quickly grabbed her shoulders and drove a savage knee strike up into her belly, followed up quickly by a second one and then a third. Then everything went black as the last thing she saw was the redhead's knee coming up at her face.

Ranko paused, feeling exhaustion roll over her as the boost abruptly subsided within her, her subliminals shutting it down, grateful that the battle had ended. In front of her, Nabiki's eyes were rolling back in their sockets, the pigtailed girl's knee almost embedded in her face as they stood in a brief tableau. Then Nabiki slumped unconscious at Ranko's feet even as the redhead fell to her knees, her stomach roiling within her and growling with hunger as her muscles trembled throughout her whole body from the sudden rush of fatigue poisons hitting her all at once. Her lungs panted like a bellows.

She was startled when Ami put an arm around her and started to help her up, but she was grateful for the assistance. She slowly stood, leaning heavily on Ami.

"Th-thank you, Kuonji-san," Ami said hesitantly.

"No problem." Ranko grinned, flashing the other girl a victory sign and acting macho, even as her legs trembled beneath her. "Glad I could help."

"You were just amazing," Ami gushed, helping the other girl move to the door. "I've never seen anyone fight like you, other than Tendo-senpai and Saotome-san."

Feeling her strength gradually returning with each moment as they headed down the hallway, Ranko glanced at Ami. "Saotome-san? Ranma Saotome?"

"Y-you know him?" Ami asked with sudden hesitance, fearing that the redhead was another girl romantically interested in Ranma.

Up above, Ukyo's eyes narrowed as she listened in. Was this another rival for Ranma? Her own cousin?

"I'm familiar with him." Ranko noticed the odd look Ami was giving her. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," said Ami, quickly looking away. Somewhat shyly, she asked, "A-are you interested in Saotome-san?"

Ranko's mind immediately summoned up images from the erotic dreams she kept having about her male analog. She blushed and quickly stammered out defensively, "O-of course not! I'm not interested in him at all like that!"

Above them, Ukyo relaxed, putting away the small throwing spatula she had unconsciously drawn out.

"I'm glad," Ami sighed with relief. "Saotome-san is already being chased by a fair number of girls."

"Oh? Like who?" A brief feeling of jealousy arose in Ranko and she hastily beat it back down, blushing some more. Feeling her strength returning to her limbs, Ranko ceased leaning on Ami and stood on her own. Her stomach growled a bit loudly, and she put one hand behind her head and grinned slightly with embarrassment. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little hungry."

"Oh, let me buy you some lunch!" Ami replied quickly. "It's the least I can do for you helping me out like that." She took Ranko by the hand and started leading her down the hall, smiling at the redhead. "You were very brave to stand up to Tendo-senpai like that. Are you a new transfer student?"

"Something like that." Ranko smiled nervously, unsure what to do. She let Ami lead her down the hallway.

Once they were around the corner, Ukyo dropped down quietly and quickly followed after them, listening to the two girls chatting.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi eyed the pigtailed girl that Ami had brought back to their class, her arms laden with food. The redhead had given her a startled look when she first came into the room, as if recognizing her. Kodachi was sure she had seen the other girl before, somewhere, perhaps on another timeline visited by that part of her that she referred to as Scholar-Kodachi. The pigtailed girl kept a wary eye in her direction even as she consumed food with a barbaric gusto, showing little in the way of proper feminine decorum. As she did so, several of Ami's friends gathered around them to find out who the girl was. Even Nanami got up from her desk and went over to chat, welcoming the new girl.

Feeling a bit jealous of how easily the pigtailed hoyden was making friends with the other girls in class, Kodachi sullenly ate the rest of her lunch and listened to the bits of conversation she could hear. She was especially interested as Ami described in detail how Ranko had rescued her from a meeting with Nabiki, even taking down the Tendo girl in single combat. That earned a few oohs and ahh's of respect from the gathered girls, and Nanami seemed even more interested in the pigtailed girl, a gleam appearing in her eye. Seeing all the respect Ranko was getting, Kodachi felt even more jealous.

"So, Kuonji-san," Nanami said, leaning over the girl's shoulder. "That's impressive that you beat Tendo-senpai. Aren't you worried about her wanting to get back at you?"

Ranko grinned, enjoying the food more than the attention, feeling it quiet the hungry beast that had been raging in her belly. "Nah, she wasn't so tough. I'm sure I could take her again if I had to."

Nanami smiled, a scheme already forming in the back of her mind. "I'm sure you could," she said with a nod, eyeing the redhead and smiling. "I think we're going to be good friends." Several other girls nodded with her.

Ami was pleased that her newfound friend was being welcomed so easily by the other girls in class.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sun was lowering in the cloud-filled sky as Ryoga paused next to a wall and leaned against it with one hand. He had been walking all day, feeling cold and wet from the rain, trying desperately to find either Ukyo or Ryoko without having any luck. He shut his eyes, tears of rage threatening to burst forth. It just wasn't fair! He had no idea where he was. Ukyo could be anywhere in this city.

"Man, today has been one bad day," Hiroshi grumbled to himself as he started to walk past Ryoga, who had his hand resting on a brass plaque that proclaimed 'Tokyo Imperial Academy - Founded 1845' in kanji. "I can't wait to get home and forget about this day."

That uniform, Ryoga realized, his eyes locking on to Hiroshi. His hand swiftly lashed out and grabbed the boy by the collar. "You! Where is the Imperial Academy?"

Hiroshi blinked. "Wha-?"

"I recognize that uniform you're wearing!" Ryoga shouted into Hiroshi's face as he hauled him close. "You go to the Imperial Academy! Where is it?"

Hiroshi fearfully pointed over Ryoga's shoulder, and the Lost Boy turned and read the words on the plaque slowly, with disbelief. His morale soared as he realized he was close to his goal, and he turned back to the two cadets and shouted, "Where is Ukyo Kuonji!"

"I-I don't know," Hiroshi whimpered, afraid he was going to get beaten up for a second time in one day. "I don't know where he is! I swear!"

Just at that moment, Ranma came out the gate, heading to the parking area for his bike. He stopped, dead in his tracks at the sight of Ryoga. Both boys locked gazes for a moment in a brief tableau.

"You!" Ryoga snarled, recognizing the pigtailed boy as a friend of Ukyo's here. "Tell me where Ukyo is!" He let Hiroshi go as an afterthought and stalked towards Ranma, dramatically cracking his knuckles to throw a scare into the other boy. "You'd better tell me where Ukyo is, and you'd better tell me right now," he growled.

Above the two boys, Ranko was kneeling on the top of the wall, partly hidden amidst several tree branches hanging over it while she observed the scene with interest. After eating a huge lunch with Ami and being fawned over a bit by the girls in Ami's class, she had spent some time scouting around the campus. Everything looked just like she remembered it from her own world, but that familiarity only made her homesickness that much more acute.

Learning more about Ranma during that time, and some secret project he had been working on since his arrival on campus, she thought he might be able to help her. She had been biding her time for the remainder of the afternoon, waiting for a chance to talk to Ranma in private after he was done with classes. He was the only one who could possibly help her, even though she also suspected that he was the one who had messed with her brain.

Spotting his pigtailed nemesis leaving the grounds of the Imperial Academy, Mikado emerged from the limousine he had been waiting in. With a grim look on his face, determined to make Ranma pay for his assault on Kodachi, he headed over to where his target was apparently being confronted by another boy. Not that it mattered to Mikado. If the boy wearing the bandanna had a grudge against Saotome, he'd have to wait in line.

Ranma considered his options quickly. Now that he was almost fully healed up, he felt confident about dealing with Ryoga. None of his other analogs ever had any real troubles with the Hibiki boy, so what had happened on their previous encounter must have been a fluke. Ukyo was getting her spatula from her locker, and he was supposed to meet her in a few minutes. He gave Ryoga a grin. This shouldn't take very long.

"I don't think so, Lost Boy," said Ranma in his most insulting tones. "Man, are you really so stupid that you think I'd just tell a moron like you where Ucchan was?"

Ryoga stopped dead in his tracks, not expecting that response. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Ranma replied. "Leave Ucchan alone. Say, where've you been for the past few days anyway? Get lost crossing a street?"

Ryoga growled, his eyebrow twitching as he quickly grew more furious. "Oh, you're going to get it for that." Ukyo could wait a little while, after he pounded this pigtailed jerk into the ground first. He grimly advanced another step.

"Catch me if you can, Lost Boy!" Ranma turned around and headed off at a run, hoping to lure Ryoga away from Ukyo and then deal with him on his own someplace more private.

"Damn you!" Ryoga roared, sprinting after Ranma, angry beyond reason now. First he was going to pound on this guy a bit and then he would beat Ukyo's location out of him, assuming the other boy's jaw wasn't broken first.

What the heck? Ranko saw the pair suddenly take off at a run. She dropped down from the wall, just in time to be run into by Mikado, who had started sprinting when Ranma suddenly took off running. Both of them fell to the ground.

Mikado grimaced as he sat up and then he saw the girl who he had run into. He immediately went over to help her up, his nemesis forgotten for the moment. Feeling a pleasant tingling as he took her hand, he studied her for a moment, noting the delightful expanse of her bust and her very pleasingly athletic figure.

"Are you all right, Miss?" he asked, smiling.

"Wha-?" Ranko was still a little stunned from the impact. Ranma was getting away, and she had to start after him.

"Ah, but let me introduce myself properly. I am Mikado Sanzenin." And with that, he pulled Ranko into an embrace and was about to kiss her.

Ranko's eyes went wide as his lips approached hers, a storm of emotions erupting inside her. Part of her was intrigued at what was happening. Her first kiss, she absently mused. Then another part came roaring up out of the back of her mind, as if triggered by the embrace.

Wait a minute! She knew him! Memories of a skating match came over her and a powerful sense of déjà vu mixed with revulsion. With a surge of rage, Ranko drove her knee up into Mikado's groin and swiftly shoved him away. She ran off after Ranma.

Mikado came near to throwing up and tears of pain leaked from his eyes as he collapsed to the ground, clutching himself in agony. He rolled to one side and watched the pigtailed girl running away from him and a fierce rage came over him. How dare that little commoner wench do such a thing to him!

Somehow managing to get to his feet, he began staggering after Ranko, determined to make her pay for what she had just done. Whichever one he caught up to first, Ranma or the pigtailed girl, would feel his wrath.

Ryoko had finally made her way back to familiar territory, grateful for the easing of the rain. She was looking forward to her revenge upon Nabiki, savoring it a bit in her mind as she walked along. It was going to feel so good to pulverize the other girl for daring to insult her like that.

Ranma went charging past her, followed up quickly by Ryoga.

"Just wait until I get my hands on you, Saotome!" roared Ryoga.

Ranma glanced back, and he stuck his tongue out as he peeled down one eyelid with a finger. "Gotta catch me first, you slowpoke!"

Startled, Ryoko turned around to watch them for a moment, wondering why Ryoga was picking on poor Ranma like that. She was promptly knocked down as Ranko came around the corner and sprinted right over her, using her as a launching platform for a quick leap as she struggled to catch up to the two testosterone-filled morons. Ryoko slammed face down into the pavement.

"Sorry about that!" Ranko called back, still running hard after the two boys.

As she was getting to her feet, Mikado ran over her next, slamming her face back into the concrete. He never even paused.

Ryoko growled as she got back to her feet, deciding that pummeling Nabiki Tendo could wait. First she was going to pound that redhead into mulch, not to mention the guy chasing her. And then she was going to find out why Ryoga was picking on Ranma. She took off at a run after the group.

Up on the rooftop of the Institute's storage facility, Gosunkugi watched a small parade of people that were apparently chasing after Saotome, two boys and two girls. He had been laying subtle spells of illusion all over the building all afternoon, being very careful to avoid the vats of Jusenkyo water, and he was feeling a bit tired by his efforts. He strolled over to peer through a skylight into the dim interior, hoping to see Ranma's downfall with his own eyes.

The air in the rafters shimmered, and a familiar figure dressed in a blue kimono shimmered into view. It was almost time for the critical event, and she wanted a front row seat to watch. All her efforts were about to pay off.

There, that place would be perfect, Ranma thought. He burst through the unlocked gates to an abandoned warehouse a few blocks from the Academy. He could fight here with Ryoga without doing any property damage to anything valuable, like his other selves always seemed to be doing.

Once inside, he leaped up the stairs, cataloging his surroundings as he headed up towards the catwalk overhead. The building was pretty open and spacious inside, offering him plenty of room to maneuver, and it seemed like it hadn't been used for a long time, judging by all the cobwebs and dust on everything. He had just reached the catwalk's level when Ryoga came charging in, practically ripping the metal door off its hinges in his eagerness to get him.

"SAOTOME! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Up here, stupid!" Ranma waved jauntily down at Ryoga. He grinned as he took a moment to loosen up for the fight while the Hibiki boy came barreling up the stairs. The short run had gotten his heart rate up a little, and he felt ready for anything.

The figure watched in puzzlement at the sight below. This was wrong. Where was Ukyo? Where was the Tendo girl? They were the ones expected for this scenario. She turned to eye the vat of Nannichuan (Spring of Drowned Man) water under one of the catwalks.

She shimmered a moment, vanishing for a split-second, her face holding a wrathful look when she re-appeared. Nabiki was unconscious and Ukyo was still at the Academy. This wasn't the scenario! The pigtailed boy wasn't supposed to be here!

A moment later, Ranko came running in through the doors. She paused, looking around, and then she heard a loud commotion up overhead.

"Now I've got you!" Mikado cried out as he came running into the warehouse next. Ranko had just barely turned around, and Mikado managed to get in the first blow, a punch that rocked the pigtailed girl back on her feet. She leaped aside as Mikado tried to follow up with a side kick that just barely missed. The two traded attacks furiously for a minute or two, blows narrowly blocked or avoided. In exchange for a knee into Mikado's ribcage, Ranko received another punch, this one to her face. It angered her.

"I don't have time for this!" Ranko bounced off a nearby wall and came surging back towards Mikado, knocking him back into a pile of crates, stunning him. Her path took her to another set of stairs.

The kimono-clad figure narrowed her gaze at the pigtailed girl. The scenario was spoiled somehow by her. This version of Ranma was only meant to attract the cross-dressing ninja girl to Tokyo as well as provide the means for copying the skills of that other Tendo girl into this world's version. Both girls were almost equally powerful at this point, more capable than this boy, and either of them would be perfect for her needs. The Saotome boy wasn't supposed to be here! It should have been Ryoko fighting with the Tendo girl or Ryoga fighting Ukyo at this point!

Meanwhile, Ranma and Ryoga stood and faced each other on one catwalk above. Ranma grinned, which infuriated Ryoga. With a growl, Ryoga swiftly charged across to where Ranma stood near the middle of the catwalk. He lashed out with a hard punch at the last moment, and Ranma hopped up to perch on his arm for a moment before he bounced up to land easily on one rail.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," Ranma teased, dodging the punches with difficulty that Ryoga threw as he danced back along the railing. Another Ranma's words emerged from his lips. "I could keep this sort of thing up all day, Lost Boy."

Below, Ryoko came charging in. Spotting the redheaded girl up above, she pursued, sparing a glance at the fight now going on between Ranma and Ryoga. First, the redhead, she decided. She bounced off crates as she bounded up to the catwalk.

"Stop running away!" Ryoko roared, finally managing to catch up to Ranko. "Stand and fight!" She lashed out with a flying kick that managed to hit Ranko in the shoulder, spinning her around.

Ranko growled. "That hurt, ya know." She began trading blows with the angry, green-haired girl. "What's your problem?"

"Stand still a moment, and it won't be a problem anymore." Ryoko aimed a roundhouse kick at Ranko's midsection, but it missed, shearing clean through one of the support posts holding up the catwalk. It lurched to one side as the post gave way, and both girls quickly hopped up on the remaining rail and continued their duel without a single moment's pause.

A recovered Mikado had just started out across the catwalk when it suddenly pitched violently to one side, propelling him off it. "Wha- Ahhh!" He tumbled headlong into one of the vats of water below and vanished with a noisy splash.

Across the warehouse, on the next catwalk, Ranma still danced around his foe, but after his initial bravado he was finding it to be far more difficult than he remembered it as being from his analog's memories. He quickly snap kicked Ryoga, catching the other boy in the chest but barely knocking him back against the railing.

Ryoga rapidly regained his footing and glared at Ranma. "That was nothing! You hit like a girl!"

"What the hell did you say?" Ranma snarled. "Take that back, Hibiki! You take that back!" He launched into a furious attack, a flurry of punches and kicks into Ryoga.

Meanwhile, Ranko and Ryoko were engaged in a dazzling display of their fighting skills as they dueled fiercely with each other. Ryoko's fists and feet missed Ranko by mere centimeters, but Ranko was discovering that her own blows were not wearing down the other girl as quickly as they had with Nabiki. She redoubled her efforts, throwing more of her strength into her strikes.

Below them, the water in one vat stirred as first a stream of bubbles and then a small black piglet suddenly broke the surface. It gasped for breath as it struggled to stay afloat.

"Bwee!" the piglet called out fearfully, paddling as best it could with little cloven hooves. "BWEE!"

Ranma glanced back, startled to hear the sounds of a pig crying out.

"I have you now," growled Ryoga, slamming a kick into the pigtailed boy with all of his strength, propelling Ranma out into open space.

Ranko glanced down, startled to hear the sounds of a pig crying out. She was caught unprepared as Ryoko swung around on the remaining support pole and drove both her feet into her chest, launching her across the warehouse.

Ranko twisted her body around, catching sight of a fire sprinkler pipe behind her that she could land on. Ryoko was in for a surprise as soon as she touched down.

Ranma caught a brief glimpse of a pipe behind him that he could use to land on, and he twisted his body around to spring off it. Ryoga was about to get a surprise.

Ranko and Ranma slammed into each other full force, their foreheads colliding and knocking Ranko away to one side to crash down loudly into a pile of empty crates even as he plummeted into the vat of water below him. Half-conscious from the impact, they gazed at each other in stunned confusion. Ranma vanished beneath the surface with a large splash.

Hidden amidst the rafters, the woman dressed in a blue kimono gazed down at the vat, one she had not anticipated anyone falling into at this juncture, unconsciously holding her breath. This had been the most critical moment in her plans, but because of unexpected interference by Ranko, Nabiki wasn't here. Neither was Ukyo. The Nannichuan water would not curse them today, and the dice had presented a completely different number than the one she had planned for. Either the Tendo or Kuonji girl would have been perfect for what was to come.

It was unfortunate, she decided. The only way left to her to prevent the Shogun from achieving his apotheosis was to initiate nuclear conflict once again. After all of her careful preparations, this was now looking like a dead-end world. The boy would never become powerful enough in time to be a proper tool.

Ranma felt the breath forced from his lungs when his body hit the water, bubbles of air trailing up after his descent, the shimmering surface moving further and further away. Sparkles of orange light immediately began appearing at the edges of his awareness, and his vision quickly faded. He reflexively clawed one hand upward after the receding bubbles, but then a sudden, paralyzing shock of some kind seemed to spark throughout his entire being. His body jerked once, more precious air escaping from his lungs.

He could see nothing but orange glow around him. Random memories began appearing in his awareness as he felt his consciousness fading away, guttering out like a dying candle flame.

...the feeling of success at his first use of the resonator.

...discovering his ability to fight using the downloaded skills of his analogs.

...the file on Project Phoenix and what had been done to him.

...his savage battle with Kinnosuke and being beaten by the other boy so easily.

...Nabiki unleashing the Amaguriken into him, easily beating him in a duel with it.

...his recent scuffle with Ryoga, a far tougher fight than his memories said it should be.

...that world where Shampoo was cursed to turn male and was a strong fighter.

...Shampoo was the only girl missing from his present life.

...in his current state, he could never defeat someone like her.

...if only he was stronger, like his analogs.

He wasn't really strong, he realized in those last few moments. His nervous system had ten years of martial arts training imprinted on them, but his body just didn't have enough conditioning for what he kept facing. He was only going to keep muddling along at this rate, his ego writing checks his body couldn't cash until he was finally crippled or killed.

He wished his father had trained him harder physically all those years.

He wished he was more like his analogs, each of them the top fighter among their peers.

He could no longer even see or feel his body now, just the ever-present orange glow all around him.

Some of Master Lee's words came to him. "I can make you a great fighter, Ranma, if that is all you wish to be. However, I believe you can be more, to someday truly master the martial arts, and I can help you. But only you can make that choice. Only you can walk that path. No one else can do it for you. And that path will not be easy."

He was dying, feeling the last of his air bubbling up away from him.

No.

His inner resolve suddenly hardened in those last few moments.

He would not give up. Master Lee believed in him, believed he could become even greater than Nabiki, that he could become a true master of the martial arts.

He was not a failure, not merely a copy of someone else.

No matter what it took, he would grow stronger and master himself, not merely accumulate techniques.

He would pay any price asked and bear any burden given him.

This was not his end.

He was Ranma Saotome, and he would not fail.

The pigtailed boy began struggling against his paralysis, as the orange glow surrounded him like amber, as his consciousness wavered at the very brink of oblivion.

Looking down from above, deep beneath the surface of the water a dying orange glow seemed to suddenly glimmer a little brighter.

The woman in the kimono looked surprised.

Perhaps there was still a chance to succeed. After all, it was not the first time that she had seen someone overcome fate itself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Heaven 0.000, 0.000

A screen to one side of Skuld's workstation abruptly cleared.

* CORRECTIONS FOUND FOR MISSING PARAMETERS.

The screen abruptly cleared again. Several moments passed.

* MIDGARD REALITY PARADIGM ADJUSTMENT: 100% COMPLETE.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranko tried to catch her breath, recovering from the stunning impact of her fall. She coughed at the dust filling the air like a vast cloud of smoke. As she staggered to her feet, her head still aching fiercely from the mid-air collision and her thoughts deeply confused, a beeping sounded from her pocket. Pulling out her device, she saw the timer was in the process of recalculating for the next window. Had that ever happened before?

Scrambling from the wreckage, her thoughts still confused but knowing this was somehow important, she swiftly ran from the warehouse to find a clear enough area to activate it. When the timer abruptly cleared, it now showed only seconds remaining. She vaguely recalled that meant she was supposed to get ready to hit the button. The last seconds ticked down. When they reached zero, she triggered the device. The portal yawned open, and she leaped into it.

Back in the warehouse, the water in the vat was still settling when a hand suddenly broke the surface. A figure surged up from its depths with a loud gasp and swiftly grabbed hold of one of the sides, dressed in Chinese-style shirt and black gi pants.

When he saw the redhead come up and look to be all right, Ryoga let out an unconscious sigh of relief and searched for Ranma with his gaze. Had his nemesis managed a cowardly escape in the dust and confusion?

Coughing up a small quantity of water while treading water, the girl's mind whirled as she took stock of her condition. What had happened? It was a blur.

All the lingering pains from her recent battles were gone as if they had never happened, and she actually felt better than ever before. But something also felt very wrong in an oddly familiar sort of way. A sudden sense of horror seized her and she swiftly ripped open her top, staring down in shock at a surprisingly well-endowed chest for a teenaged girl.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Startled by the scream, Ryoga looked down again at the vat, noticed the girl's open top exposing her female assets and felt a little faint, not quite understanding how she had changed clothes so quickly under the water. He was surprised again when she glared back at him, and the sheer, raw fury that was in her gaze briefly froze him in place by its intensity.

"RRRYYYOOOGGGAAA!" she raged, leaping at him in a high-bounding surge from the water to bounce off some cabling and land on the railing in front of him. She opened her blouse to him. "You jerk! Look at me! Look what you did to me!"

"I-I'm sorry for getting you wet, Miss," he said, feeling his nose starting to stream blood, unsure what to say. He was still stammering out an apology and trying not to stare at her bared breasts when she suddenly launched herself at him and spun around in midair to land a powerful roundhouse kick into his chest. Caught off-guard, he flew from the catwalk and vanished off into the dimness. There was the sound of a distant splash.

Ryoko, seeing that the redheaded bimbo had just flashed her chest at poor Ryoga and then attacked him while the idiot was off-guard, started to leap from the catwalk she was on when the remaining support chose that moment to suddenly give way. The entire catwalk began plummeting to the floor of the warehouse. Desperately trying to leap clear, Ryoko pushed off the already descending railing. She reached out but just missed the handhold she had been aiming for by millimeters. She fell to land in another vat.

Gazing down through the skylight, Gosunkugi made a 'Tch' sound and felt disappointed at not being able to see the results of his revenge with all the dust in the air. Had Ranma Saotome survived? He sighed softly in frustration. Walking to the edge of the roof, he muttered a spell and floated down to the ground. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away, grumbling to himself.

Back within the warehouse on the remaining catwalk, the boy turned girl began shaking her head in denial. She clutched at her skull for several moments as she sank to her knees and then leaned forward, her eyes widened in horror.

"I-I'm female," the girl said in a stunned mutter, staring down in disbelief at her new form, her thoughts whirling.

With a roar of rage, tears of raw fury streaming from her eyes as she lifted her gaze from her transformed body, Ranma-chan leaped down from the catwalk and ran from the warehouse, out into the rain beginning to fall heavily from the skies.

A few moments later, in the tank where Ryoko fell, the surface of the water began bubbling, and then a small cat with greenish fur suddenly broke the surface, looking panicked.

"Meow! MEOW!" the cat cried out, struggling to stay afloat.

"BWEE! BWEE!" added the piglet from the vat where Mikado fell, still trying to keep his head above the surface.

At that moment, Cherry entered the warehouse. Hearing the cries of fear from the animals, he made his way carefully to the tanks of water and fished them out before either could drown. They both collapsed, utterly exhausted from their efforts. He tapped a spot on each of their bodies, and they fell unconscious.

"Rest now, little ones," he said, his bald head gleaming slightly in the dim light. "Fate has apparently chosen you."

Cherry eyed the tank he had seen Ranma fall into, and a girl wearing the same clothing had emerged. A plaque on one side read, 'Jusendo Water' and gave a warehouse reference number. The old monk bowed his head solemnly and prayed for a moment. In his thoughts, he was intrigued.

"It is Fate," he intoned ominously.

In the back of the warehouse, Ryoga pulled himself free from the vat of water he had fallen into and collapsed on the pavement, breathing heavily. He coughed up a quantity of fluid. His lungs panted like a bellows. He'd nearly drowned!

Then he got a good look at himself, at what he had become, seeing his reflection in the glass of a nearby window. He shook his head slowly, horror dawning. This had to be a nightmare. Or he had died after all, and he was now in hell.

"Growf?" murmured the large panda, quickly running paws over his face and body, his ever-present bandana tight on his skull. Closing both paws into fists, Ryoga bellowed his rage to the sky. His rage at Ukyo was forgotten for the moment. It was the girl. That girl would pay for doing this to him, whoever she was!

"GROWRRRRR!"

Up in the rafters, the kimono-clad woman looked thoughtful. She would let this unexpected scenario play out for a while.

She shimmered and vanished.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +0.001,-0.001

Stumbling free of the portal that swiftly collapsed behind her, Ranko rested for a moment in the alleyway she found herself in before getting up and dusting herself off. Her device automatically began calculating the remaining time to the next window as she stood there. Her head felt like mush, and she was having trouble thinking. She felt woozy.

"R-Ranko... chan?" suddenly asked a voice behind her hesitantly.

Standing in the street outside the alleyway was a worn-looking Nodoka, a pair of grocery bags falling from her hands to rest at her feet. She gazed in amazement at the girl standing in front of her, wondering if she'd finally lost her mind in her prolonged grief.

Ranko turned around slowly, recognizing the voice, and her gaze went past a flyer stuck to the wall, a tattered missing persons notice with her picture on it in her Academy uniform, and the last seen date the day she had first activated her device, weeks ago.

"M-mom?" she said, finding tears unexpectedly filling her gaze. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like she had just returned from a very long journey. Somehow, against impossible odds, she had finally found her way back home.

But where had she been?

"Ranko!" Nodoka cried happily, rushing to her long-lost daughter and pulling her into a hug. "Where have you been? We've all been so worried about you! That Kaneda boy has been putting up fliers for weeks, helping your father and me!" She started to cry openly.

"I-I'm home." Ranko hugged her mother back, the smell of her so warm and familiar. She started to cry as well

Behind the pair, the shadows shifted, and a willowy figure in a kimono appeared, a hint of a smile seen on her face. The figure gestured towards them. Filaments of invisible power drifted to the back of Ranko's head and then the tips swiftly dove into her.

"Rest now, child," whispered the figure. "Your part in this passion play is done, and the next act is about to begin. I can't have you interfering again."

Ranko's body jerked when the filaments withdrew suddenly from her skull and then she passed out. The quantum tuneller dropped unnoticed from her grasp. It then crumbled into powder at another gesture from the figure's hand.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Sometime later, soaked to the skin by the icy rain, Ranma-chan sat all alone, huddled against one wall of an alleyway, sniffling, pondering what had happened, in a state of shock.

As she sat there, a figure came into the alley, shielded from the rain by an umbrella, drawn by the sounds of human misery emerging from the alley.

After a moment, the pigtailed girl looked up, rain running through her hair and down her face and neck in cold streams. The lights of the street shone brightly behind the sudden apparition, and Ranma-chan tried to make out who it was. Her eyes widened in recognition, and she started to run away, not wanting anyone she knew to see her like this.

Barely going a step, the shock and stresses of the day's events finally seemed to catch up with her, and she passed out.

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Minami groaned as the security guard shined a light into her face, her jaw feeling like it was swollen to twice its normal size. Where was she? The back of her head ached where she must have struck it upon something. Her memories felt fuzzy.

"Are you all right, Miss?" asked the guard, beginning to untie her.

"Fine," Minami muttered. "I'm fine." Her vision swam, belying her statement.

"Well, I'm going to have to report this," he said with a frown. He patted her down for several moments, quickly finding her ID card. She was too woozy to protest. He punched her ID number into his handheld computer. She passed out again while he was still dialing the phone.

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Nabiki raised a single finger to her lips as she and Yohko watched the security guard helping a redhead dressed in clothes that looked similar to Ranma's garb of late. Her eyes narrowed. It wasn't the one who had assaulted her, just that weird girl from the Institute. This fan club thing was getting out of hand. Girls were even dressing like him now.

When the guard and his captive were gone, she and Yohko supported each other as they made their way upstairs. With every step, her simmering anger grew at the girl who had beaten her.

"Ranko Kuonji," she growled. "You picked a fight with the wrong girl. I won't forget this. The next time I see you, you're going down and you're going down hard."

A little while after that, Nabiki sat on a bed in the nurse's office to recover a little before heading home, an icebag pressed against her injured face. Her stomach and ribs ached fiercely, feeling like they had been tenderized with a sledgehammer. She seethed inside from her beating.

Who was that Ranko Kuonji bitch? How was she so good a fighter? Even more importantly, how did she know the Anything-Goes style?

She dialed a number on her phone, listening as it rang a few times before being picked up.

"It's me," said Nabiki. There was a grunt of acknowledgement on the other end. "I'm cashing in a couple of the markers you owe me. I want a complete dossier on a Ranko Kuonji delivered to me. Start by checking the family registries here in Nerima. Get it to me as soon as you can."

She hung up the phone and lay back on the bed, frowning.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my usual pre-readers for all of their comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes out to DB Sommer and Michael Allen for their most detailed help with grammar and plotting.


	23. Secret Identities

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"BWEE!"

After his headlong rush into the street, the small black piglet froze in terror. His death swiftly approached, its image filling his vision from the brilliant headlights of an oncoming car. In the depths of his mind, he paused to wonder if this was to be his final fate, to die like the lowly animal he now was, crushed beneath the wheels of a common automobile. Tears of rage welled up in his eyes, that he would never have another chance to prove his love to his goddess, the innocent and demure Kodachi Kuno, never to take her into his arms and make her his own.

It wasn't fair!

Mikado's mind quickly flashed back to the insane babblings of that old monk he had escaped from only a brief time ago, who spoke some nonsense about curses and hot and cold water. He had fled from the scene, mad with horror at his condition. What did that old man's odd ramblings matter? He was a common barnyard animal, his precious humanity stolen from him by the actions of that evil, vicious girl. She had not been content with slamming her knee up into his treasured manhood when he left himself unguarded and then fleeing from his wrath. No, this must have been her goal all along, to lure him into a trap. Thoughts of her treachery filled him with a powerful lust for revenge upon her, for the hellish state she had cast him into.

At the last instant, the car suddenly swerved aside, missing him by a narrow margin, its wheels squealing on the asphalt, slick from the recent rain. When it came to a shuddering halt, Mikado felt his small heart stutter back to life.

He was alive! He was still alive!

One of the doors to the vehicle opened after several moments, and a slender figure emerged. His small body still trembling from the shock of nearly dying, Mikado could barely lift his head to look up. But what he saw astonished him.

"Mistress, be careful! The beast might be feral!"

With the glow of a streetlight illuminating her from behind, the sight of Kodachi Kuno approaching and kneeling down next to him greeted Mikado's wondering gaze. Tears filled his eyes once again, but this time they were tears of joy. His gentle goddess had come to redeem him from his fallen state, and a brilliant halo of light cast down by the streetlamp framed her, giving her an almost angelic glory. He trembled some more, caught up in a rapture that suddenly filled him at the sight of that gentle look on her face. Then she smiled at him, and he gave a little piggy sigh.

"You poor dear," Kodachi said softly, studying the tiny creature before her, cold and wet from the recent rain, looking utterly miserable and alone. Gently, she extended forth a hand and touched the small animal on the head, feeling no fear that it might bite her as she stroked its coat of light fur. She looked up at the driver. "Get me a towel to wrap it in. I'm bringing it home."

"Yes, Mistress!"

Moments later, Mikado found himself wrapped in a soft, fluffy towel, and Kodachi was carrying him back to the limousine, gently drying him with soft strokes of her delicate hands. She sat down and cooed to the little pig as the car continued on its way to Whitehall Academy to pick up her brother before heading home.

"That was a close one, wasn't it, little one?" she said with a smile. There was something familiar about the animal, dredging up a memory of some of the other worlds she had visited before arriving on this one. It wore no collar, but it had the manner of a domesticated creature. Well, no matter if it had once belonged to someone else. She was already planning to keep it.

"Bwee," Mikado agreed softly, gazing up at that angelic face. When she began to cuddle his now dry body against her bosom to warm him, he gave off another little sigh of contentment.

"I even have the perfect name for you." Kodachi pulled the little piglet away from her chest and held it up before her, smiling. She noted absently that it was a male. "I shall call you P-chan."

"Bwee?" The newly dubbed P-chan cocked his head to one side. When she smiled at him again and then kissed him gently on the tip of his nose, the silly name didn't seem to be nearly so bad.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2" and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Ranko, after a long journey across several parallel worlds, finally arrived on Scholar-Ranma's version of Earth, contributing to events there which led to Mikado, Ryoko and Ryoga becoming cursed by the magic waters of Jusenkyo. After colliding with Ranko, Ranma fell into a vat of modified Jusendo water and became cursed to transform into her likeness.

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Chapter 23 - Secret Identities

All warfare is based on deception.

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

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Ever so carefully, Cherry reached out across the vat of water with a pole and hooked out a pair of gi pants. He set it down on the concrete with a soggy thump, the fluid trapped in their cloth oozing out across the floor. A small distance away, a nearly dry female cat with greenish fur watched the proceedings with interest. A small fire heated some water to one side, and the rest of Ryoko's clothes were drying next to it, already rescued from the vat she had fallen into.

"Meow?" Ryoko-neko inquired, and then sighed again. She was still not used to her new form, and she wondered what had happened to Ryoga. After being struck by that other girl, he had disappeared.

"Questions can wait until I can restore you to human form." Cherry was careful to not take his attention from what he was doing. He reached deep into the water with his pole and snagged up first one shoe and then another.

When he was finished, he carefully climbed back down the ladder and set up another small drying pole retrieved from his camp. He began to put the items of clothing on it, pausing when he came to a pair of pink and lacy panties. A trembling assailed his hand for a few moments at the sight and silky feel of them, before he hastily set them on the rack. A similar reaction came over him when he came to the pink brassiere. He set the item to dry and hastily focused his mind on other matters.

By that time, the water had begun to steam heavily from the teakettle. He removed it from the fire and poured himself some tea, setting it on the concrete and letting it cool a bit before he used it on the cat seated near him. He turned his gaze from her as a naked Ryoko seemed to balloon back to her human form.

"Yeow! That's hot!" Shocked to find she had a human voice again, she spent several moments examining herself and her regained humanity. Her hands traced up her body to her face, feeling the familiar shape with gratitude. Seeing Cherry still facing away from her, she quickly began to dress in the clothes she had been wearing, now mostly dry.

"As I started to explain before your companion ran off, hot water will bring you back to your normal form," said Cherry, picking up his cup and drinking from it. "Cold water will transform you again."

"But there's a cure, right?" Ryoko quickly interjected. "There's got to be a cure, isn't there?" She eyed the vats of water around them. "Is it here?"

Cherry sighed. "I do not know if the cure is in here, but you should not be so quick to attempt one. A Jusenkyo curse is a heavy burden, but it is not insurmountable to live with one."

"Forget that!" Still half-dressed, Ryoko grabbed Cherry and hauled him up to shake him. "I'm not going around for the rest of my life being half-cat. I want that cure, and I want it right now!"

"It won't do you any good, and it will only harm you to try and cure yourself now," Cherry said quietly, meeting Ryoko's angry gaze. "If you try and remove it with water from the Spring of Drowned Girl before the proper time, things will only get worse."

"Worse?" Ryoko shook Cherry until his teeth rattled. "I turn into a damn housecat when I get wet, Cherry! How can this get any worse?"

"If it's done too soon, before the proper time, before Jusenkyo is ready to release you from its grip, the curses will mix together and you'll likely become a mixture of cat and girl, maybe for good."

Ryoko stood stunned for a moment before her rage reasserted itself.

"Damn that little redheaded bitch," she growled angrily. "This is all her fault! This is all her fault!" She dropped Cherry unceremoniously and sat down, her chin resting on her fist. She began muttering under her breath, her facial expression dark and forbidding.

"It is Fate," Cherry said, a bit piously. "You should return home now."

"Home? How the hell can I go home now?" She growled again as she sat up and smacked her fist into her open palm. "My mom will freak out the first time I change around her, and I can't blame her. My brother might be okay with it, but I don't want anyone I know to see me like that. Anyway, right now I just want to find that little redhead and pound her into mulch. It's all her fault that I'm like this!" Ryoko got up and charged out of the warehouse, intent on getting revenge.

Cherry sighed again. Things seemed to be getting more complicated in Nerima as time went on. He wondered what else was in store.

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"Now you sit right there, P-chan," Kodachi told her newfound pet as she sat him down on her bed, a small pillow resting underneath him. "I have to change my clothes now for dinner." She smiled when he gave off a gentle grunt in reply and what looked like a slight nod, as if he really understood her. What a smart little pig he was.

Sitting still and playing the part of Kodachi's new pet was not proving to be very difficult for Mikado. She had cuddled him during the entire car ride home, which almost made up for the whole experience so far. As she walked over to her closet, several female servants dressed in fine silk kimonos and obis came into the room. One of them approached him, a beautiful girl that was about his and Kodachi's age. He did not recall her name, since servants were beneath the notice of their social betters. However, on his occasional visits to the Kuno household, he had seen this girl in Kodachi's company before. As a connoisseur of female beauty, her face was familiar to him.

"Oh, Mistress," said the servant girl. "What an adorable little piggy." She came over to P-chan and quite gracefully reached down and began gently scratching his head as she cooed at him, hitting a spot between his ears that caused in him a reflexive quiver of rapture.

"I think he likes you, Konatsu-chan," said Kodachi, smiling at the girl, a kunoichi, one of the numerous ninja who served the Kunos as retainers and spies. Konatsu had been gifted to Kodachi by her mother to be her personal retainer on her fourteenth birthday. She had since become a confidante of sorts, and a loyal agent who performed any task the young noblewoman needed done. "He's my new pet. I've named him P-chan."

Konatsu picked up the small black pig and cuddled him. "Oh, he's just adorable!"

This was the life, Mikado thought dreamily, breathing in soft scents of jasmine and lilac in the girl's perfume, his sense of smell as a pig having a profound acuity that astonished him. He was used to enjoying the sight and touch of a girl, but new vistas of smells had been opened to him when first Kodachi and now this girl had held him enfolded in their arms. She turned around, and he could see Kodachi in a state of undress as the other servant girls assisted her.

He sighed with contentment, seeing her nude body gloriously displayed to his eager gaze. She was even more magnificent than he had ever dared imagine, a work of art crafted in flesh. Kodachi was actually built much like Asuka Saginomiya was. Both girls possessed lithe but solid musculatures from their gymnastics training, firm, full breasts set high on their chests and long, trim legs. But there the similarities ended. Kodachi possessed a tender innocence and a demure softness to her, which the spiteful and vindictive Asuka simply lacked. He gazed in rapture at Kodachi's lovely physique, aching for her.

"Please take him off for a bath while I have dinner with my family, Konatsu-chan," Kodachi said with a smile as the other servant girls began helping her on with more traditional clothing. "He seems to like you, so I do not imagine he shall give you any trouble."

"Of course, Kuno-dono," Konatsu replied. She bowed deeply at the waist. "With your leave, I will see to it immediately."

Kodachi nodded, now dressed in a kimono of purple silk, finely-stitched black rose embroidery resting upon the left breast that she had done herself. As one of the servants wrapped a white obi around her trim waist and secured it, Konatsu bowed once again to her beloved mistress and departed, carrying a drowsing P-chan in her arms, lost in a waking dream of some kind.

A few minutes later, Konatsu entered an unused servant's bathing area. She set down a still drowsy P-chan and went over to the furo, twisting the knob to begin filling the tub with hot water, intending to enjoy a nice soak when finished with her assigned task. She began singing a peasant work song as P-chan watched the proceedings, beginning to wake up from pleasant fantasies of bedding Kodachi, the two of them entwined in sensuous passion, their ardor for each other knowing no limits.

Konatsu smiled at the small piglet and began to undress, slipping off first her obi and then her kimono. As she did so, P-chan seemed to watch her with interest. Eventually getting down to her Western-style underwear, she reached behind herself and unsnapped the brassiere, pulling it away to reveal a more masculine chest, the brassiere filled with padding. When the panties were removed, Konatsu was clearly not a female.

"Bwee?" P-chan squealed in surprise under his breath, blinking, shocked and amazed at the sudden and totally unexpected transformation of what he had thought was a girl into what was now a rather effeminate young man, but definitely male.

"I'll take care of bathing you in a few moments, P-chan," Konatsu said pleasantly in feminine tones with a bright smile, sitting down on one of the stools, quickly filling a bucket of cold water and pouring it over his head. He continued to sing the little peasant song as he soaped himself and then rinsed himself off, repeating the process a second time to be sure he got clean.

Being bathed by a beautiful naked girl was one thing, but being bathed by a naked young man was something else entirely. And didn't that old monk say something about hot water? P-chan quickly scrambled away from the scene, heading towards the door, hoping he could nudge it open enough with his snout to provide an avenue of escape. He tried to be as quiet as possible.

Still a few feet short of the door, a slender length of sharpened steel suddenly buried itself halfway in the wooden floor in front of him, a thrown kunai. When he backed up suddenly, his eyes a little crossed at the close call, he bumped into Konatsu, who had come up unheard behind him. A hand came down and picked him up by the scruff of the neck.

"Don't like baths?" Konatsu inquired with a pleasant smile, before carrying P-chan over to where the soap was kept. Still speaking in a very feminine manner, he said, "I promise to be gentle."

"Bwee! BWEE!" P-chan struggled for all he was worth, but the strength of the boy's grip, while it caused him no pain, was quite deceptively powerful. The boy splashed him with cool water, soaped him up with a delicate touch, and then rinsed him off with more cool water. He let loose with a snort.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Konatsu inquired with a smile. Still holding P-chan tightly, which had been a bit more difficult when the pig had been soap-covered; he approached the bath of steaming water. "Just a little soak, and we're all done, P-chan."

Konatsu stepped lightly into the hot bath and brought P-chan down to touch the hot water, intending to let the pig soak with him. Upon submersion, P-chan's body suddenly swelled and transformed back into Mikado, and the sudden extra weight in his hands knocked Konatsu off balance. He and Mikado fell together into the water.

Both boys quickly surfaced, gasping for air.

"Wha-?" wondered Konatsu out loud, blinking water from his eyes in shocked surprise. His gaze then quickly narrowed. "Mikado Sanzenin."

"Stay away from me, you cross-dressing freak," growled Mikado, moving to the other side of the bath. The thought of a boy wearing women's clothing was perverse to him, and it also didn't help his mood that he had been entertaining sexual fantasies about Konatsu over the past couple of years. He was about to step out when the other boy suddenly grabbed him from behind and yanked him back into the bath, where a fierce struggle began.

Konatsu wasn't sure what trickery Mikado had used to transform himself into an animal, but his first duty was to protect Kodachi from the other boy's treachery. But first he had to subdue Mikado, which was not proving to be easy. The other boy was quite a skilled fighter. Even so, he finally managed to get an arm around Mikado's neck and began applying pressure, hoping to end this without bloodshed.

Having been taken by surprise, Mikado had gone under before taking a full breath. He felt Konatsu's arm lock around his throat as the two of them struggled beneath the surface. He drove his elbow back into the other boy's ribs as hard as he could, but the water blunted his power. Already he could feel his vision fading as the blood supply to his brain was choked off, and he desperately tried again. He continued to attempt breaking the hold, but the difference in leverage proved to be too much to overcome and darkness overcame him.

Konatsu surfaced with his captive and hauled Mikado's unconscious body from the water. After making sure the other boy was still breathing, he left him lying by the side of the furo and came back in a moment with some towels that he used to quickly bind Mikado tightly with special knots his instructors had taught him for just such occasions. He had never thought he would have to tie someone up with towels, but his kunoichi training had covered such possibilities.

Mikado came awake groggily, his head aching. The first thing he saw was Konatsu, once more dressed in feminine garb, currently combing his long hair and acting girlishly demure. His numb arms were bound behind him, and he struggled for a moment to get free. When that failed, he glared at his captor.

"Release me!" he commanded. "I'm Mikado Sanzenin, damn it!"

Konatsu stood up from kneeling, as graceful as any courtly-trained girl and approached him. "You invaded the bedchambers of my mistress in disguise." A kunai appeared in his hand and was held up tight against Mikado's throat. "Are you one of the Goju? How were you able to change form like that?"

Despite doing his best to hold it down, a note of panic was present in Konatsu's voice, recalling the spooky stories his childhood friend Ukyo had often told him during summer campouts when they had only been young genin. Fear of the monsters from those ghost stories caused his grip to tighten on the blade, the muscles in his arm bunching. Ghost stories had always terrified him.

Konatsu pressed the edge tighter against Mikado's throat, releasing a single drop of blood. "Tell me!"

"I don't even know what a Goju is!" Mikado cried out, now terrified that this lowborn, cross-dressing pervert would end his life. "It's some kind of curse I'm under!"

Staring into Mikado's eyes and seeing no dishonesty in them, Konatsu eventually pulled the blade from the other boy's throat and concealed it back upon his person. "I believe you."

"Then let me loose," Mikado demanded. "And speaking of disguises, what are you doing dressed as a girl, anyway?"

Konatsu turned a cold gaze to Mikado. "That is none of your concern, Sanzenin-dono."

A gleam suddenly appeared in Mikado's eyes. "She doesn't know, does she? Kodachi, I mean."

The glare returned. "It would be best for you if you never revealed such a thing."

"Then I think we have a bargain in the making," said Mikado, relaxing a bit, the Sanzenin instinct for business sensing a potential solution to satisfy all parties. "I don't reveal your secret, and you don't reveal mine."

Konatsu considered the offer. "If you break this bargain and reveal my true nature," he warned Mikado ominously. "I will kill you."

"I won't," Mikado promised. "You have my word as a Sanzenin."

Konatsu snorted. "I'd sooner trust a Hibiki," he said derisively, his mother's many bitter stories of the sullen, savagely destructive clan that had cost them their ancestral teahouse and killed his father still vivid to him after all these years. It amazed him to this day how Ukyo, the boy who had been such a good friend and helped him maintain his female disguise for years, even once pretending to be his boyfriend in school, could ever befriend one of the stupid brutes. Thoughts of Ryoga spending time with his dear childhood friend burned darkly within him.

"Be that as it may, we're going to have to trust each other," Mikado replied in soothing tones. "So, do we have a bargain?"

Konatsu considered the matter a bit more, and then he nodded. "We do."

"Then untie me. I can't feel my hands."

Konatsu snorted in an unfeminine manner and untied him. As the other boy was rubbing his wrists to restore circulation, he tossed a bucket of cold water on Mikado.

"Bwee?" P-chan looked up at Konatsu and growled.

"What's wrong, P-chan?" Konatsu scooped up the small pig and began drying it with a towel. "Your bath is over, and now I return you to your mistress. But we will talk again another time. I'm sure you will have need to come and go, so I will arrange things to assist you in this. Consider it an added incentive to you to keep your silence."

P-chan nodded. It was a fair bargain.

The boy kunoichi tidied up the bath and left it, P-chan cradled in his arms. He would watch the other very closely for treachery. Despite his threat to Mikado, he was grateful not needing to kill him, but he would if the other boy ever betrayed him. It was the shinobi way, the path of shadowed honor. He had taken this position as Kodachi's personal ninja, as the shinobi clan serving the Kunos lacked a girl her age to act as a companion. The money he was earning would someday allow him to rebuild his family's teahouse.

Konatsu absently regretted that he wasn't truly a girl. If he was female, he would have been able to give up his name and marry into the Kuonji, ending his family's past dishonor at the hands of the brutish Hibikis. Genji Kuonji, Ukyo's great-grandfather, had given a scroll to Konatsu's mother after the destruction of their teahouse promising this. But Ukyo was a boy, so his only hope now was to continue to work loyally for Kodachi and save his money.

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Ryoga ran through the streets of Nerima, rage filling him, more rage than he could have ever imagined feeling before. People cleared the way for the large panda as it rumbled by, a heavy pack on its back and wearing a bandana on its head. That wasn't something you saw every day in the Empire, even in Nerima.

This was all Ukyo's fault! And that redhead! And that Ranma guy! It was all because of them that he was now like this! All three of them were to blame! Because of them, he was in hell!

After a long time spent running, Ryoga paused a few moments to catch his breath, feeling hungry, and he glared at his reflection in a nearby window. He glanced around, and the few people on the street looked back at him in awe and fear as they backed away. He growled at them in frustration.

A panda. He had been turned into a panda. Why couldn't he have become something less frightening? Something smaller? One of the neighbor families back home had raised small potbellied pigs for pets. If he had turned into something little like that, at least then he would have been cute and girls would coo over him. A bird would have been better too, since it could fly, or maybe even a bat. But he was a panda, a hulk of fat, fur and muscle that scared people.

"GROWR!" Ryoga raised his paw and shook it with fury at the sky and then he took off running again.

Just you wait, Ukyo Kuonji! You, that little redhead, whatever her name is, and that Saotome guy, that boyfriend of yours, you're all going to pay when I get a hold of you! I SWEAR IT!

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Ukyo sneezed suddenly and rubbed her nose, and she looked up at the ceiling above the small storeroom of her aunt's restaurant. Ranko was currently lying unconscious upstairs in Aunt Yumi's bed, the older woman taking care of her while Ukyo handled the customers. She had been wondering if she might have been wrong about Ranko being Yumi's daughter, unsure how to ask when she had brought the injured girl here. After emptying the girl's pockets and changing her clothes, her aunt had quickly shooed her away.

Her thoughts turned to Ranma. Where had he disappeared to? One of her classmates had recalled seeing Ryoga talking with him, and she hoped Ryoga hadn't been picking on Ranma. The Hibiki boy hadn't made any sense at all when he suddenly showed up the other day, ranting about his sexual preferences somehow being all her fault, but that was no excuse for him being mean to Ranma. She had looked for them after classes, but they were nowhere to be found. It had been while she was searching that she had come across the injured Ranko. With her possibly being a kinswoman to her, Ukyo felt it was her duty to help her and so she had carried the girl here, the only place she could think of to go.

"Hey! What about my pork special okonomiyaki?" came a customer's voice.

"On my way!" Ukyo shut off the light in the storeroom and quickly went back to taking care of the customers, her thoughts about Ranko and Ranma set aside for now.

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Ranma gazed grimly across the dojo mat at Ranko, who glared back at him with barely restrained fury. Clouds rolled across the sky, dark and filled with the promise of a great storm. The lights in the dojo dimmed a bit and flickered.

At that moment, both opponents made their move, streaking across the mat at each other. They leaped and met in midair in the center, hands and feet lashing out with lethal accuracy, blows only barely turned aside by the other as they sprang apart to land mere feet apart. The glare each was giving the other was undiminished.

Again and again they clashed, each determined to put the other down and finish this. But they found themselves too evenly matched, deadlocked, as they struggled fiercely with each other. Grunts and curses were the only other sounds than that of their limbs clashing, each of them bringing all their fighting ability to the fore, and holding nothing back.

"Damn you, you stupid jerk! Why won't you fall?" Ranko drove her fist past Ranma's face, narrowly missing breaking his jaw with the blow.

"This ain't happening to me here! I'm not turning into a girl! No way!" Ranma responded in an instant to her attack with an explosive uppercut, which she narrowly turned aside with a fast and graceful dodge at the last moment.

"You idiot!" Ranko flashed her foot in a tight arc as she spun her body around in a blur of motion, but the kick missed shattering Ranma's hip by a narrow margin when he deflected it with a downward sweep of his arm.

Both of them promptly redoubled their efforts. Each fierce blow thrown was followed up by a block or evasion, and then a counterstrike would return, on and on in a brutal display of skill and grace. Neither of them could manage to gain the upper hand, and their frustration visibly grew as time passed.

At the conclusion of one such exchange, as if of one mind, both of them abruptly paused.

"This is stupid," Ranko growled, her chest heaving a bit. "We're not getting anywhere."

"I agree." Ranma backed away a little, his breathing heavier.

Ranko relaxed her posture, tired of fighting with him yet again. They had recently turned a corner on his accepting her after the other Ranma personalities ceased interfering, the process of integrating her into his new gestalted consciousness beginning to draw near completion, but the dunk in Jusenkyo water had brought his fears of losing his male identity roaring back up from the depths. After ceasing her struggle and backing off a bit, she studied his face.

"You don't need to be so afraid, Ranma. I'm not."

"Who's afraid?" Ranma snapped back. "I ain't scared of nothing!" He then paused and shook his head, the atavistic terror of losing his manhood fading, the influences of those other versions of himself being pushed back. He wasn't like that, he told himself. After a moment, the gaze he turned towards Ranko was somewhat gentler. He sighed. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay. Our integration has been taking longer, and what happened didn't help things." Ranko relaxed as she saw his posture changing too, dropping from a more combative pose. "Ranma, it can't be healthy to stay fragmented like we've been. And don't just focus on what's happened as this horrible thing. Maybe try and look at it as gaining a perspective on being female that your other selves never had, maybe even a gift."

Ranma abruptly dropped to the mat in a seated position, looking a bit dejected. "I was just coming to grips with having your memories. Now I don't know what to do, how this is all going to affect me."

She came over, her hands open and relaxed. Ranko sat down next to him, the difference in their sizes due to their residual self-images showing in this lucid dream they shared. She sighed and looked at him.

"Like it or not, it seems that Jusenkyo has messed up things," Ranko said softly. Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. She hastily wiped them away.

Ranma surprised them both by enfolding her in his arms. She stiffened for several moments in shock and then she relaxed and clutched at him. A few tears burned in her eyes again, but she didn't care.

"I'm so sorry, Ranko." Ranma felt tears in his own eyes, and a stray thought of how unmanly he was being was quickly quashed.

They pulled apart and Ranko wiped at her eyes again, sniffling a little bit. "You're going to manage," she said, her voice firming. "You've never given up before and you're not going to now." She suddenly grinned at him, putting on a brave face.

She hugged him again. "You're Ranma Saotome, and I want you to promise me you're never going to give up trying to beat whatever your future throws at you. Deal?"

"Deal." Ranma hugged her back one last time, and her appearance faded away to nothing as if blown away by the breeze, leaving him alone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma-chan awoke with a sudden start.

"Where-?" she started to ask, when suddenly strong hands held her down.

"Rest easy, boy," Yumi said in a comforting tone. The girl had been laying there thrashing and panting from some kind of nightmare, but she had calmed down just before waking up. "You've had quite a busy day."

"Boy?" Ranma-chan quickly felt her chest, suddenly looking hopeful, thinking it had all been a horrible nightmare, until her hand squeezed one of her breasts. Her look of hope quickly faded. "Oh."

Yumi raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Well, when Ukyo dragged you here, it was a surprise, but not nearly as big a surprise as finding this in your wallet." Yumi held up an identification card between two of her fingers, bearing the kanji for Ranma Saotome emblazoned on it and his picture. "So, seeing that now dashed look of hope in your eyes just now when I called you a boy, I'm left with a couple of choices. Either you beat up Ranma and stole his wallet and just happen to wear clothing like his." There was a brief pause. "Or you've had a run-in with water from a place called Jusenkyo. Care to tell me which one it is?"

Ranma-chan's eyes went wide at Yumi's casual mention of Jusenkyo. "I-I don't suppose I could plead the Fifth?" the boy turned girl asked a bit hopefully.

"Pardon?" Yumi looked confused.

"Uh, never mind." Ranma-chan wasn't quite sure what 'the Fifth' was. But it was something one of her analogs had heard said on television when questioned. "Yeah, it's me. I'm-" There was a brief moment of uncertainty in her gaze. "I'm Ranma."

Yumi nodded. "I thought so." She studied the ID card a moment before putting it back into the wallet and passing it back to Ranma-chan, the holographic logo of the Imperial Seal on it briefly flashing in the light. "Care to tell me what happened?"

"I-it's a long story," Ranma-chan said uncertainly, taking the card and pocketing it. She suddenly realized she was not wearing her regular clothes anymore, but an okonomiyaki seller's outfit that was a little large on her. Probably some of Ukyo's clothes, she realized after a moment. She looked over at Yumi. "But how do you know about Jusenkyo?"

"Wait here. I'll be right back." Yumi smiled in a reassuring manner and got up from her chair. She went into the next room and closed the door behind her. Ranma-chan heard running water for several minutes.

"Kuonji-san?" Ranma-chan sat up in bed, her injuries from the fights she had been in seemed to be gone, but she still felt a bit unsteady. She set her feet on the floor and was about to stand when the door suddenly opened. A young man emerged, perhaps only a year or two older than Ranma-chan herself was, dressed in exactly the same outfit that Yumi had been wearing, toweling at his hair.

"Ta-dah!" He flashed Ranma-chan a grin.

"K-Kuonji-san?" the boy turned girl stuttered. "Y-you've been to Jusenkyo?"

"What was your first clue?" The boy nodded and grinned more broadly, dropping the towel around his neck. He came over and flipped the chair around, sitting on it and leaning forward up against the backrest. "I can see you've got all kinds of questions."

"H-how long have you been like this?"

Yumi-kun smirked. "Since I was a bit older than you are now, Ranma. Years." The smirk faded, and his face took on a more resigned sort of look. "It's been years."

"Years?" Ranma-chan let that thought sink in for a moment. To live with a Jusenkyo curse for such a long time was a very sobering notion to her. "B-but you look so young. Not like you look as a woman."

A fist slammed down hard on Ranma-chan's head. "Ow!" she cried out, clutching her skull.

"It's not nice to tell a woman she looks old, Ranma," Yumi-kun said, a brief twinkle in his eyes, offsetting an otherwise stern look. "Even when she's a man." He chuckled and looked himself over. "But you're right. My cursed form hasn't aged a day since I fell into that water, as near as I can tell." He rotated an arm in its shoulder socket, the now greater muscle mass in the limb stretching the cloth of his outfit a bit. "That's partly why I've kept it. Maybe in a few more years I'll just stay this way for good."

"Stay?" Ranma-chan blinked.

"Who wouldn't want to remain young and strong? I'd be a teenaged male, but I've never been much for acting as what men see as a woman's role. And there are ways to hold off the change." Yumi-kun tossed the girl a small cardboard box. "It's much easier to stay in my cursed form."

"What's this?" Ranma-chan opened the small box. A cake of some waxy substance fell out into her hand. "Soap?"

Yumi-kun pointed at the bar of soap. "Washing with that each day, you can stop the changes from random splashes, at least the brief ones. An acquaintance of mine makes it himself. I can get you a supply."

"But that's not a cure," Ranma-chan said dismissively. Both of her other cursed selves had already encountered such soap and discarded them as being of any use. "What good does it do?"

"Well, think of having a Jusenkyo curse as like having a chronic sort of illness, Ranma, like asthma." Yumi-kun took the bar of soap from Ranma-chan and spun it on the end of his index finger. "You're right; this isn't a cure at all. But it is a means of controlling the curse, if even a little bit. I had to soak myself in cold water for well over two minutes just now before I changed. So while I may not be able to go swimming, except as a man, I also don't change every single time I get splashed with a random thrown glass of water either. However, even that little bit of control comes with a price."

"A price?"

Yumi-kun smirked again. "You have to give the curse its way as much as you can, or the soap gradually becomes less effective. I try to spend some time each week as a man, which has been a lot harder to do with Ukyo around, let me tell you." He closed his hand into a loose fist around the bar of soap. "Before she was around, I would sometimes spend an entire day or two as a man, but not lately."

Ranma-chan sprang to her feet. "I can't do something like that!"

Ukyo arrived outside the door to her aunt's room, having stealthed up the stairs and down the hall during a lull in the crowd, even ghosting across the boards that were specially loosened and designed to creak loudly if any weight was placed upon them. She could hear two voices talking in the next room, so it appeared that Ranko was awake. She opened the door.

Ranma-chan was startled when the door suddenly opened and Ukyo came into the room.

"Can't do what?" Ukyo asked, looking at the other girl. She then noticed the young man, and she frowned suspiciously. "Who are you? Where's Aunt Yumi?"

Yumi-kun blanched briefly, surprised at letting himself get so involved with talking to Ranma-chan that he had utterly failed to notice Ukyo's approach. He quickly recovered and grinned. "Uh, hi there, I'm Yu." He then quickly added, "I'm Yumi's son."

"Her son?" Ukyo replied, blinking in surprise. She was taken aback a moment, then noticed the strong resemblance the boy in front of her had to her aunt. "But I heard Ranko call herself a Kuonji." Was that why Aunt Yumi kept her distance from the clan? A son and daughter born out of wedlock?

"I'm his sister," Ranma-chan chimed in without hesitation, wondering when Ukyo had heard her say such a thing. That earned a surprised look from Yumi-kun, which then quickly turned into a nod.

"Yes, that's right," Yumi-kun said, deciding to play along by putting an arm around Ranma-chan's shoulders, hoping it gave off a brotherly appearance. He felt compactly solid muscles in Ranma-chan's shoulder when he gave it a squeeze. "Ranko here is my little sister."

Ranma-chan grinned a bit nervously. Ukyo's not going to buy this, she thought. She stood there, striving to look sincere, as Yumi-kun left his arm there around her shoulders.

However, the other girl suddenly smiled. "This is great! I'm glad to meet you both." She studied her two newfound cousins with interest. Then a puzzled look crossed her face. "Yu-kun, why aren't you two living here with Aunt Yumi?"

"Oh, we've been out training," Ranma-chan blurted out. She then quickly added, "A long training trip."

Yumi-kun nodded, giving Ranma-chan another brief hug before releasing her. "Uh, yeah, we're out training together a lot. I just came by when I heard Ranko was here, to pick her up. Mom had to go run an errand of some kind. I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"Well, I could use some help downstairs in the restaurant." She then grabbed Ranma-chan by the arm and grinned. "Since my date with Ranma was a bust, work is the next best thing. Maybe you and I could even do some sparring later on, Ranko. I'm kind of curious to see how good you are. So come on."

Ranma-chan gulped. "Y-you want me to help?"

"Sure." Ukyo paused. "I can run the griddle just fine on my own, but I need some help serving. I'm sure Aunt Yumi's had you do waitressing duty before."

While Ukyo dragged off a still protesting Ranma-chan, Yumi-kun just smiled and shook his head.

"Looks like you were right, Cherry," he murmured. It bothered him a little, lying to Ukyo like this, but it was better this way. The girl had looked really happy to discover a couple of cousins, especially since she did not seem to have any friends here yet. And having 'Ranko' around the restaurant on a regular basis would let him keep an eye on the cursed boy while he thought about what he could do to help Ranma deal with his condition.

Yumi-kun could remember his own fears and doubts from the days of his own youth, the horror of knowing that his original gender was like some kind of tissue-thin mask that cold water could wash away in an instant. What had seemed a simple mission in China for the Mobius Institute at the outset had forever changed the destiny of the girl he once was, leaving Yumi Kuonji as only half a woman, bearing a curse that forced her to turn her back on the Kuonji clan. She had forsaken an arranged marriage to a childhood friend and left her home behind her to try and find a new place for himself. The experience had been terrifying and yet also deeply liberating.

However, Cherry had been right. The past always had a way of catching up to someone when it was least expected. And downstairs right now was a teenaged girl who was originally a teenaged boy, a boy who needed a mentor, needed someone who understood the profound changes his life would have to undergo, and the secret that he would have to live with until he either found a cure or chose to accept his body's cursed condition, as Yumi-kun had accepted his years ago.

For a moment, he considered the choices he had made. There were few regrets he had in life, but one of those was his decision to leave the place he had found for himself in Nerima many years ago, even as bad as it had seemed at the time. It was partly why he had come back after so long a time away, out of nostalgia. When he had chosen to continue on in service to the Mobius Institute instead of staying, at his request they had kindly erased the memories of those few who had come to know both Yumi and 'Yu' Kuonji in the interim. At the time, it had seemed to be the only real choice available to him. Now, he was uncertain.

He could still remember when a much younger Yumi Kuonji had come to Nerima all those years ago, and how chaos had followed after her like a carnival coming to town. Even as she had been struggling to come to terms with the curse, weird events and all sorts of people wanting to fight her female or male selves had appeared on an almost daily basis. If he closed his eyes, he could remember it all so clearly.

After the incident at Jusenkyo, he had been forced to flee from China to escape the relentless pursuit of Ko Em, the Chinese Amazon, the girl seeking to fulfill her "Kiss of Death" on his female form. Fortunately she was not able to track him back to Japan to exact her revenge. That had been two months of sleepless nights spent wandering throughout the countryside trying to evade her, and he could only imagine what might have happened if he had also defeated Ko Em while in male form. There would have been no hiding from her then.

The real party began in Japan. His old boss, Cherry, wanting to give him a long R&R, had arranged for him to stay with the family of a friend of his, the Himuras. Because of a miscommunication before his arrival, and an untimely run-in with some rain, he had to remain in male form almost constantly to stay there. It ended up with the father continually trying to put him together with his rather 'high-spirited' daughter, Nodoka. But that wasn't really the end of it. Far from it.

Nodoka's arch-rivals, a young noblewoman with a demented laugh named Kenseiko and a tough-as-nails Furinkan cadet named Kimiko, had then entered the picture. What followed were numerous fights, dramatic and romantic plots, comedic scenes and seemingly a whole lot of time spent arguing with Nodoka and being beaten up by her. One of them came to hate his female identity, but all three girls fell in love with his male form, and they fought over him, a lot. It was kind of flattering, in a way.

After six months, things finally came to a boil. Kenseiko and Nodoka nearly killed each other, their mutual hatred and intense rivalry over him eventually reaching the breaking point. He had arrived on the scene almost too late, delayed due to fighting with Kimiko. The soldier girl hated his female form due to a stupid misunderstanding, so it had been a lengthy, savagely brutal battle for nearly an hour before Kimiko was finally defeated.

Nodoka had been in danger of dying from internal injuries, and Kenseiko was in roughly similar shape. After getting them both to the hospital, he decided to leave. Despite all the arguments, despite all the times she hit him for saying something unintentionally stupid that offended her, he just couldn't bear to see Nodoka hurt like that again, not over him. He had contacted Cherry, and it was taken care of before the dawn. None of them would ever remember either Yu or Yumi Kuonji anymore.

It was a time in his life he would never forget, even if the others who had experienced it with him could not say the same. Thinking about it now, it seemed so long ago. However, the past was gone, and those lives had gone on without him. His younger self had only brought strife in his wake, so perhaps that was sufficient reason to do as she had done. Seeing Ranma-chan had brought all of those old memories back to the surface, as well as the regrets associated with them. He had since repaid the Mobius Institute several times over for erasing the memories of his existence, allowing that younger Yumi Kuonji to simply walk away from the whole complicated mess her life had become. Perhaps he should have requested them to take his own memories of those days as well, so that he would not feel what he felt now. Even now, he missed Nodoka, his first love.

Yumi-kun abruptly shook his head. It was time to focus on the present now and call in some help. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number he had not called in some time, feeling a pang of concern at using it now. It rang twice before being picked up.

"Hello?" came a voice from the other end. "This is Sakuranbo."

"Hello, Sakura," he said calmly. "It's me, Yumi Kuonji. I could use your help with something. Can you come see me tonight?"

There was a brief hesitation, and then Sakura said, "Yes. Yes, of course. Give me the address, and I'll be there shortly." After he told her the address, they exchanged brief goodbyes, and Yumi-kun heard the phone hang up on the other end. He closed up the cellphone and put it back in his pocket, feeling relieved. He glanced at the window.

"Greetings once again, Kuonji-kun," said Cherry suddenly from there.

"It's sure busy around here tonight," Yumi-kun remarked dryly. "What brings you by again, Cherry?"

The monk smiled beatifically. It made him somehow even more horrifying.

Yumi-kun pinched the bridge of his nose slightly. He felt a headache coming on.

"I was following the trail of your young friend," Cherry said with a more serious look. "We had a break-in at one of the Institute's storage facilities, and you've seen the results." He looked thoughtful. "But it wasn't Nyannichuan he fell into, not exactly. He managed to find some of your old foe Keel's work."

"Keel Lorentz?" Yumi-kun said in puzzlement. "He's still dead, isn't he?"

"With that one, who can say with absolute certainty?" Cherry said with a shrug as he sat on the windowsill. "I checked the manifests at the site, and the vat contained what we thought was Jusendo water, the same batch you recovered from his base in Antarctica, the same water that we believe Keel formulated to use in his Human Instrumentality efforts with whatever he found underneath the ice there. The boy should have died, turned into orange protoplasm like you reported that madman's test subjects did. He must possess a remarkably strong will to have survived the experience. Unfortunately, since Shadowlaw stole the Musk Dynasty artifacts to lock and unlock forms years ago, we can't offer that solution to the boy's current difficulty, just like we couldn't with you." He bowed his head and solemnly intoned, "Perhaps it is Fate."

"You are one creepy old man at times." Yumi-kun eyed Cherry, and the old monk smiled beatifically back, causing the woman turned man to shiver slightly with unconscious revulsion.

Yumi-kun sighed. Out of all the restaurants in all of Tokyo, someone hit with a Jusenkyo curse came to him. To top it off, the boy was involved with his niece. At least there weren't any others involved except Ranma. That would make the present situation vastly more complicated.

"So it should work like a regular Jusenkyo curse?" he wondered aloud. "The whole hot and cold water thing?"

"I believe it will work like any other Jusenkyo curse," Cherry said solemnly.

"I'll need a supply of soap for him." Yumi-kun's tone was thoughtful. "Can you handle that?"

"I will, of course, take care of your request," Cherry said with a nod. "In the meantime, you can help the boy adapt. Observe him and let me know what you find out. We don't know what Keel's concoction might have done to him. There could be personality changes."

Yumi-kun smiled and inwardly sighed.

"Thanks, Cherry."

"I should go." Cherry smiled at Yumi-kun. "It seems you will be acting as a teacher in the days to come." He sprang out the window with a chuckle.

"Teacher, eh?" murmured Yumi-kun. He then headed off downstairs to see how 'Ranko' and his niece were doing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kasumi was tired from a long day spent at the Directorate and getting used to her new assignment, so she had decided to stop off in downtown Nerima and buy dinner tonight instead of cooking. It was unfortunate that she was unable to work in her father's section, but the Security Directorate had strict edicts about such matters to prevent nepotism. So her current assignment was under Assistant Director Ninomiya, in the Special Investigations Bureau.

It was considered to be a plum assignment for a young agent, so she should feel honored at receiving it. Instead, she felt unsettled.

Meeting with her superior had been disconcerting. Assistant Director Ninomiya had seemed to be a pleasant woman, nothing at all like the image of a poisonous viper that her father had painted of her in his occasionally lurid descriptions over the past few years. Doubtless she had a core of steel underneath her beautiful exterior, but that was a necessity in order to rise to such a high position of authority in the Directorate, especially for a woman. Still, Kasumi planned to keep her guard up, which was always a necessity anyway amidst the cutthroat politics of the Empire's Security Directorate.

For now, she was assigned to work with Ninomiya's personal assistant, Yui Ikari. Likely it was so that her new boss could keep an eye on her. But she and Ikari-senpai, who was only a little older than she was, had hit it off very well. She had even received an invitation to come out with her sometime, to meet with the woman's friends for a night on the town. Despite some initial hesitancy on the matter, she eventually decided to accept. Being more sociable would help keep her mind off of her other concerns and it had been too long since she had gone out and enjoyed herself.

Restaurants of all kinds were around her on the street, but some were busier than others, a good sign of better food and service. While she was walking down the street, it began to rain again. She hurried into the nearest restaurant, named "Yu-Chan's" on the banner out front.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranko was proving to be popular as a waitress, Ukyo observed, watching her quickly taking orders and carrying trays of food back to the tables with an experienced manner. Men in the restaurant smiled and watched the attractive girl as she maneuvered her way around obstacles. She had seemed nervous at first, especially at the mildly lust-filled stares men gave her, but after a little while appeared more at ease. However, she still didn't seem to be comfortable with the flirtatious comments she was receiving from men, part of the reason why Ukyo kept up her masculine disguise here. Most men could be real jerks to women, not like her fiancé.

Her cousin, Yu, was currently taking his ease at a table near the door. After spelling her at the griddle for a while, he had ordered one of the house specials from her and taken it to the table he was currently sitting at. He had eaten it with a slightly critical look on his face; an identical expression to the one Yumi always seemed to wear whenever she sampled Ukyo's cooking. He seemed to be watching the door for someone. A girlfriend perhaps?

At that moment, the door slid aside and Kasumi walked in. She looked around, her sense of smell taking in the scents filling the air, of fresh okonomiyaki batter frying, mixed with the rich odors of the various toppings added in. She took a deep breath and smiled, looking around at the interior. When her eyes passed by Yumi-kun, they paused. She quickly blinked and looked away, embarrassed that she might have been staring at the strange young man who had been looking back at her.

"Welcome to Yu-chan's," Ukyo said with a smile. She saw the brief look her cousin and the uniformed girl had exchanged, but it was not one of familiarity or even recognition. She was not his girlfriend. Pity. She rather liked the other girl's looks and manner. She turned her head and shouted, "Hey, Ranko! Would you show this nice lady to a table?"

"On the way." Ranma-chan came hustling over, having been in the back delivering some food to other guests. But when she saw who had come in, she paused for a moment in surprise. She then slowly walked up to where Kasumi stood, dressed in a tailored Security Directorate uniform. She pasted a smile on her face and gestured with one hand towards an empty table. "Right this way, Miss." She then led Kasumi to sit alone at the table for two, which happened to be right behind where Yu was seated against the wall at another such table. She handed the eldest Tendo daughter a small menu and gave her a nod. "I'll be back in a minute to take your order."

"Thank you," Kasumi replied graciously. She promptly busied herself with the menu, looking over choices without really seeing them. Her heart seemed to be beating a trifle fast, and she chastised herself for having such a visceral response towards a strange man for the second time in a week. She felt like such a wanton woman lately for noticing men other than her husband like that, and she was grateful that she was seated with her back towards the younger man at the next table.

First Lieutenant Godai and now this young man, she thought, feeling a slight blush arising on her cheeks. What was wrong with her? She was a married woman! She quickly consoled herself that her latest lapse was simply a momentary physical response, some combination of things that prompted her to feel this way. She forced herself to pay more attention to the menu, meanwhile berating herself internally. Besides, she had never been interested in younger men. They were so... young.

Yumi-kun took a sip of his water, feeling the cold savor of an ice cube in his mouth. He crunched it absently between his back molars as he thought about what to do about Ranma. Revealing his own secret to the cursed boy might have been a mistake, but Yumi-kun didn't believe so. It had felt like the right thing to do, and it would be nice to have someone around who understood what it was like to bear a Jusenkyo curse. He took another swallow of water as Ranma-chan walked past.

"So, what can I get you?" he overheard her ask behind him to the girl seated at the next table.

"Um, I'll try a shrimp special," Kasumi replied. Ranma-chan made a few quick scratches on the order pad and headed off to give it to Ukyo.

Yumi-kun was grateful that his back was to the girl in the gray uniform. Staring at women was not something he normally did, since he was one himself much of the time, he mused. The hormones of his male body tended to make him more easily aroused, as they would any teenaged boy. It was a distraction he could have done without more than once. Luckily, he was saved from further thought on this by the arrival of Sakura Sakuranbo, but then he blinked at the sight of how she was dressed when she opened up her overcoat.

Sakura looked around, grateful to finally get into a warmer place after enduring cold, wet gusts outside, and she quickly met with Yumi-kun's startled gaze. She slid her dripping umbrella into the stand near the door and slipped off her overcoat to hang it up. Underneath it, instead of her usual shrine priestess garb, she wore a trendy, short-skirted cotton dress in white with a matching, wide, loose leather belt resting down low on her hips, the outfit showing off her feminine charms quite well. The skirt barely came down to mid-thigh, exposing a generous view of her long, shapely legs. Light tan hose, a small black leather pocketbook and ankle-high black leather boots with modest heels completed the ensemble.

Ukyo studied the strange woman as she sat down at the table her cousin was seated at, surprised to see him involved with someone several years older. But it confirmed her suspicions that he had a date. No woman would wear something like that to meet someone who was just a friend. She wondered idly if Ranma would like seeing her in such an outfit.

Yumi-kun realized belatedly that his mouth had been hanging open and he hastily shut it. He looked at her in puzzlement.

"Uh, Sakura," he said eventually. "That's quite an outfit."

"I was out on a date," she said simply. "But it wasn't going well. I'm actually a bit glad you called."

"You are?" Yumi quickly glanced over at Ukyo and the pigtailed girl, seeing Ukyo hastily look away from observing them. Ranma-chan, on the other hand, was currently busy with some customers. "Uh, I see." He shrugged. "I have a need for your services."

"I'm listening." She set her purse down to one side and leaned in a bit. Her gaze became all business. "What do you need me to do?"

Behind Yumi-kun, Kasumi blinked at what she was hearing and took a hasty swallow of some water from her glass. It sounded like the rather handsome boy behind her was engaging in some sort of transaction with the woman. Judging by how she was dressed, which Kasumi had observed in a quick glance before the woman had sat down, that could only mean one thing.

"Not here," said Yumi-kun, standing up. "Come with me."

"Very well." Sakura stood up gracefully and smoothed her skirt a bit before picking up her purse and following him as he headed off towards the stairs.

Ukyo watched her cousin take the strange woman upstairs and blushed. Yu was certainly a fast worker, not even buying his date dinner before taking her up to the bedrooms.

Kasumi was blushing as well, seeing the boy going off with a woman who was quite obviously several years older than he was, to conduct their transaction in private. She took another drink of water and tried not to think about what was likely about to happen upstairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yumi-kun let Sakura walk into the bedroom ahead of him and then he followed her, turning briefly to shut the door behind them. When he turned back, he received a stinging slap across his face that came close to knocking loose several teeth.

"What was that for?" he said, holding a hand against his sore cheek.

Sakura felt her anger seethe within her. "You don't call me for well over a year, and when you finally do, it's for business." She tried to slap him again, but he caught her wrist well before the blow could land. They held that tableau for several moments, their gazes locked.

"I'm... sorry, Sakura," Yumi-kun said quietly, finally releasing her hand and looking away. "I never meant to hurt you at all. I've just never been good at dealing with the complexities of relationships, and ours was pretty complex."

"Well, you did hurt me," she huffed then sighed. "But I've gotten over it, mostly." She stepped away from him to look over the room. "I didn't even know you were living in Nerima."

"Well, after what happened between us," he said, looking uncomfortable. "I thought it best to give us some distance apart, so I came here about a year ago and set up my restaurant." After a moment, he then added, "Cherry visits me every few months to deliver me my supplies. He told me you'd gone to Europe on an assignment for the Institute."

"Yes, I needed a change of scenery as well and just returned to Japan recently." Sakura stood in front of the window overlooking the street and turned to face him. She crossed her arms in front of her. "You must have known that, or you wouldn't have called. So, why did you call me, Kuonji-kun?"

"The girl, downstairs," Yumi-kun said. "The redhead. She's really a boy with a Jusenkyo curse. I need your help to set up an identity for him in his female form, one that will stand up to fairly heavy scrutiny, as well as an ID card that works like mine, one that switches when he changes. I also need to update my Yu Kuonji identity."

Sakura shrugged. "Those are simple enough things. Why not just go to the Institute directly? Why call me?"

"I'd prefer to keep this quiet and deal with it myself." Yumi-kun came over to stand next to her. "I'm the only one who understands what it's like for him. I'm his best hope to help him deal with what he's going to go through, until a chance at a cure shows up. So, will you help me?"

Sakura looked away after a moment. She snorted once, and her tone became a bit venomous. "It must be nice to find someone with a curse similar to yours, Kuonji-kun." Her voice then softened. "He's very attractive in female form. Is he as handsome in male form too?"

Yumi-kun blinked, her observations cutting a little too close for comfort. "He's engaged to my niece, Ukyo, the girl who was at the counter," he said a bit defensively. "She doesn't know about their curses or mine, by the way, and I'd like to keep it like that."

He paused for a moment before speaking again, and his tone was softer. "Now, while you're right that he's attractive in both forms, setting aside the fact that he's engaged to my niece, he also happens to be less than half my age. I'm not about to rob the cradle, Sakura."

"It's difficult to tell a difference in your ages when you're like this," Sakura said solemnly. She stepped a little away from him and kept her eyes averted from his face. "I'll help you, Kuonji-kun, on one condition."

"What sort of condition?" Yumi-kun studied Sakura. He had never been very good at figuring out women, even having been born one, and that was still true.

Sakura lifted her gaze to meet his. "I just want us to try again, Kuonji-kun. All I'm asking for is another chance for us to be a couple again."

"I-I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Sakura," Yumi-kun said, his gaze breaking from hers to look out the window. "We had our share of troubles, and I don't think Cherry would approve." In fact, he was pretty sure his mentor would not.

"Not all of it was bad," said Sakura as she laid her right palm flat on his chest. She felt his heart skip a beat at the contact and smiled slightly at feeling such a response from him. "There was a lot that was good between us too, and I think there still is, even more so now after we've both had some time apart to think about things. As for my uncle, I'm a fully grown woman, and he does not dictate my life."

Yumi-kun met her gaze again and considered her offer for several long moments. His social life as a woman was basically non-existent, and it would be nice to have a relationship again, even with another woman. Sakura understood his curse and accepted him in both forms. While she preferred him to be Yumi-kun rather than Yumi, the two of them enjoyed a certain level of comfort together when he was in either form. And while he didn't want to admit it, he had also missed her a great deal, despite the fierce arguments they sometimes had.

Finally, he nodded. "All right, Sakura. We'll give it one more try, but I'm not promising anything. Let's just take it one day at a time and see how it goes."

"Very well," she said, looking at him seriously. "Kiss me then, to seal our little bargain. Do this small thing right now, and I'll help your young protégé."

"If that's what it takes." Yumi-kun smiled slightly in amusement as he moved to rest his hands lightly on Sakura's hips. She demurely closed her eyes and tilted her face upwards slightly, and he lowered his lips towards hers. They met in a soft, rather tentative kiss, one that began deepening within moments. His arms went around her waist as Sakura's arms moved up to encircle his shoulders, clutching at him tightly, familiar passions surging up within them both from the kiss. They eventually ended up with Sakura's back pressed against the wall, one of her legs lifted and partly wrapped around him to lightly pin them together. Their hands roamed on each other familiarly, driven by their powerful desires.

After a while, Yumi-kun reluctantly pulled back from the embrace.

"S-satisfied?" he asked her, his breathing heavy, stepping back with a twinge of regret. He saw her take several quiet breaths and then open her eyes again to look at him.

She nodded. "Yes." Her usual serious look faded for a moment into a pleased smile, her eyes sparkling. Her old partner and nemesis, Ayaka Kisaragi, was out of her life, and she had received a second chance with someone she had once thought irretrievably lost to her. Life was looking very good.

"Yes, I'm satisfied. For now."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki sighed as she walked home alone in the darkened streets. It was a quiet night, the streets slick with rain. After helping Yohko home, all she wanted to do was get home, take a long soak in a hot tub and then curl up in bed and go to sleep. She wasn't far from her house now, and she was walking past a vacant lot when she noticed Cherry camped out there. The rain had stopped a little while ago, but there were still cold gusts blowing, with the promise of more rain to come from the dark skies.

She walked over and noticed he was cooking dinner, a small rice cooker sitting close to the flames of his small fire. The smell was enticing, and so was its warmth on such a cold night. It reminded her that she was late for dinner at home.

"Hello, Cherry," she said, kneeling down next to him, her eyes on the flickering flames. They reminded her of what she had undergone in training for the Amaguriken. "It's been a while, old man."

"And how are you this evening, young warrior?" Cherry responded with a solemn nod, looking over at her and pulling the end of the long pipe from his lips. The smell of tobacco smoke it gave off reminded her a bit of the blend Cologne always smoked, a stray memory coming from her analog's life.

"Hurt. Tired." Nabiki's tone of voice was a touch sarcastic as she knelt down. "How about yourself?"

"I am well," he replied, his eyes occasionally studying her as he puffed on his pipe. "It has been a most interesting day."

"Yeah, tell me about it," she grumbled, touching a spot on her ribs where one of Ranko's fists had connected. "I'm glad it's about over."

Cherry pulled his pipe from his lips again. "Would you care to talk about it? It appears we both have some free time."

"Damn, but you're a strange one, Cherry," Nabiki chuckled, looking at him. "What makes you think I'd want to talk about what's going on in my life with a total stranger?"

"I'm a priest. Helping people is part of what I do." He gave her a smile. "After listening to the words of the kami in the winds, the water and the subtle movements of the trees, listening to people becomes far easier." He studied her. "I sense great anger in you tonight."

"Anger, huh?" She shrugged. "Yeah, you're right. I was in a fight today."

"Did you win?"

"It was just a setback today," she grumbled, not quite answering him. "The fight's not over yet." She curled her hand into a fist. "Next time, I'll win," she swore. While she had dropped a few fights to Ranma, the losses had not been important. She had won the match that mattered though, and now she was the best. And she would beat that little redhead to a pulp when she saw her again. "I don't lose."

Cherry laughed. "Such a fierce attitude you have. It is gratifying to see in one so young."

"My name is Nabiki Tendo," she said, calming herself.

Cherry gave her a nod. "Nice to know your name, Tendo-san. Do you happen to know a young man in the area named Ranma Saotome? He's a martial artist like yourself, with the same pride. Perhaps you've met."

"I know him," Nabiki grunted, her gaze solemn as she looked into the fire. "He's sort of my fiancé."

Cherry looked surprised for a moment, then he nodded sagely. "It must be a bit difficult for you, with both of you being warriors."

"Ranma's not a problem," she said. "He and I have come to a sort of understanding together."

"Have you two ever fought each other?" He took a puff on his pipe, his gaze far away.

"A few times," she said with a shrug. "I've beaten him."

"I see. And how did he take that? Losing to you, I mean."

"Probably about as well as I would," she said, shrugging again. "But he's going to have to get used to it." She curled her hand into a fist and held it up in front of her. "He's never going to beat me now."

Cherry grinned. "So certain of that are you?" He looked away from her and into the fire. "Well, perhaps he'll surprise you. It is the way of a martial artist to strive for victory over rivals."

"What do you know of the martial arts, old man?" Nabiki asked with a chuckle. "You some kind of ancient master?" she teased him.

Cherry gazed at her solemnly. "I know a little something about the martial arts, Tendo-san. I wasn't always the monk you see before you, you know."

"Well, even if you are some kind of master," she said, standing back up. "You're not like the one Ranma's got now." Her eyes glittered with envy as she looked at the old monk. "He's become the student of Master Jun Fan Lee, the Dragon."

"A great master indeed, I am told," Cherry acknowledged. "He was quite the sensation when he arrived upon the Arena scene years ago."

"Yeah, he's Ranma's new master," she said, a bit bitterly. "And even though I beat Ranma squarely, Lee-san didn't pick me as his student. He said I had too much of an attitude." She snorted. "That's a laugh. My attitude's just fine."

Cherry stood up and grinned at her, nodding. "I'm sure you will be a great warrior, Tendo-san. Your future shines brightly before you. If you ever need any advice, feel free to look for me."

"Thanks, Cherry," Nabiki replied, grinning back. "You're no Happosai or Cologne though. I need a great master to teach me, even a pervert like he was. But I'm glad we talked."

"As am I, Tendo-san." He looked up at the clouds. "But you had best get home now. There is a storm coming."

"See you later, Cherry." Nabiki gave him a quick bow and ran off in the direction of home, her step feeling oddly lighter.

The elderly monk watched her leave, his expression troubled as rain began to pour from the skies again. He picked up his rice cooker and left his fire to be extinguished by the rain, ducking into his small tent. He set it down on a towel and relaxed, taking another puff of his pipe.

"Yes, Nabiki Tendo," he said softly. "Your future does shine brightly before you, as it does for young Saotome, but I fear it leads to a very dark place for you both. A very great storm looms in the distance."

Rain began slashing wetly at the outside of his tent. He listened to it and frowned, feeling the agitation of the elements.

"Yes, the storm comes. But there are still players yet to appear. Who will be the one to gather them?" He took a puff from his pipe. "And how do you know of Happosai, let alone Cologne? I wonder."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Look at her go! She's going to win again for sure."

"Of course she's going to win. She's too strong. None of those weaklings they put up against her will ever defeat her."

"Oh! That was brutal! Wherever did she learn _that_ combination?"

The twilight air was cool and rather still as a figure emerged from the council chambers of the Joketsuzoku, the sounds of a fierce combat almost drowned out by the comments made by those watching a television set that could briefly be seen past the figure in the doorway, sitting in the center of the main hall. The door closed, shutting off the light and sounds trailing after the figure, who stepped out into the dim illumination of the sun now fallen behind the mountains and sighed.

"Shan Pu," murmured the girl. She ran a hand back through pink hair woven at the back into a loose braid that fell between her shoulders and down to the small of her back. Her athletic figure was clad in a snug silk blouse and pants that showed off her femininity without being obvious, the cloth dyed to match the color of her hair. It was a simple but sturdy outfit, and variations of it were worn by most women in the village. Tough but flexible shoes covered her feet as she began walking away from the building, still muttering to herself. "How strong you've grown these past months."

Her name was Peh Fum (although the outsiders that visited their village would always mangle her name into Perfume), and she was a Joketsuzoku Amazon.

A second figure emerged from the council chambers a few moments after Perfume, the door closing quickly once again.

"That should be you in Japan, Peh Fum," said the new arrival, dressed in a similar sort of outfit to Perfume, the woman's face and figure almost identical to hers. "That should have been you."

Her name was Peh Yin, a Joketsuzoku Amazon and Perfume's mother.

The words were the refrain to an old and familiar song, one that Perfume had grown more than a little tired of hearing. "I know, Mother. I know." Her feet continued making their way towards home, the other woman's step keeping pace easily with hers.

"You won the village's tournament this year, soundly defeating every opponent, but it's still her they watch," Peh Yin grumbled. "Shan Pu's nothing special, not like you, my dear daughter. Yes, she's a talented warrior. But talent in wielding one's fists and feet against barbaric outsiders in that brutal spectacle back there does not equate to leadership potential. Despite your abilities, they would relegate you to becoming that girl's advisor. Her advisor!" She hastily calmed herself.

Peh Yin studied her daughter and lowered her voice. "We've both seen the revealing clothes she wears, the pictures of her in those lurid magazines, the way she prances about and basks in the roars of the crowds - of _men_. Ko Lon refuses to see it, but the outside world has corrupted Shan Pu, rendered her unfit to ever lead us. You would never have fallen so, my dear daughter."

The two continued on, and Peh Yin kept on speaking to Perfume in low tones. "You must destroy her, Peh Fum, for the good of our people. If she isn't dealt with, her corruption will eventually obliterate us and our way of life. I have raised you up and trained you to be at least her equal in martial skill, and your intellectual brilliance far, far outshines her feeble mind. Yet the talk in the council chamber nowadays is always of Shan Pu and bleated praises for Ko Lon, for her 'vision' in embracing the Japanese barbarians in this way. How neatly that old woman managed to maneuver things, sacrificing all of our traditions to further her own ambitions for Shan Pu."

The cool air of the fading day brushed across Perfume's face, and her flesh ached a bit on one side. She brushed back the hair which artfully covered half her face, her flawless features fully unveiled for a moment. Talk of Shampoo always seemed to awaken an ache there that she felt at times like this. Her teeth clenched slightly as she paused in her walking.

It wasn't fair! She had spent months preparing to face Shampoo again, and she had overcome many trials that would have broken a lesser woman. But now, after finally returning to the village of her birth, even more powerful than she had ever been before, she had learned that Shampoo had been gone for months. It was beyond frustrating.

"What would you have me do, Mother? Matriarch Ko Lon has forbidden any of us unmarried women to leave the village until Shan Pu returns to us." Bitterness laced her words.

"There are fewer and fewer of those left," Peh Yin replied, a tinge of bitterness in her own tones as well. That was one of the few good things to come out of Shampoo's ascension to the elite in the Arena, through her seamless string of victories that had yet to see a single defeat mar its length. A fair number of outsider men from far and wide had sought out their humble village, after seeing Shampoo fighting on television or in one of the lesser arenas on her path to Tokyo. Some were simply curious about the Amazons, but others were eager to test themselves against the legendary martial arts prowess of the women of Shampoo's birthplace.

Most of them failed, the strength of a Joketsuzoku woman proving to be too much for them to overcome, but a growing number of couples had begun swelling the ranks of the village, due to a flow of men who were strong enough to win brides. That was increasing Shampoo's favor with the tribal elders even more, something Cologne must have certainly foreseen. And such new blood was already strengthening their people. A few of the newly married girls, even several that were Perfume and Shampoo's peers in age, were already pregnant with the next generation of Joketsuzoku.

Peh Yin welcomed such new strength being added to the bloodlines. But at what price? Shampoo's career in the Arena had awakened the world to the Joketsuzoku, but the outside world only saw them as quaint relics and a source of single women, as if each warrior of their tribe was just waiting around to be conquered by some man, ignoring the three thousand years of history that had forged the Joketsuzoku into a nation of heroic women.

The girl was far too much like her mother, Ko Em (which outsiders like the other woman's husband wrongly pronounced as Comb). Comb was also a very talented warrior, a former champion herself. For years, she had been tasked to be the Enforcer, the one who carried out the collective will of the Council of Elders. It was a position of prestige among the Joketsuzoku that Peh Yin had long desired for herself, but politics had given it to Comb, not victory in battle. It was infuriating.

However, despite Comb's prowess as a warrior, the lavender-haired woman had failed in her role as an Amazon, refusing to subjugate her husband into becoming a proper Joketsuzoku male. For that reason alone, she should have been disqualified to be the Enforcer. She had even let him pass his family name to their daughter, calling her Shan Pu instead of Ko Pu, as a sign of the love she had for her husband.

Peh Yin shook her head. That wasn't love. It was weakness. Men were only good for three things: taking care of a household, companionship and providing strong seed to father healthy daughters. While she loved her own husband fiercely, enjoyed the pleasures of their shared bed with great relish and deeply treasured him as her prize possession, her will was the law of their household, not his. She had instilled that value into her own daughter as a dutiful mother should, even as her own mother had once taught her, so that Perfume would understand the proper roles for women and men.

However, after her defeat by her new husband, Comb had followed a different path with her man. While she had gone to her marriage bed with him the same night that Peh Yin had gone to hers with her new husband, she had failed to begin instructing him as to what his proper place was now to be as the husband of an Amazon. Defeating a woman of the Joketsuzoku did not subjugate her to him, only proved his seed worthy of her. Most outsider men did not understand this, at first.

Peh Yin smiled at the thought of how fiercely her own husband had resisted her, not understanding his new role. His victory over her had given him a false impression of how their life together would be lived. Like a proud stallion, he had bucked and fought her at every turn. It had taken her both tender coaxings as well as numerous painful and even brutal beatings given him by her and by her aunts and female cousins before her husband had been properly broken in, the carrot and the stick. But nowadays he was like a trained warhorse, still strong and worthy of her love, only now obedient to her will.

Those were the proper roles for men and women, not the perversions of the outside world, where women submitted themselves to men like chattel. While a lesser heresy, Comb actually believed herself to be her man's equal, an attitude she had passed on to her daughters, but that only demeaned her. Women were not the equals of men, but their superiors. After all, three thousand years of history had forged the Joketsuzoku into steel, beautiful, strong and quite capable of besting any man in battle.

However, Shampoo had rendered her people's cultural heritage and pride into mere commodities that she then bartered to the ignorant masses in order to fuel her own popularity and aggrandize herself, and Peh Yin hated the girl for that with a fierce passion, almost as much as she had long hated Comb. The old ways that had shaped their people into proud warriors were in danger of being swept away on a rising tide of regard for the new way of life Shampoo exemplified, one out amidst the Empire and its patriarchal order. That could never be allowed to happen, not ever. Fortunately, her dear daughter would end that threat when she broke Shampoo before the eyes of the council and their people, ending the danger the girl's example posed to their very way of life.

It helped that Perfume had her own reasons for hating Shampoo. As the number of single girls who were of marriageable age began dwindling, Perfume found herself being challenged by more and more men visiting their village, men who had such confidence in their skill to think their strength sufficient to best hers. Even though she was built much like her nemesis was, with a bosomy, athletic figure, the fact that men saw her as some kind of substitute for Shampoo was aggravating, filling the girl with a growing resentment of her nemesis' popularity. She had nearly killed the last man she fought, who had unwisely told her she was 'just like Shampoo.' The village healers said he might someday walk again, but Perfume had finished him as a fighter.

"The numbers that remain have grown stronger," Perfume finally said in observation, her tone of voice calm once more. All of the weaker single girls were now married. "I've grown stronger. Far stronger than I was before."

"Strong enough to defeat Shan Pu when she returns to us, covered in glory and fully steeped in her corruption by outsider men?" Peh Yin asked acidly. "Her stupid cow of a mother will likely pass to her the title of Enforcer, with the full blessings of the council. But that honor should be yours, as it should have been mine. You deserve it, not Shan Pu. You've trained far too long and hard for it to be given to one like her."

"I _will_ defeat Shan Pu, Mother," Perfume declared. "A repeat of our last battle will not happen." Shame and anger at her rival burned within her. The memories of holding her face and screaming in agony as Shampoo calmly walked away from her at Cologne's side were still vivid. She could still feel her own life's blood pouring out from between her fingers, flowing from the wound that had nearly taken her eye and could have easily disfigured her for life. It hadn't, luckily for her.

She had left the village that same night, taking to the road on a long training journey, her only goal to return and defeat Shampoo. While away from the village for those many months, the injury had eventually healed without leaving even a hint of a scar, as her body had always healed, just like her father did whenever he was injured. But the vivid memory of it remained, driving her onwards to train and keep training until she was satisfied she was ready. It was a wound inside her soul that would never be soothed, not until Shampoo lay twisted and broken like a rag doll and dead at her feet.

As her mother kept saying of late, it had to be done, for the future good of their people. Shampoo had betrayed them all. She had to pay for her crime, and her sins could only be washed away in copious amounts of blood.

Perfume gazed solemnly at her mother. "When my opportunity arrives, I will show everyone in the village Shan Pu's weakness, that she has been corrupted and is no longer a true Joketsuzoku. I will show them all that she is not the one who is destined to lead us."

The pink-haired girl turned her gaze upwards towards the heavens, an almost religious fervor filling her. "I am."

Off to one side, Peh Yin smiled. How proud she was of her daughter.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Asuka felt her body fold over the fist slamming into her gut, and then her world spun as a follow-up punch snapped her head to one side. She lost her balance and sat down with a heavy thump. Her eyes glazed over for a moment.

"Get up," Nanashi, her master, said calmly. "We're only just getting started, Saginomiya-san."

Growling, Asuka felt her vision steady. The blows had not been at full power, or she would not still be conscious. She glared at him.

"Very well." She bounced to her feet and stalked towards him, even as he unfolded his arms and waited for her. Her gi-clad body leaped into an attack.

The next thing she knew she slammed face down into the mat that covered the floor. Had she hit him that time? She could not recall. The impact did not hurt much, but it knocked the wind out of her a bit. Even so, she rolled over to one side and came to her feet once again.

"Good." Nanashi waited a moment for her to regain her bearings and then he launched into a series of attacks on his student, forcing her to defend while still off-balance. One of his strikes sailed past her face, missing by millimeters. "Very good."

Asuka grabbed the limb before he could retract it and then she stepped in to drive her fist into his ribcage. She was disappointed when his free hand stopped the blow, his palm interposing and capturing the fist for a moment. She sprang back before he could respond, moving without thinking.

Nanashi stopped and nodded. "You felt it, didn't you? The moment of no thought. I could sense it."

"I-I think so." Asuka wiped her nose on the sleeve of her gi, and it came away flecked with some of the blood oozing from her nose. She glanced at it and shrugged. "I just let it happen."

"That is one of the key tenets of the martial arts, Asuka," he said solemnly. "Acting without thought." He smiled grimly. "Some disciples have based their entire lives around that single principal, existing in the moment and responding without a single thought about consequences. Thought creates hesitation, and hesitation can lose a fight. But in that moment of no thought, the body is free to respond in an instant, guided by instinct alone."

"Instinct, huh." Asuka considered the notion.

"Where is your boyfriend?" Nanashi suddenly asked. "He should be here for this lesson. He is not usually so late."

Asuka's gaze narrowed. "Mikado Sanzenin is _not_ my boyfriend," she huffed. "As if I would have anything to do with such a womanizer."

"How odd," he said in reply, his gaze a bit mocking. "I could have sworn I heard his voice when I passed by your room the other night." He dipped his head down for a brief moment. "My mistake."

Asuka's cheeks flushed for a moment. "That is no concern of yours!"

Nanashi started to reply, but then he felt a familiar pain surge up from within his skull. He felt pressure building within it, and he groaned, caught off-guard. He dropped to one knee, his fingers already pressing hard at pressure points on his skull and upper body.

Asuka did not move closer, only watched with a certain fascination as her master's face bulged out slightly on one side, a vein in his temple throbbing. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. What was wrong with him?

"Nanashi-sensei?" she asked, when the worst of it seemed to have passed.

Nanashi stood. "It is nothing," he grunted, feeling the swelling of his face receding, the sound of blood that had thundered in his ears fading back to nothing. "A reminder of something I must take care of someday."

"You looked to be suffering some kind of attack," Asuka observed. She knelt down in front of him. "Are you well enough to continue with the lesson?"

"Continue with your practice, and I will return shortly. I just need some fresh air and a few moments alone to compose myself." Without another word, he left the dojo area.

Asuka silently watched him leave, wondering what had just happened to him. She then shrugged. He would tell her, or he would not. Men were like that. However, so long as his teachings gave her the power to crush her rival, Kodachi Kuno, he could be as mysterious and enigmatic as he cared to be.

Speaking of mysteries, where the hell had that womanizing idiot gone off to? Where was Mikado Sanzenin? Her hands curled into fists at her sides. And why did she even care?

Nanashi stepped out into the cool night air as he emerged from the mansion on to a balcony, sliding the door shut behind him. He walked a short distance, feeling the trembling in his muscles gradually fading. He jabbed at a few pressure points on himself and groaned with relief as the pain finally faded.

"This is a nice setup you've picked out for yourself," drawled a female voice from above, speaking Japanese with an accent.

Nanashi turned around as a figure dropped down quietly next to him. It was a girl, wearing a plain, brown Chinese outfit, and a broad-brimmed hat on her head that was tipped down, hiding her face above her nose. Blonde tresses could be seen flowing down to her shoulders. When she suddenly tilted it up, beautiful, Caucasian features were revealed, with deep blue eyes which held a hint of venom in them. She was very well-built in a leggy sort of way, with an ample bustline swelling the confines of her shirt, in her early twenties, if not late teens.

"What are you doing here, Colt?" he asked, frowning.

"Is that any way to speak to me?" she replied, looking up at him, the venom in her eyes fading slightly, replaced by a playfully malicious glint. "You should treat girls with more kindness." She rose up on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Nanashi snorted. "Did my father send you?"

"No," Colt replied, stepping back to look him in the eyes. "I was simply in the area, and I had heard you were, too. I don't think your father particularly cares one way or the other what happens to you." Her tone was matter of fact, as if commenting about the weather.

Nanashi turned away. "So much for the favored son," he growled. "I see you still do his bidding."

"After a fashion," she said after a moment. "He knows better than to try and control me." She looked around at the Saginomiya grounds laid out in front of the balcony they stood upon. "But I see you've bounced back after your fall from grace. I heard about it only recently. But, as I said before, this is a nice setup you've got here."

He shrugged. "It will do for now."

"You're just like your father, Ha-" She was startled when he clamped his hand down on her mouth.

"That is not my name anymore," he hissed, releasing her. "I am Nanashi now."

Colt ran a hand down her jawline, looking thoughtful. "I see. You have changed." She laid a hand on his arm. "There is a new strength in you now. It's quite appealing," she said in rather sultry tones. Her gaze slid over to look towards the dojo where Asuka continued with her practice. "I'm sure that girl has noticed it too." She slid her hand up and down his arm and smiled. "Yes, you are quite strong." She continued to feel his arm.

"Stop that." Nanashi pulled away from her grasp. "I must get back to my student."

Colt nodded. "I'll be in touch." With a powerful flex of her leg muscles, she leaped up to land on the roof. She turned around and grinned down at him. "So long, my son."

"Goodbye," he said softly. "Mother." They exchanged a rather intimate look and then she vanished off into the night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm sorry that my husband is not here right now," said Nodoka as she set down a cup of tea on a small coaster. "He went out with one of his friends after teaching his last class for the day."

"That's quite all right, Saotome-san," said Hinako, smiling at her as she sat comfortably at the main table, her legs folded beneath her. "I think this will give us an opportunity to discuss your son's future, woman to woman."

Nodoka bowed slightly. "I am honored that the Security Directorate feels that my son has such great value that they would assign you to assist him in furthering himself in the Empire, Ninomiya-san. But I'm still a little uncertain as to what that entails." She saw the other woman lean forward as she spoke and was grateful that Genma was not around, as her unexpected guest was quite beautiful.

"It's quite simple, Saotome-san," said Hinako as she picked up her teacup. She inhaled the vapors and took a brief sip, finding it to be quite flavorful. She looked at Nodoka. "Your son is an asset to the Empire, his mind one that comes along only once in a generation, maybe even longer. I would be remiss in my own duties to the Empire if I did not do all in my power to foster his growth, to safeguard him and teach him how to avoid the pitfalls his inexperience would put him at risk of."

"Pitfalls?" Nodoka sipped at her own tea.

"Despite its high-mindedness, even the Ministry of Science has politics to contend with. So who better to assist your son in navigating through the perils facing him than someone who has been through them herself? I offer myself as your son's instructor in politics, having survived one of the sternest places to learn such things myself."

"I don't know," Nodoka said thoughtfully, setting down her tea. "There is a strong possibility that Ranma will be engaged to someone who can assist him in that way, as his wife. Actually, there are two such young women in his life right now."

"You speak of Kodachi Kuno and Nabiki Tendo?"

"Why, yes. But how did you know of their names?"

Hinako smiled. "It's my job to learn such things, but it's my pleasure to do so when it involves a personal interest in a subject."

"A personal interest?" Nodoka studied Hinako.

Hinako waved a hand in negation, chuckling. "No, it's nothing sordid," she lied smoothly. "I came across your son's file, and what I saw of his future potential intrigued me. I want to be involved with him, to help him as a teacher and a mentor."

"And what do you get out of this, Ninomiya-san, assuming I approve of this arrangement?" She picked up her tea and sipped it.

"Well, I get the satisfaction of passing on my own knowledge as his teacher. I plan to instruct Ranma to the best of my abilities, teach him all that he must learn to succeed. He has not spent very much time around his peers, has he?"

"Well, no," Nodoka said, studying her guest. "Ranma spent most of his time growing up around older men, scientists of various disciplines who had something to teach him. He hasn't been around people his own age very much."

Hinako nodded. "So he's never experienced the petty rivalries and jealousies of his peer group."

"No, I imagine not," she said, suddenly wondering at the fights he had been getting into. "Do you think you could help him?"

Hinako smiled, showing teeth. "I'm sure I can." She handed Nodoka a card with an address and telephone number on it. "Have Ranma contact me or come visit me at my home some evening. He and I will talk, and he can decide for himself if I have anything of value to offer him."

"I understand," said Nodoka, bowing slightly as she took the proffered card. She suddenly felt silly at her earlier concerns, that the woman seemed to have a predatory interest in Ranma, rather than a genuine concern for his welfare. "I'll have him contact you, for your advice."

Hinako bowed low. "I promise to do my best to help your son." She lifted her face. "Until Ranma decides, why not keep this a secret from your husband? Your son should not feel pressured in any way as to whether or not to accept my offer, and I'm sure he would seek out his father's opinion. The choice should be Ranma's alone, as it involves his life and his future. Consider it a first lesson in what I shall teach him."

"I suppose that will be all right," Nodoka replied. She stood when Hinako did. "Thank you for offering to assist my son."

Hinako smiled again and bowed low. "It will be a pleasure to teach him, Saotome-san."

Hinako left, her smile not fading until well after Nodoka had closed the door behind her, becoming something far more predatory. She walked to her car with a graceful step, her high heels clicking on the cement. She got into her vehicle and then permitted a sultry laugh to escape her throat as she started it up and drove away.

"Yes, Saotome-san, it will indeed be a pleasure to instruct your son."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh, that feels wonderful. Could you move just a little to your left and keep going like that? Uhn- Maybe push a little harder?"

"No problem. Hmm- Like that? You feel so tight. I guess you've needed this for a while. You should have just said something earlier. Uhn- I think I've got the spot. How's it feel now? Better?"

"Ohhhh- Oh, yeah- Just keep going right there. Don't stop. You can keep doing that to me all night long. Uhn- Yes- That's so good."

Yumi-kun grinned as he slowly worked his strong hands against the tense muscles in Sakura's shoulders, kneading and massaging them. Gradually, he felt them beginning to loosen, their hoarded tensions releasing. He stood behind her as she sat in a chair, her head bowed. Every now and then, she made soft grunts of enjoyment.

Off to one side, a printer was spitting out sheets of paper. After several hours of work, they had finally finished creating the identity of 'Ranko Kuonji' as well as updating 'Yu Kuonji' with suitable birth information and school records to match his apparent age. While they waited for their creations to finish in their filtering out across the Imperial Datanet and into the proper Ministry archives, he had decided to thank her for her efforts in this by giving her a backrub. Even he had been impressed at the level of detail that Sakura had put into it.

"Congratulations, Kuonji-kun," Sakura grunted with a smile as the last of the pages printed out and dropped into the tray. The printer then whirred to a stop. "You're now the proud parent of an eighteen year-old son and a sixteen year-old daughter."

"Thanks," he replied dryly. "I always wanted children, especially without having to go through changing diapers." He rubbed her shoulders with his palm, and then began digging his thumbs harder into another tight knot of tension he came across in his explorations, even as Sakura groaned deeply. A muted grunt escaped her lips as the knot seemed to dissolve, the tightness loosening.

There was a ding, and a blank plastic card emerged from a small device on her desk. It sat there for several moments, gleaming dully.

"The identity card is done," said Sakura absently, her eyes closed as she reveled in what Yumi-kun was doing to her. She had certainly missed this all right, feeling what seemed like a year's worth of tensions flowing out of her. A sigh escaped her lips as he stopped his efforts, and she slumped a bit in relaxation. "Be careful to only touch it on the edges when you pick it up. It's ready to key. There's a carrying case on the desk."

"Gotcha." Yumi-kun moved away even as Sakura relaxed, looking a bit boneless after his ministrations. He reached out and picked up the plastic card by its edges and slipped it carefully into the small black case. "Done."

"Good," said Sakura, opening her eyes and looking up. "I've imprinted all the data and both pictures you gave me into the plastic. Simply have Saotome-san take a firm grasp of the card in either of his forms, and it will key itself to his astral pattern."

"Thanks, Sakura." Yumi-kun slipped the case containing the prepared ID card into a pocket. "I really owe you one."

She turned from the small computer desk she sat at in her apartment and smiled. "And I intend to collect on that debt." She stood up. "Would you care for a drink?"

"Just one, and then I've got to get back." He sat down on the small couch that was against one wall of the apartment. "I've never left Ukyo in charge of the restaurant for so long before. It would be just my luck that those two kids end up burning it down or something."

Sakura returned with a beer in each hand. "I think you worry too much, Kuonji-kun. I'm sure they're fine." She handed him a beer and sat down next to him, before opening hers and taking a shallow sip from the can.

"Well, it's my livelihood we're talking about," Yumi-kun said as he popped the top open and took a deep drink before leaning back and sighing. "Ahh, that's good beer. Thanks for the drink. It's just what I needed." He rested one arm along the back of the couch and held the beer in his other hand, smiling at her.

Sakura smiled back and moved closer to relax against him, leaning on him slightly, her legs moving to curl underneath her. "I've missed you, Kuonji-kun," she said suddenly, her voice softer.

Yumi-kun moved his arm to rest it on her shoulders, feeling her sigh and snuggle a bit more against him. "I missed you too, Sakura-chan. I guess I didn't realize how much until you walked into my restaurant."

"When you left me, I was so furious with you," she said, before taking another drink of her beer. "But I couldn't tell my uncle or anyone else what was wrong. A week later, I accepted an assignment to Europe, copying some old records in the Vatican's archives for the Institute, but mostly just enjoying the sights. It gave me plenty of time to think."

Yumi-kun took another sip of his beer. "Come to any conclusions?"

"Well, for the first three months, I just thought you were a jerk," she replied, smiling slightly. She held her can of beer against her lips and took a deep drink.

Yumi-kun chuckled. "I won't deny it." He felt Sakura lean her head against his chest and snuggle up more warmly against him, her free hand dropping to touch his thigh and move gently on it. He suddenly felt a bit nervous. "Uh, I think I really should probably be getting going."

"When will I see you again?" she asked softly. She sipped her beer some more, almost spilling it on him as she shifted position.

"Why don't we have dinner together tomorrow night?" He looked down at her head nestled against his chest, feeling her warm body against his, her hand in a dangerous location.

"I'd like that," Sakura replied. She looked up at him. "But come as Yumi, not Yu."

"Are you sure?" Yumi-kun met her gaze.

Sakura nodded. "We can make it a girl's night out sort of thing for our first date." She settled her head against his chest again and listened to his heart beating. "We haven't done that in a long while."

"All right," he said with a smile. "It sounds like fun." She moved away from him, so he could stand. She remained sitting, her legs curled under her as she sat on the couch. On a whim, he bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead as he set down his empty can of beer on the coffee table in front of it. "I'll see you then."

After he left, Sakura stared at the discarded can, watching droplets of dew accumulate on the bottom few centimeters or so. She set her own can down next to it, still half-full. Suddenly, she sprawled out on the couch, lying out along its entire length. She draped her arm over her eyes.

"I must be an idiot," she muttered ruefully.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi sat on the edge of her bed and tried without much success to quiet the surge of butterflies in her stomach as she gazed down at the telephone receiver in her hand. She was dressed in a white silk robe covering a black, sleek negligee. It was almost time for Kaoru-kun to call her and feelings of nervousness quivered within her. She looked over at P-chan, resting on the pillow she had given him and watching her.

"I shouldn't be worried about going out on a date with Kaoru-kun, should I?" she said with a smile.

P-chan blinked. Date? Kaoru-kun? There was another rival for the love of his angel in his way?

"Oh, I know I'm being silly," she continued, reaching over and giving her new pet a scratch on the head. "It's only a dance at Ohtori, and Kaoru-kun is an old friend. I shouldn't read more into it than that. He just wants to renew our friendship."

The telephone rang on her private line, and Kodachi swallowed once as she pulled her hand from P-chan, gathering her courage. She picked it up, activating the cordless telephone's handset and holding it to her ear. "Hello?"

P-chan watched with narrowed eyes as Kodachi happily chatted with this mysterious boy on the other end of the line. He heard her call him nothing but 'Kaoru-kun' throughout the whole conversation, a name that showed a great fondness for him and a closeness that bespoke of them being very dear friends. The warmth of her tones, and the occasional sparkling laughter she bubbled with, made his feelings of jealousy grow ever more intense.

"Until then, Kaoru-kun," Kodachi said at the end, setting the receiver back in its cradle and looking at P-chan with a smile. The sight of it took his breath away; she was so beautiful to him.

"Bwee?" the small pig inquired.

"Oh, that was Miki Kaoru, a dear old friend," she said with happiness, reaching over to give him a pat on the head before turning down her covers. Memories of another world filled her, pleasant memories of Sukeban-Kodachi within her, of deep and passionate kisses as well as more pleasurably intimate things she had shared with the Miki Kaoru of that world. "I'm going to a dance with him at Ohtori Academy."

P-chan grunted. He was just going to have to spoil that date now. As she continued to scratch his head, he pondered the matter. Being her pet pig was already proving useful. As time went on, he was certain he would learn everything necessary to win her heart. But his immediate concern was figuring out a way to be there at that dance somehow, to keep a watchful eye on Kodachi.

Oh, yes.

A name suddenly dredged itself up from his memories: Nanami Kiryuu. She attended Ohtori and was another one of the well-bred young daughters of nobility his family insisted on trying to match him up with. She was indeed attractive enough for his tastes, and she would do most nicely for this, even on such short notice. His family and hers would bend over backwards to arrange it, so eager were they for him to marry a girl of the peerage. Perhaps he would even reward Nanami by bedding her sometime, after he reached his goal of a hundred seductions. But in order to do that, first he would enjoy the considerable charms of the older of the two Tendo girls his friend Tatewaki was so enamored with, and finally those of sweet, angelic Kodachi.

After the young noblewoman removed her robe and laid it on the bed, she picked him up and got under the covers of her sheets. She reached over briefly to shut off her lamp and then rolled back on to her side, her warm hands snuggling him to her bosom.

Held pressed up quite comfortably against her breasts, P-chan grinned a piggish sort of grin and settled down to sleep. Life was pretty good.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tenchi lay on the roof of the shrine and watched the stars overhead. It was quiet in Nerima this time of night, and he liked being able to relax and think. He was leaving in the morning for his survival course in the Australian outback, but he could not seem to sleep yet. So he had come out to look at the stars instead. Everyone else in the shrine had gone to sleep by now, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He studied the patterns of stars overhead, wondering if any of those distant points of light had worlds like his own around them. He liked to imagine so. Sometimes he even fantasized about some beautiful alien princess coming down from one of them and falling in love with him, bringing adventure to his rather dull life, like in one of the manga stories he sometimes read. Other times, he imagined himself as a great samurai, as in days of old, serving the Emperor with honor and slaying the enemies of the Empire, his sword bright with blood in his hand.

However, he knew in his heart that he was an ordinary young man, albeit one training to be an Imperial Bodyguard, and that alien princesses falling in love with humans was a fantasy. Still, he enjoyed dreaming about such things, even though he never mentioned any of his imaginings to his fiancée, Rei Hino. She was princess enough for him in all the ways that counted, and he was happy to have her.

Lately he had started fantasizing about Belldandy, a goddess that lived here now, watched over by his aged grandfather and a shrine priestess assigned by the Mobius Institute. He knew it was a foolish, one-sided attraction, but she was so sweet and kind it was difficult to ignore the tender feelings she awoke in him. She was a creature of spirit, and he was a being of flesh and blood. A romance was out of the question, especially since he was already engaged to a wonderful girl. Still, he could enjoy the fantasies.

Ryoko was staying there now as well, for reasons she had not explained. She had just shown up after dinnertime, looking a little wild about the eyes. He shivered a bit, remembering that look, like she wanted to kill someone and do it with extreme prejudice.

It was while he lay there thinking about the day's events that he spotted a stealthy figure moving from rooftop to rooftop in long, low bounds. He watched in wonder for several moments, thinking he had spotted a ninja operating in the middle of Nerima. He then chastised himself for his vivid imagination.

Ninja? In a quiet suburb of Tokyo like this? That was ridiculous. The shadow warriors served the various noble families, spying on each other and sometimes assassinating people. But the only ninjas in the area belonged to the few noble families dwelling in Nerima, like the Kuno household, and he could not imagine why one of them would be prowling around this neighborhood of all places.

Even so, he took out his binoculars, the ones that he used to help him in stargazing, and he focused in on the figure when it paused on a nearby rooftop. He was startled when he saw that it was a girl and a really cute one at that. She agilely clambered down the roof of the house she was on, one just on the other side of the wall separating the shrine from that property, where the Saotomes' lived.

Tenchi had met his mother's best friend only a few times over the years, usually being too busy with his studies and his training. He had heard his mother say that her friend's husband and son had returned from travelling overseas several months ago. He wondered who the girl was. She was heading for Ranma's bedroom. A girlfriend perhaps? A late night rendezvous?

He blushed at the thought and decided to keep what he had seen to himself for now, enjoying the notion of a little mystery for him to try solving on his own. Still, she had been really cute, something he could tell even from the rather brief look he had gotten. After she finally disappeared inside the window, he set down his binoculars and then he put his hands behind his head as he laid back and considered the matter.

His mother had suggested some time ago that he strike up a friendship with Ranma, but the guy was supposed to be some kind of genius. What were they going to talk about? Other than his training in martial arts and other skills necessary for a prospective member of the Imperial Bodyguards, and his duties tending the shrine and helping out his grandfather, he didn't have many other interests.

Still, it would be nice to make a new friend.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Ranma stared at the ceiling of his room, his hands resting behind his head. The wind blew gently through the trees outside, filling his room with a faint rustling sound. Normally, he would be sound asleep at this time, but not tonight.

Something was wrong with his life, yet it wasn't really wrong in a bad way. It was nothing he could point to in particular, but it was more like a nagging itch he couldn't quite seem to scratch. There was this feeling he kept having, that the way things were now wasn't how his life was supposed to be.

One of the biggest changes over the past few weeks had been Pop, ever since they had left the Tendo household, but all of those changes had been good. His father had brought him back home to his mother, and they had brought Shampoo along with them as well. He'd stopped drinking as much, except for an occasional beer, and despite Mom's best efforts at trying to tempt him with her delicious cooking, he was eating less and losing weight.

He'd even gotten himself a job and was working really hard at it. When he got his first paycheck, he'd brought it home and given it all to Mom like any other salaryman would for his family. Somehow, his father had become someone else overnight, someone more like other boys had for fathers, but it was someone he had trouble even recognizing as Genma Saotome. These were all good changes, but it also felt weird, like it was a pleasant dream he knew he was going to have to wake up from at any moment.

He had followed Pop around for a few days, and he had seen him meet with Mr. Tendo the other day and watched the two of them talking about something pretty serious. It was probably about the engagement, since that was all they had ever seemed to talk about when they had all been staying with the Tendos. But the old man had not spoken a single word about his engagement to Akane at the dinner table that night. He had asked later, but Pop had only reassured him again that he no longer had to worry about it. He could hardly believe it, but the engagement was apparently over and done with. If so, why had he been talking with Mr. Tendo?

Even stranger, Pop had been supportive of him spending more time with Shampoo, which his mother had been a little leery of at first due to the Amazon being a foreigner. Pop seemed to genuinely like her now, rather than the indifferent way he had used to treat Shampoo, and he had even been making an effort at talking more with her and getting to know her a bit better. The old man had even started working with the Amazon during their training sessions, having them spar with each other while he watched and gave them both suggestions for improvement during breaks.

Shampoo had been resistant at first to having him as a teacher. But, as she started to listen to Pop's coaching more, she was beginning to close the gap that existed between them in their relative skill. After he'd nearly lost a pretty intensely fought sparring match with Shampoo, Pop had gently teased him that she was going to surpass him if he wasn't more diligent. His pride a bit stung by that comment, he had begun working even harder on his training. While he liked Shampoo a lot, she was a girl, and he wasn't about to let any girl get better than he was, which was probably why Pop had done it. Still, training had become more interesting and a lot of fun nowadays, he thought with a slight grin.

His father had even begun helping them with their schoolwork and that was another really weird thing for him to do, especially since Pop seemed to know quite a lot more than he had ever suspected, from math and science to Japanese grammar. His only weakness was history, where he had mentioned some odd things the first time he had tried to help them on it. Since then he had been reading all kinds of books about history in his den each night, maybe to fix that.

However, as far as he knew, Pop had barely even finished high school. Had he really always been this smart and just never shown it? Ranma found that really hard to believe, after some of the messes his old man had gotten them into over the years.

His reactions to his father, honed by years of learning to distrust the man, had gradually begun changing ever since leaving the Tendos. It was a pretty tough thing to admit, even after seeing him meeting with Mr. Tendo in secret last week, but Pop didn't seem to have any scams in the works. He had brought home ice cream that night after work and hadn't said a single word to push the engagement. His old man just wasn't that subtle, so something else had to be going on that he wasn't seeing. Perhaps he had really changed, and Ranma found himself wanting to believe that it was true.

It helped that Pop was also being really good to Mom too, doing little things like sometimes bringing her flowers when he came home from work. He had even taken her out to dinner a few times, and to nicer sorts of restaurants at that, just the two of them. He and Shampoo had been left to fend for themselves at home alone together, which they had spent watching television and talking. Shampoo had cooked him dinner each time, which was nice. While she too had been suspicious of the change in Pop at first, she now seemed to look at him with new eyes, as a friend and maybe even something of a mentor. It was hard to watch his mother and Shampoo looking so happy with the ways things were now without feeling a bit happier himself, like maybe he was finally part of a real family.

However, while worrying about his father's changes was one thing, he was more concerned with the weird dreams he had been having, ever since he had left the Tendo household. None of them ever made any sense to him, but there was always an odd feeling of semi-remembered familiarity to them, like fragments of memories. If he concentrated really hard, he could manage to recall a few scattered bits: a park in Moscow (where he had never been, so how could he even know it was Moscow?); Akane in a gray school uniform with black piping, a single hash mark on her sleeve; his father dressed in a suit, gothic architecture behind him; a view of the Earth from space; and he even saw his mother, her face beaming with pride at seeing him as he got out of a taxi.

Then there were the blackouts and periods of disconnectedness. There had been a single blackout at first, maybe for an hour or so. That one he had experienced while they were still staying at the Tendos. Then there was the day Akane was kidnapped by Mousse and Kodachi, the day his father had brought him back home to his mother after dealing with that situation. The last thing he remembered was going skating with Shampoo. And then more recently he had experienced another blackout, finding himself in his father's den with no knowledge of how he came to be there.

Ranma rested his arm across his face. He knew he was going to be a zombie in the morning if he didn't get any sleep, and he had a major math test to contend with. However, as he lay there, he began hearing distant sounds coming from somewhere else in the house, like someone was in pain or something. It was a woman's voice, and it took him a few moments of listening to the rising and falling cries to realize it was his mother. He lay there feeling confused, wondering what was going on and then he heard his father's name being called out by her, followed by more of those strange sounds.

As he was trying to decide what to do, the door to his room suddenly opened. The silhouette quickly resolved into a familiar-looking shape as it stood there for a moment and then came slowly into his room after shutting the door. It was Shampoo! What was she doing coming into his room in the middle of the night? And what was going on with his mother that was causing her to cry out like that?

Shampoo grumbled sleepily under her breath as she snuck into Ranma's room, running on autopilot. It was just her luck that the walls in this house were so thin, and her small room shared a wall with the master bedroom. Unfortunately for her, practically every single night for many days now had been filled with the sounds of Nodoka exercising her spousal rights upon her husband. So Shampoo was again doing what she had been doing since the first night it happened, leaving her room to go to the quietest place she could find in the house to sleep in, which just happened to be Ranma's room. After all, he had never even noticed her presence, since he slept like a rock.

Barely awake, Shampoo slipped in next to him to share his covers, laid her pillow down and was already well on her way back to sleep as soon as her head rested upon it. It had been a long day, she had a test in math tomorrow and she was tired from all the studying. Fortunately, her internal clock always let her get up early enough to sneak back to her own room, even before Nodoka got up to fix breakfast. Otherwise it would have been awkward for her, even with the recent improvement in Pop's attitudes towards her. She rolled over on to her side, facing away from Ranma, sighed once and was sound asleep again within moments.

Ranma lay there in his futon, frozen like a statue, wondering what he should do, if anything. Shampoo was in his bed! The last time this had happened was when Happosai had first shown up, but they had both been in male form at the time and Ranma had only agreed to it in order to protect Shampoo from the little pervert.

If this had been the Tendos, and with both of them in their natural forms, he could just see Akane come bursting into his room at any moment and accusing him of doing all kinds of perverted things with Shampoo, even though he only had the vaguest ideas what those things might even be. Afraid to wake her, he tried to remain as still as possible.

Grumbling softly in her sleep, the Amazon suddenly rolled over again and resettled herself, this time facing up against Ranma. Already fast asleep, she snuggled up against him for warmth, pressing herself up against Ranma's shoulder. Her right arm flopped lazily over him as she began snoring quietly.

Ranma did not move. The situation was just too strange for him to deal with, and he could feel his brain shutting down from shock. While it was true he had been enjoying her company and spending a lot more time with her ever since leaving the Tendos, he wasn't sure what to make of this. Maybe Shampoo was sleepwalking or something, to come get in bed with him like this. After a fair while, his mother stopped making those disturbing sounds, and the Amazon didn't seem concerned. So with the gentlest of sighs, he resigned himself to the situation. He closed his eyes and somehow managed to fall asleep himself, eventually.

At his side, Shampoo softly snored and continued to snuggle up against him in her sleep, her face looking rather contented in repose.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma-chan quietly clambered in through the window to her room, the house dark and still. Luckily, the window was unlocked, one of the few small blessings on an otherwise horrific day. She moved into the room, her feet coming down silently on the floor. She sighed with relief at making it home without incident.

Sparring with Ukyo after the shop was closed for the evening had been enlightening, the memories of other lives superimposed over the whole experience. This world's Ukyo was a really strong opponent, even better than her analogs, and the 'friendly' match had quickly become quite intense. In the end, Ranma-chan had won. While Ukyo was definitely no pushover, it had been a bit easier than the pigtailed girl had expected, based on the last few serious fights she had been in.

It had also been quite a lot of fun too, reminding the boy turned girl of sparring matches against the Shampoo of another Earth, where that version of the Amazon had a curse like Yumi's. And even though she had lost, Ukyo was a really good sport about it, treating Ranma-chan like a new friend and inviting her to come back anytime for a rematch.

Yumi-kun had left for a while, going off somewhere with that woman who had come by the restaurant and returning later with a new ID card for the cursed boy's use. Ranma-chan was curious about who the woman was, but she suspected Yumi would tell her eventually. She and Ukyo had minded the restaurant on their own for most of the evening, and it had been fun to hang out with her like that. It was pretty fortunate that she could draw on the experiences of another Ranma, one who had done some waitressing at the Nekohanten on that world, giving her a more polished performance.

However, it was now time to return to her male form, and Ranma-chan slid the cake of soap from her pocket. She slipped quietly into the hallway, her step light, ears alert for any sounds of movement from the master bedroom. Fortunately, nothing happened, and she was able to enter the bath without any problem.

She sighed with relief as she began removing her clothing. The dark okonomiyaki seller's outfit she was still wearing had blended into the shadows quite nicely. She set the male clothing obtained from her room on the floor by the door, intending to put on her underwear before going to bed.

It was at that moment that she caught sight of herself in the mirror, after reaching behind herself and undoing the somewhat snug sports bra, another loaner from Ukyo, which had proven to be too small for her. She removed it with a gentle groan of relief and then she saw herself bare-chested. A blush covered her cheeks as she hastily looked away from staring at the sight of her half-naked body, feeling perverse to be turned on like she was by her own reflection, seeing it through a boy's perceptions. The experience reminded her of that first encounter with another world's Ranko through the resonator.

"I'm a guy," she muttered, examining her face in the mirror. "I'm still really a guy." She only wished she could sound more certain of that, memories of Ranko's life surfacing in her mind. It was actually somewhat difficult not to think of herself as Ranko when she was like this, when the image that stared back at her from the mirror was clearly female. Being Ranma was what seemed less real somehow at that moment. She felt a brief bout of vertigo and shook her head to clear it.

Ranma-chan hastily pulled off the rest of her clothing and laid them in the hamper with the other dirty clothes already there. She went into the main bath area, seated herself on one of the two stools in the room and began filling a bucket with hot water, eager to return to male form. When it was nearly full, she swiftly upended it over herself, and felt a slight tremor run through her as Ranma-chan transformed back into Ranma. He sighed softly with relief, now that he was male once again.

"That's better," Ranma muttered, setting down the now empty bucket and reaching for the soap. He began lathering himself up with it from head to foot, his hands moving automatically even as his mind dwelled upon Yumi-kun's words earlier that evening. His life had changed, and he was going to have to deal with it as best he could. The thought of spending time as a girl willingly was disturbing, especially since there was a part of him intrigued by the notion. But he had to face facts that 'Ranko' was a part of him, not only his analog's memories but also her appearance now as well.

He poured a second bucketful of hot water over himself when he was finished, still pondering things. After standing up, he eyed the furo, briefly contemplating a soak. But it was already late, and he had to get some sleep. Tomorrow was Sunday, so no classes but he still needed to be on his guard and not risk straining the limited protection of the soap by getting splashed too much. He also needed to come up with a good excuse to Ukyo for where he had been. She was annoyed with him, that much had been clear tonight. Hopefully, Yumi could help him cover.

Since the dance at Ohtori was only a week away, he needed to take some time off from his regular training to do some special training, which in this case meant learning how to dance. He wasn't going to give those Ohtori jerks the satisfaction of watching him stumble with Utena on the dance floor. He intended to dominate it, to show them all that he was a great dancer. He especially wanted Kodachi to see what he could do.

Maybe what he knew of figure skating would help. He then smirked at the memories that idle thought brought up. At least this time he wouldn't have to fight anyone. He doubted that Miki or Touga were going to cut loose on him with some kind of Martial Arts Ballroom Dancing. This wasn't some going to be some kind of martial arts competition, just a demonstration of graceful movement. He was confident that he could learn to dance quickly.

Ranma carefully picked up the wet bar of soap, noting a slightly fresh scent coming off it. Whoever was making it had made it more like a regular bar of soap one would find in a store, and the smell of it was even rather nice. He carefully patted it dry with an unused washcloth and emerged from the main bath to grab a towel, starting to dry himself with it. But when he saw his masculine image in the mirror, he paused.

Something seemed a bit different and out of place. He took another look at his reflection in the mirror. What was different?

At first, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then he noticed that his body appeared to be a few kilos heavier than it had been before, the extra mass composed of solid, sculpted muscle. He held out his arm and felt one of his biceps as he flexed it, noting its increased swell. Then he turned and looked behind himself over one shoulder, seeing a similar change to his back and shoulder muscles as he flexed them and posed a bit. Testing the range of motion in his limbs, he discovered himself to be far more limber now, throwing a kick over his head with his strength smooth along the entire arc of movement. It was a level of performance that had simply been beyond him before today, limiting his ability to fully use the downloaded skills of his martial artist analogs.

Ranma grinned, distracted now from his worries moments ago, realizing that the dunk in the vat had done something quite extraordinary to his male form, removing his limiters somehow. His injuries were fully gone as well, something he'd noticed earlier but had not previously made the connection.

However, another thought occurred to him as he gazed at his physique. Nabiki had mastered the Amaguriken technique. Since his own body had changed so much, perhaps he was fast enough now to succeed in mastering it too. He snapped out a few punches. While they were slower than his female form's speed, he was still faster than he had been. Perhaps the Amaguriken technique was closer to his reach than he had once thought.

He picked up the towel and finished drying himself, feeling tempted again to indulge in looking at himself but resisting. For now, 'Ranko' would continue on as Ukyo's cousin, a valuable disguise he was a bit grateful for now. It would allow him opportunities to get to know Ukyo on a more neutral basis, without the engagement cluttering up the scenery and maybe it could work just as well with the other girls in his life. He would have to be careful though and avoid having it all blow up in his face.

Nabiki and Kodachi's responses to meeting Ranko were unknown variables. Keeping such a secret from them would be difficult, especially Nabiki. However, until he had a better handle on his situation, none of the girls could know he and Ranko were one and the same person. It would be a test of wits between him and the Tendo girl.

When he was dry, Ranma slipped on his undershirt and picked up the bundle of clothing from the hamper, wondering how he was going to get them cleaned. Giving them to his mother to wash was simply out of the question. And if he was going to be spending periods of time in female form, he would have to shop for some more clothes and even feminine undergarments too. He would have to be careful where he stored them though. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to find them. She might suspect he was having secret liaisons with one of the girls. It would also be really bad if the girls thought he was having liaisons.

Also, he could not let Genma see 'Ranko' at all. The old man knew his cursed form's appearance, so it would be impossible to pretend to be someone else. No, Genma could not come into contact with his female form for any reason. It was going to be tough enough to maintain the ruse of being Ranko as it was. Complications needed to be kept to a minimum.

Rescuing his father had taken on a new urgency. He had almost finished his work re-creating his female analog's device. Building it from scratch was necessary but annoying. The transponder unit was already completed, and he only had to test it.

The absolute last thing he wanted to do was risk losing his own world.

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Thanks to DB Sommer for his help in tightening up several scenes.

My heartfelt thanks to all of my usual pre-readers for all of their comments and suggestions.


	24. Rhythms Of The Heart

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Home.

The word carried with it a winsome sweetness for most, especially when one had been away from it for a long time. That sweetness became even more poignant when one had willingly walked away from it, leaving it behind as a sacrifice upon the altar of necessity in order to attain a more valued prize. So it was with the individual that appeared on one of the cliffs overlooking the valley of Jusenkyo, a young man named Mu Tse (or Mousse as the conquerors of his people pronounced his name).

Darkness had already fallen as Mousse, dressed in worn white robes over dark blue pants, paused to consider the scene before him, adjusting the travelling pack he wore on his back. Thick glasses set in black frames rested on his face, and he pushed them slightly upwards with a single finger, letting them sit a bit higher on the bridge of his nose. The weight of his pack seemed to lighten as he took a breath of the air, and he imagined he could already smell the cooking fires of Joketsuzoku Village in it. He was looking forward to the end of his long journey and the treasure he had prepared himself for years to claim.

For Mousse, that treasure, that one thing he prized above all else in the world, was Shan Pu (or Shampoo as he had once heard an Imperial magistrate visiting the village pronounce her name), the girl he had adored and worshipped for as long as he could remember. For her sake alone, he had left years ago, leaving behind his family and his place in the village, such as it was being a male with poor eyesight that was not a very good fighter who lived among a group of indomitable warrior women. To finally win her love, he had chosen to walk the "Path of the Outsider," a rather obscure rite of passage described in the village laws that would divorce him from all connections to his past, allowing him to return after two years away and challenge any Amazon freely for her hand in marriage, just as if he was any other outsider male.

His glasses fogged over slightly as he tried to imagine her and what she might be like now, his one, true beloved. For two years he had carefully crafted and sculpted that mental image, imagining Shampoo as she would surely be when he finally returned home, a girl who was both beautiful and strong. When his own body's strength flagged from the hardships of his training or his resolve weakened in the face of his trials, he had used that precious image to continue on, pushing himself farther and harder than would have been possible for him on his own.

"Ah, Shan Pu," he murmured reverently. "How I've missed you." He sighed longingly for her as he became lost in his imaginings. He gazed out across the valley without seeing it, feeling its ancient ambiance settle upon him like a gossamer shroud. The tranquility of the scene put him in a reflective mood, and he thought about the path he had followed and the irascible old man who had taught him so much, Master Yin.

At a thought, shadows briefly congealed into a single blade appearing between his fingers and then vanished again. Mousse smiled at the ease with which he performed such a petty trick now, feeling the tattoo on his lower back seem to ripple slightly. Master Yin had been one of the last of the Lin Kuei, an ancient order of spies and assassins dating back to the first emperors of China, before they had been hunted down and all but exterminated by the Empire of Japan. Under his tutelage, Mousse had replaced the hidden weapon technique he once used with a far superior one. So now, like his master before him, Mousse could conjure forth from the shadows an infinite arsenal, no longer needing to hide weaponry on his person. So long as there was darkness or even merely shadows around him, he had weapons available to him.

Shampoo was certain to fall before him now and then she would become his bride. He could feel the winds of destiny flowing around him and guiding him on. He snapped his arm out straight and concentrated, a sword of solid shadow appearing in his grip. He shrugged his shoulder, and it vanished again. A smile lit his face. Yes, Shampoo was certain to become his now. This time she would not be facing the same pathetic, weak boy using conjurer's tricks he once was, but a skilled warrior with real power, one tested in battle many times during his training, the person he had forced himself to become for her sake. It was their destiny to be together.

Yes, Mousse mused, destiny. And no one could change the destiny they were given at birth. No, one simply fulfilled the role fate cast for them. So it would be with him. He would take Shampoo as his bride, for that was his destined place in the universe. She was meant to be his.

Far below him, a road followed an expansive fence which blocked off the area of the valley where the legendary springs of Jusenkyo lay. Signs in Japanese and several of the local dialects were posted on the fence at regular intervals, each one promising harsh penalties for attempting entrance. However, it was oddly quiet, and no movement could be seen within.

Mousse's reverie was abruptly cut short as a rabbit burst into view near him and ran for all it was worth past him. He tracked it with his eyes absently, his thoughts still filled with memories, especially ones of his beloved Shampoo. Only moments later, a human figure appeared just as suddenly, charging after the animal at full speed, a beautiful girl with white hair. Even as quick as his reflexes had become, Mousse was helpless to avoid her use of him as a springboard, as she planted her feet on his forehead, bounced off and then continued her furious chase after her prey, never even once looking back at him.

Suddenly blown back off the edge of the cliff by her actions, Mousse found himself tumbling end over end as he angled downwards in a long arc. His glasses and pack flew free as he plunged through the light mists towards the pools of water waiting far below. A single cry of surprise was the only sound he made before he vanished from sight into the darkness. A few moments later, the sound of a distant splash could be heard.

In the gloom surrounding the pools of Jusenkyo, Mousse pulled himself free from the waters that had broken his fall, his body feeling a bit strange. He had lost his glasses, so he could not even see his own hands clearly as they grasped the grass and soil at the edge of the pool he had fallen into. He hauled himself out and lay there, gasping.

What had happened? Why did he feel so odd? He pulled out a spare pair of his glasses from the tatters of his robe and fumbled them on with some difficulty, allowing him to finally see himself.

No! Horror gripped him by the throat. This wasn't possible! This wasn't fair! Not when he was so close to finally winning Shampoo's love!

Mousse's roar of rage suddenly resounded through the valley.

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Herb lifted her head when she heard an animal of some kind bellowing and looked around briefly as she walked back to camp with the rabbit she had been chasing in her hand. The hunt had focused her, and the chase had been very invigorating. While her and her companions had liberated enough in the way of supplies to last a while, there was nothing quite like hunting and living off the land to toughen the body and strengthen the spirit. A few more weeks of this, and the trio would be in proper fighting trim to face anything that this world could offer in the way of adversaries.

Well, whatever it was, it was no concern of hers. She had much bigger game to hunt than some beast, namely locating the source point of the resonator signal that had come from this world. Then she could contact the Dragon Claw and her other self. And when she finally found Sage and rescued him, then this world could burn to cinders for all she cared.

The Musk would finally have the means to break through the Solnoid Matriarchy's jamming of the relay stations. They would no longer be required, allowing them to take world after world by simply creating legions of agents using analogs of loyal Musk soldiers. With the new resonator technology in hand, countless new potential conquests would be within reach, like this one. The Matriarchy would never suspect a thing until it was too late, and there wasn't anything they could do to try to stop it.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Ranko arrived on Ranma's Earth, and her appearance was part of a chain of events leading to Ranma gaining a Jusenkyo curse. Kodachi enjoyed her newfound pet, and another familiar face joined the cast as Konatsu appeared. Ranma and Yumi shared a secret and Nabiki had a talk with Cherry. There were rumblings heard from the village of Joketsuzoku as Shampoo's success in the Arena has prompted a plan against her. Ranma finally returned home and now must begin dealing with his curse and the other changes done to him.

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Chapter 24 – Rhythms Of The Heart

History does not always repeat itself. Sometimes it just

yells "Can't you remember anything I told you?" and lets

fly with a club.

- John W. Campbell

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Nabiki woke up when her alarm went off, and she yawned and stretched as her body twinged slightly from yesterday's injuries. She reached over and slapped the palm of her hand down on the clock on the second try, promptly knocking it off the table where it fell to land with a single bounce on the floor, still ringing loudly. She suddenly remembered it was Sunday and groaned. She'd forgotten to turn the alarm off last night. Her day was not looking promising.

"Damn that little bimbo," she swore under her breath, an ache coming from her injured ribs as she reached for the alarm clock beside her bed, seeking to stop its incessant ringing. "When I see her again, she's dead meat."

Her questing hand finally found her noisy nemesis and switched it off, and blessed silence reigned once more. She left it laying there as she clambered from her bed like the newly risen dead, dressed only in a large, loose T-shirt. She went over to her closet and started pulling out clothes, tossing them on the bed.

Her outfit chosen for the day, she headed out of her room, casually scratching at an itch on her side and yawning broadly again. A bracing wash with cold water followed up by a quick soak in another hot bath this morning was calling to her, and she had just enough time before breakfast to have one.

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Breakfast was a quiet affair at the Saotome household. It was just Ranma and Nodoka seated at the table this morning, apparently the false Genma having had a bit too much to drink last night with the fake Soun.

Ranma paused in eating his food as a chill ran down his spine. He wondered what those two idiots could be plotting together and then he realized it was likely some stupid scheme to get him to marry one of the Tendo girls, probably Nabiki. He would have to be watchful.

"How are things going with the girls, Ranma?" Nodoka suddenly asked as she handed him another full bowl of rice and admired his appearance. He had changed so much from what he had been like when he first came home just a few short months ago. His hands had grown callused and strong from his training, and all of the intensive exercise he was getting had filled out his shoulders and arms very nicely, giving him quite a manly physique. She was grateful for her foresight in buying his current wardrobe a bit large for his frame. The clothes were fitting him well now. "I mean, have you bedded any of them yet?"

Ranma came very close to spewing out the juice he had been chugging down to wash down a big bite of food. He managed to swallow it down, but it was a near thing. He coughed a few times and thumped his chest with his fist.

"Mom, that's kinda personal," he croaked out when he finally got his breath back. He hunted for a quick excuse and said the first thing to come to mind. "I'm still getting to know them."

Nodoka looked at him, concerned. "Oh, Ranma. You didn't seem to have any hesitancy when you brought home that nice Utena girl you met a few weeks ago. Whatever happened to her? A young man your age has all those urges and desires frothing up inside to deal with. It's just not healthy for you to keep them bottled up within you. Have you even called her lately?"

"Yeah, I have," Ranma admitted, suddenly realizing he hadn't ordered a tux yet for the dance. Things had just been so crazy around him the past few days, it had slipped his mind. He shifted his position a bit. Her comments about male needs were particularly disconcerting, with the different memories mixed into his own, and the knowledge that even with the soap a long enough soaking with cold water would turn him into a girl now. In fact, the direction this entire conversation had taken was making him feel distinctly uncomfortable on a number of levels, as well as reminding him of the wrong impression his mother had of what had happened that night that Utena stayed over.

Nodoka smiled. "That's nice to hear, Ranma. Will you be seeing her again?"

"Yes, I will," Ranma quickly declared. "I've been so busy, I forgot to mention it to you." He hastily added, "I've been spending more time with Ukyo lately."

She smiled and finished handing him his bowl of rice. "Ukyo's a nice girl, Ranma, and I like her. But you're a healthy young man with normal physical needs. If she's not aware of them, you should talk to her. I'm sure if you're up front and honest with her about it, she'd be willing to help you out. The same goes for Nabiki and Kodachi as well. I could talk with them, if you'd like."

Ranma shook his head quickly. "No! Uh, no, that's quite all right, Mother." Visions of himself being savagely beaten into a mangled hulk for being a womanizing pervert, likely with all three girls taking turns at the task, suddenly refused to leave him alone. He shivered intensely a bit, his pigtail sticking out straight.

"You shouldn't focus too much on any one girl so early on," Nodoka continued, not noticing the look of fear that crossed his face. "They should all have a chance to enjoy your manly company. It's only fair, and it will help you make a proper choice when the time comes. I'm sure you want to pick the one that you're most compatible with, and such activities forge a powerful bond between two people, especially when you're with the right person, the one you are meant to be with."

Her gaze grew wistful. "Then it's like touching the face of eternity."

There was a pause as Ranma watched his mother become caught up with some memory. The sight only increased his level of discomfort. He said nothing.

Nodoka's gaze eventually shifted back and focused on him again, her cheeks looking a little flushed. "Um, anyway, until you find that special person, you should spend more time with other girls and enjoy being with them, not just be with Ukyo."

"I guess so." He started in on the bowl of rice held in his hand then paused. Ukyo was a lot like her counterparts, so it had been easy for him to fall into a buddy mode with her. It was comfortable talking with her, but was that all he wanted? Did he have feelings for her? Did he lo- lo- like her a lot?

Waitasec. Why was he even thinking like this, about relationships and love? No, he had to stay focused on rescuing his father and getting ready for the dance at Ohtori, not get caught up in romantic fantasies-

-like a girl would, he suddenly realized, feeling a mounting sense of horror come over him. His female analog had possessed such desires to find love, even though publicly she would have snorted and denied it loudly and vehemently if ever asked about it. She may not have been delicately feminine, but she had thought about such things sometimes, certainly more often than he ever had. He hastily pushed his thoughts away from such disturbing notions and schooled his features into an expression of mild interest for whatever his mother was saying now, hopefully before she noticed anything odd.

Nodoka smiled, watching Ranma squirm a bit. Her son was so typically male in that respect, when talk was about feelings. "Just so you don't make any plans in the meantime, sometime in the next few days your father and I will be taking you to go see a friend of mine, Achika Masaki. She has a son about your age attending your school, named Tenchi. I've wanted you to meet him for some time, but he's out on a survival training class in the Australian outback right now. She also has a daughter, too. Her name is Ryoko."

Ryoko Masaki. The name didn't immediately ring a bell with him. Then he blinked. That was the name of the girl who had come to the Academy with Ryoga. He groaned inwardly.

"Uh, Mom?" Ranma asked hesitantly. "Is Ryoko about so tall, with sort of greenish hair?" He stood up briefly and held his hand at a level approximating the Masaki girl's height. "Pretty in a kind of rough and tough way?"

"Why, yes, Ranma," she replied, smiling. "That sounds exactly like her. Although I'd describe her hair as more of a blue-green tone. Why? Have you met her already?"

"Uh, kind of. It was really brief." He didn't think it was a good idea to say that he had literally run into her at the Academy, or that his face had ended up planted in between the girl's breasts in the process. His mother was already operating under more than enough false notions about him. There was no need to add any others. "Why are we going to see your friend?" he asked, a sinking feeling coming over him that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Oh, Achika is my oldest and dearest friend, so I thought it would be nice for you to meet her daughter," she replied, smiling at him gently. "She's started staying nearby at a shrine her grandfather and brother are taking care of, and both of her children have been training in the martial arts for a very long time. They are both very skilled, and Achika brags about this... a lot. Her son, Tenchi, is on a training trip in the Australian Outback right now." Nodoka's eyes glittered briefly. "Perhaps you and Achika's daughter could have a match."

Ranma shrugged. "Sure, that sounds okay." He relaxed, feeling silly that he had been worried over nothing. Even though he was certain he would win, he should go easy on her so as not to embarrass the poor girl. He picked up his glass of juice and began draining it.

"And then we can discuss your engagement to Ryoko."

Ranma felt his orange juice go down the wrong way, burning his throat, and he coughed again. "E-engagement?" he croaked. "W-what about the other girls? Kodachi? Nabiki? Ukyo? You were just talking about them."

"Oh, there hasn't been anything formalized with any of those girls that I'm aware of, so you're still free to consider other options," she replied with a bright smile. "I confess I hadn't really thought about Ryoko as a potential bridal candidate for you before, since she's over a year older than you are and rather independent. But you seem to be getting along very well with Nabiki, so I'm sure you can handle Ryoko. She's really a very nice girl, just a bit high-spirited."

Ranma stared at his mother, her words sounding eerily familiar to him.

"It would make me very happy if you married Ryoko, Ranma," Nodoka said with a hopeful smile at him. "To unite our two families like this would be wonderful and very honorable. And I'm just sure you two would have several strong and attractive children together. Ryoko has very good hips for childbearing, just like her mother." A hint of maliciousness appeared in her smile.

"I see," Ranma said slowly, that eerie feeling coming again, a cold drop of sweat suddenly snaking down his neck. He was starting to feel like a prize racehorse that everyone wanted to put out to stud. His mother in particular seemed pretty anxious about his prospects for fatherhood, but he found it impossible to refuse her outright. "I guess I could meet her," he finally said. He hoped Ryoko didn't say anything about their first meeting.

Nodoka smiled even more broadly. "Oh, Ranma, you've made me so happy." She reached out and held his hand. "But I don't want you to feel any obligation to only consider Ryoko. You should spend time with the other girls, too. And also Utena. Who knows? Perhaps you'll want to marry more than one of them. The Yamada family down the block have a son who got married to two fine girls just last year and one of them is already pregnant. After you get to know all the girls a bit better, you should ask them their feelings on polygamy."

Visions of being beaten into a horribly mangled, bloody pulp by several furious girls floated across Ranma's mind again, a scene even more brutal than his last imagining had been. He shivered involuntarily, his pigtail sticking out straight once more. That other version of him that was engaged to Nabiki, who was cursed to turn male in that world, had something like that going on. But he was pretty certain his version of Nabiki would break every single bone in his body for even suggesting he was interested in having some sort of harem, and the part of him that was Ranko couldn't blame her. He had no idea how Kodachi or Ukyo would respond to the notion, or Utena for that matter, but he had a strong feeling it would not bode well for his continued good health either. And this Ryoko girl his mother wanted him to meet was almost a total unknown, but she seemed to have a temper and physical might worthy of a Hibiki.

"I think I'd prefer to take things one step at a time," Ranma said, trying to be tactful, seeing his mother nodding sagely in reply. He tried to redirect the subject to something marginally safer. "I should date the girls for a good long while first before I even think about something like marriage. Take Kodachi for example. We haven't been out on a real date yet. I was thinking of asking her to go skating."

Nodoka looked pleased. "Why, that's just a marvelous idea for a date, Ranma. She's probably been waiting for you to take some initiative with her."

Ranma's mind briefly flashed back to his near-intimate encounter with Kodachi on the floor of her bedchamber, and how really good it had felt to be so close to her. He blushed a bit. Luckily, his mother didn't seem to notice.

"But, do you know how to skate?" she continued. "I didn't know you'd ever learned how. Your father never mentioned it to me in any of his letters while you were growing up."

"Oh, sure," he said with a sudden grin. "I like skating. Me and-" He quickly froze, having almost said, "Me and Shampoo go skating a lot." But that was another world, not this one. He saw his mother looking at him in puzzlement. "Uh, me and my friends go skating sometimes."

"You've been making friends?" she said with a smile. "Why that's wonderful news. I didn't know. You should bring them over sometime. I was so worried about you having no social skills whatsoever, after growing up with your father the way you did, spending your days in laboratories and libraries pursuing your studies. And yet here you are making friends at school and having girls chasing after you." She looked at him, her gaze warm and loving. "I'm so very proud of you."

Ranma suddenly felt his throat tighten up, hearing her say those words. A surge of emotions from the part of him that was Ranko almost caused him to burst into tears, her memories of seeing that same face looking so disappointed at her lack of proper femininity. The part of him that was his martial artist analog helped him hold back the tears, since guys didn't cry, despite the feelings of missing his own mother for so many years that were present in those memories.

"I-I love you, Mother," said Ranma suddenly, his voice hoarse with emotion, the words coming with deep feeling from his gestalted psyche.

"And I love you, too, Ranma." Nodoka gave her son a hug, smiling with joy as she felt tears welling up in her eyes as she held him, feeling like she was going to burst open with maternal pride. How manly her son had become. He was going to make some very lucky young woman such a wonderful husband, not to mention being a good father to many children. Nodoka was looking forward to having several grandchildren, and her own child as well, to have the house alive with the sounds of family after it just being her for such a long time. She patted his back a few times while holding him, and then she released him. Her eyes remained filled with unshed tears of joy.

She suddenly remembered the card in her pocket. "Oh, before I forget, someone from the Security Directorate came by to see you."

Ranma felt himself stiffen slightly. Had they figured out his hacking? Had the fake Genma done something stupid? Or the false Soun?

"Someone from Security?" he asked, trying to be cool about it. "Who?"

Nodoka pulled out a card and handed it to him. "Her name was Hinako Ninomiya. She left her card with me and asked me to have you give her a call or drop by and visit sometime, to talk about your future."

"My future?" He flipped the card over and read the name on the front: Assistant Director Hinako Ninomiya. That was the woman who had saved him and Nabiki from likely being arrested by the peaceforcers the other night. Why was she so interested in helping him?

Wait. Could she have been the one who had sent him that flash drive about Project Phoenix? There was a certain intuitive logic to that, but Ranma was starting to wonder if he was just being paranoid. It could have been anyone who sent it. Remembering that reminded him that there were things he needed to learn, but he wondered what price he might have to pay to do so.

"Yes," said Nodoka. "She was most persuasive in talking with me last night about how she wanted to help further your career. She felt you needed an advisor on dealing with politics and such, because of the jealousy others might have of your brilliance."

Ranma pocketed the card and calmed himself. "Uh, I guess I'll have to give her a call sometime then," he said noncommittally.

"You should, Ranma," she said. "She seemed very interested in your career and welfare, and I believe she wants to help you go far in the Empire." She paused and looked more serious. "But if your relationship with this woman ever becomes something other than professional, please be discrete."

"Huh?" He looked bewildered at that.

"She's a very attractive woman, Ranma," Nodoka warned him. "And you're a handsome, virile young man. While I don't expect anything to happen, it might, and so you should be mindful of that possibility. Besides, an older, more experienced woman can teach you certain things that girls your own age wouldn't know about physical intimacy, and that's very valuable knowledge for a young man your age to have when looking for a bride and wanting to be able to satisfy her needs as a woman. So, I want you to know that you have my permission to learn such things from Ninomiya-san, if anything should happen. Just don't get carried away. You have several very good prospects for marriage now, girls from fine families, and I really wouldn't want you to put any of them at jeopardy for any reason. Do you understand?"

Ranma blushed bright red and nodded, unsure what else to do.

She gave him another hug. "You go enjoy your day now now," she said with a smile.

Ranma nodded and got up. While the whole conversation had been pretty jarring, her hugs had made him feel better. He knew his mother was proud of him and that she loved him. It was a very good feeling.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A little later that morning, Kyoko Otonashi was sweeping the front walk of the Tendo home, enjoying the fresh air, when a van pulled up to the front. A man dressed in the uniform of a personal courier service exited the vehicle, a package tucked under his arm.

He walked up to Kyoko. "Is this the residence of Nabiki Tendo?"

"Yes, she's inside now," Kyoko answered.

"I have a delivery for her." He held out a monocular retinal scanner.

That was a bit of a surprise. Only the most prestigious, and expensive, courier services used those. Kyoko accepted it and looked into the lens. There was a brief flash of red, signifying it had recorded her identity and then she handed it back to the man.

He gave her the package, bowed low, gave a smile that was more than  
>casually friendly and departed.<p>

Kyoko was much more interested in the package than the deliveryman's flirtations. She placed her broom on the porch and entered the house.

"Package for you, Nabiki!" she called out, not worrying about the middle Tendo daughter being irritated by Kyoko's not searching the house until she could hand Nabiki the package personally. Soun and Kasumi were the sticklers for propriety. Nabiki was fairly relaxed and wanted things done efficiently, rather than formally, and Akane simply didn't care at all. The youngest daughter was direct, and if she wanted something, tended to get it herself rather than have someone do it for her.

Kasumi, who had been visiting Nabiki today, arrived first, obviously curious as the cause of the disturbance. Nabiki came down from her room a moment later. She looked curiously at the large package. "I didn't order anything like that."

Kyoko said, "It was from a fairly expensive personal courier service. The kind that doesn't deliver things to the wrong address."

Accepting the package, Nabiki placed it on a table rather than tearing it open. She carefully examined the packaging. "No return address," she said mostly to herself.

"Why not just open it and find out what's inside?" Kasumi suggested. "Perhaps that will tell you who it's from."

"I like knowing what's going on with a situation before entering it," Nabiki said, eyes still poring over the box.

"Will knowing its origin make you not open the box?" Kasumi asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Then you would probably find the answer you seek much more quickly by doing something you intend to do anyway first."

Nabiki's suspicious mind had trouble using the direct approach like that. But what Kasumi said made sense. Still, Nabiki doubted Kasumi would ever go very far in the Security Directorate with that kind of thinking.

Tearing open the package, Nabiki saw that it was encased in a box made of Ralcon, a lightweight, durable metal. Denting it would take a sledgehammer. It was also prohibitively expensive compared to somewhat heavier, but much cheaper, alternatives. Only people with money to burn ever used it.

Nabiki undid the latches on the sides and opened the lid. Several sheets of soft wrapping paper protected the contents. She moved the paper aside and saw a folded over section of black cloth. She went to pick it up. The instant she touched it, she knew this was silk of the most expensive kind.

She pulled the garment out. It seemed to unfold of its own accord. Before her was an elegant black dress that took even her breath away. Amazingly, the material was flat, lacking a wrinkle everywhere despite having been folded over in the box.

Kyoko's jaw nearly dropped at the sight.

Kasumi gave a tiny clap with her hands. "It looks beautiful, Nabiki. You should try it on. I'd like to see you in it."

Ordinarily, Nabiki was not much for dresses, that was more her older  
>sister's forte, and doubted she owned more than a dozen. But this one took her breath away. Her body was moving on automatic as she grabbed the box and went upstairs to change.<p>

When Nabiki returned, she was almost tentative as she approached the living room. She asked the two women that had waited patiently for her return, "How do I look?"

She spun once for them to show off the whole ensemble for them. It was a one piece dress that had made her skin tingle as it slid down her body with its gentle caress. The upper part came most of the way across her shoulders, with only the very top of her breasts shown off. The bottom ended midway to her calves. It fit perfectly, molding to her body and accentuating her curves. It made her look more womanly than she had ever felt. Long white gloves made of the same material slid past her elbows, and the high-heeled shoes rounded out the outfit perfectly.

"It's... impressive," Kyoko admitted with just a hint of envy.

"I think it looks lovely." Kasumi's admission lacked anything other than sincerity. "Oh, what's that in your hand?"

Nabiki stared at the envelope. "I don't know. I haven't read it yet. I assume it's from whoever sent it. I was too-" She stopped herself from saying impressed. "I was admiring how well the dress fit." It fit perfectly, as though it had been created specifically for her.

Kasumi's casual question stoked the fires of Nabiki's curiosity. She tore open the envelope and was assailed with a smell of roses. That only confirmed the suspicion that had been fermenting in her mind as to the identity of her benefactor.

In flowing handwritten kanji that was as much artwork as a message, Nabiki read the letter aloud, "I had Muramaki whip up a little something for our date. I thought black would be a good color for you. I hope it meets with your approval."

Kyoko gasped. "Muramaki? Wataru Muramaki? That's a Maki?"

Kasumi nodded. "I thought I recognized his hand in this." The man was one of the most famous clothing designers in all of Japan. Only the elite ever got to wear his clothing. "He certainly does do impressive work," she said in admiration. "The dress still holds the love he has for his creations."

"Oh." Kyoko wasn't sure how to respond to that odd statement. Kasumi spoke like that now and then.

Nabiki tuned the conversation out, examining the letter closely. It was not as though she failed to appreciate the dress; it was easily the most beautiful thing she had ever owned. No, what bothered her was that in sending such an extravagant gift, Touga essentially held an advantage over her. She would be beholden to him in a manner of speaking. Oh, there were... things she could do to repay him, she'd wager plenty of other girls had recompensed him in such a manner, but she wasn't about to go that far on a first date, even with such a very handsome, sophisticated, and disgustingly wealthy noble scion. No, she'd have to give back as well as she got. It might take a lot of money, but as intriguing as she found him, she was no more willing to allow him the upper hand in a potential relationship than she would Ranma.

Steps would have to be taken. Nabiki let her mind wander as to how to take the first one.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Chinese Girl? A moment of your time?"

Shenhua turned to observe Mina Li approaching her, flanked by a pair of associates from her clique. The trio was dressed in casual but still very fashionable clothing, and they were probably going out on the town today. The two girls with Mina had an unmistakable look of subordinates about them, based on their body language. Their eyes scanned the area around Mina while the Korean girl focused on her.

"Yes?" The Taiwanese girl stood casually, her gaze wary. The arena in Shanghai had taught her to be suspicious of others, especially other women. Men had little understanding of how vicious women could be to each other.

"I was wondering if you had considered my offer," Mina said in a calm tone. She stopped a small distance from the Taiwanese girl. "Coming from Shanghai, you should know the value of friends, and my friendship is a very valued asset here."

The Taiwanese girl eyed the Korean girl. Her gaze shifted briefly to the two subordinates with her. "You want Shenhua be like them?"

The pair started to bristle, but a gesture from Mina calmed them. A smile appeared on the Korean girl's face as she spoke, her infamous temper restrained at the other girl's disrespectful attitude, but a pleasant fantasy of beating her to a bloody pulp danced in the back of her mind. The fantasy was aided by the fact that the other girl's singsong speech pattern had an annoying similarity to Shampoo's.

"Your showing against the barbarian impressed me, Chinese Girl, and I'm not one who is easily impressed. That is why I approached you. It isn't good to be alone, not in here. Allies are important, even for one who survived three Shanghai death matches against the opponents you faced."

The mention of the tall Apache girl caused Shenhua to clench her teeth a little. Losing her debut match in Tokyo was irritating, especially when it was to an uncultured savage like that. Her speed was greater than the other girl's, so Running Deer must have gotten lucky. One punch was all it had taken, catching her at the right spot on her chin. She had taken strong punches before and shrugged them off, but that one had hit just right, jarring her brain.

"I consider it," she finally replied. "I accept."

"Excellent, Chinese Girl," Mina said with a sparkle in her eyes. She was startled when a hand seemed to suddenly appear at her throat, Shenhua's hand, already squeezing lightly on Mina's trachea. Her subordinates were astonished at the girl's speed, it being rare that someone was even faster than Mina.

"I not Chinese," Shenhua declared calmly. "I pure-bred Taiwanese, bitch. Much better than common Chinese trash."

The two held the tableau for several moments, taking each other's measure, and then Mina smiled. Shenhua smiled as well, withdrawing her hand from the Korean girl's throat. An unspoken communication passed between them.

"I think I like you, Shenhua," said Mina sincerely. She held out her hand. "No, you're not like them," she said, indicating her associates a bit derisively with a tip of her head. "I think we could really be friends."

The Taiwanese girl considered the outstretched hand for a moment and then gazed into Mina's eyes. She nodded and took the hand firmly in hers, shaking it once.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Ranma had his skates in hand as he headed out with Shampoo, who was carrying her own pair, the two of them on their way out to go over and investigate the skating park in the neighborhood that Ranma had heard some of their classmates talking about in class the other day. His father walked with them as they left the yard.

"Don't get into any trouble you two," said Genma with a grin, watching as the two teenagers walked off, not hand in hand but standing rather comfortably close to each other. He saw Ranma turn and wave a hand at him just before he and Shampoo took off, both of them looking like they didn't have a care in the world.

"Genma, m'boy," suddenly said a familiar voice behind him. "You don't call. You don't write. I'm not feeling much respect as your master here."

Slowly, Genma turned around, and he saw Happosai seated on a fire hydrant, smoking his pipe, calm as could be, except for the evil look he suddenly pierced Genma with. He was about to say something more, when a shape seemed to swoop down out of a nearby tree.

"Now I've got you, old man!" shouted a battered-looking Pantyhose Tarou, an instant before Happosai leaped clear and let him slam into the fire hydrant. He settled back down and perched on Tarou's dazed form, sitting cross-legged on the boy's back.

"Where were we, before we were so rudely interrupted?" remarked the ancient pervert as he calmly relit his pipe.

Genma just started walking away. With Soun's assistance, they had already obtained the entire list of components required for the transponder unit Ranma had told him how to construct. Besides, the two teenagers must have heard the commotion. The boy could handle this.

Happosai blinked and stood, not used to simply being dismissed so casually, especially by his fat-assed former disciple. "Hey! I was talking here!" The old man took a step towards Genma and then dodged aside, when Ranma suddenly came down where he had just been standing, but having no more success at his sneak attack than Tarou did as he slammed face-first into the concrete, aided by a sweep of the old pervert's arm. Happosai was about to take a puff from his pipe when he was forced to dodge aside from Shampoo's kick.

"You kids sure are feeling peppy this morning," Happosai said with a grin, glad to have some playmates around again. It had been pretty boring for him lately. He tamped out a bit of burning tobacco from his pipe on Tarou's head, and a smell of scorched hair briefly filled the air.

"Ahh!" shouted the Chinese boy as he sprang up, slapping at his scalp. "Damn you!" He wavered on his feet, looking like he hadn't slept for several days.

"Friend of yours, you old freak?" Ranma snarled, eyeing the other boy, noting the silk stockings he wore about his person. Happosai blew a puff of smoke into his face in reply.

"Yeah, he's a punk, kind of like someone else I could name." He then caught sight of Shampoo, suddenly toying with her top, parting it open a little. His eyes filled with joy. "Sweeto!"

Shampoo swiftly slammed him to the ground with a single punch. She then followed that up with a brutal stomping strike to Happosai's skull, half-burying the ancient freak into the now shattered concrete. She hit him solidly a few more times for good measure and then studied the smoldering remains with mild interest.

"Old pervert never learn," the Amazon declared, sounding quite pleased with herself.

"So buddy, what's your story?" Ranma studied the Chinese boy in front of him, wondering what was up with all the hosiery, and why he wore earrings like a girl. "You got some kind of thing for pantyhose?"

"What's it to you?" Tarou snarled. Seeing the fallen Happosai, he lunged past Ranma and grabbed the ancient pervert. His voice was a growl. "I have you now."

Happosai blinked his eyes open as Nodoka came out of the house. "What is all the commotion going on?" she asked.

The next thing anyone realized, Happosai was attached to her chest like a limpet. "Oh, Nodoka-chan! It's been so many years!" He rubbed his face happily against her bosom as she blanched.

"Hey, ya old freak! That's my mom!" Ranma tried to clobber Happosai, who was now fully restored. Pantyhose lunged at him and missed. The old master bounded away, cackling. "Catch me if you can, Pantyhose, m'boy!"

"Pantyhose?" asked Nodoka, looking at the suddenly red-faced Chinese boy.

"I knew he was a pervert the moment I laid eyes on him." Ranma glared at the other boy. "And what kind of stupid name is Pantyhose for a guy anyway?"

"Shut up, you!" the Chinese boy yelled, his gaze dark and malevolent as he glared at Ranma. "My name is Tarou, if you must know. Pantyhose Tarou, thanks to that old freak. Now get out of my way! I have to catch him!" He shoved the pigtailed boy aside roughly and leaped away.

Ranma picked himself up off the ground and looked at his mother with concern, intending to chase after Happosai and the Chinese boy after he made sure she was all right. "You okay, Mom?"

Nodoka nodded. Ranma looked relieved. Things had been nice and quiet for a while. He hoped this didn't mean that all the crazies were about to descend on his mother's house now.

"We go skating now, yes?" asked Shampoo, standing there with her own skates slung over her shoulder. "Ranma promised."

As much as he wanted to chase after the old freak for molesting his mother, Ranma picked up his discarded skates and nodded. He'd get him later. "Sure. Let's go."

Nodoka smiled as she watched the two walk off. Her son didn't seem to realize it, but Shampoo was showing a deft hand when it came to her ability to manage him. Maybe they would be good together after all, even if the girl was Chinese instead of being a proper Japanese woman.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma sipped at his iced tea, enjoying the cool feel as it slipped down his throat. He gazed across the Go board at Soun, who was sitting back a little right now and looking over the layout. Both of them were seated in a small salon, off in a quiet corner, so they could talk in privacy.

"It's been going well completing your son's device, Saotome-kun," said Soun, spotting a possible line of attack. He set a black stone on the board.

Genma frowned, having not expected Soun to try a ploy like that. "I know," he replied, leaning forward, picking up a white stone. "It's been much easier getting the most critical components than I feared it would be." He slapped down a white stone to begin his counter to Soun's apparent strategy. "It was certainly a surprise when the two of us found that electronics shop having a 'Going Out Of Business' sale. I have to say, for an Englishman, the proprietor spoke flawless Japanese. And pretty much everything we needed was right there. Most amazing."

Soun smiled coolly and set down another stone. "I've opened the dojo up again to the public. While there aren't many students now, word is starting to spread through the ward that I'm teaching again. More people should start coming in the next few days." He looked up at Genma. "The extra money will be helpful, in case we need it."

"Have you heard anything from Akane?" Genma set down another white stone.

Soun frowned and considered his next placement, the board in a place of balance right now. "Yes, Nabiki told me that Akane was almost done with her training trip and would be back soon. I think she received a letter from the girl the other day." He sighed. "I don't know when though." He set down a stone.

"We'd better keep an eye on the boy," Genma replied, picking up a white stone. He smirked. "With things the way they are here, he'll probably run into her first." He set the stone down on the board with a sharp click. "I'm curious about something, Tendo-kun. Why did you want my son to marry one of your daughters in our world, anyway?"

"What?" Soun had picked up a black stone and was about to set it on the board. He looked at Genma, surprised at the change in subject.

Genma looked up from studying the board. "You heard me." His tone was neutral. "I was just wondering. We didn't have the best relationship when we were classmates, weren't close friends like our counterparts here, so it seems odd that you would want my son anywhere near one of your daughters."

"I prefer not to think of those days, Saotome-kun," Soun said, his voice harsher. "Before your father's death, you ran with a pretty rough crowd then. You were a swaggering bully, and I was the one who always seemed to suffer from your abuse."

Genma looked away, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry about that, Tendo-kun. I was a much different person back then. If my father hadn't died, I would have probably turned out more like the Genma of this world. He didn't have the best relationship with his father either, but his father wasn't a great war hero like my own was." He took a drink of his tea, and his voice took on a sarcastic tone. "Yes, such a great hero, except to those of his own family. We knew what he was really like."

Soun said nothing, but he was startled at the bitterness in the other man's voice. His own father had been a hard, disciplined man, but he loved his family and his only son when he was alive. It seemed that Genma's father was not like the biographies portrayed him.

"Anyway," Genma continued, "when he died, it was like I woke up to what I had been doing with my life, and there was no longer a need to fight anyone anymore. Without my father pushing me to transfer to Furinkan, to become a soldier like him, I could finally concentrate on my own life and be the man I wanted to be." He took a sip of his tea. "I even made a vow as I stood over his grave, that I would raise my own son to take life on his own terms, and to be the kind of father that I always wanted my own to be. When I compare myself to the Genma of this life, I think I've done pretty well for myself."

"I know the feeling, Saotome-kun." Soun took a drink of his tea. "I was raised to be disciplined, to live my life as a loyal servant of the Emperor. When my wife died-" He paused, his emotions heavy until he could push them back. "I died somewhere inside, too. Emotions were a distraction, so I cast them aside, relying on my discipline to try and replace them. I threw myself into my career, and it nearly destroyed my family. Nabiki tried to emulate the man I turned into, becoming colder, harder and more ruthless with each passing year. I shudder now to think what she might have become if she hadn't used your son's device, if she had not seen a different way that life could have gone for her."

He sat back and studied Genma. "I don't know what sort of person that other Nabiki Tendo is or what kind of life she led, but it really doesn't matter. I can't recall when I last saw my daughter looking as vital as she's been lately, as if something broken in her had been fixed. There was a sort of freedom in her stride when I saw her going out to the dojo that first time, after her exposure to your son's device. I'm grateful to him for that, more than you can possibly ever know. I imagine Kimiko is pleased with Nabiki as well, for the girl embracing a warrior's life once again, with all her might."

Genma looked down and examined the board for a while before speaking. "You never really answered my question. Why do you want Ranma to marry Nabiki?"

"If you must know, it was because of my wife."

Genma looked puzzled. "I don't understand."

"When I went through her things after she was reported dead, I found her private journals," said Soun, his gaze falling to study the board again. "She used my mark to approve the papers enrolling Akane and Nabiki in Project Phoenix, without ever telling me about it." He shook his head. "Typical Kimiko."

Genma blinked. "You didn't even know anything at all until then?"

"I'm afraid so," Soun admitted. "It was difficult to believe that a man like me could have such a secret going on right under my own nose. My wife was extremely interested in the Project for our daughters' sake, wanting them to have every advantage, since she planned to have them all follow in her footsteps. Her writings talk about how disappointed she was that Kasumi was already past the age to accept the Eucharist symbiote when the military approached her about enrolling our daughters in the program."

"Yes, I recall something about that." Genma picked up his tea and drank from it. "The military reserved a number of slots, wanting to give them to the children of distinguished veterans. Your wife must have been quite a formidable woman to be in that group."

Soun chuckled. "Yes. Yes, she was. A most excellent way to describe her, Saotome-kun. Combat was her greatest passion in life, and she excelled at it. Sometimes I think she loved it more than me. Maybe because she had such high hopes for our daughters becoming warriors, she was so hard on them when they were growing up, especially Kasumi and Nabiki."

He could recall more than once coming home to find his two eldest children sometimes sporting broken bones, or more often livid bruises and black eyes, but neither one of them ever said a word of complaint. The girls all loved their mother deeply, and Kasumi practically worshipped Kimiko, striving to be exactly like her when she was younger.

"But after she died, things changed." Soun paused. "I changed."

"And that was when you found out about the Project."

Soun took a sip of his tea before answering. "Yes. I read through her journals, and I learned about your boy in them, since Kimiko had gone to quite an effort to strong-arm one of the scientists into looking for the best genome matches for Akane and Nabiki. Ranma's name was right at the very top of the list, one of the highest-rated Adams in the entire testing group."

Genma grinned. "That's my boy." His expression turned serious. "But it was touch and go there for a while. Ranma became very sick after the Eucharist was first injected into his body. For almost two days, the doctors thought his physiology was ultimately going to reject it and die of anaphylactic shock. They didn't know why, and still don't, since his pre-screening tests had all given good results. But he pulled through eventually, and ever since then he's been a model Adam, with intellectual and physical capacities that astonish me sometimes."

"Kimiko's journals said much the same thing about Nabiki's reaction to the serum," Soun said, finally setting his Go stone on the board. "I think that's part of what intrigued her about your boy, beyond their genetic compatibility, that both of them experienced such a similar sort of reaction. Akane was actually a slightly better match, which seems ironic given the situation we've found ourselves in. So I began keeping tabs on your son at that point, watching his development over the years. It started out as a kind of hobby for me, but it evolved into an obsession." He paused. "Do you really think this idea of his will work?"

Genma set down a stone. "I have faith in Ranma. He's never given up whenever a problem has resisted his first solution. He just starts attacking it from a different angle. It's a quality he shares with his analog here." He smiled. "Perhaps that mule-headed stubbornness is a genetic trait in him. Kami-sama knows his mother certainly has it."

"Hah!" Soun laughed. "Your boy hasn't seen stubborn until he's dealt with one of Kimiko's daughters. They all took after her like that, each in their own way."

"Which brings us back to the matter at hand," said Genma, contemplating the board. "Akane."

"I'll have a talk with the girl when I see her, Saotome-kun." Soun set down a stone near the center of the board. "Hopefully that will be before she finds him. We need this Ranma in one piece for the next time your boy wants to communicate with us. I only hope she's in a state of mind to be reasoned with."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma kicked his motorcycle into life and revved the throttle a bit, letting the engine warm up as he listened to the sound. It was a mild day weather-wise. He idly mused that he should pick up a helmet this morning while he was out doing his other errands. He stuffed a small paper in his pocket containing the address of his main destination and put on a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from the wind.

Taking a look out into the street, he rolled out of the driveway and roared off. Traffic was light in Nerima this morning, most people walking or biking rather than driving. After a couple of minutes, Ranma pulled up to a red light and waited for it to change.

A sleek blue motorcycle pulled up next to him, the rider dressed in dark orange leather garb, with black boots and helmet. The faceplate of the helmet turned towards him as one booted foot came to rest on the ground for support. The rider revved the engine with a gloved hand and turned to look at him briefly once more before facing the light.

Ranma recognized the signs of a challenge. He glanced around, not seeing any peaceforcer vehicles. He revved his engine in reply and grinned. The other rider nodded at him, and they both waited for the light. The anticipation was quickly over.

The light turned green, and the pair rocketed off, quickly gaining speed. The pigtailed boy felt a surprisingly visceral exhilaration as he experienced the power of the vehicle he was riding upon, suddenly understanding a little better the attraction it held for Lord Kuno. He kept neck and neck with his opponent.

The engines of both motorcycles roared strongly as they raced down the street, startling people of the street. The wind generated by their passage flipped up the skirt of one woman as they barreled around a corner. Ranma glanced at the other rider as they kept pace with each other.

Inevitably, the race came to an end when they came up on another red light and a few cars already waiting. The leather-clad rider gave him a friendly thumb up gesture, and Ranma responded in kind. When the light turned green, the pigtailed boy turned down a street on the right as the other rider kept on going straight.

A few minutes later, Ranma stopped at a motorcycle shop in the downtown region and pulled in to park. A rough-looking crowd around his age was hanging around the side smoking cigarettes, even more in back. A few of them eyed him as he dismounted and shut off the engine.

"Nice bike, punk," one of them said, a burly-looking youth maybe a year older than the pigtailed boy with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The other teen had a wicked-looking scar on one cheek. "Your mommy buy it for you?"

"I don't want any trouble," Ranma replied, pocketing the keys. He tried walking around the group to get into the store, but a few of them moved to block his way. He sighed, reminded of the Wolf Pack.

The bullies grinned at him, more of them moving to flank him.

"That's too nice a bike for a girly-looking punk like you," said the leader of the group. "Maybe if you give it to us, you can walk out of here without any trouble." The other delinquents chuckled.

Ranma sighed again, feeling irritation kindle within him at the comment on his manliness. He assumed a casual pose and glanced around as the group arrayed themselves around him. After a moment, he turned back to face the speaker in front of him. On a whim, he grinned and tossed his sunglasses high into the air.

Inside the store, the man seated behind the counter heard a sudden series of muffled thuds, surprised shouts and brief cries of pain, all only lasting for a few seconds. He glanced up to see several bodies flying upwards and outwards in different directions, one of them slamming face-first into the bulletproof glass on the side of the store. The thuggish teen slowly slid down, leaving a thin trail of drool and blood. As he dropped, the man saw Ranma snag his sunglasses as they fell from the air and pocket them.

Seeing what had happened to their fellows and responding as if the pigtailed boy had just poked an anthill, the rest of the young toughs came boiling out from behind the store, a number of them producing makeshift weapons like chains and tire irons and others wielding blades and other martial weapons. Ranma had a brief moment to grumble and then he went into motion, suddenly charging forward. He wove and ducked through the crowd, lashing out with punches and kicks as the group surged at him.

When it was over a couple of minutes later, there were small piles of delinquent youths lying about in various states of injury, none seriously hurt though. While dusting his hands and briefly looking himself over for any wounds, Ranma sensed someone observing him and turned to look over at the street. The helmeted figure in dark orange leather was paused there, watching him. Uncertain how to respond, Ranma put one hand behind his head and looked embarrassed. He saw the figure turn away and zoom off.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinako was spending Sunday morning in her office at the Directorate, trying to catch up on the mountain of paperwork that seemed to eternally fill her inbox. She felt both discouraged and more than a little edgy by the fact that Ranma had yet to contact her. She had been fending off requests from Colonel Rokubungi for a few days and allowing her need to build a bit in anticipation of his dropping by, but that had not yet happened. Paperwork was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.

She came across a report from a research facility in China towards the middle of her current stack. Three prototype replicants, a lilith and two samaels, had managed to make their escape together, killing a few guards and injuring several others in the process. She sighed.

Wonderful. Just what she needed to find out on a weekend. The trio was apparently still on the loose, having managed to evade armed search parties for well over a week and disappear into the wilderness. She studied the file pictures of the three, each one having a single name designation: Herb, Lime and Mint. The girl called Herb, listed as a pleasure model, was the apparent leader.

That was surprising. Hinako had met several replicants in the course of her dealings with the wealthy and powerful. While a pleasure model lilith or samael could hold up their end of a conversation very well, the better to please their owner's need for companionship, advanced tactical knowledge was a bit out of their range. Yet this girl, Herb, had led her two male followers into a successful jailbreak and even participated in the fighting.

Two of the Jusenkyo facility's security personnel, Priss Asagiri and Linna Yamazaki, had joined the military's pursuit of the trio when the initial patrols had failed to locate any of them. She took a look at their personnel files on her computer screen. Asagiri was a reformed gang member who had joined the Security Directorate after serving a sentence in a juvenile detention facility, and the Yamazaki girl was a fifth-generation member of the Directorate. Their backgrounds seemed to mesh surprisingly well, the two of them apparently friends, and before being assigned to the Jusenkyo facility, they had numerous replicant "retirements" on their records.

Both of them were part of the Blade Runner unit in the Directorate, a group tasked with the capture and termination of rogue replicants in the Empire. They had been visiting to check the facility's security protocols. After the escape, the two were the only ones left at the facility with the right training to deal with the three renegade replicants. Most of the rest of the security personnel at the facility were either dead or critically injured.

If the trio managed to make it to a major population center and blend in with the locals, finding them was going to be nearly impossible.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Elsewhere, Kodachi knelt next to her mother and bowed her head, her hands clasped together in solemn prayer as the priest bestowed his blessing upon the congregation.

Her father and brother were not there, not normally attending such gatherings. Instead, they were at home having another training session together. Lord Kuno had not been very pleased at his son's quick loss to Nabiki, after putting so much time into his training.

As she quietly but fervently repeating the priest's words, his powerful voice rang out, bringing the prayer to its conclusion with the phrase that never failed to give her a thrill within to hear.

"May the blessings of Our Lord, the Holy Warrior of Heaven, always be upon you, that your sword arm may never weaken, your courage in battle remains unyielding and your victories are never-ending, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

"Amen," Kodachi murmured reverently alongside her mother. She arose from her knees gracefully, feeling spiritually refreshed, having enjoyed the ceremony as always. While Sukeban-Kodachi had never had much use for or interest in religion, and Scholar-Kodachi considered herself to be an agnostic, the Kodachi born into this world had grown up surrounded by her mother's great faith in the teachings of the Church of Christ the Warrior.

Founded in the wake of the numerous decisive victories won during the so-called "Christian Rebellion" led by Shiro Amakusa over four hundred years ago, the Church had grown and evolved, becoming a rather curious blending of traditional bushido ethics combined with the trappings of more traditional Christianity. In the centuries since its birth, the Church had grown to eventually come to stand alongside Shinto practices and the teachings of the Buddha. Together, they formed a triad of faith that supported the Empire among the people, and its teachings portrayed the Emperor as God's divine emissary upon the Earth.

Many families among the nobility only paid it lip service, but some individuals, like Kodachi and her mother, were far more faithful adherents to its teachings. Over the years, younger sons without any prospects for inheritance joined its ranks, pledging what little wealth and lands they had in order to gain entry into the Church's hierarchy, which nowadays had no small amount of political muscle. And so the coffers of the Church had swollen accordingly over centuries of time. In addition, one of the few avenues for citizenship outside victory in the Arena or military service was sufficient rank in the hierarchy, although citizenship gained in the latter two ways was not inheritable.

As Kodachi stood next to her mother, a black and red robed and hooded figure came over to them, flanked by two solemn yet fierce-looking Jesuit samurai wearing pure black robes and body armor, their hands remaining near their paired swords at all times. They were trailed by another trio, an older teenaged boy of Chinese origins and two teenaged girls, both of them about Kodachi's age, one Chinese and the other Caucasian. The two girls walked exactly three paces behind the two Jesuits and were in turn trailed a single pace by the boy. All three youths were dressed in the dark gray robes of novitiates over similarly-shaded body armor and armed with katanas only.

The boy was well-built and carried himself confidently yet without arrogance, with short hair framing a handsome face. The Chinese girl's face was lovely, but there was coldness to it as her gaze prowled the room like a predator. The other girl was fine-featured as well, her Latin heritage evident in her nose and cheekbones as well as the dark hair she wore in long, twin braids that trailed down a bit past her shoulders. She was two centimeters taller than the Chinese girl, a bit shorter than the boy, and she wore black-rimmed glasses that glinted with reflected light as she moved her head.

Unlike the others in his retinue, the leading figure's face was totally concealed, wearing a ceramic-looking face plate over his features, and he was more richly dressed in his robes over his dark red body armor. He paused near them, one hand resting casually on the hilt of one of his swords. The others stopped, the Chinese girl studying Kodachi briefly before looking elsewhere in apparent disinterest. The boy gave Kodachi an appreciative look, judging by the brief flicker of warmth in his gaze.

Kenseiko turned to the figure and smiled. "Cardinal Synn, this is a most pleasant surprise. I did not realize you would be with us again so soon." She bowed to him, an action duplicated by Kodachi.

"The honor is mine, My Lady," the man replied in a quiet but powerful voice, bowing to her as an equal, his cadence having an air of culture and refinement to it behind his mask. His head turned slightly to one side to regard Kodachi. "Is this your daughter? It has been some time since I last saw her. She has grown into the very image of her mother."

"You are very kind, Your Grace," Kenseiko replied proudly. "She was still in Europe when you visited last, winning a gold medal for the Empire in Paris at the World Gymnastics Competition. But I see you have new faces in your retinue. Might we be introduced? Who are they?"

"A few of my acolytes," the man replied, gesturing for the trio to come forward and approach them. He placed a fatherly hand on the girls' shoulders when they did so. He turned his head first towards the Chinese girl. "This is Sister Rebecca. She has recently arrived from the North American Prefectures and has proven herself to be an apt pupil in our training program. I have great hopes for her future service. Her skill in battle is impressive, and I feel she will make a fine addition to the nuns of the Tetragrammaton Order. She currently attends our local training facility at St. Hebereke, a first-year student."

He then turned his face to the other girl. "And this is Sister Roberta, who comes to us from Europe. Even though she too is only a first-year student at St. Hebereke, she has progressed very far in her mastery of combat as well. Her instructors all speak very highly of her skills." The girl in question reached up and casually adjusted her glasses slightly, a dangerous-looking glint flashing briefly off them. Behind the frames, her gaze was as cold as the Chinese girl's, possibly even colder.

Rebecca bowed respectfully to the two noblewomen but said nothing, her gaze remaining solemn. She then stepped back. Roberta bowed with a politely murmured "It is my honor to meet you." She then stepped back as well.

The Cardinal gestured for the boy to step forward. "And this is Bai, a third-year student at St. Hebereke and my most promising male trainee." The young man bowed respectfully to Kodachi and Lady Kuno. "He draws near the completion of his studies. When he takes his final vows next spring, he will take his place as a worthy member of the Brethren of Battle as a Tetragrammaton Cleric. His training has prepared him well to purge the unholy and the wicked from this world."

"It is an honor and a pleasure, My Ladies," Bai said mildly. He bowed once more, glancing up briefly and meeting Kodachi's eyes before he stood back up straight. The Kuno girl felt an unexpected thrill run through her at his regard and excellent manners. She had never met a Tetragrammaton Cleric trainee before. Now that she was closer, she noted that he was armed with a pair of pistols in shoulder holsters in addition to his katana. The two girls were armed similarly as well, she now realized.

Bai noted where she was looking and smiled. "Yes, Milady Kuno?"

"You're armed with guns. This is a church. Holy ground. I thought guns were banned on holy ground."

"Due to a special dispensation issued to the Tetragrammaton Order, our clerics and nuns are able to be armed so, even here," Bai replied with a slight smile. He drew one pistol out to show her the weapon more closely. It appeared to be a near-exact replica of a Beretta 76, only with a larger magazine protruding below the end of the handle. There was only a mild flicker of attentiveness from the two Jesuits. "This is only a trainee weapon, non-lethal in design, utilizing compressed gases and water-filled paintball rounds instead of standard projectiles. It is rated at roughly a little over triple the impact power allowed for such weapons by civilians though. Sister Rebecca and Sister Roberta use such weapons as well. They are both quite capable."

Turning briefly to look at the pair of novitiate nuns, Kodachi found the Chinese girl's quiet intensity more than a little unnerving. Her expression must have betrayed her thoughts. Mention of St. Hebereke had also caught her by surprise. Some of her other analogs attended there on their worlds. She could hear them whispering in the back of her mind about this, as if discussing the matter.

"Rebecca has taken a temporary vow of silence, in case you are wondering why she does not speak," said Synn suddenly. "It is a geas she imposes upon herself upon holy grounds in penance for her tendency to speak in a manner unbecoming of a prospective Tetragrammaton Nun." He leaned in closer to the pair of noblewomen, as if conspiring with them. "She has a very foul mouth. I am endeavoring to improve her manners to a level equal to her skills in combat. It has been a trying task."

Kenseiko smiled. "I see. But with you as her teacher, how can she fail?"

"Indeed," Synn replied with a nod. He turned his head to look back at the trio of youths. "I have spent much time preparing them to face their individual destinies. None of them will falter or fail at it. Their sense of purpose is clear."

Meanwhile, while the Chinese boy maintained a state of watchfulness without appearing threatening, the eyes of the two female novitiates continued to coldly survey the room, looking like huntresses seeking prey. Kodachi hoped their eyes never regarded her as such.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Far to the west, dawn arose upon the village of Joketsuzoku and life started for the day. Unlike other places in China, the morning cooking fires here were tended by the males of the village. The women and girls were involved in activities other than tending a household.

Peh Fum was one such girl. She had been up before the dawn, training. She was always training, driven to perfect her technique a little bit more each day. Today's location for her efforts was a distance away from the village, below waterfalls that threw off sparkling diamonds of light from the splashing water as the sun rose. She had always enjoyed this spot, as the fresh smell of flowing water was invigorating.

Her fists and feet flashed through the air as she danced the dance of combat against imaginary foes around her. She secretly enjoyed her time practicing her skills because she loved the martial arts, loved the graceful fluidity and power she felt as her chi flowed through her. It was something she had once shared with Shampoo when they were young children, before things changed between them.

"You move well," said a mild voice behind her in Mandarin.

Peh Fun was surprised to see a figure seated on a boulder when she turned around, a man in faded yellow robes. Somehow, he had gotten so close without her noticing. She was about to grab up her sword when the figure displayed open hands in a gesture of peace.

"I am unarmed," said the man as he flipped back his hood, revealing a weathered face of indeterminate years, the skin darkened by the sun over time. Removing the hood also revealed milky whiteness where pupils should be. "And as you can see, quite blind."

Peh Fum approached the figure warily. "How can you tell I move well?"

"I can hear the whisper of your clothing as you strike and move," said the man. "They make a good snap when you strike. I may not be able to see you, but I can hear you just fine."

Peh Fum grunted at that. She began gathering up her things, keeping the stranger in her peripheral vision. Her sword in its sheath was the last item, slipping the strap over her shoulder.

The Seer sat quietly, his eyes unable to view her, as they had been unable to view anything for centuries. He opened his Sight, looking only a moment into the future, watching her gather her things with efficiency. He felt the rising sun warm his face.

"It must be frustrating sometimes," said the Seer. "Not knowing if you're truly as good as you think you are, lacking a rival to challenge you and see."

"I have rivals," Peh Fum said in gruff reply. "An entire village of heroic women."

"Ah, but there is truly only one you see as your rival, don't you, Peh Fum?"

The young Amazon whirled to face him. "How did you-?"

"Shan Pu," was all he said in reply. "She is the only one you have ever truly seen as your rival."

Peh Fum only glowered at him, his statement silencing her.

"Where she is now, she moves beyond your reach, Peh Fum. Doesn't she?"

"She fights for the amusement of the barbaric Japanese." She stalked closer to the figure on the boulder and sat down before him. She could tell somehow that he meant her no harm. "She is not moving beyond me."

"That is where you are wrong, Peh Fum. Her current place is only a temporary one. Soon she will face a young man in the Arena, one she has known in... other lives. If he defeats her, he will become hers by law. Because of his valor, her name shall become legend. Long after you and she are both dust, she will still be remembered. The name Shan Pu will never be forgotten by the Joketsuzoku."

Peh Fum felt her teeth grind. "You speak nonsense, old man. There are only a handful of Joketsuzoku in our entire three thousand years of history who can claim such a thing. How can merely losing to a man bring Shan Pu to such rarefied heights of glory?"

"This one is no ordinary young man," the Seer replied. "Because of him, because of what he will do, the Joketsuzoku shall become free in a single stroke, all shall become citizens of the Empire. And for that deed, Shan Pu's name shall become legend."

"Then I will kill this man," Peh Fum stated simply. "That will end the matter." The thought of Shan Pu's name continuing on, her story being remembered long after the name Peh Fum was forgotten, was simply intolerable. "How will I know him?"

"He will present himself to win Shan Pu's hand in the Arena, and he will fight her using a school of martial arts that has not existed in this world for over four-score years, a school he brought back from oblivion. That is how you will know him, that he uses this forgotten school of martial arts. He has re-written his own destiny as well as others, and he will re-write hers as well."

"Re-write?" Peh Fum looked puzzled. "How can one re-write destiny?"

"If one possesses a strong enough will and sufficient courage, even destiny will yield. This young man possesses such a will and courage, and he is changing the world with each and every step he now takes."

Peh Fum's eyes glittered as she considered the possibilities. "Such a man... would make for a most worthy husband. That would be a far better fate for him than to die on my sword."

"Assuming you are strong enough to defeat such a one," replied the Seer with a smile. "He will be strong."

"So much the better." Peh Fum smiled back wolfishly. "A strong male for my husband, and if I can find him first, then Shan Pu will end up forgotten, her story faded to oblivion. Perhaps mine will be the one that goes on forever. What is the name of this fabled school of martial arts he uses?"

The Seer stood up. "The Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts."

Feeling almost giddy at the possibilities, Peh Fum rose to her feet and headed back to the village. She would need to sneak out under cover of night, but that would be no problem for one of her skill. Behind her, the Seer watched her depart.

When the young Amazon was gone, a figure suddenly shimmered into being next to him.

"Hello, Bernkastel," the Seer said quietly, turning to face the woman dressed in a kimono. "It's been a while."

The woman smiled. "What is time to one who dwells outside it? Why did you do that?"

"Because it improved our chances," the Seer replied, contemplating her question. It was one of the rare splits in the paths of the future. Which path was taken dictated what destinies solidified after that branch was chosen, until another break came. Paths that led to an end were to be avoided.

"At best you've only raised the chance of success slightly." The woman looked in the direction Peh Fum went. "This may still be a dead-end world."

"Unlike you, I only have one gameboard to play on, so I'm playing to win."

"My only concern is that my games can go on, nothing more, Seer. This world and everyone on it can all die, for all I care. You and I both know that the outcome remains in doubt. The Shogun's will to succeed has grown stronger with each of his failures, and I am running out of pieces to use to oppose him. This boy may be your last hope. I warn you. I will see this entire world die in nuclear fire before I let the Shogun achieve apotheosis and destroy all my amusing games."

"Yes, I know."

"I'll continue to monitor the scenario." The woman shimmered and vanished.

"Of course," the Seer replied to the empty air. He turned and continued on his way.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm bored. Let's go find something to do."

Shampoo sighed and turned away from the computer terminal to look at Running Deer, currently leaning back on the couch and looking at her. The young Amazon's day was not feeling very productive so far. As it was Sunday, she had a break from her usual routine of training or preparing for a match. The fights on Sunday nights were for the "fresh meat" to start establishing their reps, focusing on them exclusively, leaving the more experienced fighters a day to relax.

After getting up this morning, she had been using the terminal in her room to get herself more familiar with the world outside Tokyo's vast Battledome, not really knowing much of the city other than a few of the restaurants and nightclubs that Running Deer had visited with her. It was kind of claustrophobic to realize how much of her existence was wrapped up within the walls of this place, spent eating, sleeping, training and fighting. Even the occasional shopping trips for new outfits with the Apache girl could be handled in the mall outside the sizable base of the Battledome. She had made notes on some places she would like to see.

She had also been very carefully researching published scholarly papers on anything possibly related to quantum resonation, making sure to avoid tripping any security traps that might be monitoring searches for such information. The results of her efforts were encouraging. The most promising leads she found were a few rather esoteric papers written on superstring theory and cosmology by an 'R. Saotome' she had found in some of the public databases. Working through the math symbology had taken her some effort, but whoever this 'R. Saotome' was, he or she seemed to be on the right track. The writing was clear and detailed, the sign of an orderly mind. Unfortunately, the last published paper was from over a year ago.

However, tracking down more information on this individual through the Ministry of Information had been a very frustrating experience as the family name 'Saotome' was relatively common in the Empire, much like how the name 'Smith' or 'Jones' was in Europe or the North American Prefectures of the Empire. Sighing, Shampoo shut down the terminal after saving her work. The machine was a little dusty, since up until recently a technological device like this had been outside her areas of interest. She knew she hadn't been technologically sophisticated before, but Ensign Shan's memories were making her feel positively primitive.

It was while she was working on her searches that her best friend came in to her apartment, having a key to it, like the Amazon had one to hers. The Apache girl had looked at what she was doing, fortunately working on sights to see at that moment, shrugged and sat down on the couch. Only a few minutes went by before she had made her announcement of boredom.

"What Running Deer want to do?" the Amazon asked, actually grateful for the chance to take a break. Sitting at a terminal for this long was already giving her a neck ache. She wasn't used to sitting still like this. She moved her neck a little, hearing a series of light pops. Yes, she had been sitting still too long staring at a computer screen.

Bouncing to her feet, Running Deer stuck her thumbs in the front belt loops of her cutoff bluejeans and eyed the Amazon. "I sure don't want to be cooped up in here watching you do whatever it is that you're doing. I didn't even know you knew how to use it."

The Amazon suddenly smiled and looked innocent. "Shampoo just full of surprises, yes?"

"Let's go out and get something to eat first," said Running Deer. "Not the cafeteria's stuff today, or our usual places. I'm feeling like trying that steak place I saw advertising. A kilo or two of prime rib cut from a Kobe cow is calling out to me. After that, we'll go find something fun to do. I just need to get out of here for a while, or I'll go nuts."

Shampoo's stomach rumbled at the mention of food. She realized she had not eaten much that morning, just some snack foods she had stocked away in her cabinets. Some fighters cooked in their apartments, but she never had, preferring the convenience of the cafeteria.

She nodded and went to change clothes. "Two minutes and Shampoo ready."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ikuto was bored manning the phones for his employer. While he might have been only a secretary in Shinzaki Designs, he should have been making more money. They were one of the most prominent suit designers in the Empire, and possibly the world.

"Cheap bastards," Ikuto was mumbling when the phone rang. He picked it up and answered in a musical voice that did not come anywhere near matching his mood, "Hello, Shinzaki Designs. How may I help you?"

The voice was that of a woman's, somewhat deep, but aside from that  
>unremarkable in any way. "I need a new suit made up for Touga Kiryuu. I assume you have his account information?"<p>

"Hold on." Ikuto went to his computer and looked up the file. "Yes, we have it."

"Well, this is going to be charged to a different credit number. It'll be for delivery to the Kiryuu estate, and I'll need a card with a message included."

"Certainly. Give me the information, and I'll get right on it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki hung up the telephone and smirked at it. She was feeling very clever in turning back Touga's ploy. Admittedly, he had eliminated her need to buy an outfit suitable for the dance at Ohtori, but she still needed to find some earrings appropriate for it and have her hair and nails done. That would not be cheap, but fortunately her funding was building back up again now that the situation with the Kashuoh heir was done with for the time being.

Within the hour, Yohko would be arriving for their shopping excursion, and that would be fun. Going shopping had always made her feel happy before, and that hadn't changed a bit now that she was possessed of memories of her martial artist counterpart. She was looking forward to spending some of her hard-earned cash on herself.

She still wasn't sure how to talk with Akane concerning the matter of Ranma's engagement to herself. Whenever she considered her sister's possible reaction, every response she could formulate came down to either an ugly argument or, more likely, a brutal fight. She didn't want to fight with her little sister, not really, but she was not going to surrender the pigtailed boy either, not to anyone. Akane was just going to have to deal with the situation and find someone else.

Someone else, Nabiki mused. The image of a familiar boy with a bandana suddenly came to mind. Yes, Ryoga Hibiki would be perfect for Akane.

She made a mental note to approach Ryoga about dating her sister the next time she saw him. She suspected the Lost Boy would be returning eventually, since Ukyo had managed to evade him the last time. He was last seen chasing Ranma off somewhere.

Nabiki frowned. According to her sources, the pigtailed boy had been witnessed mocking Ryoga before taking off. Several other people had followed after the pair: that over-endowed green-haired girl, Ryoko something or other, the Sanzenin pervert and also that annoying little bitch who knew the Anything-Goes style, Ranko Kuonji. The last one was the most perplexing to her. Nabiki had researched the Anything-Goes School over the past few weeks, wondering who might be a practitioner she should be watching out for, and it didn't exist at all, anywhere, not anymore. Happosai was long dead and buried according to Security Directorate records, executed for crimes against the Empire many decades ago, and his teachings were never passed on to anyone.

So who was Ranko Kuonji? How did she know the Anything-Goes style? And why was she seen following Ranma?

A sudden suspicion appeared in Nabiki's mind. The redhead must have somehow heard about Ranma's abilities at the Anything-Goes School and come to investigate him, possibly learning about him from a certain cross-dressing annoyance named Ukyo. Even worse, she might be seeking to get close to him. That was an even more troubling thought. One Kuonji girl was already bad enough. Two would be double the trouble.

According to what she knew so far, Ukyo and Ranko were cousins. The pigtailed girl was the daughter of Yumi Kuonji, who owned a restaurant in the area. That much Nabiki had managed to find out from her source in the government archives. A more complete dossier on Yumi Kuonji and her family was coming to her in the next few days.

Nabiki glared at the photo on her desk, a candid shot taken by her agents in Kodachi's class. She gazed at her new nemesis, an image of her happily chatting away with Kodachi's classmates, even apparently bragging about beating her. The Tendo girl's jawline and fists clenched tightly at the sight. Seared into her memory was seeing the shorter girl beating her best friend Yohko unconscious. And even with the speed gained from the Amaguriken training Nabiki had completed, the annoying little redhead had been even faster. She rubbed her ribs, still aching a little bit from yesterday, remembering the girl's knee slamming into her guts and ribcage with incredible force and then driving into her face, the last blow she remembered.

How did that girl know the Anything-Goes style? She had been told that Yumi Kuonji's file in the Ministry of Information's archives was very heavily redacted in a large number of places by the Mobius Institute, so it was possible she somehow knew the Anything-Goes style and then passed it along to her daughter. That fit the information Nabiki had available to her. Perhaps one or more old scrolls survived Happosai's execution, and the Mobius Institute trained Yumi with them.

Her contact had also informed her that Ranko had an older brother of eighteen, named Yu. Nabiki mused that perhaps she could get information on the girl by working through the brother. After all, he was only a little older than she was. A smile, some flirting, maybe a wiggle of her figure at the boy, and he'd likely be willing to tell her anything she wanted to know.

Yu Kuonji wouldn't be able to resist her. She was certain of it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma settled back in his seat and gave an appreciative burp for the meal after sipping the last of his tea. Ordinarily, on Sundays he ate all three meals with his family, but today he needed to get out of the house and away from the fake Genma. His new friend Kyosuke had talked about this little place called 'Café ABCB' when they were chatting the other day, saying they had great Kobe beef for reasonable prices and an excellent tea and coffee selection. The other boy hadn't been wrong on either count. He signaled the waitress as he pulled out his wallet.

"That's the guy," said a delinquent teen outside the restaurant, tossing down his cigarette and crushing the butt underneath his shoe. He glanced over at his companions, a boy with dark brown hair named Yusaku Hino and a girl with lighter brown hair named Hikaru Kiyama. "He took out twenty all by himself, just this morning, in the alley outside the Bike Post. It took him only a couple of minutes. I saw it happen with my own eyes."

"Yeah, right," said Hikaru dismissively. She watched Ranma leave the restaurant and head off down the street, while she casually sipped from the juice box she held in her hand. "Nobody's that good."

Yusaku grunted. "He doesn't belong to any of the gangs in the area. I've never seen that face before, but he sure must think he's pretty tough, walking around in that Chinese-style shirt like some kind of Arena fighter."

"You think he's looking for Ayukawa-senpai?" asked Hikaru. "Could he be someone moving in on her territory?"

"If he is, he's got a death wish," said Yusaku with a grin. "She'll rip him a new one. She's got her rep to protect, after all."

"Excuse us," suddenly said a new voice behind them. "We're looking to get inside."

The trio turned around and Hikaru got stars in her eyes when she saw two girls standing there, the shorter one of the pair looking a little bit impatient (and hungry).

"I-it's Shampoo and Running Deer," Hikaru said almost worshipfully. She quickly realized that the duo was looking to get past them, and she drove a quick elbow into Yusaku's gut, hit the other boy with an uppercut that lifted him off his feet and then shoved both of them away into the planters to give the pair room to walk. She even opened the door for them.

"Uh, thanks." Running Deer gave a nod to the smiling girl before turning back to address Shampoo. "Anyway, in addition to the beef, I've heard they also have a terrific tea selection. Since the lunch crowd is almost done, we should be able to get a table pretty easily."

The Amazon nodded, feeling like she was getting hungrier by the minute. She had spent the trip to the restaurant wondering how she was going to find this 'R. Saotome' person, not even knowing if it was a man or a woman. She wondered if they were even in Tokyo.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki examined her reflection in the mirror as she held up the earring next to her ear. It was a small square-cut diamond stud on a gold post.

"What do you think, Yohko?" she asked her companion.

The Devil Hunter moved closer and examined Nabiki's selection with a critical eye. She made a long 'hmmm' sound before stepping back. The Tendo girl took that as a signal to look for another one.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea, Nabiki?" Yohko picked up a bracelet that caught her eye in the display and tried it on.

"What do you mean?"

"Dating another guy behind Ranma's back like this." Yohko set the first bracelet down and picked up another one. "I just think you're setting yourself up for big trouble. I wouldn't do anything like this with Kyosuke."

"I'm not dating another guy behind his back," Nabiki said firmly. "That isn't what I'm doing at all. I'm just planning to make Ranma-kun a bit jealous, that's all. He's going to know because I plan to tell him. He is my fiancé, after all. He just needs some competition to motivate him a bit."

"You don't watch many romance dramas, do you?" Yohko's tone was dry. "This is the sort of plan that tends to blow up in someone's face, and it's never pretty. Not to mention you're going to use a guy like Touga Kiryuu for your little scheme. From what I've heard, the man's some kind of a womanizing legend. What if Ranma decides to drop you and go for the Kuno girl instead?"

"The little debutante is going to the dance at Ohtori with Miki Kaoru," Nabiki replied with a smirk. "She mentioned it in her class the other day, and one of my spies heard. She's not going to have the moral high ground on this one."

Yohko made a strangling sound.

"What's wrong?" Nabiki turned to look at her.

Yohko just stared at her for several moments before speaking. "Your rival for Ranma's affections is going to a society affair at Ohtori. Instead of using this to your own advantage, you're going to try and make him jealous by going with another guy? A guy like Touga Kiryuu? Are you insane?"

"I don't see what the problem is," Nabiki replied, a little irritated, picking up another pair of earrings. "I tell Ranma-kun about the little debutante going around behind his back with her "childhood friend" and then I show him that he needs to pay more attention to me or some other guy will take me away from him. Trust me, I have a good idea how he thinks now. He'll take it as a challenge, and Ranma Saotome doesn't like to lose when challenged."

Yohko made another strangling sound.

"Honestly, Yohko," Nabiki said with a grin. "I've got everything under control."

"Uh huh." The other girl did not sound convinced. "And what about Ukyo? He's been spending a lot of time with her. Yuka and Sayuri say they're spending their lunches together. I really think you and the Kuno girl are both about to blow yourselves out of the water with this Ohtori dance situation, and Ukyo is going to be the one to clean up. The one and only thing that _might_ save you is if Ranma went to the dance too, like maybe with that pink-haired bimbo you were gnashing your teeth about a while back. That would put the three of you back on an even level with each other."

"Ranma-kun wouldn't dare," Nabiki said flatly. "I laid down the law to him about the Tenjou girl after his rematch. After I beat him in our duel, he wouldn't dare defy me. And as for that backwoods ninja bimbo, I've got that one covered too."

Yohko wondered again what sort of a playbook Nabiki was using for her schemes. This had all the makings of something out of a romantic comedy manga, and those never resolved well for the people involved. She was certain this wasn't going to end up as neat or tidy as Nabiki thought, but she had done her part as a friend and pointed out the potential problems.

She sincerely hoped Ranma _was_ going to the dance at Ohtori, to save Nabiki from her own ego, if nothing else.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"One, please."

"First time here?" asked the attendant, looking at Ranma as he accepted the pigtailed boy's money. "I notice you don't have any skates with you. Rentals are two hundred yen extra."

Ranma nodded and handed over a couple of extra coins. "I saw your sign that you were having a discount special and thought I'd check it out."

"That's because afternoons are pretty quiet on Sundays, so you'll have the rink pretty much to yourself for at least the next hour or two. It gets a lot busier towards the evening." The attendant handed over a pair of ice skates in Ranma's size. "Have a good time."

Ranma headed into the rink area with the skates slung over his shoulder and eyed the area. Flashes of memory overlaid the scene, being at this rink, memories of other worlds. A few people were skating, but the rink was mostly empty right now. After grabbing a locker, he sat down and changed his shoes for the skates, lacing them up quickly.

Stepping out on the ice for the first time aroused more memories from other lives. Pushing off with one foot, he glided down the rink, his thoughts filled with multiple sets of memories. Seeing no one around, he closed his eyes for a moment as he came back to the straightaway, lost in memories from lives he never actually lived.

WHAM!

Ranma fell on his behind, having collided unexpectedly with another person. He got back to his feet, his mouth already forming an apology, and then he saw who he had collided with and his mouth wouldn't form the words.

It was Akane Tendo.

"Hey, buddy," growled a voice on his right. "You should watch where you're going!"

"Sorry about this, I-," Ranma started to say as he looked at the person with Akane. At the sight of Sakura Kasugano's angry-looking face, his brain went into a fugue state for a moment. Memories from the movie actor version of himself suddenly bubbled up in his mind from where they had previously laid dormant. He knew the girl with Akane very well, even intimately so.

Memories of that other world's Sakura Kasugano filled his mind: the touch of her lips to his; the feel of her warm body in bed next to him; the fact that she liked strawberries mixed with chocolate ice cream. As he stood, he hastily backed away from such thoughts and reflexively gave Akane his hand to help her up. After a moment, she took it.

"Ranma?" Akane asked, surprised to see him here. "What are you doing here?" She felt a familiar pleasant sensation run through her from the feel of his bare hand in hers. That hand was much more callused now, a sign of his intensive training, she noted in a corner of her awareness.

"I felt like going skating," he replied simply, shrugging his shoulders a bit. Being near Akane was making him feel tingly again, but he wasn't sure why the other girl had triggered similar feelings. He thought it was perhaps due to the memories of the intense relationship that other Ranma had with that world's Sakura. He was also wondering why Akane was being so nice to him and not challenging him to another stupid fight again. She was not acting as much like 'The Thug' as before.

"Waitasec," Sakura blurted out. "This is Ranma? The guy you've been talking about since we first met? The guy you lo- err, like a lot?" She blushed and gave the pigtailed boy the once over, curious to see the guy that Akane had been talking about so passionately. Being near him, she felt whispers of sensation flow along her nerves, a quiver of desire that confused her. There was something about the pigtailed boy that reminded her of her Ryu-senpai, the same sort of sensations.

"There he is!" said a male voice suddenly.

The three of them looked over to see what appeared to be about fifty delinquent youths on skates coming out on to the ice, both males and females, most of them armed with one weapon or another. Ranma goggled a bit at the sight. Next to him, Akane and Sakura eyed the crowd in puzzlement.

"That's a lot of delinquents," Sakura murmured after giving out a low whistle. She glanced over at Ranma and Akane.

"Get behind me, you two," Ranma said suddenly. "I'll take care of this."

"You're going to fight? On ice skates?" Akane looked at him in shock.

"Do ya wanna watch, or do ya wanna give me a hand?" Ranma said with a sudden grin in her direction. The whole situation was insane, but he had decided to just go with it, letting the memories of another Ranma guide him. He held out his hand to her. The small army at the other end of the rink began moving towards them menacingly. He looked at her and wiggled the fingers of his extended hand. "Trust me."

"This is crazy." Akane looked at his hand and then met his gaze. There was something there, as if he really did know what he was doing. She put her hand in his. "This is crazy!"

To Sakura's amazement, with Ranma taking the lead, the pair headed down the ice. She skated over to the side and just watched the show. She felt like she should have some popcorn.

Akane felt like laughing as she rocketed down the ice with Ranma, the two of them picking up speed. It was like they were on a date, a date with a fight included. The whole thing was so insane. But she couldn't seem to stop smiling.

The next several minutes were spent with the two of them partnered together against the small army of delinquent youths. Ranma led Akane in a dance of battle on the ice, and she followed his lead without a single complaint. Punches, knee strikes and slashes of their skates were their primary weapons. Once Ranma even hurled her into the air over a cluster of toughs and drove into their midst, catching her on the other side after he scattered them.

Akane was having the time of her life. She'd never before imagined using martial arts on skates before. Every time she looked at Ranma, she could tell he was enjoying himself too. Fighting by his side was almost better than fighting against him one-on-one in a duel.

Sakura watched the whole display with amazement, seeing the pair do things on skates that, while it was unquestionably a kind of martial arts, was nothing like any sort of martial arts she'd ever seen done before. She felt a little envious of Akane, maybe even jealous, finding such an interesting boy.

He was also an incredible fighter, maybe even better than her beloved Ryu-senpai. She took mental notes of some of his techniques and wondered if he was interested in taking on students. Sparring with him might teach her a lot too. She smiled at the thought.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What do you mean, you're closed for repairs?"

"We had some kind of gang war take place inside a little while ago," said the manager, pausing from explaining the matter to a pair of incredulous-looking peaceforcers. Crews were assisting battered teens off the rink and beginning to repair damaged sections of ice and other things. Some of the delinquents had to be removed from impact sites in walls.

Running Deer looked disappointed and turned to face Shampoo. She shrugged her shoulders. The Amazon hadn't really been interested in ice skating today, but the Apache girl had suggested it after seeing the sign outside advertising a Sunday discount while they walked down the street.

"It okay," Shampoo said with a smile. "Shampoo no mind."

"Well, _I_ mind." Running Deer felt grumpy. She had really wanted to do some skating.

What kind of idiots fought in a skating rink?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma checked the address on the slip of paper he was holding against the number on the building. They matched, he noted with relief. After dealing with the horde of idiots at the skating rink, he had managed to slip away from Akane and the Kasugano girl shortly after.

Finished locking up his motorcycle next to a blue one, he shoved the paper back into his pocket and walked into the building. It was very quiet, most of the businesses closed. The only one with a light on was his destination: Kimagure Dance Studio.

Inside the studio, Madoka Ayukawa was alone, dancing. Dressed in a blue leotard and yellow legwarmers, she glided through the intricate steps as classical music played in the background. While she appeared outwardly calm, inside she was troubled. Her cohorts had reported to her that someone was making a move on her territory. He was someone very strong, maybe even stronger than she was.

The only description she had so far was that he wore Chinese-style clothes and had his hair in a pigtail. He apparently moved like a cyclone through enemies, but none of her people had been seriously hurt. Perhaps he was preserving his strength. She should have been training, preparing herself to face him, but dance made her feel more relaxed.

Ranma entered the studio to find a girl about his age there, dancing alone. The bell on the door rang at his entry, but she appeared lost in her efforts, moving with great skill to the music. He listened to the melody, recognizing it as a piece from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" ballet.

Sensing a presence in the studio, Madoka suddenly opened her eyes to see Ranma standing there by the door listening to the music. His Chinese-style clothing and pigtail were a match for the description she had been given. After dealing with her people, he had finally come for her. She realized it was the same boy she had seen while riding her motorcycle that morning. He must have been stalking her all day, biding his time.

She tensed, awaiting his challenge. She felt loose and limber, ready to fight. He noticed her looking at him and then he smiled.

"I saw in the paper that your studio is offering dance lessons at a weekly rate," Ranma said, feeling oddly that he knew this girl from somewhere. "I've come to sign up for lessons. I have a formal dance to get ready for." He pulled out some money taken from his savings. "I can pay cash."

Madoka blinked, not expecting that at all. He wasn't here to fight with her? Then why had he been beating up her friends and associates all day? Was this some sort of misunderstanding? Had he just been defending himself?

"Uh, yes," Madoka said with a confused smile. "We're always looking for new students. The Master is out right now, but I can help you."

"Great! I really want to get started right away." He waited as the girl got out the paperwork. "My name is Ranma Saotome."

"I'm Madoka Ayukawa." She set the form explaining the pricing down in front of him for his mark and gave him a bow. "It's nice to meet you." She felt relief flow through her, but she made a mental note to pound on her subordinates later for making her worry like this.

A few minutes later, they were on the dance floor and the music was playing. Madoka stepped up to him. "We'll start with the most basic ballroom maneuvers for a waltz." She held out one hand to him. "Put one hand on my hip and take my hand with your other one."

Taking her hand and putting his other on her hip, Ranma felt an odd ghost of memory kindle. Seeing her face up close like this, he felt like he should know her. She was model pretty in her features, but that wasn't it.

They began to move slowly to the music in a basic step. Ranma struggled at first, feeling clumsy as the first half hour passed. Her face was set in a professional gaze, but then she smiled at him encouragingly.

Something seemed to suddenly click into place inside him when he saw her smile.

Madoka was startled when Ranma suddenly began to dance with her, not the rather faltering movements of before, but smoothly flowing ones now. She saw him smile at her. "I think I'm getting it."

The next few hours were spent with her and Ranma dancing. She only had to show him a step once, and he was immediately a master of it as if he had been practicing dance for years. She felt her heart seem to sing within her with him as her partner. She had danced with many men before, but never one her own age who was so skilled and graceful.

"You're a natural talent," she said after a time. The studio's owner had returned while she was showing Ranma a more advanced waltz maneuver and had remained quiet ever since, watching them. She saw Master smile at them now and then as they maneuvered around the room.

At the end, she was left tired but happy. She smiled at Ranma.

"You have all the basics down perfectly now," she said. "You could go to the dance now and not have any problems. Anything more we could do together this week would just be advanced steps that most partners probably wouldn't be able to do with you." Inside, she found herself hoping he returned for the rest of his lessons anyway.

"Can I treat you to some dinner in payment for your efforts?" Ranma asked suddenly, smiling at her warmly. She heard Master cough behind her and spill a little of his tea. She looked at Ranma, seeing a look other men had given her, one she knew well, but softened and less threatening somehow.

"O-okay," she said, feeling her heart stuttering a bit inside her. It was an impulsive thing for her to accept such an invitation, she knew that. But somehow she didn't seem to care. When they had been moving together in the dance, she could feel something from him, something no other boy had ever made her feel.

After changing clothes, Madoka joined Ranma for dinner at a place near the studio. The two of them talked, and he told her about himself, how he had done some acting and hoped to be in the movies someday. With his looks and physical talents, she could believe it.

At the end of the date, he asked her for her telephone number, and she gave it to him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki stood across the street from the Yu-chan and debated her entry into what was nominally enemy territory. It would have to appear unintentional, as if she had not known this was Ukyo's base of operations. According to her sources, the backwoods bimbo was inside doing "waitering" duties in male guise while her cousin worked the grill. Her personal information network already had put together an approximation of Yu's work schedule, and several brief views when the front door was open had confirmed that fact.

Two figures passed behind her on the street as she studied the door of the Yu-chan.

"It should be someplace around here," said one of them. "The food is supposed to be really good."

"Shampoo tired of walking."

Startled hearing that voice, Nabiki half-turned around to see a very familiar Amazon and some girl she didn't recognize standing on her side of the street. Memories of other version of the Chinese girl flowed across her mind. She briefly shivered involuntarily at some of them, her analog apparently a bit more "open" to being with girls than she felt comfortable with, even sharing the memories of such intimacies. She recalled Ranma saying that his analogs had encountered Shampoo when the two of them had traded stories weeks ago.

She knew the Amazon was fighting in the Arena, a fact that was hard to miss with the life-size posters Akane had in her room of the girl. But even with her analog's memories, that was not a very important thing to her. There had been more important things to deal with. Now Shampoo was standing right in front of her, and it felt strange.

While looking around at the signs, Shampoo noticed that one of the local girls was staring at her rather intently. While she knew she was famous, the other girl wasn't looking at her like a fan would. It was making her feel a bit uncomfortable. She turned to face Nabiki.

"Short-haired girl want something?" she asked, trying to be pleasant. Moving closer, she started feeling mild irritation, like her old rival Perfume always made her feel. She wasn't sure why she felt that way, just that she did. "Staring is rude."

"I wasn't staring!" Nabiki snapped back, feeling defensive from her intimate memories and realizing that the Amazon was giving off a vibe like Kodachi or Ukyo gave her.

Running Deer stepped between them before something serious happened. She steered her friend across the street. "No worries, Shampoo. I see the place now." And the two of them went into the front of the Yu-chan.

Relaxing the hands she suddenly realized had balled into fists, Nabiki decided to head home. Trying to work her wiles on Yu with the Chinese wonder in there was not a promising scenario. If he was like any other boy, he would likely be staring at Shampoo's chest. The Amazon's figure was even more impressive than her own, and that was irritating.

She felt relieved though, that Ranma was not involved with the Chinese girl. She would really have to come down on him hard if that somehow happened. Having to compete with the likes of a mannish cross-dresser like Ukyo and a stuck-up floozy like Kodachi was already bad enough. Adding a primitive barbarian like Shampoo to the mix would be the icing on the cake.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi slumped to her knees; sweat beading upon her body as she felt her reserves running low. Her muscles trembled with exhaustion as she panted, her lungs on fire from the intensive workout. Not even when she had prepared for the toughest gymnastics tournaments had she ever made herself train so hard.

At least the exertions helped quiet the voices in her mind and their concerns over Ranma and her current irritation with him, especially his cowardly withdrawal after almost kissing her. She rolled into a sitting position as she rested her arms on her knees, still catching her breath. She knew she had to get herself in better condition, and the only way to do that was hard work, pushing past her limits and reaching out even further. That damned Nabiki Tendo was making her look like a fool every day during their sparring matches, and she was far past being tired of it.

Kenseiko stood outside one of the doors to the training hall, watching her daughter rise to her feet again and begin practicing some more. She felt so proud of the girl. A smile lit her face as she saw the fierce determination in Kodachi's eyes, and the fire that was there. She was startled when a hand fell upon her shoulder.

"It's good to see you taking such a serious interest in our daughter again, Kenseiko," she heard her husband say. "How is her training going?"

Kenseiko patted his hand on her shoulder, feeling comforted by his presence. "It goes very well. She does the Kuno name proud." Her gaze moved to look at him, a slight smile appearing on her face. "The servants tell me that Tatewaki is showing improvement as well."

Lord Kuno grunted and nodded. "He is very determined to defeat young Saotome." What he left unsaid to his wife was that Tatewaki's desires for the Tendo girls were undiminished as well, especially for Nabiki. Beating her was just as strong a desire for his son as his desire to win against Ranma, only for very different reasons. "How go your preparations for meeting this potential bride for our son? If we could wed him to an Arisugawa girl, it will strengthen the positions of both families greatly in the Empire."

"They go well," Kenseiko replied, closing the door and leaving Kodachi to continue her late-night practice on her own. "We agreed to hold it in a few days. Lady Arisugawa seemed most eager to have her daughter meet Tatewaki."

"Good." His arm slipped down around her waist as he began drawing her away from the door to the training hall and heading in the direction of their bedchamber. "I've heard the girl fancies herself a duelist. She and Tatewaki should have something in common then."

Kenseiko smiled at him as she let herself be led, looking forward to exchanging intimacies with her husband.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinako heard the doorbell ring as she finished drying her hair. Putting a robe around herself, she padded to the front door of her apartment and took a look at the monitor to see who was there. She was startled to see Ranma Saotome standing at the entrance to her building.

"Saotome-san?" she said through the intercom. "This is a surprise. Did you get the message I left with your mother?"

"Yes," Ranma said with a smile at the camera lens. "I was in the area and heading home, and I thought I'd drop by and have some tea and talk with you. If this is an inconvenient time, I could come back another day."

"Not at all." She buzzed him into the building and hurried to change into something more appropriate than a cotton robe.

Ranma headed towards the door to Hinako's apartment and absently hummed the love theme from the "Young Master" movie series. He checked his appearance in the hallway mirror for a moment and popped in a breath mint from a package he had picked up after his dinner date with Madoka. He stopped in front of the door to the apartment and rang the bell once. His thoughts were on how nice it was to have seen Sakura-chan and Madoka-chan today, but he was feeling a little vague as to why they didn't seem to know him.

No matter. He would "re-acquaint" himself with them again and clear up the confusion in his memories. After all, his mother said he shouldn't let his urges and desires build up too much inside, that it was healthy for a young man to let them out. While he waited, he contemplated the other young women he knew.

Take that Akane Tendo girl. She had certainly been giving him all the right signals of interest, even if she was a little crazy. But a little crazy made a girl fun. He was certain it wouldn't take too much effort to bed her. As passionate as she was about fighting, she was probably a lot of fun, he mused.

Then there was Nabiki Tendo. Ah, sweet Nabiki-chan. Such an incredible figure that girl had, with nicely-firm breasts and a shapely physique. She just needed a firm hand to lay down the law with her, to show her just who the man was in their relationship. Now that summer was almost here, he'd love to see her in a bikini.

The Masaki girl had an equally impressive figure to Nabiki's, solid of build but padded nicely with all the right sort of cushions, especially on her chest. Green hair was a turn-on for him, and wrestling with her in bed would probably really get that one's motor going. Yes, that one was worth pursuing.

Sweet, tomboyish Ukyo was clearly in need of some tender loving, he mused as he considered the ninja next. He could sense a volcanic level of passion waiting to be unleashed in that one. He looked forward to bedding her regularly.

Ukyo reminded him of the Tenjou girl, another tomboyish one he was looking forward to spending more time with in a week at the Ohtori dance. Maybe after the dance the two of them could have a more private party. The thought of her long, coltish legs wrapped around him was arousing. While she was not as well-endowed as some of the other girls, her face and figure was very attractive to him.

However, he could not neglect sweet Kodachi-chan. That pervert Sanzenin had it right when he listed off her charms: the legs, the thighs and those delectable breasts. She was a banquet of sensuality just waiting for him to consume.

It was a shame Shampoo wasn't around. She was back in China, probably being chased by that pathetic loser, Mousse. She had certainly been appreciative of his manliness. He smiled at the thought of the Amazon, occupying his wait with memories of her impressive physique, easily the best of all the girls he knew.

He wasn't long in waiting. Hinako opened the door, dressed in a casual outfit of a blue silk blouse with the top button unbuttoned and a black knee-length skirt. She smiled at him, and he let his gaze traverse her figure briefly, pausing momentarily on her shapely legs and full bosom before returning his regard to her face.

"Saotome-san," she said with a slight bow. "It is a pleasant surprise to have you come and visit me tonight. You wanted to talk?"

Ranma bowed more deeply in reply. "It is an honor to have been invited by you, Ninomiya-san." He came in and shut the door behind himself. "I was informed you wished to... instruct me."

"That's right, Saotome-san." She strolled into the main room of her apartment, a subtle sway to her walk, just enough to attract male attention without being obvious about it. "You haven't dealt much with politics, and I thought a woman of my experience could assist you with your future at the Ministry of Science."

Ranma recognized the subtle signals that Hinako was giving off as he listened to her talk, but most of his attention was locked on to her shapely derriere and what he could see of her legs as she walked away from him. His mother was right yet again, an older woman like Hinako could doubtless teach him things that girls his own age would not be able to. His smile turned roguish.

"Make yourself comfortable, and I'll prepare tea," Hinako said with a smile, going into the kitchen.

Ranma seated himself on the couch and looked around. It was a very nice setup she had, with a majestic view of the region. While the couch was nice and would do for certain activities, he wondered how long it would take him to get her into the bedroom for some "special" instruction by her.

He knew that she wanted him. All women did.

At that moment, the front door opened, and Colonel Gendo Rokubungi came into the apartment. He was holding a dozen red roses. "Hina-chan, are you home? You haven't been returning my calls."

Ranma smirked at the sight of him. "I think you have the wrong place, old man. Tonight, she's going to be Hinako-sensei for me."

"Who the hell are you?" Gendo asked, staring at Ranma.

Ranma stood up and cracked his knuckles. "I'm Hinako-sensei's new student. I'll make sure she gets the flowers."

There was a sudden furious commotion, the sound of several solid strikes into a body and then Gendo came sailing out Hinako's open balcony door. Ranma closed the glass and curtains as Gendo's scream faded into the distance during the fall into the pool many stories below. He was seating himself back down on Hinako's couch and wondering what to do with the flowers when Hinako returned with the tea.

"Did I hear someone at the door?" She set the tray down. Seeing the roses in his hands, she looked at him in puzzlement. "Saotome-san, did you have flowers delivered to me? They look beautiful." Underneath her cynical exterior, she felt a flicker of genuine appreciation. "I'll go put these in some water."

While she was in the kitchen getting a vase and some water, the door opened up and a battered and drenched Gendo appeared, his gun drawn.

"You just don't learn, do you, old man?" said Ranma, having moved to stand behind the door. He reached out and flipped the safety back on, remembering how to handle a gun from some of his movie work and then swiftly twisted the pistol around in Gendo's hand. There was a pop as the trigger finger dislocated, and Ranma clamped his free hand down on the man's mouth to prevent any screams being heard.

A few moments later, Gendo came sailing off the balcony for a second time, his trajectory aimed at the pool far below. Ranma watched as he belly flopped into the water and lay face down. The pigtailed boy continued to watch for movement for a minute and then sighed.

"Ah well, guess it can't be helped." He hopped up on to the railing and eyed the pool below. He dove off into a swan dive, free falling ten stories to the water below.

A minute or so later, Ranma-chan hauled Gendo's unconscious body from the pool. She wasn't sure where she was. The last few hours were a blur. Before finding herself in the pool, she had been taking some dance lessons.

After making sure that the unknown man in uniform was breathing, she ran off to find her motorcycle and leave. Luckily, the air was warmer tonight, the weather beginning to segue into summer. She squeezed the water out of her clothes and decided to drive slowly to avoid getting a chill.

Back in her apartment, Hinako came back out of the kitchen to find Ranma gone. She wondered in puzzlement why there were puddles of water on the floor leading to the balcony. She got some towels to clean them up.

As she was cleaning, Gendo suddenly opened her door, looking pretty wild around the eyes and sopping wet, holding his injured hand.

"Where's that little punk!" he roared, seeing her. "He threw me out the window into the pool! Twice!"

Hinako glowered at him, now understanding what had happened to Ranma. Gendo must have scared him off. Her opportunity to seduce the boy had been ruined.

There was a sudden furious commotion, the sound of several very solid strikes into a body and then Gendo came sailing through Hinako's closed balcony door in a brief shattering of glass. She listened with mild pleasure as Gendo's scream faded into the distance during the fall into the pool many stories below.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few days later, Touga was just putting the finishing touches on his tie when he heard a tired knock on the door.

"Enter, Laughlin."

The butler did so, bearing a gift wrapped garment bag in his arms. "This just came for you, sir."

Touga accepted the bag, looking at it curiously. "What is it?"

The butler was already heading out the door. "I couldn't say, sir, though I doubt if it's what you really need. After all, how does one gift wrap a personality?"

The door closed behind the butler with an audible click.

Touga could not help smiling. "Amusing." He opened the garment bag and saw the white suit it contained within. He recognized the familiar handiwork of a Shinzaki, since he purchased nearly all of his clothing from there. However, he hadn't ordered anything from them in months. His first suspicion was that someone had made a mistake until he spotted the envelope sticking out of one of the pockets. He lifted it out and read the letter within.

"I find that white goes best with black."

Touga's smile broadened. He knew it would fit without even trying it on. Very clever of the girl. But then, if she hadn't been that inventive, pursuing her wouldn't be so enjoyable. "Touché," he said in deference to his opponent who was there in spirit, if not in body.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks to DB Sommer for his help in tightening up several scenes.

The scenes involving Touga's gift to Nabiki and her response were provided by the writing abilities of DB Sommer, who has contributed so much to QD's world.


	25. A Taste Of Things To Come

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Mousse settled himself on the cliff and listened for patrols. It had been a long night. He had been fortunate in being able to retrieve his pack from where it had fallen, and it rested in a crack in the rocks near him while he took a break. Fortunately, his grandmother had told him stories of Jusenkyo's magic when he was young, so he knew that hot water would restore his human form.

One of the soldiers he'd left unconscious had carried a thermos of hot water for tea. Luckily, the squad hadn't been expecting something like his cursed form, so the battle had been quick and much less brutal then it could have been. Killing them would have likely roused the hunters up even more, so he was glad it hadn't been necessary.

A shiver ran up his spine at the thought of what had happened to him, that a simple splash of cold water would now turn him into something other than human. Unfortunately, with so many soldiers now guarding the pools after hearing the end of his battle with the squad, he would have to find a cure for his condition elsewhere. He was only half a man now, and he laid the blame for delaying his cure on the Empire. An intense hatred for all Japanese simmered within him now.

However, after several moments, he turned his thoughts to his true goal. Not even an army of soldiers would keep him from that one, the only thing that mattered to him: Shampoo. Once he returned to the village, he would win her for himself. He chafed at the present delay.

He had been dodging the clumsy soldiers stomping around the terrain for hours now, apparently looking for something other than him. Not wanting to bring any suspicion upon the village of Joketsuzoku, he had held off returning to it immediately, waiting until the Empire's search efforts cooled. It wasn't so difficult to stay hidden from them, but he did have to keep moving. Still, there was one benefit to the experience; being hunted was proving to be good training for his stealth skills.

He decided it was time for a quick nap. There had been no sign of any pursuit for a while, so perhaps the soldiers had found their targets. Either way, it was no concern of his. His only reason for being right now was to return to the village and face Shampoo, to face his destiny. But it was so hard to wait, knowing how close she was. It had been far too long since he had last seen his beloved.

Mousse closed his eyes to sleep, and his dreams were of Shampoo, of finally becoming her husband. That strange woman had told him what he must do to claim her, the path he must walk, and now, years later, it was time for him to return and fight for what was rightfully his.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Mousse returned home but was delayed by a dip in one of Jusenkyo's pools. Touga's efforts at seducing Nabiki took a step forward. An alliance formed in the Arena between Mina Li and the new girl, Shenhua. Happosai tracked down Genma on the Shampoo 1/2 Earth, and construction of the beacon continued. The Church introduced some of its teenaged members to Kodachi. Ranma went skating, learned how to dance, went on a date and paid a visit to Hinako Ninomiya.

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Chapter 25 – A Taste Of Things To Come

There are no great men, just great circumstances, and how they

handle those circumstances will determine the outcome of history.

- Admiral William "Bull" Halsey

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The crowds of cadets jostled at each other for better vantage points as they watched the brutal fight currently taking place in the middle of the main courtyard, even as it intensified further. Kyosuke found himself shoved about as he tried to get clear of the pack of excited, screaming girls all around him, many of them waving signs and holding up banners showing their support for Ukyo. It seemed that every female cadet within sight was yelling at the object of their collective affection.

"I love you, Kuonji-kun!" shouted one female cadet in a blue uniform.

"Date me!" screamed a girl in a gray one, so passionately she looked to be nearing apoplexy.

"I want to have your baby!" yelled Yuka, just to his right. "He's so dreamy," she stated more softly, nearly swooning.

"I've got a thousand yen on you, Kuonji!" shouted Sayuri through cupped hands nearby. "You'd better not lose!"

Finally getting free of the press of bodies, he bumped into Minami, who had been caught up in another group, and the two of them stayed close together as he tried to figure out what was going on. Kyosuke did his best to protect her as they were pushed about by the excited mob. It was like a feeding frenzy, the crowd's excitement feeding off the intensity being thrown off by the two struggling combatants. An elbow caught him in the side when he wasn't expecting it, knocking the wind from him.

"Kasuga-senpai!" Minami bent down to help him up.

Knots of male cadets were all around as well, some of them eyeing the girls and scowling, and others watching the fight. It was clear to Kyosuke that Ukyo was not well liked for his popularity with the female cadets, and they were backing the challenger. They didn't wave signs or carry banners, but their sentiments were clear.

"Bust him up!" shouted one pimply-faced boy, waving his fist.

"Break that pretty face of his!" yelled Hiroshi, his eyes glittering with malice as he watched the fight.

"Put him down hard!" screamed a thin boy nearby.

"I've got a thousand yen on you, Hibiki!" shouted Daisuke.

Where was Nabiki? Or Ranma? Either one of them was strong enough to put a stop to this before someone got badly hurt. But Kyosuke could not see them in the crowd, or any of the instructors.

Just then, after a particularly savage exchange between the two at the center of all this, Ukyo took a solid hit to the shoulder from the umbrella being wielded by the boy wearing the bandana and went down on one knee, his shoulder possibly dislocated. The crowd became even more emphatic in their shouts and screams as the tide of battle seemed to be turning against Ukyo. When the ninja came back up from the ground with a grimace and unleashed a powerful two-handed smashing strike with his polearm weapon across Ryoga's face, there were cheers and whistles from the girls. However, despite having the support of pretty much every female in the crowd, Ukyo had been taking the worst of the fierce brawl, his entire jaw purpling from a blow earlier on that might have broken it and looking like he was trying to protect injured ribs.

The other combatant didn't look much better, and Kyosuke could see him bleeding freely from a cut over one eye. Ukyo's last strike with the flat of his spatula weapon had bruised and blackened a good portion of Ryoga's face, and the eye on that side of his head was now swollen almost completely shut. But their injuries only seemed to inflame the fury of both fighters, and they leaped at each other once again, blood and sweat flying as grunts of effort could be heard from them both.

There was a sudden explosion of white from a flour bomb Ukyo pulled out, detonating it by dashing it against the ground. The two fighters were quickly lost in the midst of the smoke, and the bystanders began coughing as it swept over the crowd. Only dim shadows could be seen within as a clash of weapons could be heard. Then a sound like a sledgehammer hitting a side of beef sounded and a badly battered Ukyo suddenly flew out of the smoke to slam up against the outer wall of the grounds.

Ryoga emerged slowly from the fading cloud with grim purpose filling his gaze, even as Ukyo somehow managed to rise shakily to his feet, clutching at his side and coughing up a gobbet of blood. Kyosuke could not seem to tear his eyes away from the sight as Ryoga stopped in front of the helpless Ukyo and began battering him back and forth with blow after mighty blow from his umbrella. Ukyo's guard was already broken, unable to keep up with Ryoga's awesome fury. He lost his grip on his spatula, and the other boy almost contemptuously knocked it aside with a sweep of his weapon. Slowly, even while Ukyo struggled to remain conscious and standing, Ryoga pulled off the cloth belt from his waist and snapped it out straight like a sword.

"No more tricks, and no more lies," Ryoga growled, as the crowd went still, waiting for what was about to happen. "This is the end!"

Ryoga slashed the cloth blade down across Ukyo's front in a killing blow-

-and Kyosuke came awake with a gasp.

He found himself tangled up in his blankets, his head somewhere near the foot of his bed as he lay sprawled out across it. Bolting upright, he felt his heart beating like a trip-hammer, the blood thundering in his ears. A cold sweat coated his body, and his sleeping clothes were clammy on him as he sat there, his eyes wide.

"W-what? W-what was that?" He took deep breaths to calm himself.

Having finally struggled free of his blankets, Kyosuke rolled over and sat at the edge of his bed, and then he almost leaped out of his skin when his alarm clock suddenly rang. He slapped a hand down on it, feeling his heart stutter back to life again. He dropped his face into his hands and tried to regain control of himself, feeling himself tremble. He had just watched his new friend Ukyo die.

Had the Power given him a glimpse of the future? Could he change it?

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Godai awoke when an arm suddenly flopped across his chest, uncertain where he was at first, an unfamiliar ceiling above him. A warm body was lying snuggled up against him, and he felt breath gusting lightly against his shoulder. He gazed up at the ceiling, taking a moment to finally recognize it as his room in the Tendos' house. The last thing he remembered, he had been out drinking with an old school friend of his, Keiichi Morisato, listening to the other man fret about the state of his relationship with his new girlfriend, Yui Ikari. His former neighbor, Akemi Roppongi, was their server. She worked two jobs as a waitress to make ends meet, he recalled.

He vaguely recollected a group of women around their age arriving at the bar while he had been sitting at a table with Morisato: a pair of off-duty peaceforcers, two Security Directorate agents in uniform and Ayaka Kisaragi. The five of them were already a little drunk and had come staggering in, Ayaka and one of the Security Directorate agents singing a bawdy song at the tops of their lungs as they held each other up, apparently the best of friends. Yui and Ayaka had spotted Keiichi and him and steered their drinking posse towards them, and that was the last thing he remembered.

That must be it, he realized. Kisaragi-san must have helped him get back home while he was drunk. He turned to look at his unexpected bedmate as he began moving away from her. He was still wearing his pants, so nothing too risqué could have happened. He froze when he saw who it was.

Kasumi Ono, formerly Kasumi Tendo.

Godai blinked several times. This was bad. This was _really_ bad. Her father would not only kill him, but the scattered pieces of his body would likely never be found again.

He tried to pull away from the sleeping woman, and she latched on to his arm and snuggled against him, murmuring softly. He laid back down and tried to think of a way out of this, short of gnawing off his own arm. He was sleeping with a married woman in her father's house. It didn't get much more awkward than that.

He felt Kasumi move a bit, suddenly reaching up to hold his head. He turned to look at her. Her lips suddenly made contact with his, and his eyes went very wide as she pressed her lips to his. He was kissing a married woman! Her father _and_ her husband were both going to kill him, the only question being who would get to him first. He made the mistake of opening his mouth to try and speak, but that only ended up deepening the kiss between them. Godai felt his brain going into a fugue state at the feel of her tongue in his mouth.

Kasumi sighed with enjoyment as she dreamed about being with Lt. Godai. The two of them were on a cliff somewhere, embracing, with romantic music playing in the background. She tilted her face upwards and felt him kiss her. She knew she was in exactly the right place she should be in the universe. She opened her mouth joyfully and deepened the kiss. It was a wonderful experience.

Godai's alarm clock suddenly went off. Kasumi's eyes opened, and she quickly realized that her dream was all too real. Godai waited for the inevitable explosion, for her to respond with anger and rage like other women would in such a situation and scream or slap him for being a pervert. He saw her sit up, her gaze oddly calm.

"Oh my," she said and then put one hand over her mouth in shock.

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Ayaka Kisaragi was having a wonderful dream. In it, Godai-kun had come back to her apartment with her for some fun. They had slow danced for a time, drank some more and then collapsed into bed together. As soon as they had a little rest to cleanse the alcohol from their bodies a bit, she was going to rock his world.

When she awoke, she could feel a mouth pressed warmly against hers, and she opened hers to accept the kiss more fully, feeling his tongue move pleasantly against hers. She dreamily opened her eyes expecting to see her beloved Godai-kun. Her eyes went wide when she realized who was kissing her.

Yui Ikari's eyes went wide as well when she realized she wasn't in bed with her boyfriend, Keiichi. She was kissing Ayaka, open-mouthed and passionate.

The two of them blasted apart, Yui rolling out of the futon to land on the floor and Ayaka ending up against the wall, the two of them eyeing each other warily.

"We shall never speak of this again," said Ayaka after a moment.

"Agreed," Yui quickly replied.

"Coffee?" Ayaka asked after another moment.

"Yes!" Yui snapped out, grateful at the change in subject.

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Luckily, sneaking Kasumi out of his room proved to be less challenging for the two of them to accomplish than Godai feared it would be.

After groveling for a minute or two at her feet and asking her for forgiveness at his dishonoring her, she had listened to him briefly and then bent down and helped him back up with an amused look on her face. Her soothing words quickly calmed him down. Then she had calmly dressed in her scattered items of clothing, her face thoughtful. Godai had occupied himself looking away from her and listening for activity in the hall, certain that she hated him now. All the women he had ever been closely involved with were reactionary, tsundere sorts, even his mother and sister, so he thought all women were like that, some just more openly.

Kasumi opened the door to his room slightly, eyeing the hallway for a moment. It was still early, so the only sounds she heard were those of Kyoko, the housekeeper, in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She turned back to face him.

"It's all right, Godai-san," she said softly. "I know this house well. It'll be fine."

"I'm really sorry about this, Ono-san," he said sincerely. "I don't normally drink like that."

"Neither do I." Kasumi looked at him, her natural empathy affirming her original opinion of him that he was a good and honest man. She felt a sudden impulse take hold of her, reminding her she still needed to thank him for inspiring her return to active duty in the Directorate. "Have dinner with me Wednesday night. We can talk and clear the air about this situation." Her husband would be working late that night, so it was an ideal time for her to spend a night with a new friend.

"What?" Godai replied in surprise. "I-I couldn't do that."

"I'm not proposing we start an affair, Godai-san." Kasumi smiled at him in amusement. "However, we keep running into each other, so I thought we should try and be friends. It might make things less awkward between us, and I don't have many friends."

"I-I guess that would be okay then," he answered, feeling more at ease. "We should probably eat somewhere downtown. Have you ever been to a place called the ABCB? They have good steaks and tea, I've heard."

"That would be nice, Godai-san. I will see you at Furinkan after classes are over on Wednesday." She bowed to him. He returned the bow.

She then slipped out the door and was gone like a phantom.

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P-chan blinked his eyes open, feeling refreshed from his sleep, as one of the servants came in to open the shades. He wriggled free of the loose grip Kodachi had on him and walked across the pillow to sit and gaze in wonder at her sleeping form. Unlike other, lesser girls, she appeared to his captivated eye just as radiant and beautiful as any of the finest ladies to ever grace the noble courts of the Empire.

The tie across the chest area of her negligee had parted during the night, and he felt his breath come a little heavier as she stirred a little, the cloth slipping to almost uncover one nipple. He groaned softly at the sight and then her eyes opened. She smiled at him, and it was as if the sun had come out to warm him with its glow.

"G'mornin', P-chan," she murmured sleepily to him, before reaching out to give him a gentle pat on the head and scratch behind his ears. "I hope you slept well."

Oh, that was ecstasy, the feel of her hand there, and he reveled in the pleasant sensations. There was nothing sexual in her touch, but he was oddly contented by it, her gentle fingers moving over the soft fuzz of his fur. He closed his eyes, wriggling and giving off little grunts of enjoyment as her hand caressed him. When she pulled it away, he gazed at her and gave a few pleased-sounding snorts.

"What do you say to me taking you to school with me today, P-chan?" she asked as she sat up, the silk cloth of her nightgown shifting around again. "Would you like that?"

P-chan nodded his head as he sat there on his haunches, grinning like an idiot. He would have to change back and make a few quick telephone calls to explain his absence from classes today, but that would not be difficult. Whitehall and its sister academy, Blackhall, were loose in their attendance requirements, not that the instructors ever dared to comment. His grin grew broader as Kodachi slipped out of bed and pulled off her negligee, leaving her standing gloriously naked in front of him for a few moments before putting on her robe and sitting down at her vanity table. She began brushing her long hair with slow, measured strokes through their silken lengths.

He sighed, feeling a contentment within himself that was even better than the afterglow from an intense bout of sex.

Well, almost, he quickly amended. Still, life was pretty good right now.

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"May I refill your bowl, Godai-san?"

Godai looked up from reviewing his lesson notebook resting on the dining room table and realized his rice bowl was empty. He saw Kyoko giving him an innocent smile. Off to one side, Akane and Nabiki were consuming their food with vigor, especially Nabiki. With a slight bow, he handed it to Kyoko and accepted it back after she refilled it and held it out to him with both hands. He then made to reach for the last fried egg on the serving dish, but it was already gone. He blinked, wondering where it had gone.

Nabiki swallowed her food, relishing the taste of the fried egg and steamed rice mixed together. She then went back to emptying her bowl for the third time. Kyoko's cooking wasn't quite as good as Kasumi's was in that other world of her martial artist counterpart, but it was almost as tasty. When she was finished, she set down her bowl and got up from the table.

"Thank you for the food," Nabiki said, and then she headed out of the room to get her bookbag, jacket and shoes. "I'm off to school."

Sipping briefly at her bowl of miso soup, Akane watched irritably as Nabiki left. Her sister used to have such elegant manners at the table, almost as proper as Kasumi's, but lately she had been eating like a starving barbarian at mealtimes. Ordinarily, Akane would not have cared at all, but Nabiki's theft of Ranma from under her nose had put her in a sour mood in regards to anything her sister did anymore. And even though she was not training for the Security Directorate anymore, she had been noticing an odd pattern of changes in Nabiki, ever since her sister had gone to investigate Ranma's lab space all those weeks ago. What could have happened that night?

It didn't matter to Akane at this point. Her sister had betrayed her, stolen from her, and such an act of treachery could not go unpunished. Akane's hand curled into a fist at her side, but she forced herself to relax it again a moment later. She wasn't quite ready to take on her older sister, not yet, but her training was going well. With her new friend Sakura Kasugano's help, she was getting closer to mastering the Cherry Blossom Fist, and with it she would crush Nabiki, not letting up until her sister went down. It was only a matter of time and then she could go back to working on becoming a member of Furinkan's Combat Club, maybe even testing her new strength against Sakura again. She picked up her tea and drank deeply, her gaze fierce.

Maybe after dealing with Nabiki, she would show Ranma her new strength too, she mused, her gaze softening at the thought of him. It had been so much fun at the skating rink, and it had felt so good fighting at his side, like it was where she was supposed to be. And combining figure skating and martial arts was such a clever idea. She wondered what had prompted him to come up with it.

Kyoko glanced up at the clock on the wall, and the gentle expression on her face hardened slightly. At that moment, the doorbell rang. With a slight bow to Godai, she got up and went to answer it.

Standing there on the front porch when Kyoko opened the door was Ayaka Kisaragi. She smiled at the Tendo's housekeeper and bowed slightly in greeting. "Good morning, Otonashi-san. Is Godai-kun ready to go?"

"Godai-san is finishing his breakfast," Kyoko replied a bit primly, eyeing the other woman coolly. Ever since his arrival at the house, Ayaka had been giving Godai rides to Furinkan Academy, even though it was in almost the exact opposite direction from the Tendo household's location to the Imperial Academy. Perhaps she was simply checking up on him after whatever ordeal he had endured, but Kyoko's women's intuition was suspicious of the redhead's motives, especially since it was not appropriate for Ayaka to be calling him by so familiar a manner after so short a time knowing him. She bowed back and stood aside. "You may come in and wait."

"Great." Ayaka stepped inside and slipped off her shoes. She undid the front of her long overcoat before fluffing out her hair a bit.

Kyoko suddenly felt rather plain and ordinary next to the far more glamorous redhead and a gentle sigh escaped her lips. Dressed in admittedly somewhat frumpy clothes for her work around the household, it was no wonder that Godai did not seem to notice her, not when the likes of Ayaka Kisaragi and the eldest Tendo daughter were around. Both of them dressed so nicely, Kyoko felt like she was a peasant drudge in comparison.

"Your ride's here, Godai-sensei," said Akane as she set down her bowl, having heard Ayaka's voice in the hall.

Godai glanced up, suddenly noticing the time. His class lessons were coming up on an exciting segment of Imperial history, the end of the conquest of China by the Empire's armies under the command of General Shishio Makoto, possibly the greatest military tactician and strategist the world had ever known, as well as a brilliant swordfighter. It was said that only Kenshin Himura, the Emperor's personal bodyguard during that same era, might have been his match with a blade. He closed his notes. He had been putting extra effort into these lessons, to better obey Col. Rokubungi's orders to inspire the students in his classes.

On the night that Belldandy had appeared to him and claimed to have granted him his wish, he had gotten caught up in a fierce battle between the goddess, several members of the Mobius Institute and some other supernatural entity. Along with incinerating his apartment and most of his things during the exchange, his poor car had also been caught dead center with some kind of blast and utterly totaled, and he still had forty-two payments to make on it. He was still sorting out his claim with the insurance company's adjuster. Luckily, the Mobius Institute was assisting in the matter.

He still had no girlfriend. When they had arrived at the Tendo home, he had at first thought Kasumi had been the answer to his wish, but he later learned she was married and to a doctor. So there was no way she could be the one for him. Even so, she was so much like Belldandy though, so sweet and charming. It hurt to think about, but his hoped for love life was still nonexistent. Nothing had really changed for him at all when it came to having a girlfriend, and especially not for the better.

Some wish.

However, the day after his arrival at the Tendos', Ayaka had suddenly shown up and offered him a ride to work in her car, and he wondered if it was because she somehow felt responsible for the destruction of his apartment and car. He was grateful to her, especially with all the rain there had been recently. They had even somehow become friends of sorts during that brief time, and Godai wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

She was gorgeous, glamorous and self-confident, as well as an agent of the mysterious Mobius Institute, although she was currently a teacher at the Imperial Academy. But he was just plain Lt. Yusaku Godai, a rather ordinary man who taught history to military cadets at Furinkan Academy. Kyoko, the Tendos' rather pretty housekeeper, seemed more his speed, not Ayaka.

Before he could consider the matter further, the redhead came sweeping into the main room, dressed in a stylish black leather overcoat loosely belted at the waist, the upper region open, showing her white silk blouse and the swell of her bosom underneath. "Hey there, Godai-kun." She smiled at him and gestured with one thumb back towards the general direction of the front door. "We'd better get going, or we're both going to be late for our morning meetings." She glanced over briefly at Akane, who had just finished eating. "Would you care for a ride with us to Furinkan, Tendo-san?"

"No, I prefer to walk," Akane replied, standing up and bowing briefly. "I'd better get going. My friend Sakura is probably waiting for me to walk with her to school." She left the room.

As Godai got up and went to get his coat and briefcase, Ayaka trailed after him. Kyoko passed the couple in the hall, her expression looking a little stiff, but the redhead didn't notice. When Kyoko was gone, Ayaka thrust her hands deep in her coat pockets, looking uncomfortable.

"Um, Godai-kun," Ayaka began a bit awkwardly. "Saturday's a half-day for us at the Imperial Academy. What are your plans for after work that day?" Inwardly, she cursed herself, wondering again why she felt so weird around Godai. She had come to know him a little bit since their first meeting, but he was so different than the men she normally spent any time with, timid rather than aggressive. She didn't really know how to act around him, let alone why it even mattered so much to her.

"Hmmm?" Godai looked up from putting his notebook in his briefcase. He looked thoughtful, considering the question for a moment. "I guess I don't really have any kind of plans. I've just been sort of getting through each day as they come. I'll probably just be working on my lesson plans for next week." He then went back to getting his briefcase ready for the brief trip. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Ayaka replied quickly. "I just thought if you weren't doing anything, we could grab some dinner, maybe hit a bar or two and unwind together after work. I thought it might be nice to get to know each other better, become friends." She chuckled. "I don't really have any male friends."

Godai paused, surprised at the offer, one sounding oddly similar to Kasumi's comment about lacking friends. Was she asking him out on a date? No, he realized, mentally shaking his head quickly. That was totally ridiculous. She was just being friendly. He shouldn't read anything else into it at all. Besides, a woman as gorgeous as her probably had a boyfriend anyway. His imagination quickly filled in the other guy's appearance, using his fellow Furinkan instructor as the model, Captain Shun Mitaka. The man had been cycled in recently to teach small-unit tactics at Furinkan, after completing a tour of duty in Australia, battling against insurgents opposed to the Empire.

Still, he could use some relaxation. Even though he wasn't much of a drinker, it might be fun, and maybe one of Ayaka's friends from last night would be interested in him if he spent more time with her, like one of the two peaceforcers. He just needed to watch his intake when they went drinking, or a repeat of this morning might happen, only with Ayaka. That would be awkward. He nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"Great. We'll get together Saturday after work then." She smiled at him, already looking forward to it. "It'll be fun."

Around the corner, Kyoko felt her heart seem to shrink a bit in her chest. She quietly padded away.

"Otonashi-san?" came a sudden voice behind her after she reached the kitchen.

"Yes?" she squeaked in startlement. She turned around to see Godai standing there, his overcoat open at the front showing some of his uniform underneath, and his briefcase in hand. She noticed that his tie was a little crooked.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to surprise you. I just wanted to let you know that I won't be here for dinner on Wednesday or Saturday. And I might be out late on Saturday."

"Th-that's fine," she said, feeling her heart skip back to its normal rhythm. She stepped closer as he was about to turn away. "A moment."

"What?" He turned back, looking puzzled.

Kyoko smiled. "Your tie is crooked." She stepped near him and began straightening it for him gently. Her hands were deft as they worked.

Godai, standing so close to her, suddenly felt odd, and a light blush appeared on his cheeks. A brief fantasy drifted across his mind, about how much like a wife the Tendos' housekeeper was acting towards him, but then he realized quickly that she must have done the same thing for her departed husband.

First a married woman and now a widow, he wasn't sure what to make of his feelings lately. An image of Kasumi lingered in his mind, and the way she smiled. As he stood there, lost in wistful thought, he heard a throat suddenly being cleared behind him.

Kyoko suddenly stepped back and bowed to him, her face burning a bit with embarrassment. "Uh, it's all straight now. Have a good day."

"Godai-kun, you're going to make me late," said Ayaka and then she took him by the arm and half-dragged him away from Kyoko. She spared the other woman a glance, unable to forget the unspoken exchange that had just happened between Godai and Kyoko. Why did she even care?

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When Tofu got up that morning, he realized that Kasumi had never come home last night. It was possible she had become involved in some kind of case work at the Directorate as part of her new position in special investigations. He shrugged. Mornings had become a somewhat awkward thing between them lately, so her absence was a bit of a relief.

It was actually a fortunate thing for him that she was on active duty once more. Between spending time away from the house and not yet being pregnant after a year of time since they were married, his grounds for annulling their marriage became sounder. He didn't want either of them to be dishonored, but he didn't want to stay married to Kasumi any more either. He still cared about her, but he didn't love her and wanted children, children that Kasumi couldn't provide him.

Her return to active duty was still too new though to be brought up as a reason. No, he would have to continue for a time as her husband. He would have a chat with her new supervisor soon, to show proper interest in her new career path. Maybe he would make some time to do so this week.

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Genma was reading the morning newspaper and enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Ranma had already left for classes for the day, and his teaching schedule was light on Mondays, not requiring him to be in until the afternoon. He turned to the sports pages. The Empire had something called the Arena that had grown to fascinate him ever since he first learned about it. He thought it was a marvelous concept, and it was extremely popular, with hundreds of millions of viewers tuning in each week or attending one of the many arenas around the Empire. It was much better than the boxing matches and martial arts competitions back on his old world.

As usual, the article on the front page was talking about the latest new arrivals. One of them had a last name he was familiar with: Kumon. It wasn't common for a citizen to become a combatant. He read through the brief article on the boy, and he became excited.

As he perused the boy's article about the Amazon Challenge matches held each week, he saw a recent picture of this world's Shampoo and read about how popular she was. Her official fan club had recently passed a hundred thousand members active members. A grin spread across his face. The boy was probably good enough to beat her and winning would elevate the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts into an overnight sensation across the Empire. He tore the article out and tossed the rest of the newspaper into the recycling bin. He had a busy morning ahead of him.

Even if the boy lost, six months spent fighting in the Arena would hone this version of his son into a much better fighter. It was a win-win situation as far as Genma was concerned. The future success of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts was looking assured.

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There was a panda camped out in the vacant lot next to her house.

Nabiki paused in her walking, studying the scene, startled at the sight. First she had run into Cherry yesterday in a similar-looking lot a couple of blocks away and now this. She watched the creature go about its morning business for a little bit, lighting a fire and apparently preparing to cook breakfast. She sidled over to where it sat with its back to her.

"Um, excuse me?" she said to the panda's back, feeling very odd about the whole experience. This was obviously no ordinary panda.

"Growf?" Ryoga turned around, seeing a rather pretty girl staring at him. He stared back, feeling sweat suddenly bead in his fur, uncertain what to do. She wasn't running from him in stark terror, but her calm regard of him was a little unnerving. How often did people see pandas walking around free in the Nerima area, anyway?

"I didn't mean to interrupt, but it's just not every day I see a panda camping out near my house." She eyed the creature, the bandana it wore around its head looking familiar. She blinked, suddenly recognizing it from another world, her eyes widening in shock. "Ryoga? Ryoga Hibiki?"

She knew! She knew who he really was! Tears of joy appeared in his eyes. Hastily, he nodded his head.

"You poor guy," Nabiki said sympathetically. She studied his fire. He must have been caught in the rainstorm last night. "Were you about to heat some water to change back?"

Change back? Hot water could change him back to normal? He turned and hastily set a pot of water over the fire to heat. He then looked at Nabiki, the beautiful maiden who had appeared to him in his darkest hour, like an angel of mercy. He gazed at her with gratitude, seeing her smiling again at him.

"When did you go to Jusenkyo?" Nabiki sat down on a nearby chunk of concrete half-buried in the ground.

"Growf?" Jusenkyo? Where was Jusenkyo? Ryoga cocked his head to one side and looked at Nabiki with an uncomprehending expression on his face.

"Change back first, and then we can talk." She gave him another smile. "I'm Nabiki Tendo, by the way," she said, feeling strange to introduce herself to someone she felt like she already knew. He didn't seem to understand what had happened to him and looked scared. She could relate to that. But where had he come across Jusenkyo water? Had he been to China? "While we're waiting, I'll tell you what I know about the curse you have. It should help you understand what's happened to you."

Ryoga nodded and listened as Nabiki explained about Jusenkyo, some sort of cursed training ground far away in China with pools of enchanted water. She told him how cold water activated the curse and how hot water deactivated it but did not cure it. Through it all, he listened, the darkness of his rage held back by her soothing presence and the cadence of her voice. She was being so kind to him, so compassionate, as if they were already old friends.

A few minutes later, Nabiki watched as Ryoga poured hot water over himself from a pot, and she could not at first avert her gaze when he became human, his muscular body suddenly standing displayed before her, naked. She felt an almost intoxicating tingling sensation suddenly seem to wash through her when his transformation was complete, much like what she felt whenever she was around Ranma or Touga, and around Kuno or Mikado to a lesser degree, like a kind of resonance.

Her gaze roved over his body idly, seemingly of its own accord, pausing briefly at his manhood, comparing it to the endowment her analog's male form possessed. Startled to suddenly realize she had been quite openly staring at Ryoga, and where, she took a step away and hastily averted her eyes, blushing intensely. She was taken aback at experiencing such unexpected feelings towards the Hibiki boy. The other version of him that her analog knew saw him as a good friend, but that was all she felt towards him.

"I'm sorry!" Ryoga blurted out, not quite succeeding as he awkwardly attempted to cover himself with his hands. He hastily began putting on the clothes she held out to him while still looking away, and he saw her blushing. Shame burned within him, at being naked around a strange girl and embarrassing her like that. He felt like such a pervert.

"I-it's okay, Hibiki-kun," she said, trying to be casual, feeling her blush fading as she quickly exercised her self-control and regained her composure, the sensations fading from her awareness as she managed to relegate them to background noise, like she did whenever she was around Ranma. Her Jusenkyo-cursed analog had never really noticed Ryoga the way she was noticing him now, and it was as if she was seeing him for the first time. He was actually quite handsome, she realized absently, her memory briefly replaying the sight of him, with pleasingly broad shoulders and a solid build. He was about Ranma's height but shorter than Touga or her analog's male form. She very hastily banished such thoughts, startled to find she was comparing their physiques like this, feeling embarrassment flare up within her again.

Ryoga froze at her words. Had she just called him Hibiki-kun? A wistful smile appeared on his face at the thought. Such a kind, sweet girl this Nabiki Tendo was. He wondered briefly if she might like him, but then his mood darkened when he realized how unsuitable for her he was. After all, not only did he turn into a mute animal when hit with cold water now, there was still the matter of his unwanted attraction towards Ukyo, towards another boy, to deal with. But Nabiki's presence awoke a pleasant sort of tension inside him, further confusing him, much like how he had felt around that Akane girl he had run into recently, the aggressive one who had seemed to want to fight him.

He felt depression taking a deeper hold upon him. What girl would ever want him when he was like this? For that matter, how would he explain any of this to Ryoko, if he ever saw her again? Suddenly remembering his traveling companion and the feelings he had begun having for her, he felt horribly guilty for his fickleness. He had been raised by his mother to believe that a real man was faithful to one girl, and only the lowest form of womanizing scum did otherwise. Not that he was Ryoko's boyfriend, he quickly amended. But he never realized he could be so easily unfaithful with his feelings, which only increased his anxiousness and awkwardness inside even more as he stood near Nabiki.

"Th-thank you for helping me," he finally stuttered out, and he almost fainted when she reached over and patted him on the arm. Her mere touch seemed to lift his spirits to a state of near bliss.

"No problem, Hibiki-kun." The germ of an idea was forming in the back of her mind. Ryoga could prove to be very useful to have around for a while, she mused. With a grin, she leaned in close in a friendly manner, absently enjoying the pleasant sensations caused by his nearness. "I think you and I could be good friends. What do you think?"

"G-good f-friends?" Ryoga stuttered, feeling lightheaded again. After what he had felt around that Akane girl and now Nabiki, he dared to hope that he really was attracted to girls after all, not other boys. He put his free hand behind his head and chuckled with nervousness as he looked at the sky. "S-sure." He then squeezed his eyes tightly shut, thanking the heavens for their kindness, for letting him meet such a wonderful, beautiful girl as this. He would do anything for her.

"Great!" Nabiki grinned more broadly and stood up straight. "Since friends help each other out, I'm going to help you find Ukyo. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Ukyo! Hearing that despised name spoken aloud dragged Ryoga's feelings from the heights of unfamiliar bliss he had found himself in down to the depths of his usual anguish. He hastily nodded.

"Yes," he said with a dark look. "Yes, I'd like that very, very much."

Nabiki grinned, catlike. She wasn't sure what Ukyo might have done to anger Ryoga, to make him feel like he didn't like girls, since the Ryoga she knew from her analog's life was quite attracted to girls despite being painfully shy. His plight awoke an urge in her to help him, since he seemed so much like the boy she was familiar with.

Since she had found him camping out, he probably didn't have a place to stay in town. After she led him to Ukyo and let him work out his rage issues on the cross-dressing ninja bimbo for a bit, she would bring him home with her and ask the fake Soun who was pretending to be her father to let Ryoga stay with them for a while. After all, Touga was not really someone she could control as easily as Ryoga to make Ranma jealous, she mused. The Hibiki boy might also make a good distraction for Akane, as he was almost certainly a strong enough fighter to hold her little sister's attention.

One rival for her fiancé was about to go down, and her own hands would be clean. After all, could she help it if Ryoga followed her to school?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Why that two-timing little tramp," Ryoko muttered, watching Nabiki practically pawing at poor, innocent Ryoga, the boy clearly too blinded by her seductive wiles to realize what the treacherous Tendo girl was up to. She was also disappointed that she had been too far away to see him clearly when he transformed back. So that was what had happened to him after that little redheaded wench had flashed her breasts and then hit him while he was distracted by her body.

Her back teeth ground together in a building rage as she stared at the scene in front of her. Nabiki's sordid involvement with Ranma was apparently not enough, so she was looking to add other boys to her web of seduction, like poor, sweet Ryoga. Who knew how many others had already fallen prey to her heartless guile?

Well, she would save both Ranma and Ryoga from the evil, two-timing vixen in a single stroke, and gain her own revenge on the other girl at the same time, for calling her such mean things the last time they met. Ryoko started stalking down the street, her eyes fixated tightly on Nabiki, a red haze of rage seeming to color her vision as she glared at the other girl, and a vein pulsed in her forehead as her emotions frothed within her. Her hands clenched into fists held at her sides, the muscles in her forearms bunching tightly, and she almost ached inside to pound the middle Tendo daughter into so much jelly.

Just then, a full ladle of water cast by a neighborhood woman caught her in mid-stride. In an instant, she transformed into a cat and fell to the sidewalk, her clothes collapsing all around her. By the time she managed to struggle free of them, both Ryoga and Nabiki were gone.

She yowled her frustration.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Godai sat next to Captain Shun Mitaka as the morning meeting took place, the other man not seeming to have so much as a single hair out of place, and his uniform was spotless. Ever since the young combat veteran had arrived on campus, he had captured many female hearts among the cadets and faculty. He made Godai feel pretty wimpish and not very interesting to women in comparison.

"Godai-san," Mitaka suddenly said, leaning next to him as they sat in the audience and listened to Colonel Rokubungi delivering the Monday morning speech to the faculty. The colonel had one hand bandaged and looked like he was nursing bruised ribs from the way he moved.

"Mitaka-san," Godai stage whispered back.

"I couldn't help but notice that woman who's been dropping you off each morning for a while now. Who is she? Your sister perhaps?"

Godai inwardly bristled at the unspoken slight in the other man's statement, that a woman as pretty as Ayaka could only be a relative. "She's a friend of mine. Her name's Ayaka Kisaragi."

Mitaka simply nodded and sat back in his seat to listen to the rest of the colonel's presentation, apparently filing that information away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma sat in the waiting room to see the Arena's Director, perusing a magazine. There were quite a few publications on the table, most of them related to the Arena in one way or another. He had been spending most of his time reading about the under twenty-one age division that Ranma would be participating in, if he lost his match against the Amazon.

There were a pleasing number of high-level fighters this year in the Tokyo Battledome from what he could see. The boy would have plenty of challenging opponents to deal with, such as the Chinese lad he was currently reading about: Tarou. He could see that one was very strong, currently an undefeated contender with well over a hundred bouts under his belt.

Mai Shiranui heard a buzz on the intercom and listened for a moment on her earpiece. She stood and smiled at Genma, bowing slightly. "The Director will see you now, Saotome-san."

Genma stood up and straightened his suit. He had been a bit surprised to be called up here after putting his mark on the form and handing it in for processing. He had been almost out of the building when one of the security details had approached and informed him that the Arena Director wished to speak with him personally.

Entering the room, Genma was struck by the sense of wealth and power contained in this one modest chamber. Elegant furnishings of wood and fine cloth, classical music playing softly from an expensive stereo system, a well-stocked bar in one corner and a magnificent view of the vast Battledome through one window and the Tokyo skyline through the other. In the distance, he could see the spire of Genom's famous tower to one side of the city and the Imperial Palace even further away. He wanted an office like this someday.

Two of Genom's products stood in the room, examples of the vastly popular Puma series. The two uniformed catgirls were eyeing him very casually as Mai escorted him into the room and shut the door behind him. Their ears flicked in his direction as he stood there, taking it all in.

The Director looked up from his desk at Genma's entry, and he smiled. The man was a Westerner, Genma noted, a little surprised to see someone non-Japanese in such a position of authority and prestige as heading up Tokyo's Arena. Blond hair worn straight framed a face of pale skin. The face was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Saotome-san, thank you for coming," said the Director as he stood up from behind his desk. His two Puma aides moved aside from him and took up station to watch at a respectful distance. He set down a form with Ranma's name on it, the application that Genma submitted a short time ago. "There were just a few questions I had before approving your son's paperwork."

Genma nodded. "I understand. I trust it isn't anything too serious."

"Not at all," said the Director, moving to seat himself once again. He indicated one of the chairs in front of his desk with a hand. "Please, sit down. This shouldn't take too long."

Genma sat down, feeling himself settle into the luxurious chair. Yes, he wanted an office like this someday.

"I saw on the application that you listed your son's current master as Jun Fan Lee? I wasn't aware that Lee-sensei was taking on students anymore." He glanced down at the form. "How long has Ranma been with him?"

"Only since last week," Genma replied. "The boy studies at the Imperial Academy. Lee-sensei visited, saw the boy's potential and took him on as a student."

The Director smiled and made a note on the form. "And you are aware that if the boy loses, he will be required by law to remain as our guest for six months? During that time, he will be in the rotation for matches and treated much like any other fighter in competition. He does have the option for a rematch against Shampoo within a month after the initial bout, but then the penalties rise even higher."

"I am aware of the penalties," Genma replied, feeling more at ease. The questions weren't overly difficult for him to contend with.

The Director nodded. "One last question, and then we're done here. Were you and your son in Monaco about six years ago?"

"Yes, we were," Genma replied without thinking too much about it. "The boy was studying probability theory at the time. He spent a few weeks visiting Monte Carlo and watching the games to get a sense for how it worked in the real world. I recall he even wrote a paper on it. Why?"

"I read that paper and wanted to see if it was the same young man." The Director smiled pleasantly, but there was a faint glint of something spiteful in his gaze. "I'm looking forward to meeting your son. There is normally a long waiting list to face Shampoo, but I'm going to bump him to the front of the line. How does next week sound for a match?"

Genma couldn't believe his good fortune. "Next week will be just fine. Thank you!"

"Think nothing of it," the Director replied with a smile. "Ana, please show Saotome-san out now." He turned to face Genma. "Have a good day, Saotome-san."

Ana approached and waited a moment as Genma stood and bowed. He followed the Puma to the door and left, already counting in his head the tax-free cash prize Ranma would earn, as well as the fame for the Anything-Goes School.

When Genma was gone, the Director went back behind his desk and spun his chair about to gaze outside. He steepled his fingers together and pondered. Ana and Uni waited quietly while he brooded.

Six years, the Director mused. Six years since I last had the miserable misfortune of meeting Ranma Saotome. The boy had apparently never told his father the full tale of what he had done in Monte Carlo during those weeks of 'watching the games' in the casino to get a sense for how probability theory worked in the real world. No, the boy had done far more than that.

Ranma Saotome had almost broken the bank of Monte Carlo.

The Director could still recall the galling experience, watching as a ten-year old boy sat across from him holding five cards, a mountain of chips between them. A marker for what couldn't be covered by the casino against the boy's wager had sat there as well. He could still recall the insufferably relaxed posture the boy had, as if he didn't care if he won or lost. The Director had taken one card, filling four of a kind, all kings, and the boy had taken three cards. The tension had been incredible.

After glancing at his hand, Ranma had set his cards down and smiled at him.

"This was fun," the boy had said and bowed to him. "Thank you for the experience. It was very educational." And then he walked away from the table.

The boy had folded, and he could still remember the feeling of relief. He was still the Gambler King, still undefeated. Shadowlaw would have taken him out executed him in a horrific fashion for such a loss.

Afterwards, for his own curiosity, he had picked up the boy's cards and then stared at them.

It was a queen-high straight flush. The boy would have won, should have won. A ten-year old boy named Ranma Saotome.

He had quickly shuffled the cards away, and no one had ever known what the boy had for a hand but him. But he had never forgotten. He had never forgotten that boy, never forgotten that smug look, as if he was smarter than the Gambler King.

Now that boy was going to pay. He would see to it that Ranma Saotome lost to Shampoo in his match and then he would turn loose on the boy the worst villains that now fought in the Arena. The boy was going to die, slowly, inches at a time.

The Director picked up the telephone and dialed a certain number. It rang twice before being picked up.

"Speak," said a male voice on the other end.

"Golgo?" said the Director. "I have a job for you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kyosuke paused outside the doorway to Ukyo and Ranma's classroom and looked in. Everything seemed normal. The two were sitting together, chatting with each other about something. He was starting to wonder about his dream. He had checked with his uncle, and the Magi were still not getting much from the future.

Precognition was an extremely rare ability in the Empire, most espers like himself could only see the near future, and only haphazardly at best. The Mobius Institute had three individuals who could see farther and wider into the future fairly reliably. They were known as the Magi, their code names being Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, although one was a woman.

He had once spoken about it with Caspar, and she had told him that the future was like a constantly shifting landscape that grew vaguer as one looked further ahead. Setsuna Meioh was also a precognitive with a similar range to the Magi. She was his grandfather's pet project, officially designated 'The Artist' on the Institute's rolls, which they often did when abilities were unique. Kyosuke was familiar with others who worked for the Institute that had odd-sounding codenames, like 'The Paper', 'Miss Deep', or 'Sailor V'.

Since Setsuna's mind was so chaotic within, telepathic linking with others was deemed too risky. The Institute had the Magi always working together as a check on each other, and usually they would deliver the same vision. When one differed from the others, it was designated the 'minority report' and discarded as a false image, a future history that would never come to be for one reason or another. Their abilities had proven to be invaluable in skirmishes around the globe, predicting enemy troop movements and other such tactical data, and would be relied upon again if the Empire should fight another one in their lifetimes, which seemed likely. But lately, a form of 'static' had settled across the future, and nothing much of value had been received for a couple of years. Nobody knew what that might mean.

Perhaps Kyosuke's foreboding dream had just been something like that: the minority report.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh, he's so cute. Can I hold him?"

Kodachi smiled up at Ami Mizuno, who had wandered over to her desk when P-chan had poked his snout from her bookbag and sniffed at the air. Soon there was a small crowd of girls around her. She let the other girl take P-chan in her arms and cuddle with him.

"What's his name?" asked Nanami Jinnai. "It is a male, right?"

"Yes, he's a boy," said Kodachi, blushing innocently at the question. "His name is P-chan."

"Oh, that's such an adorable name. I want to hold him next."

P-chan basked in all the attention. There were quite a number of cute girls in Kodachi's class, and they all wanted to hold him. Despite the obvious downside to the experience, being a pet pig was proving to have some rather blissful elements.

"Here, let's see how he looks in this," said Ami, pulling out a cotton scarf and tying it around P-chan's neck. It looked familiar to Kodachi for some reason, but she could not seem to recall from where exactly. Ami smiled when she finished tying it around the pig's neck. "Hey, that looks pretty good on him."

All the girls nodded. P-chan looked it over himself, craning his neck and studying his new adornment as best he could. When Kodachi smiled at him when he looked back, that was the clincher to the matter for him. He would keep it.

"Hey, Kodachi, could I talk to you?" Ranma said, coming into their classroom. He had been considering how best to smooth things over with her, but the direct approach was the only method he could come up with. So he had screwed up his courage and walked down to her classroom. But when he spotted P-chan being cradled in Nanami's arms, a look of consternation crossed his face. The first thing that came to mind for him to say was, "Uh, that's a funny-looking pig you've got there, Jinnai-san."

Kodachi took her pet back and glared at Ranma crossly. "P-chan is most certainly not 'funny-looking' at all, Saotome-kun." She held him up and gave him a gentle kiss on his snout. "Don't listen to him, my dear little P-chan."

Ranma blinked and felt his gorge rise. So that was what had happened to Ryoga. His memories of that sequence of events were vague, perhaps due to the heightened emotional state he had been in. He thought he had heard a pig's cry before falling into the vat, but now he wasn't sure. He eyed the tiny animal and was startled when it suddenly stuck its tongue out at him. He glared at P-chan and then he poked his snout with a forefinger.

"Where'd you get him?" asked Ranma, taking his eyes off the pig for a moment, just before P-chan clamped down on his finger with his teeth, hard. He yanked his finger back and glared at his attacker. "Yowch! The little porker bit me!"

"Well, you're scaring him, so it's no wonder." Kodachi cuddled a now much more docile P-chan, turning him away from Ranma in a protective sort of stance. "And to answer your question, I found him wandering in the streets and brought him home. Now, what did you want to talk with me about, Saotome-kun?"

"Nothin'," Ranma muttered absently, eyeing P-chan darkly. "It wasn't anything really important. I'll talk to you after classes, I guess." He hastily left the room.

"What was that all about?" Ami wondered. "Was he jealous of your pet pig?"

Kodachi looked startled. "Jealous? Of P-chan?" She gazed at the empty doorway where Ranma had departed. "Now why would he be jealous?" She held him up and smiled at the little pig. "He's just being silly, isn't he, P-chan?"

P-chan nodded and grunted an assent.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma was in a foul mood as he walked alongside Ukyo as they left the Academy for the day. He had been mulling over the sight of the little pig in Kodachi's arms all morning. Apparently, the Ryoga of this world was playing the same game another one had, only with Kodachi this time, the jerk. He was going to have to have a little 'talk' with the Hibiki boy and straighten a few things out, hopefully without him upsetting Kodachi further in the process.

"What's the matter, Ranchan? You seem a bit out of it." Ukyo poked him playfully when he didn't immediately respond, stepping in front of him and walking backwards. "If you're worried I'm mad at you for what happened over the weekend, I'm not. I told you I wasn't this morning." She gave him a grin. "I hope I can introduce you to my two cousins sometime. I think you'd like them."

Distracted from his concerns, Ranma looked at Ukyo and was about to speak when his gaze caught sight of movement just above them both, seeming to come from right out of the sun. His eyes abruptly widened.

"UKYO KUONJI! PREPARE TO DIE!"

It was Ukyo's turn to have her eyes widen when she heard that, and both of them sprang clear just as Ryoga landed right where they had been standing, his umbrella slamming down hard into the pavement, point first. The impact created an explosion of cement dust and small chunks of debris that obscured him for several moments. As it began to clear, Ranma and Ukyo coughed from the clouds of dust, which dissipated to reveal Ryoga kneeling with his umbrella driven several centimeters into the bottom of a new crater in the main courtyard of the campus.

"I've found you again at last, Ukyo Kuonji," Ryoga said ominously, his gaze dark and menacing as he glared at the ninja. His attention then shifted to Ranma briefly. "And it seems I picked up a bonus this time around." He pointed at Ranma with his umbrella. "As soon as I deal with Ukyo, you're next, Saotome."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki bounced down from her classroom's window and landed by the front steps, watching the impending battle with a grin. Getting Ryoga to wait until classes were over for the day had been a personal triumph for her skills at persuasion, and the results were going to be well worth it. Ukyo was going to get beaten into the ground like a tent peg. Even better, her hands would be clean. And she managed to get a front row seat for the whole thing.

She turned around and addressed the cadets milling around her. "Well, it looks like we have a fight situation brewing here. Place your bets on the grudge match about to start across the quad: Ryoga Hibiki versus Ukyo Kuonji. Who's up for it?"

Cadets began to crowd around her and shout out bets, waving money at her which she took with glee.

"Gotcha covered," she crowed, quickly making notations in her little booklet. Seeing their boss in the midst of a growing sea of people wanting to bet, Yuka and Sayuri hastily moved to join her, whipping out their betting books, too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

One of the instructors came running into Fuyutsuki's office. He saw the man standing at the window, looking down at the scene below.

"Sir, shall I have the instructors stop the fight?"

Dean Fuyutsuki raised a hand without turning around. "No, not at all. I'm interested in seeing how this proceeds. Activate the cameras and focus them on the front quad. I'll want to do an analysis of their fighting capabilities later on."

Yes, sir." The man hurried off, closing the door behind him, leaving Fuyutsuki alone.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ryoga? What do you want this time?" Ranma eyed the other boy as he moved to stand protectively in front of Ukyo. Was Kodachi in on this somehow? If not, how had he changed back so quickly without getting lost in the process? Or was this version of Ryoga not subject to the direction dyslexia of the other analogs Ranma was familiar with? A multitude of such questions whirled through his brain.

"Shut up, you!" roared Ryoga, glaring at the pigtailed boy. "I'll take care of you in a minute, Saotome, just as soon as I finish dealing with him." He pointed with his umbrella at Ukyo, now standing just behind Ranma's left side.

Him? Ranma looked back in confusion at Ukyo and then it suddenly dawned on him what was going on. He started laughing.

Ryoga's gaze shifted back again to the next target he had on his list. "What the hell's so damn funny, Saotome?"

"You, you moron!" Ranma snapped, his laughter cutting off abruptly. "I can't believe that you don't know Ukyo's a-"

"Ranma!" Ukyo suddenly barked. "Shut up!"

The pigtailed boy blinked at her in surprise.

"I know exactly what he is," Ryoga said grimly. He pointed at her. "I challenge you, Ukyo Kuonji. Fight me, here and now."

"I accept." Ukyo unlimbered her battle spatula and stepped past Ranma, her gaze locked fiercely with Ryoga's. "One thing. If you win, I want your promise that you won't hurt Ranchan. He's got nothing to do with this. This is just between you and me, Ryoga."

"Ukyo," Ranma said suddenly. "This is ridiculous. Why don't you just tell him that you're really-mmph!" His mouth was suddenly filled with sticky okonomiyaki dough, mixed with some kind of rubber cement. He tried to spit it out and even tugged at it with a hand, his eyes widening when it didn't come free. "MMPH!"

Ukyo twirled her battle spatula briefly and then raised it in a salute, her eyes glittering with anticipation. "Ready when you are, Ryo-chan." She made a come hither gesture with her free hand. "I'm waiting."

"Damn you!" Ryoga snarled. "Today we finish this!" He charged.

As the two combatants began fighting, Ranma was still trying to pull out the pasty gunk Ukyo had shoved into his mouth, giving a rather comical performance as his eyes bugged out a little from his efforts. Luckily, the ninja had been very accurate in its placement, leaving his nose uncovered. He ran for the side of the main building, hoping he could use water to wash it out quickly and get back before something bad happened between those two.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tatewaki Kuno strode onto the grounds of the Imperial Academy like a conquering hero, his chin up as his stride carried him past a couple of the baseborn commoners currently dueling with each other. Their battle appeared to still be in its opening stages, but he had little interest in the activities of the less gently born. True duels were between those with noble blood within them, no matter how slight. Commoners could only ape the warrior grace of their social betters.

He was here on a mission. There was only one person he sought, almost hungered for. He had waited the promised time, prepared himself for their next encounter and now his gaze swept the crowds, searching for her. Where was his beloved?

Nabiki caught sight of Kuno before he saw her, and she sighed. The day had been going so well and then a certain rich idiot had to show up and ruin it. She sighed again and decided to get things over with quickly. It was only Kuno, so a fight with him would not take very long. Then she could go back to watching Ukyo get beaten into the ground.

The two met towards the back of the crowd, which had begun yelling at both fighters. Banners and signs had appeared as well, showing support for Ukyo. Nabiki found it irksome. At least the boys seemed to be against the ninja.

"I have anticipated this moment, Nabiki Tendo," Kuno said, his gaze on her face. "In the interim, the heavens themselves have wept in sorrow at our being apart, knowing that we are meant to be together, and our fated romance undeniable. I feel as if I have awaited our inevitable reunion for millennia. Nay, for ten-score millennia."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." She gestured with a thumb over her shoulder. "Let's go over there and take care of this fast." Without waiting for a reply, she strolled off around a corner of the main building, the opposite way Ranma had gone.

"But where is thy younger sister?" Kuno asked as he followed. "'Twould be unseemly for me to pay a call on the elder of my two loves and not offer myself to the younger as well. After all, both of you have equal claim upon my heart and the passions that dwell within it. Truly our first meeting was that of divine providence."

"She's attending Furinkan now, Kuno-kun." Nabiki made her way past those still heading to watch the fight. She hated the thought that she might miss seeing Ukyo fall. He continued to spout courtly phrases at her as she kept walking, the young nobleman walking right at her side.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Damn," Ranma muttered, seeing a sudden foaming of soap on his skin after having finally gotten the sticky gunk out with jets of water from the hose he held. It had taken much longer than expected, and he had apparently used up his time limit for exposure. He tried to shut it off before more cold water could cause the change, but he lost his grip on the hose from the soap foam coating his fingers. The transformation took only a moment.

Ranma-chan looked down at herself and her wet uniform in dismay, before pulling it free from sticking to her skin, groaning. Luckily, nobody had been around to see, since she had been concealed by trees. She hastily got undressed and put on the okonomiyaki seller's outfit she had been carrying around in her bookbag. It looked like 'Ranko' was going to have to save the day she mused as she started pulling on her other clothes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki stopped when she felt they had reached a good spot to settle the matter in private. She turned to face him. "Here's fine."

"At last, I can show you the fruits of my training." Kuno raised his weapon, taking up a pose. "And afterwards, I would date with you."

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Kuno fell to his knees, a startled look on his face, having taken two hundred or so blows to his face and body. He managed to mutter out, "I- fight- on-" as he struggled to rise to his feet again, propping himself up with his weapon. But a few moments later his eyes rolled up in their sockets. He fell backwards and passed out.

"Good night, sweet prince," Nabiki said with a grin before briefly pressing the tips of her fingers against her lips and then blowing his fallen form a kiss. She felt a little guilty about the whole thing, using such a powerful technique on an idiot like Kuno right at the outset, but she was in a hurry. Hopefully, it would be a while before she had to deal with him again. While he was wealthy and handsome, he wasn't nearly as interesting to her as Touga Kiryuu was proving to be, let alone Ranma. She hurried back to watch the fight.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After hiding her bookbag, Ranma-chan ran around the building, intending to arrive at the scene of the fight from a different direction. She could still hear sounds of the battle going on between Ryoga and Ukyo as she hustled as fast as she could run, and a sort of roar from the crowd of cadets. She was quite proud of herself for this bit of trickery. She grinned. Nobody would suspect that Ranma Saotome and Ranko Kuonji were the very same person, ignoring for the moment the differences in height, weight and gender.

That was when she came across the unconscious Kuno. She came to a screeching halt and goggled at the sight a bit. What the hell was Kuno doing here? She looked around hastily. Judging from his body's position, he had just been in a fight and lost, but there was no one else around.

She shrugged. It wasn't any business of hers. She took off running again.

Kuno's head was tipped back from his fall. A mild breeze was blowing past him, the cool air helping him wake up. He was in the process of regaining consciousness when he heard someone run up, pause near him and then pass into his line of vision, heading away. He blinked and then his eyes snapped open at what he saw.

"P-pigtailed girl," he muttered out weakly.

Ranma-chan heard the voice when she was three steps away and turned back in surprise, looking over her shoulder a moment.

Kuno saw that face even as he scented a delicate perfume coming to him on the breeze, and it was like a choir of angels erupted into song all around him. He would never forget that face, inscribing it upon his very soul forever. His eyes fell closed, and he passed out again.

"Must've been my imagination," Ranma-chan mused, seeing Kuno still lying there, although she might have seen his eyelids flutter. She shrugged. "That was weird." She took off running again.

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Kyosuke was talking with Yohko when someone shouted that a fight was taking place outside. He had been keeping an eye on Ukyo as best he could all day, but Yohko had cornered him as he was leaving class to follow Ukyo home. She had been talking to him about what sort of evening she expected from him, since he had just received his weekly allowance, holding her hands behind her back demurely which had the side effect of bringing her chest up. All he could really remember of his side of the conversation had been glancing down at the swell of her breasts under her uniform and nodding now and then.

"Uh, I've got to go see this," he said suddenly, gathering the Power quickly and then vanishing in a brief implosion of air.

Yohko put her hands on her hips and glared frostily at the empty space where her boyfriend had just been standing, her nostrils flaring slightly. How dare he just up and leave her, just because a couple of morons got into a fight. And here she had been about to invite him over to her house tonight to watch movies while her grandmother was away for the week, and maybe the two of them having some fun together on the couch.

"Kasuga-kun, you jerk," she muttered, feeling a bit frustrated.

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Now that he found himself at the moment of truth, a moment anticipated for all those days and nights, through all the trials it had taken him to get here, Ryoga wanted to savor his revenge, to prolong it for as long as humanly possible. He ducked under a swipe from Ukyo's spatula and riposted with his own weapon. His rage empowered him, mixed with feelings of attraction and a sense of betrayal and abandonment that only seemed to infuriate him even more. The ninja would fall to him, but his vengeance would not end there. No, he intended to smash Ukyo's remains flat and then salt the earth where they lay.

As they dueled, Ryoga noticed the graceful way Ukyo flowed around his somewhat slower frame, almost like a girl, forming a counterpoint of agility to his heavier hitting moves, and his breath seemed to catch at the sight. His familiar foe was several centimeters shorter than he was and built from whipcord rather than bulk, but Ukyo had a solid frame and strong shoulders that even his gray Academy uniform couldn't hide. He was definitely handsome, though in an effeminate sort of way. The tingling Ryoga felt within himself at the other boy's nearness only served to remind him what the ninja represented, and the dark shame such feelings caused him.

It was as if years of pent up frustration suddenly flooded through him, an almost white-hot rage that drowned out the pleasant memories of their past together, and the attraction he had long suppressed within himself. This was the moment of truth, where Ukyo paid for humiliating him, for abandoning him without a second thought to come here to Tokyo. He felt the fury within him surging ever higher, since Ukyo's presence was evoking an odd desire within him to hold back, to not bash the other boy's head in. But that desire to give mercy lasted for only a heartbeat before the building rage drowned it out once again.

Off to one side, Tsubasa watched the fight with interest, wondering at the reasons. The Kuonji boy had been worrisome enough on his own, but to have a Hibiki show up on campus was nightmare-inducing to the young Goju. If they killed each other, that would be okay with Tsubasa.

Ukyo circled around Ryoga, ducking aside now and then as the Hibiki boy unleashed powerful blows, and she returned each one with a speed and strength born of long years spent training, their weapons clashing. How had it turned out like this? Ryoga was her friend, the best friend she had ever had, although Ranma was quickly becoming a close second. They had grown up together. What had she done to make Ryoga hate girls? To hate her? Was he angry because she had edged out ahead of him in skill? Was that what this was all about? Stupid male pride?

When they were children, Ryoga had often defeated her, his superior strength enabling him to win against her each time. So for years she had trained herself to become faster and better at her fighting skills, striving to someday surpass him in ability. She had already been dressing as a boy and pretending to be one when they first met, a fun disguise for her that Ryoga had always been nice enough to feign not being able to see through. Even as they were growing up, he always acted as if she was really a boy, and her great-grandfather had made her promise to never tell him. After a while, she stopped thinking about it. With all the time they spent together, he had to know she was really a girl, right?

As she grew up from being a child into a young woman, her great-grandfather made her practice until she dropped, day after day. Even when they spent their summers at the beach, she had battled against the raging sea itself, although it didn't make for much of a sparring partner. With Ryoga, it was a lot more fun. That was why his visits were always like a breath of fresh air to her, a time when they could show each other how their training was going and then goof off together for a while before he had to go back home. She enjoyed the challenge of it all, of putting her skills to the test against an adversary, no, a friend, someone she respected and cared for.

However, one day she had started to win more often than lose and then she had started to win all the time. It was a gratifying experience after so many years of grueling training, but it seemed to change her relationship with Ryoga somehow. They seemed to talk less and their encounters gradually became harsher, more brutal, more like real duels between bitter enemies rather than two old friends sparring. Maybe he wasn't her friend anymore and somehow she had just missed seeing it until this moment, until she saw the hatred he seemed to hold for her in his eyes. But why did he hate her so much? When did it stop being a game?

Ukyo ducked underneath a punch, flourishing her spatula briefly to distract him before leaping over Ryoga's head and tightly twisting her body around in midair. She unleashed an aerial roundhouse kick that cracked across his jaw, rocking him back on his heels. She landed on her feet agilely, and several girls in the crowd behind her sighed loud enough for her to hear.

"What a man," one of the girls moaned. "He's such a stud."

Hearing that, Ukyo paused and shook her head briefly. "We can call this off and talk about it, Ryoga. I don't want to have to hurt you. You're my friend." She smiled at him.

"Hah!" Ryoga charged to the attack. "You're just trying to trick me, Kuonji! You know I'm going to beat you this time. How dare you try something like that! Coming on to me like that! It's not going to work! What feelings I had for you don't matter anymore. You're going to pay for what you did to me!" Before Ukyo could respond, Ryoga suddenly pushed into her guard and the two began a fierce exchange of blocks and blows, equal parts armed and unarmed.

Yuka, standing nearby in the crowd taking bets, widened her eyes at the reference to 'feelings' and the manner in which they were spoken. She looked at Ukyo and shouted, "Feelings he had for you? Just what kind of sordid relationship did you have with this boy, Kuonji?" Several other girls echoed those sentiments, yaoi imagery of the two filling their minds.

Ukyo was currently locked weapon to weapon with Ryoga. Picking up on the girl's implication instantly, she shouted back, "It wasn't anything like you're thinking! We were friends!" She turned to face him, and her voice softened. "We're still friends, right?"

Shifting his weight, Ryoga took advantage of her sudden uncertainty, breaking the deadlock and driving his knee up into Ukyo's ribcage. He tried to press his advantage, but the ninja was too quick to recover, forcing him back with a whirlwind of strikes with her weapon. He was compelled to block and give ground as Ukyo threw up a savage offensive.

Girls in the crowd had been listening closely to the whole exchange. A few of them formed into huddles and discussed the matter.

"Kuonji-san's gay?"

"No way! I've seen how he looks at me. You know, the way guys look at girls. He's definitely a guy through and through. There's just no mistaking that look of lust. Every straight guy has it."

"But it would explain why he avoids dating us."

"And also why he hangs out with a hunk like Ranma."

"Ewww! You don't think Saotome prefers guys, do you?"

"That's impossible. Saotome-san's got Tendo-senpai and that rich Kuno girl practically panting after him like they're in heat, not to mention that bunch that tries to beat him up every day for a date."

"We need some way to prove Ranma's not gay."

"What about Ukyo?"

"Ranma's the one I'm worried about now. Ukyo could be leading him on."

"Where is Saotome, anyway? He's usually not far from Kuonji, except when he's training with Lee-sensei."

"Let's find him and have a guy try to kiss him. If Ranma decks him, then he's definitely not interested in men."

"But what about Ukyo?"

"We can try the same thing. I know someone that swings that way." The speaker looked around for a moment, quickly spotting the one she wanted. "Hey, Oritsuki! We want you to try and kiss Kuonji!"

Oritsuki sniffed. "I don't think so. Unlike some girls here I could name, I'm not that desperate. Besides, I just don't go for the martial artist type. Too macho. And that Ukyo's as bad as any of them."

The person in question, currently trying to keep Ryoga from killing her, happened to be near enough to hear that particular exchange. She didn't know whether to be offended at being unkissable to the boy, or grateful that her acting job was so good. Her great-grandfather would be proud.

Yuka stepped up to the front, her hands clasped together. "I guess there's only one other option we can try. We'll have to have a girl kiss Kuonji-kun and prove that he's straight."

"Wait a second. Who's going to do that?" Sayuri asked suspiciously.

"I fear this heavy burden must fall upon my shoulders," Yuka declared solemnly, swiftly beating back a fair number of other girls that wanted to share her 'burden' in proving Ukyo's manliness, including Sayuri. She went over to where Ukyo and Ryoga were currently locked together in another weapon bind, both straining mightily. "Well, Kuonji-kun, here's a chance to prove your manliness to everyone in sight." Yuka closed her eyes and puckered up.

Ukyo did a double-take, glancing back and forth between a growling, furious Ryoga in front of her and the overly amorous girl to her rear. She shrugged, suddenly flipped Ryoga over her shoulder and then she turned around and brought the flat of her weapon straight across Yuka's body, launching the girl back into the crowd.

"Oh, Kuonji-kun..." Yuka was heard to murmur before passing out.

As a few cadets picked up Yuka's unconscious form to carry her off to the infirmary, wails of anguish began to come from the girls, and tears flowed. Meanwhile, the boys cheered as both Ranma and Ukyo's sexual orientation suddenly came into question.

Ranma-chan could not believe what she was hearing as she worked her way through the crowd. From sparring over the weekend, she already knew that this Ukyo fought at a level of talent well above that of her counterparts the cursed boy was familiar with, but this whole situation was seeming way too familiar, a powerful sense of déjà vu coming over her. What made it all worse, everyone was ready to brand her male side a homosexual and Ukyo too. But what could she do?

"Kami-sama! There she is!" Hiroshi said excitedly, spotting Ranma-chan moving through the crowd, only occasionally visible due to her height. He quickly tugged on the arm of his companion. "Look!"

"Where?" Daisuke looked around, trying to see who Hiroshi was looking at.

Hiroshi pointed. "Right over there! It's that girl I saw working at the Yu-chan last night, the total babe I told you about."

"Where? I don't see her." Daisuke swept his gaze through the crowd, trying to spot Hiroshi's mystery girl. When he finally saw her, he thought his heart had just stopped. "Whoa! She's gorgeous!"

"What did I tell you? Short, cute and with an incredible set on her chest, just the way I like 'em."

"I see what you mean, my friend. But look at how she's dressed and how she carries herself. That's no ordinary girl. She's a fighter type. My guess is she's a pretty tough one, too. I'll bet you money on it."

"No way!" Hiroshi tried to get a better look and then turned back to face his friend. "You really think so?"

"Oh, yeah." Daisuke nodded. "She's probably Kuonji's girlfriend or something, what with them working together. Women all seem to go for those martial artist types, you know, and a guy with his looks must score with lots of girls. Although one built like that would be enough for any guy. I mean, just look at all the hot action Saotome must be getting nowadays. Not only does he have that gorgeous little number, Kodachi Kuno, almost panting after him, but the Iron Bitch as well. Oh, she tries playing it all cool, but she wants him bad, real bad. You can see it in her eyes, how she looks at him when she thinks no one else is watching."

Girls around them started discussing this new information and they gave Ranma-chan grim looks. The same thought seemed to be shared by most. How dare that little bimbo steal away the heart of Kuonji-kun before I have a chance with him?

Daisuke shook his head. "Hell, Ranma's literally fighting off a bunch of girls every day. What's up with that? He used to be so geeky and quiet, sticking to himself all the time while the girls ignored him, but now he's probably getting to bed a different one every night of the week. And that was _before_ Lee-sensei ever showed up and started training him. Who knows how popular he'll be now? Man, what I wouldn't give to spend a day or two in his shoes. The way I hear it, even that psycho bitch Akane Tendo is still hot for him, and she hates all guys. I mean, you remember what she did to Kashi when he stood up to her, don't you?"

Hiroshi shuddered at the thought of Akane and then his voice lowered as he shook his head. "It sucks having both Kuonji and Saotome around. Ordinary guys like us just can't seem to catch a break now, so I hope that Hibiki guy flattens Kuonji." He watched a few cadets carrying Yuka past them. "Still, it makes sense why he doesn't pay any attention to the girls around here, not with a hot babe like that hanging around him. If I was her boyfriend, I'd be doing her every night."

"Yeah, she's probably a wildcat in bed, too," Daisuke agreed sagely. "I've heard redheads usually are. I mean, look at Kisaragi-sensei. She sure doesn't look like the kind of woman to just lie there quietly. And then there's that Minami girl that hangs around Kuonji and that creepy Gosunkugi guy. For a girl who wears glasses, she's definitely built for hot action and lots of it. I know I'd like to show her a trick or two with my magic wand, if you know what I mean." He chuckled.

"You guys are disgusting," said a girl on Hiroshi's right in annoyance. A few other girls within earshot agreed. "It's no wonder you can't get a date. But I think that girl you're lusting after is probably Ukyo's sister. Her name is Kuonji, too. Ranko Kuonji. She came to our class with Ami Mizuno yesterday. She might be a new transfer student."

Hiroshi and Daisuke looked at each other. "His sister, eh?" said one.

"That means she's available," said the other.

Hiroshi looked thoughtful. "Unless Ukyo is doing her anyway. I mean, if that was my sister..." His voice trailed off as his face acquired a lecherous grin.

"Ewww!" said the girl who had first spoken. "You guys really _are_ perverts."

Another girl spoke up. "Well, I'd do Ranma in a heartbeat, even if he was my brother. Ukyo, too, for that matter." Several girls nodded.

"Hey, everyone! They're going at it again!" With that, all eyes turned to watch the fight again.

Kyosuke was starting to panic. Everything seemed to be heading in the same direction as his dream had taken last night. While neither fighter had taken as much abuse as they had in his dream, at least not yet, things were definitely getting more serious. He could feel the skeins of events coming together as the crowd became more agitated and the fight between Ukyo and Ryoga continued and intensified.

Why weren't any of the instructors around? Where were Ranma and Nabiki? He had to find them.

"How dare you blatantly tease and seduce all of these girls while we're in the middle of having a fight!" Ryoga roared. "What kind of a man are you?"

Ukyo facefaulted.

After quickly picking herself up, she glared at Ryoga. How proud you'd be, Grandpa, she growled inwardly with a shake of her head. She hefted her spatula in both her hands, taking a much firmer grip and glowering at him. He wanted a fight? Fine. She'd give him a fight.

"You started this, Hibiki. Now I'm going to finish it." She charged.

The two met in the middle of the circle of spectators. Weapons clashed and rang off each other, Ukyo's spatula practically singing in her hands as she unleashed all of her skill with it. The polearm-like weapon spun and slashed as it seemed to turn into a blur in her hands.

For several minutes, all that was heard was the impact of one weapon against another and loud gasps from the crowd as one opponent would nearly hit the other, only to have a flurry of counterstrikes drive them back and prevent them from taking the advantage. Power clashed with speed and agility opposed strength. Ryoga connected a bit weakly with a blow that hit Ukyo's stomach, and the ninja returned the strike with one that slammed her spatula hard against his chest.

Kyosuke's frantic searching finally led him to Nabiki. Events were starting to accelerate towards conclusion. He pushed his way through the crowd to reach her. "Tendo-san! Nabiki! You've got to stop it!"

"Stop what?" Nabiki looked at Kyosuke in disbelief when he finally got next to her. "Stop that? Don't be ridiculous. This is great. Look at this crowd." She held up a roll of bills. "Look at all this money. Why would I want to stop it?" Her mood was jubilant as she turned her gaze from the panting esper boy and watched the fight some more.

"Because he's going to kill Kuonji!" Kyosuke yelled at her. "I saw it! It's happening just like I saw in my foreboding dream! Please! You've got to stop it!" He glanced over his shoulder and then back. "Before it's too late!"

Ranma-chan finally elbowed her way to the front of the crowd. Talk about Ukyo's and her male form's sexual preferences had finally ended. Now everyone's attention was riveted on the fight taking place in the opening within the crowd, where another furious melee had just begun.

Ukyo back-flipped away from Ryoga, launching a double kick in the process that caught him under the jaw. She continued the motion as Ryoga stumbled back a step, flipping heels over head several times and gaining some room to maneuver. She then unleashed a quick volley of throwing spatulas in his direction on her last flip, launching them while she was still upside down and in midair. Several struck Ryoga in the chest and shoulders, but the damage did not appear to be great as he just slapped them away.

"Damn, he's just not giving up," she muttered, seeing him charge her again. She continued to keep her distance, flipping and cartwheeling away, each time launching more quick volleys of throwing spatulas. But they only seemed to be making him angrier.

Ryoga could feel it. He was going to win this time. Ukyo was going down, and he was going to be the one to send him to hell. Then it was going to be that little redhead's turn next. Then if he was still not feeling satisfied, maybe he'd pound on that Saotome guy as well.

Nabiki looked at the fight, then down to the roll of yen notes in her hand and then back to the fight.

"Damn, I just know I'm going to regret this," she finally muttered out, before stuffing the yen notes into Kyosuke's hands. "Here. Hang onto this. I'll be back for it."

With a powerful spring of her legs, she launched herself over the heads of the crowd.

Ryoga charged in and landed a solid punch across Ukyo's jaw, putting his whole shoulder behind it. He felt his fist hit cleanly, and the ninja's face was abruptly blasted back to one side. They were coming up on endgame. He could tell. It was only a matter of time now.

Witnessing the severity of the blow, Ranma-chan cried out, "Uchan!" She ached to leap into the midst of it, but this was a duel between martial artists, a one-on-one fight. She raged inwardly at the code of honor imprinted within her, feeling it holding her back.

"Uhngh!" Ukyo grunted as her head snapped to the side, her world going vague for several moments as she stumbled back from Ryoga's last punch. If she hadn't rolled with it at the last possible instant, she would have been taking her meals through a tube. She managed to fend him off with a slashing swipe of her spatula and kept him at a distance with more sweeps while she recovered her bearings.

For some reason, memories of the past briefly washed over her.

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Five-year old Ukyo peeked out past her great-grandfather's leg at the strange boy, who was sitting on a log crying about something.

"Why's he crying, Gra'pa?" she said, looking up at the old man towering over her. She wondered if she would ever be that tall.

Her great-grandfather sighed. "He's a Hibiki, Ukyo. He's lost." He nudged her out from behind him. "Why don't you go over and talk to him? There's a good boy."

Ukyo grinned at that. Boys played fun games and wrestled with each other, while girls all seemed to play stupid games with dolls or acted all frilly and feminine, hating to get dirty. She knew inside how she preferred to be. She sidled up behind the boy, walking quietly.

"Hey," she said. "My Gra'pa says you're a 'Biki and you're lost. Is that true?"

The boy jumped, startled and then he turned to her, glowering and sniffling. "H-hullo. I-I took a d-dare and walked to the edge of the valley where I l-live, past the end of the guide ropes. N-now I don't know where I am. Anyway, what's it to you?" He looked scared behind all the bravado.

"Well, you're not lost anymore," Ukyo told him with a grin. "My Gra'pa and I found you. We'll help you find your way back."

"Th-thanks." He wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. "My name's Ryoga. Ryoga Hibiki."

She gestured at herself with a thumb and said proudly. "I'm Ukyo Kuonji. Hey, you wanna be friends?"

"Sure," Ryoga said, brightening. He grinned back, no longer crying.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So which do you like better, Ryoga?" Ukyo heard her great-grandfather ask the boy one day, as she was coming back from getting some water from the stream. "Ukyo or okonomiyaki?"

Six-year old Ukyo held her breath as she hid behind a tree. If the dummy answered wrong, she was going to brain him with the bucket full of water she was lugging.

Ryoga looked thoughtful as he munched on an okonomiyaki the elderly man had fixed for him, a prize for winning against Ukyo in their latest sparring match. Then he grinned. "I like Uk-chan!"

"You're a good boy, Ryoga," her great-grandfather had said, smiling as he patted her friend on the head. "Here, have another okonomiyaki."

Ukyo spent the rest of that day smiling, and she wasn't sure why.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hah! Take that!"

Nine-year old Ukyo splashed headlong into the pond out behind her great-grandfather's house, thrown there by a grinning Ryoga.

Sputtering and soaked to the skin, she snarled, "Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready, Ryo-chan. You cheated!"

"Come and get me then, Uk-chan," said a grinning Ryoga.

Ukyo charged back up the slope, intent on dealing out a little payback.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Weapons rang as her eleven-year old self and Ryoga sparred fiercely. Her great-grandfather was seated off to one side, watching them closely and offering some occasional coaching, so Ukyo was determined to give her all in this match.

Ryoga was just a fraction of a second too slow on one exchange, and her spatula caught him on the shoulder, spinning him off balance to one side. There was a sudden loud clang heard after his guard dropped, the flat of her weapon having hit him squarely on the skull in her reverse swing. He went down like a felled ox.

"Ohmigosh! I just killed Ryo-chan!" Ukyo shouted, dropping her spatula and looking horrified.

Her great-grandfather came over quickly and peeled back one of the fallen Hibiki boy's eyelids. He looked back towards her. "He'll be fine. If there's anything true in this world, it's that Hibikis all have heads like solid granite."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You've got a girlfriend?" The thirteen-year old Ryoga looked at her wide-eyed, the blade of grass he had been chewing on falling free from his mouth.

Ukyo shrugged, leaning back against the tree they were sitting on some larger branches of. "I guess. Kinda. Guys in my class were hassling Konatsu for not having a boyfriend, so I took her to the movies last weekend." She shrugged again. "She gave me a hug and called me her boyfriend."

"I wish I could do something like that," he muttered, looking away.

"What was that?" When he didn't reply, she grinned and tipped him out of the tree, watching as he plunged into the pond. She tossed him his umbrella when he came slogging back up the slope, murder in his gaze. "Too slow, Ryo-chan."

"Damn you, Uk-chan! I'll get you for that!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ukyo shook away the flashes of memory. She flipped her spatula around in another flourish. His last blow had loosened a couple of her teeth she realized, feeling around in her mouth with her tongue. It wasn't the first time that had happened. At least she hadn't had any knocked out this time, like Ryoga had once done when they were little kids.

"Today's the day, Ukyo! Today I beat you!"

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, grinning at him as she took up a stance. She held out her hand and flipped her fingers in another come hither gesture. "You just got lucky. I can take you with one arm tied behind my back any day of the week."

Ryoga bellowed his rage and charged.

Even as Nabiki raced to get to the center of the crowd, Kyosuke started to push his way through. Was Nabiki going to be in time? He felt a chill run through him as events took on a familiar shape.

"I love you, Kuonji-kun!" shouted one female cadet in a blue uniform.

"Date me!" screamed a girl in a gray one, so passionately she looked to be nearing apoplexy.

"I want to have your baby!" yelled a recovering Yuka as she was carried away. "He's so dreamy," she stated more softly, before passing out.

"I've got a thousand yen on you, Kuonji!" shouted Sayuri through cupped hands nearby. "You'd better not lose!"

Finally getting free of a tight knot of bodies, he bumped into Minami, who had been forced away from the center and then caught up in another group, and the two of them stayed close together. Kyosuke did his best to try and protect her as they were pushed about by the excited mob, even as he struggled to get to the middle. He felt the Power within him building, but he dared not use it in his current emotional state. The crowd was going into mob frenzy, feeding off the intensity being thrown off by the two struggling combatants. An elbow caught him in the side, knocking the wind from him.

"Kasuga-senpai!" Minami bent down to help him up.

As he struggled back to his feet, knots of male cadets were all around them as well, some of them eyeing the girls and scowling and many others watching the fight. Another chill ran through him as their sentiments were made clear.

"Bust him up!" shouted one pimply-faced boy, waving his fist.

"Break that pretty face of his!" yelled Hiroshi, his eyes glittering with malice as he watched the fight.

"Put him down hard!" screamed a thin boy nearby.

"I've got a thousand yen on you, Hibiki!" shouted Daisuke.

It was happening! It was happening right in front of him again! He felt the Power surging within him, yearning to be unleashed. He'd give Nabiki another precious few seconds, seeing her reach the front of the crowd and then he was going to have to take action on his own, no matter what the cost. He was not going to let any friend of his die, not if he could ever help it, not on his watch.

Ranma-chan suddenly slammed down hard to the pavement as Nabiki used her shoulders for a springboard. It took her a few moments to gather herself back together.

"Stop fighting!" Nabiki cried, so focused on her goal that she had not even seen Ranma-chan as she landed in the middle between Ukyo and Ryoga. She shoved both of them back. "Stop!"

"Get out of my way, Tendo," Ukyo growled. "I'm going to rip him a new one!"

Ryoga started to push his way past Nabiki. "Bring it on, Kuonji!" he snarled. Then, more gently, he said, "Please stand aside, Tendo-san. If this jerk wants to die, I'm willing to oblige him."

Nabiki glared back at Ukyo, but something Ryoga said rang against her awareness. Him? Ryoga thought Ukyo was a guy?

"Back off, Ukyo!" she commanded the ninja. An idea how to stop this suddenly occurred to her. Her gaze swept back and pierced Ryoga, who froze at the look on her face. "You too, Hibiki-kun. I want you to watch closely now."

Using her foot, Nabiki flicked one of the fallen throwing spatulas up into the air. Just as it reached eye level, she released her hold on Ukyo and snatched the weapon out of midair, taking a half-step back.

Ranma-chan's eyes went wide, suddenly recognizing what was about to happen. She had seen almost the exact same scene before. "No! Wait!"

The audience's eyes widened and there was a collective gasp as Nabiki brought the weapon down in a quick, sweeping arc, right in front of Ukyo. Cries of both dismay and relief started to circulate among the crowd when everyone finally saw that Nabiki had only cut the front of Ukyo's uniform.

Then the bindings beneath her uniform that kept her bosom held down parted, promptly falling open and revealing what lay beneath.

Ryoga immediately gaped at the sight of the very feminine breasts Ukyo had, and his mind went right into a fugue state as it tried to process this unexpected new information. His brain promptly seized up, his paradigm concerning Ukyo apparently trying to shift without a clutch. He shook his head slowly from side to side, but his gaze seemed locked on Ukyo's chest as a trickle of blood started to escape his nose.

Yuka took one look at the 'man' she had been pining for and promptly fainted, collapsing back heavily into Hiroshi's arms. The boy was almost too startled by the revelation of Ukyo's true gender to cop a feel of the girl he was holding. He grinned lecherously.

Tsubasa saw what was revealed and was shocked. Ukyo Kuonji was female?

Every girl within sight that had been shouting their vigorous support for Ukyo suddenly went deathly still. And the boys that had just been howling for Ukyo's blood did so as well. A vast silence seemed to quickly spread out from the scene taking place in the center of the crowd.

Standing a few feet away, Ranma-chan slapped her hand over her eyes and drew it slowly down her face in dismay, disbelieving what had just happened. She stared at the three who were still standing there in the middle of the crowd, frozen as if in tableau. Then Nabiki stood back up and grinned.

A moment or two passed for Ukyo before she seemed to realize what had happened, the cloth of her jacket and chest bindings flapping lightly in the mild breeze as she felt cool air on her chest. Her gaze dropped down slowly to her exposed breasts, as if hoping it wasn't true. Then shock visibly filled her, seeing herself bared like this. She hastily pulled her jacket shut, and the tear-filled, angry glare she bestowed upon Nabiki made any of Ryoga's earlier looks seem like a baby's smile.

"You bitch!" Before Nabiki could react, Ukyo's fist slammed straight into the Tendo girl's face with every ounce of strength behind it she could muster, knocking Nabiki flat on her back. With a sob, she then turned and fled, bawling, leaping over the crowd in a single bound and continuing on away from the Academy at maximum speed. Tears streamed from her eyes the entire time.

Ranma-chan paused only a moment to see Nabiki stand up shakily and raise a hand to her jaw, and then Ryoga chose that moment to run away as well, in the exact opposite direction. She shook her head at the scene and then charged off after Ukyo. The okonomiyaki chef was almost out of sight already.

"Ukyo was really a girl?" Hiroshi said stupidly, still unable to believe what he had just seen. A red slap mark was on his face.

"Then maybe Ranko's really a guy?"

Hiroshi looked at him in disbelief and then shook his head. "No way that Ranko's a guy, not the way she looks and moves. If there's one thing I'm sure of, she's all girl."

"Yeah, you're right," Daisuke chuckled. "What was I thinking?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dean Fuyutsuki looked down from his office window as the instructors suddenly appeared and began to disperse the crowd, per his orders. Not surprisingly, the Tendo girl had been the one to step in and resolve the matter, since she had become the Alpha of this Project subgroup. He felt a little disappointed by that, having harbored a secret hope that Ranma would emerge as the dominant leader in this subgroup's social hierarchy, especially after his impressive showing against Utena. But the matter was not yet settled. Despite her defeat of him the other day, with Master Lee as his teacher now, the Saotome boy would only grow stronger and then he would certainly challenge Nabiki again for the top slot. The struggle between them was proving quite interesting.

He eyed the crater in the concrete below his window with wonder, one caused by a boy wielding a mere umbrella. The power level to do such a feat was almost inhuman. Still, watching Ukyo and the unknown boy fighting had been quite enlightening as to how good the girl's skills were, and she was proving to be a strong addition to the group. It was unfortunate that he hadn't been able to capture a good picture of the lad's face, as he was curious as to his identify and if he was possibly an Adam from the Project. If he was, then adding him to the mix of the subgroup would help rebalance things closer to even, gender-wise, since Ranma was currently the only male he had. He seemed to have some sort of connection to Ukyo though. An old enemy perhaps?

However, the abilities that individuals were manifesting on campus were beginning to cause him some concern, abilities that were normally seen only in the highest levels of Arena fights. While he didn't believe that either Nabiki or Ranma were potential cases for delinquency, it had happened with others in the current testing group. In fact, a modest percentage had already gone delinquent to one degree or another, unable to resist using their superior physical and intellectual gifts to dominate not only those around them their own age, but teachers and even other adults as well. Most of it was petty bullying or the like, but there had been several much more serious occurrences as well.

Today was another warning that not even the Imperial Academy's vaunted student body was immune to such troubles. The Saotome boy had already been involved in several serious situations, such as his run-ins with the so-called 'Wolf Pack' that had been transferred to one of the reformatory schools in the region. He also had a report on his desk about Ranma and Nabiki being involved in some sort of after-hours fight in the old dormitory building recently. There were no witnesses, but some blood had been found on the scene, later matched as being theirs, using Project genetic records. Blood from several other sources were as yet unidentified. It was possible that some sort of gang activity involving the two had occurred and that might also explain the sudden transfer of Kinnosuke Kashuoh last week.

While shattered concrete slabs could be fixed easily enough, and no one had been seriously hurt, there was cause for concern. If either Nabiki or Ranma (or, Heaven forbid, both) ever turned delinquent on him, he didn't really have anyone capable enough to physically control them at that point. Jun Fan Lee could possibly be asked to assist, but the man was not a disciplinarian. He was here as a favor simply to act as an instructor. Maintaining order over a few unruly teenagers was not his function.

As the Imperial Academy was under the shared direct control of the two Ministries of Science and Security (the latter one more commonly known as the Security Directorate) rather than the Ministry of Education, any appeals for such assistance would have to go through one of them. The Ministry of Security was perhaps his better option to approach for finding someone to act as a disciplinarian, but that was going to take a while now that the current Director had chosen to retire. He made a mental note to compose a letter requesting someone who could perform that function, the stronger the better. After all, prevention was preferable to correction. That matter decided, he moved on to another concern.

Where had Ranma disappeared to? Cameras had tracked him going into a small copse of woods near the side of the Academy's main building, but a strange redhead dressed in the garb of an okonomiyaki seller had later emerged. The Saotome boy had somehow vanished.

He turned to his computer and pulled up the one clear picture he had managed to get of the girl's face, running it through the Security Directorate's archives, hoping to find her in its library of ID photos. He got lucky. After only a few minutes, a positive match came back: Ranko Kuonji, who, as a point of mild note, had just celebrated her sixteenth birthday recently. His gaze focused on the information with interest as he examined the datafile. The girl's mother was someone he was casually familiar with, Ukyo's aunt, Yumi Kuonji. There was no father listed, and the only other close relative was a brother a couple of years older, who also had no father listed.

It all made sense now. As the Kuonjis were reputed to be ninja of legendary skill, the girl must have been watching from the shadows in the woods and then spirited Ranma away somehow, possibly at her cousin Ukyo's request to keep him safe from potential harm. But to evade the Academy's security cameras with someone in tow like that was a rather impressive feat. He made a note to speak with Yumi about having Ranko take the Academy's placement tests. The Security Directorate could always use more people like her. If she somehow managed to score well enough on the exams, he might even make a special exception and offer her a slot with the current first-year cadet class.

Asking about Ranko would also be a good excuse for him to speak with Yumi again and perhaps even ask her out on a date. That she had two almost grown children did not bother him that much. The fact that she had raised the pair on her own spoke well of her innate character and self-reliance. She had seemed to be a woman who took life on her own terms, and such confidence was rather attractive. Also, while he wasn't positive, she seemed like she might be interested in him. That was becoming a pretty rare thing for a man of his advancing years, so he had been slowly working up his courage on the matter, unsure if he should take her friendliness to him in that way.

Perhaps he would take his dinner again at the Yu-chan this week, he mused with a slight smile.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma-chan came bursting into the Yu-chan just in time to see Ukyo fleeing up the stairs, her passage followed by the eyes of Yumi and the few patrons in the restaurant. She ran into her room and promptly slammed the door. As the cursed boy made to pursue, Yumi stepped in front of her at the base of the stairs and blocked her way.

"Ranm- Ranko, what happened?"

After quickly catching her breath a bit after the rapid run across the rooftops chasing Ukyo, Ranko spoke. "This guy named Ryoga Hibiki showed up, and he and Ucch- Ukyo had a fight. The moron thought she was really a guy, not a girl. Anyway, towards the end, this girl we know, Nabiki Tendo, stepped in and stopped it. But then she cut open Ukyo's jacket and bindings in front of the entire Academy, and Ryoga just froze. Ukyo ran away, and I've been chasing her all this way." She bent over and gasped a bit, still catching her breath.

"Didn't you use the soap this morning?" she asked, noting Ranma-chan's gender.

The pigtailed girl grimaced as she stood back up straight. "Yeah, I did. But Ukyo shoved this gunk in my mouth. I had to use water to wash it out, a lot of water."

"I see." Seeing the patron's watching, she pulled Ranma-chan into the back for a few moments. "I'll have a talk with Ukyo later, Ranko. She probably needs a little time alone right now."

"But-" Ranma-chan was promptly shushed by Yumi's fingertips placed on her lips.

"Hush. I'm sure it will be all right, Ranko. Ukyo's tough." She pulled out a debit card and handed it to Ranma-chan. "Here. This is for you."

"What for?"

"Well, I took the liberty of getting you a bank account once I had the matter of your ID settled. Did it change when you went back to being male?"

Ranma-chan nodded, pulling out her ID card. That morning, it had been identical to her male form's ID card. Now it displayed her female form's picture there, along with the kanji for 'Ranko Kuonji' next to it and some other information. She still found it mildly amusing that Yumi had set the day she fell into the vat as her date of birth.

"Don't forget to dispose of your other ID card when you have a chance. You won't need it anymore. This one will cover both your forms."

"I already did."

Yumi nodded. "That's a good girl."

"You opened up a bank account for me?"

Yumi smiled. "I started you out with fifty thousand yen. Consider it a loan. If you don't mind working here, I'll just take a little out of your pay each week, otherwise you can pay me back when you can. When you have time I want you to go out and buy yourself some clothes with that money, since you're going to need a wardrobe for yourself. You can't keep just wearing that one outfit, you know." She paused and fished around in a pocket.

"Oh, there's one more thing. Here." She handed a key to the cursed boy. "This is a key to the restaurant and apartment area. You can store your clothes here, but I'm not doing your laundry." She grinned.

"Thanks." Ranma-chan pocketed the items.

"No problem." Yumi put her hands behind Ranma-chan's shoulders and urged her to the door. "Go take a hot shower and use some of the soap. I'll take care of Ukyo."

Ranma-chan nodded and headed off to change back. Classes were over for the day, but she still had more dance classes to attend before the formal at Ohtori.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryoga ran through the sunlit streets of Nerima. After a time, he came to a halt and leaned against a wall, resting his hand there, absently digging his fingers into the solid rock like it was sand. A laugh seemed to make its way up from his throat, but it was as much a sob.

"A girl," he muttered. "Ukyo's a girl. Ukyo Kuonji is really a girl." Even as he said those words aloud, he still could not quite believe them. But the horrible heaviness that had weighed on his heart seemed to be lifting, and he felt a bit giddy.

He had to find her. He had to find Ukyo. He owed her an apology, at the very least. He would tell her he lo- lo- liked her. A lot. But he looked around at his surroundings, and the familiar weight of his anguish closed around him once more.

"Where the hell am I now?" he cried out in dismay, startling a couple of pigeons into flight nearby. He immediately picked a direction and headed off at a run again.

"Just you wait, Ukyo Kuonji," he murmured like a mantra. "Just you wait."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The room was dark as Ukyo sat on her bed and hugged a pillow up against her body. Her injuries had been treated and no longer seemed to pain her much. If only her feelings were as easy to soothe. It had been several hours since she returned home, and all she could still seem to do was relive that moment in her mind. And every time she did so, she just felt angry.

No, not merely angry. Furious. She was furious at Nabiki Tendo for utterly humiliating her like that.

Ukyo hugged her pillow tighter and felt a burning in her eyes as she rocked slightly on her bed, but she refused to cry. Tears were not going to be enough to empty her of this feeling, this raw rage she felt. Besides, they weren't manly, and she had been raised to be so. She was angry with herself for losing control of herself like that, for crying like some weak girl. She wanted to hit someone, hard, not just once but many, many times. And that someone was named Nabiki Tendo.

A growl escaped her. For as long as she could remember, she had acted the part of a boy, hiding her femininity at her great-grandfather's request. After a few years, it just became second nature. She had been tough and manly, getting into the occasional fights with guys and winning and swaggering around like any boy with her fighting skills would. She had even had a girlfriend at one time, her good friend Konatsu taking on the role, just to fit in more with the guys at her school and get her great-grandfather off her back. And she had apparently been so good at her act that the boy she had known for over ten years had thought she really was male as well.

How could someone know another person that long and not know their true gender? She knew Ryoga was a boy and Konatsu was a girl, after all. Just how stupid was Ryoga Hibiki? Why couldn't he see through the disguise of someone he had spent so much time with?

The guise had worked until a certain someone had exposed the truth, utterly humiliating her in the process. Ukyo felt her teeth grinding. She could never have imagined hating someone so much like she had come to hate Nabiki for what the other girl had done. But, then again, no one had ever offended her before like the Tendo girl had.

Her great-grandfather had once told her that revenge was a dish best served cold. She had thought it an odd way to say such a thing at the time, but it also suited their clan's teachings, being that they were all okonomiyaki chefs of the highest caliber as well as being ninja. So she had been mulling over a plan.

She would feign forgiveness of the Tendo girl and perhaps even pretend to be her friend for a while, for as long as it took to lull her into a complacent state. Meanwhile, she would carefully study the other girl and learn her weaknesses, waiting for the proper moment. Then, and only then, would Ukyo unleash her vengeance upon Nabiki, when it would have its most shattering impact.

The Tendo girl would learn what it meant to anger a Kuonji, to earn the fury of a ninja, when Ukyo served her that cold dish of revenge and crammed it down Nabiki's throat. And while it was going to be a most bitter one for the older girl to swallow, Ukyo was certain it would be sweet and succulent to her own palate. She grinned wolfishly into her pillow at that.

Standing quietly in the shadows by the open window, Tsubasa could only seem to gaze in wonder at Ukyo. A female Kuonji ninja, one good enough at disguise and faking masculine mannerisms to fool even a Goju. A warm feeling was in the young Goju's chest.

Tsubasa had fallen in love.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Juri Arisugawa sat in the back of the limousine and tried without much success to tune out her mother's prattling. Her father was doing the same thing, and his gentle snores reached her ears. She looked out the window at the passing scenery, feeling uncomfortable in a formal yukata and obi, her hair done up in a traditional style, like a doll taken out to be put on display, to be looked at but never touched.

"Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior tonight, Juri-chan," Lady Arisugawa said primly. "I don't want to see a repeat of the last omiai we took you on. Do I have your sincere and solemn promise that you will behave?" The older woman twisted a handkerchief she held, the cloth fraying from the pressure she was applying. "We need this, for our family's sake."

The Kunos were an old family of nobility and quite wealthy. While the Arisugawas could match them in terms of nobility and time amidst the peerage of the Empire, the matter of their wealth was another story entirely. A series of poor business choices had left them hovering on the verge of bankruptcy, but the pretense of wealth still had to be maintained at all costs, for the sake of face. A marriage of her willful daughter with the Kuno boy would be the salvation of their financial woes, if only the girl didn't act her usual self and run the boy off.

Juri snorted delicately and turned her gaze to her mother. "I will act in accordance with how I am treated," she said calmly. The last boy had been a chinless weakling, without a drop of true warrior spirit in him. He had made the grave error of looking at her lustfully, an act grossly offending her honor. The resulting duel had been quick, despite his condescending attitudes towards her at the outset, as if a woman was not meant to pick up a sword and fight as well as any man.

"Oh dear," Lady Arisugawa said nervously, not liking the sound of that at all. She hoped the Kuno boy was well-mannered. Juri could be quite touchy when it came to her personal sense of honor, and she had fought a large number of duels to prove that point, leaving a trail of broken bodies behind her from her skill. The older woman twisted her handkerchief some more and dreaded the possible outcomes of this evening.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lord Kuno entered his son's chambers unannounced to find his only son composing poetry. He sighed. He cleared his throat.

"Son, they're on their way up the drive," he said with a touch of annoyance at the boy's reticence. "You should greet the girl and her family. Don't tell me you're still mooning over those Tendo girls."

Tatewaki Kuno set down his brush and closed the cover on the ink pot, turning to face his sire and standing. "I was composing an ode to their beauty and warrior spirit, Father. 'Tis one of my best works yet. I believe I have captured the very essence of Nabiki Tendo in it." He walked over, dressed in a formal kimono, feeling his blood burning within him at the thought of the middle Tendo daughter.

"Try and focus here, Tatewaki," said Lord Kuno seriously. "Your mother is most eager for you to become engaged to this girl, since they have the ear of the Emperor. While I personally find Lord Arisugawa to be a boorish twit, and his wife to be sycophantic to the extreme, at least the daughter seems relatively normal. So you will put forward your best face towards this. I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Tatewaki nodded. "Yes, Father, though my heart be not in this. It is impossible that the Arisugawa girl, though I find her quite comely of face, could compare in the least to Nabiki Tendo, her younger sister, or even to the pigtailed girl I have seen recently."

"Pigtailed girl?" he said as they walked towards the main stairs. "What pigtailed girl?"

The Kuno heir's face took on a rapturous look. "I only caught a glimpse of her whilst I was resting after my recent bout with Nabiki Tendo, but her image is engraven upon my heart forever. Truly she is one of the most demure and feminine creatures I have ever seen, a most suitable accompaniment to the clever Nabiki Tendo and her fiercely beautiful young sister, Akane. I would be a man most contented to have them, all of them." He waved a hand. "This Juri Arisugawa cannot compare."

"Regardless of that," Lord Kuno said a bit dryly. "Your mother and I expect you to be courteous. Under no circumstances will you mention any other women to the girl, no matter how you feel. Marriage is not about love, Tatewaki, but duty to the family and honor. Although I love your mother deeply now, it was not always the case."

Tatewaki was shocked to hear that.

Lord Kuno smiled. "We were not each other's first choice for a mate, Tatewaki, but the years have allowed us a measure of passion and even comfort with our marriage. I'm sure you will find it the same."

"But Father," Tatewaki grumbled. "What if she is a shrew?"

Lord Kuno shrugged. "Then you tame the shrew. I did it with your mother." He smiled.

Seeing her husband and son approaching her and Kodachi, Kenseiko nodded to him. "And what are you telling your son, Husband?"

"Just some fatherly advice to a son about marriage." He came over to stand next to her and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "You look lovely tonight."

She smiled and nodded. "You are most kind, My Lord."

"You are looking well tonight, brother dear," said Kodachi, snapping closed the fan she held and smiling at him, her eyes glittering. "Are you prepared to be an offering to the gods of political expediency?"

Tatewaki blinked. "You seem unusually merry tonight, my dear sister."

She hid her mouth demurely behind the fan, Sukeban-Kodachi ascendant in her manner tonight. "Why, my dear brother, I am simply pleased at your good fortune. I have heard this Juri Arisugawa is your type of woman, filled to brimming with a warrior's spirit. I will enjoy meeting her. When I accompanied Saotome-kun to Ohtori, she and I did not have a chance to talk."

Mention of Ranma caused him to frown. "It is most unseemly of you to be speaking so familiarly of him, even if he is-" He paused, unable to get the words out, he found them so distasteful. "Your fiancé."

"You are so serious, brother dear." She grinned. "I find it pleasing to say Saotome-kun, even as I find it pleasing to say Kaoru-kun."

"I recall the name from somewhere. A childhood friend of yours was he not?"

"He was and still is," Kodachi said with a warm smile. "He invited me to attend a dance at Ohtori. I am finding it pleasant rekindling our friendship of long ago. Perhaps if things don't go poorly tonight, you could escort the Arisugawa girl to it. That way you can keep an eye on me, as you seem wont to do."

Kuno appeared to consider the manner.

Lord Kuno heard and nodded. "That is a fine idea, daughter! Excellent suggestion." Beside him, Kenseiko nodded.

"Very well, I shall escort the girl to the function at Ohtori, Father," Kuno said after another moment. "I pray she is not a shrew."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yumi-kun, dressed in a nice shirt and pants to go out for the evening, poked his head into Ukyo's room, thinking at first that the girl was asleep. After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the dimness, and he saw Ukyo sitting there on her bed. He glanced at one corner by the open window briefly as if sensing something and then gazed more intently at a particular area of shadow.

The shadow seemed to form a sweatdrop as the cursed ninja stared at it intently with a narrowed gaze. Yumi-kun made a subtle gesture with a finger, pointing to the floor. He sensed the shadow quickly leave out the window and head downstairs.

"Hey, Kiddo," he said with a concerned look, turning back to face Ukyo. "How's it going?"

"Fine."

Yumi-kun switched on the light. "Mother and I are going out tonight, so we've closed the restaurant. She doesn't want you to open it. Just get some rest, okay?"

"Sure."

The woman turned teenaged boy looked at his niece, then went over and sat on the bed. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay." Yumi-kun wasn't sure what else to say at that point. Ukyo was being a moody, close-mouthed teenager right now, and dealing with that was not something he had any experience in, even though he looked like a teenager now. He gave the girl a warm hug, feeling Ukyo resist at first then relax into it. "Things will turn out okay. Just get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day."

Ukyo nodded, feeling grateful at her cousin's caring. "I know. You have a good time tonight. Is it a date?"

"Yeah, I'm going to the movies with an old friend," he said with a smile, ruffling Ukyo's hair. "Don't stay up too late." He got up from the bed and moved to the door.

Ukyo chuckled. "G'night, Yu-kun."

"My mother said she'll be back later," Yumi-kun replied, smiling. "Good night." He then left, closing the door behind him.

Ukyo started undressing, tossing her clothes about the room. Then she turned off the light and lay down. She went right to sleep.

Downstairs, Yumi-kun sat down on a chair and waited. "I don't have all night, Tsubasa-kun," he said after a minute.

Out of the shadows in one corner stepped the young Goju, still shifted into female form. "How do you always know I'm around, Yu?" she asked.

"I've just always been able to sense the presence of Goju," replied the cursed ninja, shrugging his shoulders. "What are you doing, lurking around Ukyo like that? I promised your folks I wouldn't bother them or you, if they didn't bother me."

"I-I-" stuttered Tsubasa, uncertain what to say.

Yumi-kun sighed and then said, "You like her."

The young Goju nodded, looking shyly at the floor.

"She's engaged, Tsubasa-kun. To a guy named Ranma Saotome. He goes to your school."

"Oh." Tsubasa was very quiet. "I see."

"Ukyo could use more friends," Yumi-kun suggested. "What do you think about that?"

Tsubasa looked up, suddenly looking hopeful. "You'd be okay with that?"

"You promise you won't attack her? You promise you'll admit what you are and explain about the Untainted, if she figures it out?"

"Of course!" The young Goju sounded offended.

Yumi-kun grinned. "Then I'm okay with you being her friend."

Tsubasa smiled. The Goju boy had no intentions of harming Ukyo. None at all. But Ranma Saotome was another situation entirely. Tsubasa's irises took on a darker cast at the thought, swirls of shadow moving within the coloring.

If the pigtailed boy was out of the picture, Ukyo would be available again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sneaking out of Joketsuzoku Village wasn't hard for one of Perfume's skills, especially for one with her abilities at persuasion. Claiming she was going to the nearby mountains for some private training time had been a sufficient excuse for the guards. It also easily explained why she was carrying her weapons and a travel pack with sufficient supplies for a long time away from the village.

Once she was out of sight of the last guard outpost, she left the road and began making her way overland. It was while she was doing so that she encountered Mousse, making his way the final length on his journey. She stopped and stared at him in surprise, her hands on her hips.

"Mu Tse," she said calmly in Mandarin. "So, I see you've finally returned."

"Peh Fum," he answered back as he adjusted his glasses. "What are you doing out here?"

The young Amazon thought about it. She couldn't have Mousse going back to the village and telling anyone he had seen her. Killing him was an option, but she preferred not to. Even though he was a stupid, almost useless male of very weak fighting skills with an insane devotion to her rival Shampoo, he did speak Japanese very well and could possibly be of some minimal use to her in her quest.

"I'm going to visit Shan Pu," she finally said.

Mousse looked surprised. "She's not at the village? Where is she?"

"Japan," Perfume answered simply. "She's fighting for the amusement of the Japanese in Tokyo."

"WHAT?" Mousse looked almost apoplectic. Visions of his proud, beloved Shampoo weighted down in chains and being forced to undergo savage ordeals to entertain their foreign overlords filled his mind. He could only think of how much she must be suffering. He would save her.

"It's a long journey," Perfume said casually. "I suppose you could come with me."

"I will." Mousse turned around and followed Perfume. "We'll need to head south. There are smugglers there who could get us to Japan and avoid the patrols. We'll need money though."

Perfume nodded. She had expected that. In her pack and about her person was a small fortune of gold and jewels, most acquired on her journeys, but a few trinkets she had liberated from the treasury of Joketsuzoku because she thought they might be useful to her.

"Time is of the essence," Mousse declared, his thoughts still filled with the horrible fates that Shampoo must be suffering at the hands of the villainous Japanese. "We'll need to get to a coastal city as soon as possible. We'll also need to obtain travel papers to enter Japan."

"I already have it planned out," Perfume replied. "We'll be able to catch a train a few miles south of here that will take us to a place I learned of in my training journeys. It's only a week or so away, and we'll be able to buy anything we need there, both papers and passage."

"Where?" Mousse looked at her in puzzlement. "Hong Kong?"

"Further south," Perfume replied. "It's a horrible place the Empire leaves to fester, or so I've heard. It's a wretched hive of scum and villainy."

Mousse suddenly nodded. Yes, he'd heard of the place. He knew where she was talking about. There was only one city it could be.

Roanapur.

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Things seemed to get back to a state of relative normalcy for Ranma as the time remaining before the dance at Ohtori started going by. He spent his days working his body hard in his training sessions with Master Lee, his instruction by the man finally beginning. His fan club continued to attack him daily, which he was finding to be quite good training for dealing with large groups of foes. Kodachi and Nabiki both seemed distracted by their individual concerns, so he didn't talk much with them as the days passed.

His dance classes with Madoka went well, and he found he really enjoyed ballroom dancing with her. It was nice to make a new friend he could have fun like that with, without an engagement or romantic tension looming over the relationship. As the basics had quickly come to him for some reason, maybe due to a stray memory download he previously hadn't been aware of, they were working on advanced maneuvers.

He knew he wanted to show up that Miki Kaoru guy for trying to muscle in on Kodachi, since beating the guy up would probably not be his best course of action. At least Nabiki wasn't going to be anywhere near the dance. Having to explain why he was there with Utena would be awkward.

He spent a couple of hours every day in the private lab space he had at the Kuno's mansion, recreating Ranko's quantum tunneling device and incorporating the paratransponder signal sensor he had devised. He ran numerous tests on its functions. Its ability to scan for paratemporal equipotential flux energies to determine the time until a new window could be opened was a work of sheer genius, and he had to congratulate Ranko on its construction. He also put together a paratransponder unit, hiding it near his house towards the end of the week.

However, most of his nights were spent on a special training assignment he had imposed upon himself: mastering the Amaguriken. For that he chose to be in female form and begged off waitressing at the Yu-chan for a while. Yumi had seemed to understand when he phrased it as a need to do some private training. Part of the reason why he was doing it was to give his curse the time it demanded to keep the soap's protective abilities at maximum effectiveness. It was apparently working, since there were no accidental changes that week.

And so the days passed, and the dance at Ohtori drew inevitably closer.

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Thanks to DB Sommer for his help in reviewing this chapter.

Constructive C&C is welcome. Please let me know if you see any errors I should correct.


	26. The Ohtori Gambit

*** Heaven +2.615, -1.494

Belldandy sighed softly as she absently watched the system monitors, noting the ebbs and flows of the various energies of the universe as the numbers were processed through Yggdrasil. She sometimes disliked the occasional solitude of her duties, but someone had to do them. Along with her two beloved sisters, she maintained Yggdrasil in its proper working order, and she was proud (in her own way) to sustain this sacred trust. As the System Administrator, it was her vital duty to work the long hours necessary for keeping all its functions in stable working order. After all, her work here was all she had left, since the day not too long ago when Kami-sama unexpectedly turned the Goddess Relief Office over to Peorth's control for an indeterminate duration. Belldandy's current duties at least kept her occupied, but they were not as fulfilling as the ones she had once performed.

Tapping away at the interface before her (appearing as a keyboard composed of solid light), Belldandy called up one of the Earth Realm monitors available to her. A life-like image appeared in midair, and she smiled somewhat sadly at the face revealed to her. She had never met the particular mortal she now watched, yet his life had somehow fascinated her for several years now. Today was his wedding day, if she understood the significance of the ceremony he was currently involved in correctly. She watched as he took the small cup of sake from the robed and veiled woman before him, her face covered with thick layers of white makeup so that it appeared to be that of a porcelain doll. A single tear rolled down one of Belldandy's cheeks as she saw him drink from the cup and smile at the young woman before him.

However, despite her unexpected melancholy at the sight, the young goddess was not worried for his future. She had watched their first meeting and the following marriage arrangements made between the two families, all done in the traditional manner. She had witnessed both young mortals explore a hesitant courtship with each other as they shyly fell in love. Now, she saw the culmination of their tender passions for each other in matrimony. Another tear slowly rolled down her cheek, and Belldandy absently rubbed it away, chiding herself for growing so attached to a mere mortal. She was very happy for him, yet strangely wistful all the same. She knew that the mortal woman would love him as deeply as any woman could, even as deeply as the young goddess watching found herself wishing that she could.

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*** Earth +2.615, -1.494

Unaware of the benevolent witness to their nuptials, a nerve-racked Keiichi Morisato stood next to his shy, new bride, now known as Kasumi Morisato. The kneeling pair turned to face their friends and their respective families, who had come to share in this happy event. The bride, understandably unwilling to disturb the white perfection of her makeup, could only show her happiness through her eyes, but every guest could see that they shone brightly with her emotions.

The view briefly panned around the audience, showing another young couple seated near the front for a moment. Both teens were dressed in a traditional manner for this solemn occasion. The boy, a seventeen-year old youth named Kinagi Tendo, wore his brown hair tied back into a tight pigtail. He was only recently returned to his family from a grueling, decade-long training trip studying the martial arts under his father's friend, Genma Saotome. On his right sat a black-haired girl, Ranko Saotome, his fiancée and primary sparring partner of late. While she was mainly watching the proceedings, occasionally she glanced at the boy seated next to her, and, more wrathfully, at the Chinese girl clinging to Kinagi like a limpet. She also watched the windows and doors, as if expecting intruders.

Hanging by her fingers outside the window, Sakura Kasugano watched the proceedings with envy, occasionally turning a spiteful gaze at the girl seated with her Tendo-senpai, the boy she loved with all her being. A long, still-healing cut ran down the side of her face, one certain to leave a scar. She ached with her need to attack the Saotome girl, to avenge herself for her injury. She could not imagine hating anyone more than she hated Ranko Saotome. Only her promise to the Tendo boy to not disrupt his sister's marriage held her at bay.

In the back of the room, Asuka Saginomiya struggled against her bonds and tried to work the gag free from her mouth, seething within for being bound like this by her nemesis, that miserable Ranko Saotome strumpet. How dare that lowly commoner treat one of her breeding like this? She was the White Lily! She was the one true love of her precious Kinagi-sama!

Perfume spent most of her time sighing happily as she watched the ceremony while clinging to the arm of her Airen. Occasionally, she stared daggers at the dark-haired Saotome girl. Once the wedding couple departed, the truce Kinagi had asked for would be done. Then Perfume would attack and try to finally end her rivalry with the shorter girl once and for all.

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*** Heaven +2.615, -1.494

So intent was Belldandy on watching all aspects of the wedding that she did not sense the sudden intrusion into the datacore. A solitary figure slowly materialized next to one wall in the chamber, appearing in a swirl of amber light. It stood completely cloaked in dark robes, its head concealed from view behind a hood. Without hesitation, it strode over to one of the nearby consoles and stretched forth a gloved hand. Runes began to scroll across the display in a blur, the figure studying them very intently. As it did so, the face was finally revealed: the Shogun of the Dark.

The Shogun quickly found what he was looking for and paused the display to study the runes on the screen, frowning at what he was seeing. That damnable Washu had somehow managed to bring the equally irritating Doctor back to life and combined forces with him! It appeared the pair would stymie him once again on this iteration. After a few moments, he gestured at the display with one hand in disgust, and the console went back to its normal mode. Stepping away from the wall and turning around, his task completed, he halted for a brief time and watched the scene that the solitary goddess was watching, as well as Belldandy herself. While he did so, he idly recalled once brutally ending the young goddess' life on a prior iteration and obtaining her access codes. While he could not use them as-is on subsequent iterations, they had enabled him to forge new access codes for himself whenever he had need of them.

Perhaps somehow sensing eyes upon her, Belldandy quickly turned and glanced around the chamber, but her senses detected nothing. She checked the system logs, but she was the only one logged in right now. She frowned; a terminal she had been using earlier was still logged into the system. She chastised herself for her carelessness and shut it down.

Suspecting that it was only some sort of phantasm conjured up by her own unexpected emotionalism, the Goddess of the Present eventually turned back to her consoles. She felt safe in the knowledge that the security monitors would sound if there was any unauthorized presence. She went back to studying the young man displayed once more.

Behind Belldandy, the Shogun raised a hand and dissolved away into amber light, a glow that quickly vanished into nothingness. He had already formulated a plan to finally eliminate the Doctor and Washu from any future opposition.

Perhaps on the next iteration he would finally win.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Mousse made his way back to Joketsuzoku after his ordeal at Jusenkyo. Yusaku Godai began dealing with his own women problems. Ryoga and Ukyo finally met and fought, and the truth of Ukyo's gender was revealed by Nabiki towards the end of it, earning the Tendo girl Ukyo's wrath. Genma visits the Arena and enrolls Ranma to participate in an upcoming Amazon Challenge. Ranma began establishing his identity as 'Ranko Kuonji' with Yumi's help, and adjusting to the part of him that was now female. Kuno gets a date to the upcoming dance at Ohtori. Ukyo acquires a familiar admirer, and some individuals from Shampoo's past begin travelling to Tokyo.

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Chapter 26 – The Ohtori Gambit

The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena

of the Universe, the rules of the game are what we call the

laws of Nature and the player on the other side is hidden

from us.

- Thomas Huxley

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

The clash of blades sounded as Juri and Utena locked their weapons together, each of them straining to push the other back. The rising sun cast slowly moving shadows around the pair as their morning duel progressed. Utena shifted suddenly and kneed Juri low in the gut. She was feeling light, and it showed in her graceful movements, smiling almost as brightly as the sun itself. Frankly, combined with what had happened at the Kunos, it was irritating Juri and putting her off her timing.

Utena was happy because Ranma was coming with her to the Spring Formal. Ever since he had accepted her invitation, it seemed like nothing could bring down her mood, not even the likes of Nanami Kiryuu or Saionji Kyouichi. After only a relatively brief time spent in the pigtailed boy's presence, she felt she now truly understood what it meant to find her prince, an amusing thing since she considered herself a prince as well. Her step was light as her heart seemed to sing within her as she battered Juri backwards, her weapon ringing against the other girl's.

The redheaded Juri was still in a bit of shock over what had happened between her and Tatewaki Kuno: her parents were forcing her to attend the Spring Formal with the Kuno heir. Judging by her mother's state of happiness over the past several days, it was also entirely possible that their parents had made an engagement agreement behind their backs. She wished the boy had given her some excuse to engage him in a duel, to see if his reputed skill with a blade was undeserved, but he gave her no such excuse. His manners were impeccable that night. While he spoke in an older, courtlier fashion, it was an oddly charming affectation. And when he had looked at her...

She shied away from her memories of that moment. She was not some weak, swooning girl prone to getting faint-hearted over a boy like so many of the spineless girls on Ohtori's campus. No, she was Juri Arisugawa, a young woman who prided herself on her strength and independence. Ask any of her peers in the Student Council, and they would attest to that. When she and the Kuno heir were together at the dance, she would just ask him outright if he knew anything of an engagement. Right now, she was uncertain if she wanted it to be true or not, which only added to her distraction and made things even easier for Utena.

Off to one side, Miki Kaoru was absently trying to occupy himself with his stopwatch, his attention was distracted. All he could seem to think about was Kodachi Kuno and seeing her at the dance that weekend. He sighed wistfully, his gaze distant.

While Touga Kiryuu was not one to sigh wistfully for any woman, he too was thinking about the upcoming dance, his heart a bit lighter in his chest. Fortunately for him, his troublesome younger sister had been assigned by the family to be the escort for Mikado Sanzenin, so that should keep her from getting under foot while he worked on wooing the eminently attractive Nabiki Tendo. He considered again how best to combine his two goals: seducing the Tendo girl and also eliminating Ranma Saotome from the picture.

Well, he still had a few more days to put a plan into action. He gave a smile to Miki, but his co-conspirator was caught up in his pining for the Kuno girl. That amused Touga.

It was promising to be the most interesting social event of the year.

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As was his usual routine, after completing his early morning workout, Tatewaki Kuno was now meditating, striving to clear his mind of all thought, to empty himself of all distractions. He failed. His mind was troubled, preventing him from achieving serenity. He had not slept well at all last night, not since meeting the Arisugawa girl.

His eyes suddenly opened at the mere thought of her name, seeming to blaze within from the passions he felt burning inside him. He could not get her out of his mind, not since meeting her. Yet how could he be so fickle in his feelings? How could he let his noble, valorous heart stray from his two fierce lionesses, the beautiful Tendo sisters? It was like he was bewitched by the newcomer to his life, like the clever Nabiki and the spirited Akane had previously bewitched him.

She had been dressed traditionally and been properly demure in her movements, but she could have been naked for as much attention as he had paid to her attire. In truth, he was hard pressed to even recall the color of her kimono. He had gazed at her face, smelled the gentle perfume he scented when they were first facing each other and then it seemed as if the very heavens themselves opened behind her. He was lost to her, intently aware of her on a visceral level that very few girls had ever been able to arouse in his heart.

While at dinner, the two mothers had exchanged pleasantries briefly before Kenseiko had begun making a series of inquiries to Juri on her suitability for marriage into the Kunos. During that time, Kodachi had leaned over to him and mentioned in passing that the vision before him was reputed to be a swordswoman of great skill and that she had boldly rejected all previous suitors, for none were apparently able to match her ability with a blade. That had only inflamed his passions even more, for women of strength were his one admitted weakness.

At one time, that would have been the White Lily, but her spitefulness and shrewishness had eventually chilled his ardor. He was thankful to the kami that he had since made the acquaintance of far superior girls since then, young women he would someday have in his bed and his life, such as the clever-eyed and athletic Nabiki Tendo and her fiercely powerful younger sibling. Oh, how he yearned deeply for them both, but especially for the middle Tendo daughter. Her physical strength and combat skill were a challenge to him, a challenge he would someday master and bend her to his will.

Aside from the two sisters, there was another he ached to offer his attentions to, a girl he had caught only the briefest glimpse of. But what a girl she was! A bit shorter than the youngest Tendo, her hair was a lustrous red in color held back into a short pigtail, and her full-breasted and callipygian figure would inflame any man to madness with desire. Kuno felt his body respond powerfully at the mere thought of her shapely frame and the angelic face she possessed. She was a mystery to him, a beautiful, dreamlike, nameless wonder of a girl.

However, now there was Juri Arisugawa in his life, one who combined so many of the features of his other true loves into a singular package of divine womanhood. She was clever like unto Nabiki Tendo, a fact she ably proved last night as she responded to his mother's questioning. Yet her frame was strong and well-formed, and her gaze carried within it a fierce challenge that reminded him of the younger Tendo. Her face was the face of a goddess, framed by reddish, lustrous hair like that of the mysterious pigtailed girl, its fulsome fullness contained with clasps and worn straight down her back.

How could one man love four women equally? Yet how could he restrain himself and claim only one? His heart burned for them all, each one arousing a unique form of passion within him. Perhaps, at the dance at Ohtori, he would inquire of the Arisugawa girl her feelings on his having mistresses. Although, as a precaution, he would ask his good friend Mikado Sanzenin for advice on the matter first.

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Nabiki focused her perceptions on a point on the ceiling as she pushed her nemesis up again. Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, the barbell in her hands pistoned up from her body again, and she felt the increasing burn in the muscles in her shoulders and upper arms. Several more drops of sweat fell from her body to drip upon the ground.

"Forty-two," she grunted out when her arm reached full extension and then she lowered them and repeated the cycle. When she got to fifty, she pressed the barbell up one final time and laid it in the rack over her head. She then sat up a bit tiredly and wiped at her face with the towel she had draped around her neck.

Eight sets of fifty repetitions with the weighted barbell brought back memories of her mother working the younger versions of herself and her two sisters until they were ready to drop. The three of them had been the woman's private training cadre, subjected to a regimen of weights, roadwork and various combat exercises that would have made even most Imperial Marines cry like a baby after a single session. Nabiki grinned at the thought, feeling the lithe swell of muscles in her arm with one hand.

Ever since her experience with Ranma's resonator, she had ratcheted up her personal training, no longer content with simply having a good figure and controlling her weight. She had let herself soften somewhat after her mother's death. But, since that day weeks ago, she had not only quickly regained her old form but now far surpassed it. Every muscle in her body was responding amazingly well to exercise, growing even stronger than they had ever been before.

She was grateful that her body type was not one to grow bulky, as some women did, but there was a much greater solidity to her frame now from several additional kilograms of muscle. By combining her knowledge of diet and modern scientific weight training methods with the much more ancient knowledge from her other self, she had transformed her physique with incredible speed. Not that she had been flabby before, but merely being toned was not good enough anymore.

As she rested on the bench for a few moments, she thought about Yohko's concerns for her, that she was making a huge mistake in trying to make Ranma jealous using Touga. She scoffed at the notion. Instead of being a nice guy like her analog's fiancé, Ranma was pretty consistently an obstinate jerk towards her. He needed to be shown that she was not a girl he could just take for granted, no matter how many other girls he currently had vying for his attention. Even after his learning of their engagement, he had never once asked her out on a date, not like he had with Ukyo. He had never once spent lunchtime with her, not like he had with Ukyo and Kodachi. He had never even bought her a can of juice. It was frankly quite irritating to her, and it also hurt.

Thoughts of her rivals for his attentions confused her. Just what did Ranma see in mannish cross-dressers like Ukyo or that Utena girl? Ukyo she could sort of understand, since Ranma had been engaged to her on other timelines he had visited, and maybe Utena was benefitting from his memories of dealings with that other Ukyo as well. When they had shared their stories, he had admitted to one of his analogs being good friends with the okonomiyaki chef. Kodachi was an even easier analysis. Boys liked the floozy look, and the Kuno girl was definitely one of those, right down to her seductive build and dreamy-eyed gaze. Ranma had been oddly evasive about what those other versions of Kodachi Kuno he knew were like, which made Nabiki feel suspicious.

While thinking of her rivals for Ranma, her musings inevitably turned to Akane, and she felt twinges of regret for what was happening between her and her younger sister. They had not spoken very much since she was transferred to Furinkan. At first, things seemed to be going according to plan, but her hopes that Akane would find a boy to take her mind off Ranma had apparently failed. It was amazing that with an Academy full of officer trainees to choose from, not one had measured up to even Akane's admittedly high standards. She was still totally fixated on Ranma, the only boy who had ever managed to overcome her physically.

That was the problem. Akane still only looked at Ranma on a physical level. That was the way her sister looked at every young man. The pigtailed boy was more than a body and more than merely his fighting skills. He had a brilliant future ahead of him someday in the Science Ministry or one of the corporations in the Empire, and he needed a wife who could guide him and advise him to achieve his maximum possible level of success.

The main problem Nabiki saw was that Ranma apparently felt no threats to his growing harem, so he could just take them all for granted. And she was not going to be someone taken for granted. She was going to attend the dance at Ohtori and spend some time with Touga. Without being blatant about it, she would encourage the young nobleman to pursue her and at the same time fend him off by figuratively placing the pigtailed boy between them.

The end result of this? Ranma acquired a strong rival, one handsome, rich and well-spoken as well as being a strong fighter. He would have to pay more attention to her then and be more aware of her feelings, or risk losing her to that rival. Then she could gradually drive off her own rivals for the pigtailed boy's attentions before she finally ended her association with Touga. At that point her relationship with the pigtailed boy could then move on to the next level, the two of them dating each other exclusively and beginning to plan together for their future, like how her best friend Yohko was doing with Kyosuke.

Feeling confident she was on the right path to winning Ranma's heart, Nabiki stood in front of the full-length mirror and flexed, noting the swell of taut muscles flowing under her skin. Her anatomy was more like Kasumi's than Akane's, albeit a bit shorter than her older sister's leggier frame. She admired herself a little in the mirror before she pulled on some sweats, strapped on heavy weights to her arms and legs and then headed out to do her nightly roadwork. Now that Ranma had somehow lucked out and was under the tutelage of a fighting legend like Jun Fan Lee, she knew she had to work even harder and keep training even more severely to keep the pressure on the pigtailed boy, no matter what.

After all, she was the true heir to the Anything-Goes School.

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Standing in the midst of the lab space he had been given by Kodachi, Ranma minutely adjusted the power settings on the device held in his hand and waited as its digital timer counted down to zero. He started the video recorder next to him while he waited. When the timer ran out, he pointed the device at an empty area of the lab and activated it.

A thin stream of energy flowed to a point some three meters in front of him and then a rippling washed outwards across the air before him, forming a field of distortion in a rough circle a little over two meters in diameter. A slight breeze immediately began flowing towards it. While he could still see the far side of the room, the light that reached his eyes was slightly blue-shifted as it passed through the region of distortion. He kept well away from it and tossed a tennis ball into the center. The ball promptly vanished through the wormhole.

Some thirty seconds later, the distortion vanished with a sudden snap, like the breaking of a circuit, and the flow of air halted. Ranma made some notes and adjusted the field settings again, even as the numbers on the digital readout on the device's face blinked several times. A new number suddenly appeared and showed the time until the next window, some three hours from now.

Seeing that, Ranma sighed and turned off the digital video recorder he had been using and set the device down. He had been fortunate earlier to have had several alignments take place in a rather short period of time, allowing him to test variations in field strength and power levels. He made a notation on the equation he was working on, Ranko's equation, the one that had led her to creating this device. It was proving to be a fascinating adjunct to his own researches, and several areas of future study had occurred to him, all because of his new memories from his female analog.

The device only generated a portal when the paraequipotential flux energies between two alternate Earths aligned just right, and even then the effect was not very stable. As soon as the alignment slipped too far out of phase, the portal would collapse, snapping closed and then contact between the two worlds would be lost. Based on his findings, thirty seconds seemed to be the maximum duration of a portal.

He had done as much as he could here. The rest would have to wait until after his father finished building the beacon. He still had to get in some more training time tonight before going home. After packing up what he was taking with him, he powered everything down and turned off the lights. He left and locked the door behind him.

Ranma stood in the empty hallway and looked down it in the direction where Kodachi's room lay, feeling an odd lump in his throat at the thought of the young noblewoman. He resented the fact that Ryoga was pretending to be her pet pig, but he was at a loss as to how to deal with it. Revealing the other boy's secret carried too big a risk of exposing his own, and he wasn't prepared to do that, not yet. But the next time he caught Ryoga alone, he was going to pound him for taking advantage of Kodachi like this. Maybe pig-napping was a viable option. Either way, he figured he still owed the other boy for cursing him to turn into a girl, pig curse or not.

As for Kodachi, they had not spoken much in several days, and he had been spending his lunches with Ukyo. However, he was sure, once he dealt with the dance and this Miki Kaoru guy trying to come between them, that everything would be fine with her once again. There was no way he was going to lose to some bishonen with a stopwatch fetish like Miki.

At least his troubles with Nabiki were much simpler and more easily resolved, without any romantic rivals involved to complicate things between them. She didn't spend any time with any guys other than him. Her reputation as the Iron Bitch kept them all at a distance.

Except for Kuno, but he was an idiot.

Or that Kinnosuke Kashuoh psycho.

Or that smarmy Touga Kiryuu jerk.

Or Ryoga, who had seemed pretty familiar with her.

Hmmm.

Ranma shook his head. He was worrying over nothing and only making himself feel paranoid. Besides, he was a much better choice than any of those other guys. There was no way she was more interested in any of them rather than him. While she had been friendly with that Touga guy when they were at Ohtori, it was probably just some kind of one-time mind game she had been playing on him, to try and make him feel jealous. Well, it wasn't going to work. He was not going to fall for anything cooked up by a bossy, manipulative girl like Nabiki Tendo, no matter how strongly attractive she was to him. They were fierce rivals, both of them determined to best the other once and for all, despite their being engaged to each other. This was as far as his interest in her went. This was the sort of thing he kept telling himself when it came to her.

The matter settled for now in his mind, he turned his thoughts to the crux of the trouble between them. No matter how much Nabiki wanted to claim the top spot of being the true heir to the Anything-Goes School, he wasn't about to let her have it. The way he saw it, he definitely had far more right to it than she did, and he was just going to have to prove it to her through force. Her mastery of the Amaguriken technique was merely a temporary setback in their ongoing struggle with each other. Once he added it to his own repertoire as well, her small advantage over him would be gone and then he would beat her decisively in their next match.

The matter decided, he turned and headed away from Kodachi's room.

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Kodachi was trying on dresses in her room, still trying to make her attire decision for the upcoming dance. According to Konatsu, her new little pet pig, P-chan, was out wandering the grounds and exploring his new home. She would have liked for him to be here. He always seemed so attentive to her when she was changing clothes, and she enjoyed having someone pay her attention like that. If only her fiancé would be that attentive to her. She sighed and removed her current dress to stand once again in only a bra and panties.

She knew they were having a bit of trouble in their budding courtship right now, and it saddened her. She didn't want to be cross with him, but Ranma made things so difficult with his thoughtlessness. Why could he not make more of an effort to send away those other, far less worthy girls that seemed intent on sniffing around him like animals in heat? That horrible Nabiki Tendo was the absolute worst with her clever eyes and flippant remarks, not to mention how infuriating it was to lose to her every time in sparring matches. And the less she thought about that perverted cross-dressing savage named Ukyo Kuonji the better. At least the vile and brutish Akane Tendo had gone away, as well as the sluttish Utena Tenjou.

She picked up another dress.

She just wasn't able to find the right appearance. Should she go for a more demure look? After all, she didn't want to give Miki the wrong idea about where she intended their rekindled relationship to go. She wanted him as her friend and to be her confidant like before.

However, maybe she should go with an outfit more bold and alluring? That would make her feel more desirable and boost her confidence when it came to attracting male attention, but she felt a bit shy about what Miki might think. He might consider her to be interested in him, which, while it was true, it just wouldn't be proper for her to give him that impression, now that she was engaged to Ranma.

Still, the notion of inflaming her childhood friend with desire for her was a naughtily tempting thought. Miki was handsome, and her memories from Sukeban-Kodachi of tender kisses and sweaty intimacies exchanged with the version of the Kaoru boy from her timeline were very tempting. She nibbled briefly on her lower lip and considered the next dress, one which would require her to forego wearing a bra due to its very low-cut front which would expose a truly daring amount of skin, not to mention it being backless. She considered it for a long moment, holding it in front of her.

She just couldn't decide. She tossed the dress on the floor where it joined dozens of others.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Still fully dressed in his Whitehall uniform, Mikado fell to the bed beneath Asuka, who loomed over him as she sat astride his hips. She was still wearing her Blackhall uniform, having dragged him back here to her private chambers when she found him waiting for her in her home upon her return from school. She usually came home a bit late, due to her duties as captain of Blackhall's undefeated Rhythmic Gymnastics team. She gazed down at him coldly.

"You've been missing for several days, Mikado-kun," she growled low in anger, even as her hands began removing her jacket. She swiftly tossed it aside and began deftly unbuttoning her blouse. "Nanashi-sensei was not pleased. However, even more importantly, _I_ was not pleased. When you interjected your loathsome, philandering self into my private affairs, volunteering to learn at my side the secrets Nanashi-sensei has to offer, I should have expected your dedication to be weak."

Mikado glared up at her. "Asuka-chan, my sweet," he said in cold tones. "You have no idea what I have been through these past few days."

"Nor do I care to hear about the undoubtedly sordid details," she said grimly. She tossed aside her blouse, finding herself becoming aroused from her dominant position over him. When he reached his hands up to fondle her full breasts, she hastily slapped them away before beginning to undo her brassiere. "You will not touch me unless I allow it, you philandering Casanova wannabe. And I do not allow it now. So just lie there and keep your hands away from me until I say otherwise."

"Truly I am blessed by the warmth of your regard for me," he replied sarcastically, even as he felt his body responding to her nearness. After the exquisite sight of Kodachi Kuno paraded before his eyes in various states of dress and undress for the past few days, he needed relief. And while Asuka was a spiteful, treacherous bitch that could not compare in the least to the demure and innocent Kodachi, it was her abilities in the bedchambers that he needed now. He smiled up at her. "I don't know how I was able to exist without basking in its glow."

So far, he had been managing to attend his classes at Whitehall with the help of the cross-dressing freak, Konatsu, sneaking out while Kodachi was away at school and then quickly returning to her chambers before she returned. However, after several days of that, he could stand it no longer. While he was learning so much about his gentle goddess, his edginess had been building, his need for a woman almost killing him. He needed relief, even from a bitter, vindictive shrew like the White Lily. He would tolerate her petty little power games only so long as he was able to satisfy himself soon.

"Mikado-kun," Asuka said, tossing aside her brassiere, her breasts bared now as she reared back a little. "Do us both a favor and shut up. I have no interest in whatever inane chatter you choose to spew out. I have other needs for that tongue of yours." And with that, she leaned forward and began removing his jacket and shirt, casting them aside to join her own clothing items. She then lowered herself on him and took his lips in a deep and passionate kiss as she let her full weight come to rest on him.

Her hands slid down his arms, enjoying the feel of his muscles, her fingers finally becoming laced with his. A fire was inside her as she kissed with him, and she felt her body responding to his powerfully. Even though she hated every single fiber of his being with a passion, she could not deny the profound physical attraction she felt for him. Being with him was on a plateau all its own. Even the hatred she felt for him seemed to make their unions all the more intense and enjoyable.

Mikado groaned into the kiss, closing his eyes, feeling the weight of her nubile body pressing down on him, light as it was. He despised her personality and always had, even as his body yearned for her. She was a paradox to him. Out of the many dozens of sexual conquests he had made so far in his life, never before had he returned to one for more. Only the wicked, unscrupulous Asuka Saginomiya had that singular honor, of receiving his manly attentions again after he had already taken her virginity. Still, he could not deny how she made him feel, the sheer bliss he felt when their bodies were conjoined in sexual congress together. His hatred for her seemed to make it all the more profound.

Someday, he would take Kodachi to his bed like this and make her his wife, after he claimed the Tendo girl's virginity and discarded her to the trash heap of his other former lovers. Then he would be able to toss the shrewish Asuka aside as well, without as much as a single backwards glance.

The thought of Nabiki fired his libido. There was something about the older girl, beyond the incredible body she had, something he had felt in their one brief encounter. He would not be satisfied until he had bedded her.

Yet there was now another girl he lusted after, the commoner bitch that had almost unmanned him with her knee: Ranko Kuonji. The hours spent listening to his beloved goddess had allowed him to finally learn her name; the girl having once visited Kodachi's class. His best friend Tatewaki had seen her as well, waxing long and poetically about her fierce beauty. Mikado had kept his knowledge of her identity to himself even as he had listened with an inward shake of his head at his best friend's stupidity. The girl was a vicious peasant, not a paragon of femininity.

He already had special plans in mind for her, the thought of the pigtailed girl giving rise to far darker passions than lust within him. Apparently, she had been strong enough to defeat the Tendo girl. In turn, Nabiki had beaten Ranma in a fistfight. That made his plans all the more needful of caution. He would bide his time until his skills were at their peak, sufficiently prepared by Nanashi-sensei's teachings and training and then he would challenge this Ranko Kuonji to a duel. He would then crush her like the lowly insect she was. The commoner girl would pay for attempting to unman him and pay dearly.

For once he had defeated her and beaten her unconscious, he would take her home. He would ravish that beautiful body of hers until he was sated, for the crime she had done to him, demonstrating the indomitable strength of his virility. And once he had satiated his lusts for the girl, he would bring her to a certain place he knew of, where the wealthy and the powerful played dark games of pleasure, vice and debauchery. There he would offer her to the Mistress of that place for proper training, to have her spirit broken and remade into a proper plaything for a man.

When the commoner wench was properly debased and trained, her arrogant spirit crushed for her many sins against him, for daring to cause harm to his precious manhood and getting him cursed to turn into a pig, he would then give her to Tatewaki. At that point, she would make a fine gift for his oldest and closest friend in the world. It would be his token of appreciation for the close bond of man-to-man friendship that they had shared together for years.

The next to fall would be the fools pursuing Kodachi, such as that miserable, low-born cur, Ranma Saotome. As to Miki Kaoru, he was hardly an impediment, coming from an old but faltering noble family, one whose business interests would be fatally damaged if the Sanzenins so much as looked crossly in their direction. Once those two were removed from the picture, Kodachi would surely become his. He would see to it that his father made a significantly larger proposal of money and political capital for Kodachi this time, perhaps even offering his thuggish younger sister in marriage to Tatewaki to further cement their two noble families together in a solid alliance, a proposal that Tatewaki's sire would be an utter fool to turn away.

The thought of his future victory made his blood sing within him. It would be inevitable. Feeling his libido invigorated by his plans, he then turned his full attentions to the vile but exquisitely beautiful Asuka, enjoying her womanly charms to the fullest. She responded with proper eagerness, even if she adamantly refused to cede him control of their encounter.

It was good to be Mikado Sanzenin.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Wednesday morning, there was finally a break in Fuyutsuki's search for the mysterious youth who had attacked Ukyo Kuonji on campus the other day and demonstrated such physical might. One of the students he had heard talking in the hall that morning had mentioned the boy's name: Ryoga Hibiki. He had gone back to his office immediately and done a quick search for the boy in the Project's records. The last name had been familiar.

Ah, yes, he remembered this one now as he read through the file. The boy had responded quite well to the introduction of the symbiote to his body. Unfortunately, while it had increased his natural abilities in strength, endurance and, to a lesser extent, intellect, it had done nothing to cure the genetic trait of direction dyslexia suffered by his family. It had been in hopes of removing that inherited curse that had encouraged his parents to enroll him in the Project.

The boy had grown up in a remote region of the Empire, but the Project administrators had made sure that his home village's school was given a series of instructors who would inculcate the boy with a broad spectrum of knowledge. He read through their reports and nodded. While he wasn't quite the genius that the Saotome boy was, he more than made up for it in physical abilities. Even at his present age, the boy's strength was phenomenal, far beyond that of any other Adam in the Project and able to lift nearly a metric ton of mass.

Fuyutsuki pondered how best to keep the boy around campus. He finally decided that an implanted tracking chip in Ryoga was probably the least obtrusive method to avoid his wandering off for extended periods of time. The boy could live in the dormitories with the other students who had families in more distant regions of Japan. Perhaps until Ryoga had settled himself, he would assign Nabiki Tendo to make sure the boy learned and understood the rules, and she could assist him to get to his classes and take him off-campus with a minimum of fuss. He had no doubts that Ryoga could pass even the Academy's entrance exams. His instructors had given him consistently high marks in scholastics.

Leaning back in his chair and picking up the telephone, he felt quite pleased at this development. He dialed the Security Directorate and requested Ryoga be picked up and delivered to him as soon as possible. After the boy received his tracking chip, he could simply notify them whenever Ryoga went beyond the boundaries of Nerima, and they could retrieve him. Yes, that would deal nicely with the boy's direction problems.

It would be nice to have another Adam on campus. Ranma could use a bit more male competition.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That afternoon, while sparring with Jun Fan Lee for the first time that week, the previous days having been spent exclusively on flexibility exercises and strength training, Ranma kept noticing the other man giving him odd expressions as they went at it for a while. The two had been sparring together intensely for about an hour when the older man suddenly stopped.

"Hold," Lee suddenly said, lowering his hands. "What is this? Were you holding back with Nabiki last week?"

Ranma quickly glanced outside where Nabiki and Kodachi were going through training exercises. A tap on his head brought his attention back to his new master. He saw the man looking at him sternly.

"I wasn't holding back," the pigtailed boy finally said.

"Ranma, I've known a lot of high-end Arena fighters who couldn't keep up with me like you're doing now," Lee commented, his facial expression one of puzzlement. "And I'm not talking your speed alone, but also your flexibility, reflexes, endurance and bodily strength. So, if it wasn't that you were holding back, why are you so much better now?"

The pigtailed boy shrugged. "It's... difficult to explain."

"Try me."

"I can't. Not really." Ranma looked away. At that moment, he wished his real father was around to talk to. This was the sort of thing he had always been able to speak to the man about, even something as strange as a Jusenkyo curse or what happened to him with the resonator.

Master Lee sighed. "Then perhaps I should ask Nabiki to be my disciple, after all. A student who can't confide things to his master shows a lack of trust in that master. If you don't trust me, I can't teach you."

The pigtailed boy snapped his gaze back to the older man. He saw the other man soften his expression a little.

"Perhaps you will find it easier to confide in me if I also confide something to you, Ranma," Lee said after a moment. "Something none of my biographers even know. Come with me."

The two of them went up the roof area. They were alone up there, the rest of the student body currently in their classrooms. The weather was pleasant, with a soft breeze rolling through the air. Cars could be heard passing by on the street in front of the Academy. Down below, Ranma could see Nabiki and Kodachi sparring, the Kuno girl taking the worst of it, but not as badly as she once did. Ranma felt happy to see she was improving.

"What I'm about to tell you is just between you and me, Ranma," Lee said while seated on one of the rooftop benches. "Tell no one else."

"All right." The pigtailed boy sat on another bench and listened.

"Many years ago, when I was a small boy, I became an orphan. My parents died in a car crash in the mountains of western China, but I survived. I was only five." Lee looked up at the skies. "It was there that I met my true master, not the name I gave in stories I told in the Arena."

Ranma looked at his master in puzzlement. "Who was it?"

"A fugitive from the Empire," Lee replied. "One of the most wanted men in the Empire at the time, actually." There was a brief pause. "My true master was Wong Fei-Hung."

"But-" Ramna started to say and then stopped. In those other worlds he knew, Wong Fei-Hung died years before Jun Fan Lee was even born. On Ranma's world, the man had been a persistent thorn in the side of the Empire's efforts to conquer China, with a reward for his capture that many had tried to collect. He instead said, "He would have been almost a century old."

"He was very old." Lee looked over at him. "He finally passed away when I was seventeen. I took everything he taught me and went looking for my fortune in the Arena the day after I buried him in those mountains he had hidden in for so long."

Ranma thought about that. He had been amazed to meet Master Lee, and now he was even more amazed to realize that the man had been taught by such a legendary figure. Wong Fei-Hung had defied the Empire of Japan for over two decades before finally vanishing from sight. Nobody had ever heard from him again.

"He taught you, and now you're teaching me." The pigtailed boy was feeling awed again, like he had when first meeting Master Lee.

"Not if you can't tell me what's going on with you, Ranma," Lee said sternly, his gaze firm. "I want you to explain to me what happened to you over the weekend, between the last time I saw you and Monday. And I want to know how you learned the Anything-Goes style, a dead school that has been lost to the world for generations." He then said, more gently, "I meant what I said, Ranma. A true sort of master-disciple relationship is one built on trust. I can't teach you properly, if you don't think you can trust me."

Ranma took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"All right." The pigtailed boy sat down next to Lee. "This is going to be a long story."

Ranma began to relate his tale, beginning with his acquiring the Anything-Goes School through the resonator from the memories of his analogs, and confirming for the other man that Nabiki had learned her abilities the same way. He went on for some time, trying to cover every detail he could. He ended with his fall into the Jusenkyo water, which prompted an explanation of what he knew of the cursed pools of that place.

Through it all, Lee sat calmly and listened. When Ranma was done, the older man held up a hand.

"So, you turn into a girl?" he asked. "I would like you to show me this other form."

"Now?" Ranma asked, looking a little wide-eyed. After hearing about the existence of other worlds, he was more interested in the fact that he could turn into a girl?

"Yes, Ranma." His expression was calm, but there was a faint twinkle of amusement there. "Now."

They went down to the faculty restroom in the same structure where the training with Tiger had once taken place for the rematch against Utena. There was only one door in and out, allowing even more security. While Master Lee waited, Ranma went into the shower stall and stripped off his clothing. He took a deep breath and stepped under the spray of cold water, watching himself and counting seconds in his mind. After a count of a hundred and forty, foam suddenly appeared on his skin when the waterproof soap finally failed, and the transformation occurred moments later.

After toweling off, Ranma-chan put back on her Chinese-style shirt and gi pants and stepped out of the shower stall. Master Lee gave her a speculative look and nodded.

"You become a more interesting student the longer I come to know you, Ranma Saotome. I will keep your secret, and I trust you will keep mine. You have my word I will tell no one else about your problem. Now come along... girl. I've seen how strong your yang aspect is. Let's see how strong your yin aspect is."

With that, Master Lee strode out of the room, and Ranma-chan trailed behind him after a few moments. They ended up in the same training hall where Ranma had done his training with Tiger. The damage from his battles with the catgirl had been cleaned up, the room repainted. It was very quiet.

"Now, let us see how you do as a girl, my young disciple," Lee said with an amused look.

Ranma-chan was a little irritated that this all seemed to be so funny to the man. She attacked with a fury, and Lee accepted her intense efforts against his seemingly unbreakable defenses and even maintained a running commentary as he fended her off.

"Your speed is improved, but your reach is a bit shorter than your male form's and your impact power is slightly less," the older man said with a very slight smile. "Your flexibility and range of motion seems to be relatively unchanged from your male aspect, but your center of gravity is a bit lower. Be wary of that, as well as the change in reach. Such things could be critical in a fight if you aren't fully prepared for them and were to change in mid-battle. Don't count on the waterproof soap to protect you for an entire battle."

It went on for quite a while in such a fashion. At the end, when the pigtailed girl was finally winded and stood there panting hard and rebuilding her endurance, she was gratified to see that Master Lee actually looked a bit winded as well. However, instead of looking tired, he kept nodding and looking at her with an invigorated manner about him.

"This is good, Ranma," said the older man, sounding a bit intrigued at the possibilities. "This is actually a very good thing. Each of your aspects brings different but relatively equal strengths and weaknesses to the table. By training you in both forms, I can use them to compare their relative progress. That will allow me to train you even better and faster, to find and eliminate any flaws you have. Some of the most advanced techniques I know will be somewhat easier for you to learn as a female, kicking techniques for example, while others will be easier when you are male."

Then he said something that surprised her.

"You remind me of someone I once knew when I was younger, who had the opposite curse to yours."

Ranma-chan blinked. "Uh, what was her name?"

"Yumi Kuonji," he said with a smile. "She was quite a woman." He paused and considered. "And man, for that matter."

"Funny you should mention her..." Ranma-chan said after a moment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Godai checked his watch for the fifteenth time as he waited outside the gates of Furinkan. Kasumi had called to say she was running a little late but would be there soon. He smoothed his hair once more, wondering why he felt so nervous. It wasn't a date, just two prospective friends having a get together. One of those people happened to be a beautiful woman of grace, but that was beside the point.

A car pulled up, screeching to a stop in front of him, a sensible but stylish vehicle in dark blue with Security Directorate plates. The window rolled down, revealing Kasumi in uniform. She tipped down her mirrored sunglasses and gave him a smile.

"Sorry I'm late, Godai-san," she said with a nod.

He got in and buckled his seatbelt, and a moment later the car was off, weaving its way into traffic as Kasumi worked the clutch and shift like a master. Godai saw his life flash before his eyes for a moment as she maneuvered in between cars, sometimes close enough that only another millimeter closer would have had her touching another vehicle's metal.

Thankfully, the ride was short, and they arrived at Café ABCB in one piece. Godai got out on somewhat shaky legs, feeling like he had aged at least a year or two from her daredevil driving. He smiled to know he was still alive.

"I'm starved, Godai-san," Kasumi said with a gentle smile, removing her sunglasses as she got out of the car. "I missed lunch."

Kyoko had made him his lunch, but he did not think that was something he should mention to Kasumi. He just nodded and walked around the car to head with her into the restaurant. By that time, he regained enough of his senses to open the door for her.

Dinner was excellent, and Godai could not remember the last time he had eaten such a delicious steak. Kasumi was able to finish a fairly large plate of food herself, which surprised him until he recalled that this wasn't a date, just two friends getting together. She didn't need to restrain her appetite as most women Godai knew would do on a first date.

Throughout the meal, Kasumi engaged him in pleasant conversation, and he was happy to learn that she was well read in matters of military history, not that it was a surprise due to what he knew of her family's history. The two of them talked about some of the Empire's generals of the past, but all Godai could later recall of the conversation was how beautiful her eyes were.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Master Lee called and informed Nodoka that training was running late for Ranma that evening, Ranma-chan and the man arrived outside the Yu-chan just as the dinner crowd was getting heavier. They went inside, following a pair of salarymen. As the door closed, Yumi and Master Lee caught each other's gaze.

A couple of seconds later, there was a sudden, brief commotion inside and then Yumi came sailing straight out through the door without it being opened first in an explosion of wood and glass. Master Lee came bounding out right behind her, catching up just as she landed on her feet on the pavement.

The two of them began a furious melee, exchanging punches and kicks in a fierce battle. Several patrons came out to watch, some even still holding their plates with steaming okonomiyaki upon them. They began to eat as the struggle on the street continued and got even fiercer. But what was odd was that both combatants were smiling and looking like they were having the time of their lives.

"I see you've gotten better, old man," Yumi commented to him as the two of them changed tactics and grappled with each other.

"And you've gotten even more impressive, Yumi-chan," Lee replied as they struggled with each other. Breaking her hold on his arm suddenly, he lashed out with a kick to her stomach that she quickly deflected.

Off to one side, Ranma-chan and Ukyo were also watching as the two adults unleashed the full measure of their skills, almost, but not quite, hitting each other with full force. Ukyo gently nudged the pigtailed girl, who looked back to see her smiling. Ranma-chan didn't quite understand what Ukyo wanted until she threw an obvious punch.

"Oh, so you want to play too?" And, with that, the two teenage girls held their own impromptu sparring match together, both of them smiling as they began testing each other's skills intensely. The other people on the street cheered as they watched the two duos merge into a foursome in the center of the street and go at it together as if the whole thing was choreographed, Yumi and Ukyo eventually teaming up against Ranma-chan and Jun Fan Lee. Everyone was treating it like a floor show for their meals. The patrons of other restaurants came out on the street to watch as well.

A while later, Master Lee was holding an ice bag up against a blackened eye as he sat across a table from Yumi, who was holding another ice bag to her jaw. "I see you play as rough as ever, Jun-kun," she said to him with a tired smile, her tone teasing. "It's nice to see that a man your age is still so... vigorous."

In the background, Ranma-chan and Ukyo were fixing the damaged door. Yumi looked over at their efforts and then gave the Chinese man a look with a raised eyebrow. "You are going to pay to fix that, right?"

Master Lee nodded, reaching into a pocket and dropping a wad of yen notes on the table. "This should cover the damages, Yumi-chan." He gave her a smile. "Nice fight. I see you still lead with your right though, and your guard could use some work."

Yumi laughed and then grimaced at the sudden pain from her sore ribs. "Don't make me laugh," she complained. "It hurts." There was a pause. "So, what are you doing here with my daughter?"

He nodded in apparent understanding. "I met her on the street when I was looking for you." He chuckled. "The rude girl didn't even tell me her name."

"Oh, it's Ranko Kuonji," said Yumi with a wink. She looked over at the two teens discussing how best to remove the pieces of the old door and replace it with a new one. "You two kids keep working on that door. This old man and I are going to go do some drinking. Don't wait up."

Yumi and Master Lee got up from their table and left the ice bags there. The two teens went back to working on the door after they left. Ukyo nudged Ranma-chan and grinned.

"You're a really good fighter, Ranko," said Ukyo. "That was a lot of fun."

The pigtailed girl considered the matter, her second sparring match against Ukyo while in girl form. She nodded and snorted once. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty fun."

"Thanks for coming by again so soon," Ukyo said with a smile. "It's nice to have someone my own age to talk to."

"Uh, I heard you have a boyfriend," Ranma-chan said, trying to be casual about it. "Don't you talk to him?"

"Well, I guess I feel a little more comfortable talking with you." Ukyo shrugged her shoulders. "Ranma's a great guy, but I don't have any girl friends here, other than you."

Ranma-chan beamed to hear what Ukyo thought of her male aspect. "What about some of the girls in your school?"

"They all thought I was a boy, until recently," Ukyo replied, sounding a bit irritated about it. "They still would, if it wasn't for that horrible bitch, Nabiki Tendo. You beat her up once, remember?"

Ranma-chan had been still trying to digest the 'great guy' concept and didn't quite hear everything Ukyo had just said. She said in surprise, "Waitasec. I did what?"

"Oh yeah, you put her down pretty brutally. It was quite a fight. I was watching, in case you needed any help. You knocked out her friend Yohko too."

The pigtailed girl filed that away. It must have happened while she was out of her head after the dip in the tank. Keeping the Jusenkyo curse a secret was looking like a very wise thing now. There was no telling how Nabiki would react to knowing it was her fiancé's cursed form that had beaten her up. Ranma-chan didn't really count it as a victory since she had no memory at all of doing it. She felt bad about beating up Yohko though, the other girl having never done anything bad to her. Maybe when things had cooled off a bit, she would apologize to Yohko and try to make some sort of reparations.

"Speaking of guys," Ukyo said as she helped Ranma-chan set the new door into place. "Do you have a boyfriend, Ranko?"

Startled at the question, the pigtailed girl blinked. "Uh, no," she finally said after a moment.

"Well, I'd suggest my friend Ryoga-"

Ranma-chan immediately waved her hands in negation. "No, no, that's okay! I'm not looking for a boyfriend right now."

"He's really a sweetheart when you get to know him," Ukyo continued, pressing on despite Ranma-chan's increasing agitation. "And when he smiles, he can be really cute."

Ranma-chan was not really thrilled to hear Ukyo praising Ryoga like this. She tried to interrupt with a question. "Uh, did you ever tell him that?"

"O-of course not!" Ukyo replied, blushing and looking down. "He's just a friend! And I was supposed to be acting like a boy! Boys don't say things like that to other boys!"

The pigtailed girl said nothing, just eyed Ukyo as she blushed and stammered. Her hands slowly curled into fists at her sides as she listened, irritated suddenly about Ryoga, realizing that Ukyo had feelings for the Lost Boy. She was surprised to feel a surge of jealousy over that.

Ryoga was proving himself to be quite a ladies man, Ranma-chan decided sourly. He first showed up with Ryoko in tow. He had a past with Ukyo. He was pretending to be Kodachi's pet pig, and he had been suspiciously nice towards Nabiki. The combination was all very suspect when he thought about it a bit. Maybe this version of Ryoga wasn't quite the painfully shy with girls, muscle-bound oaf his analogs were.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Friday night, Ranma sat with his family at the shrine near their house. Across the table, Ryoko and her parents sat across from them. He felt tense, and it worried him that the Masaki girl kept looking shyly away from him and blushing. That was a bad sign.

The sparring match before dinner had been pretty intense. Ryoko was an excellent fighter, probably on a par with Nabiki and himself due to her incredible strength and endurance. Her skill was only a bit less than his new level of ability, which made her a challenging opponent.

However, he had nearly lost when she had done something amazing. She gave him a grin in the middle of the match and then a second Ryoko had suddenly appeared. The two of them came at him as a pair, and he had a hard time of it for a while. Fortunately, the two of them were not a perfect team, and he was able to defeat them eventually.

Now dinner was completed, and the actual omiai was in progress. The two mothers were doing most of the talking. Ryoko's father was a pretty quiet man, and Genma was being quiet as well, the two of them drinking cups of sake.

"So I see no reason why an engagement cannot take place between our two children, Nodoka," said Achika, pleased that Ranma had been able to defeat her daughter. When Ryoko had brought forth her twin self, she had been certain Ranma was going to lose. No one had ever before beaten her daughter when she fought in an array like that, but the boy had rallied with great skill and ended the match with a victory.

"I agree," Nodoka replied, happy with how the evening was turning out. "And as there are no engagement agreements already in place, Ryoko will be Ranma's first wife."

Ranma started to speak, but then Genma suddenly said, "The first wife will be Nabiki. There is already an engagement agreement in place with the Tendo family."

Ryoko's right eyelid twitched for a few moments at that, and her enmity for the middle Tendo daughter suddenly surged to new heights. The edge of the table gripped in her hands began to powder.

Achika turned a suddenly wrathful gaze at Genma. Her dream of finally getting her stubborn, wayward daughter safely wed to her best friend's son was crumbling right before her eyes. Fury filled her gaze.

"Wh-what?" Nodoka exclaimed. Shocking everyone, she suddenly turned and abandoned her previous poise, grabbing Genma by the collar and hauling him close to her face, her eyes blazing. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Genma began babbling in terror at the sight, confessing to the three engagements he had put into place with the other fathers. Achika handed Nodoka a bokken when she held out her hand, as if they had practiced such a move together. The scene that followed was one of simply amazing brutality.

"Ranma," said Ryoko, addressing him suddenly. "Do you want to be engaged to Nabiki Tendo?" Her hair seemed to be floating in the air around her head a bit from the sheer power of her battle aura, her gaze particularly intense, as was her tone. "Perhaps I can help get you out of it."

While Genma continued to yelp in the background as Nodoka beat him with her weapon, Achika slid over and said smoothly, "Why yes, Ranma. A girl like Ryoko would be a far better choice for you as your first wife than someone like Nabiki Tendo."

Ranma was still absorbing the fact that Ukyo was his fiancée and not really paying attention. He wondered if she knew. He noticed the pair looking intently at him.

"Uh, that's okay," he said suddenly. He bowed to the two of them as the carnage finally came to an end. "Thank you for the match, Ryoko. Maybe we can do it again sometime."

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Later, after the Saotomes had gone home for the evening, Nodoka helping Ranma guide a bruised, battered and insensate Genma, Achika sat alone in the main area of the temple with only the moon for her light. An empty bottle of sake rested next to her, and she was filling her cup from a second bottle. Her husband had already gone home, and Ryoko was off somewhere sulking. Achika couldn't blame her. The whole experience was humiliating.

From the grave, her old enemy Kimiko had achieved one final, galling victory over her, keeping her only daughter apart from Nodoka's only son. She took a sip of sake, feeling it burn down her throat as she remembered how much she had once hated that smug soldier girl. Nodoka had told her who Nabiki's mother was shortly after the omiai with them.

Belldandy came into the room, and Achika acknowledged her presence with a nod, taking another sip. The girl was supposed to be a goddess, but Achika had her doubts. The foreigner had absented herself while the now-failed omiai had occurred.

"You are troubled," Belldandy observed gently. She sat down next to Achika. "You wanted Ryoko to marry Ranma."

"The girl needs a strong husband," Achika said grimly, taking another sip of sake. "But the boy is already taken by another." Her lip curled. "He is claimed by the daughter of an old enemy."

Belldandy looked at the open doorway to the outside, listening to the cicadas cry. She found it a soothing sound. "Nabiki has done nothing wrong in this. She is strong too, and she needs a strong man as well."

A grunt of annoyance from Achika was the only reply to that.

Ryoko suddenly appeared, flipping into the room, having apparently been on the roof thinking. She immediately kowtowed to Achika. "Mother, I've thought about this long and hard. Do I have your permission to make a challenge to Nabiki Tendo for Ranma's hand?" She burned inside at the chance to avenge herself on the other girl, who had treated her so rudely at their first meeting and now laid claim to the boy she liked.

Sitting tall and looking like a feudal lord, Achika nodded. "You do."

"Nabiki is very strong," Belldandy observed. "Will a duel really solve anything?" She did not like the idea of violence.

"I can beat her." Ryoko's tone was fierce. One of her hands closed into a fist. "I will crush her."

Belldandy frowned. All this talk of violence would not end well, but it was not her place to interfere, only to observe and give advice until the proper time.

Only then had she been given permission to act.

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Ranma found himself within the walls of the Tendo Dojo, dressed in his usual red, Chinese-style shirt and black gi pants. From somewhere else nearby, he heard the sounds of feminine laughter. It seemed to be coming from the house. He stood up from where he had found himself sitting. After so many previous experiences, he knew he was dreaming.

He slid open the main room of the house, and a bacchanal revelry was occurring. He could not identify the music that was playing, but it had a good sound to it. In the center of the room was his mirror image wearing a big smile, dressed in feudal-era finery like a samurai lord and holding a cup of sake.

"Come on in, bookworm!" said his doppelganger, waving at him to enter. "It's a party!"

Draped on the other Ranma was a familiar pair of girls, dressed in rather revealing costumes. One was Nabiki, giving him a sultry grin, her tight yellow dress exposing quite a bit of skin. On the other side was Shampoo, in a white cheongsam that hugged her body in all the right places and exposed long legs currently curled underneath her. The other Ranma had his arms around both girls; one hand idly fondled Shampoo's bottom, and his welcome had spilled some of his sake on Nabiki.

Arrayed around the room were more girls. Ukyo was over to one side, drinking and looking lovingly at the other Ranma. Her outfit left no question of her gender, exposing generous portions of her bust and thighs. Akane was another, dressed like a dancer and unsteadily weaving in place as if drunk, Kodachi sat next to her dressed in a gymnastics leotard. Utena smiled at him from her place at the other Ranma's knee.

"I know you," said Ranma. "Don't I?"

His double grinned. "Of course you do, bookworm. I'm another vision of what might have been for you." He turned and gave Nabiki a deep kiss before speaking again. "I'm Ranma Saotome..."

"Of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," Ranma finished and then looked puzzled. "I haven't used the resonator for a while. I thought I'd assimilated the last of those other lives."

"Not me, bookworm!" The other Ranma got up from his position where he was surrounded by girls. "I'm the last one, but I'm not the Ghost of Christmas Future, not by a long shot." He reached down with one hand and lifted Utena up before giving her a deep kiss. His gaze turned to Ranma as he kissed the girl. There was a moaning sound coming from the Ohtori cadet after a few moments.

The doppelganger broke the kiss and came over to put his arm around Ranma. His appearance now seemed a little fuzzy around the edges. "When you wake up, it's going to be a whole new world for you, bookworm. I may be a martial artist like those other Ranmas, but I'm not socially retarded and sexually stunted like them. I know what girls are good for. You can thank Sakura-chan and Madoka-chan for that."

Versions of the Furinkan cadet and Ranma's dance teacher appeared suddenly, gazing at the other Ranma adoringly and dressed in risqué clothes like the other girls. The other Ranma gave them each a kiss. He turned and smiled at Ranma.

"My memories were sleeping inside you while you dealt with the more socially awkward versions of us, not to mention that redheaded tomboy. But seeing sweet Sakura-chan and dancing with Madoka-chan woke me back up. I had a date with Madoka-chan, and I think she's sweet on us now."

The girls suddenly vanished, and the other Ranma looked a little more faded and tattered in his image. He looked down at himself and frowned.

"I guess my time's about up, bookworm. I'm not sure how much of me is going to continue on in you, since you've got quite a lot filling your head already, but try and remember me." He leaned in closer to whisper, "And kiss a few of the girls already, will you? Tough little Ukyo and sweet, dreamy-eyed Kodachi are waiting for you to be a man with them, not to mention Nabiki. Show that Tendo girl who's the man between you two, okay? Heck, speaking of Tendo girls, even that psycho Akane chick might be a lot of fun in the right circumstances. And if you ever run into Shampoo on your world, don't screw it up, okay? She's been a good wife to me, and she's just incredible in the sack. Take it from me, I never had better."

The other Ranma faded even more as he flashed a thumb up and grinned.

"Now go be a man, bookworm."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma woke up, blinking at the sunlight coming in his window. After all the waiting, after all his preparations for the dance, it was finally Saturday morning, the day of the Spring Formal at Ohtori. He had a lot to do today to get ready.

His mother was seated at the table when he came down to breakfast, but Genma wasn't present, likely still recovering from his beating. Nodoka still looked upset about last night, and Ranma decided to let her be. He ate his breakfast at a more leisurely pace to avoid rousing her ire.

"I noticed the tuxedo in your closet yesterday, Ranma dear," his mother said suddenly. "Did Kodachi invite you to something formal?"

Ranma swallowed his food. "Utena invited me to a big dance at Ohtori tonight. I told you last week."

"Oh, that's right." She smiled at him and got up for a few minutes. She came back with a small stack of yen notes and set them in front of him. "You show Utena a good time tonight."

"Thanks, Mom." Ranma went back to eating his breakfast. "Uh, I guess last night was a surprise. It was for me."

"Yes, it's most uncharacteristic of your father to do something so impulsive and then not tell me." She looked at him. "Ranma, I'll forgive your father about this eventually, but things are going to be tense in the household for a while." She sipped her tea for a moment. "Try not to mention anything about the engagement agreements to the girls until I've had some time to think about it, all right? If it was a shock for you, imagine how they'll feel about it. They might start competing for your attention, or fighting with each other. We don't want that."

He nodded, not wanting to tell her that it was already far too late for that. She smiled at him again. "Don't look so worried, Ranma dear. This will all work out somehow."

"Okay, I gotta go now, Mom," he said, pocketing the money and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Things would all be fixed soon, he assured himself. Once his real father had the beacon completed, he was ready to open the gateway to finally bring him back home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, Ranma, what do you think about this hot redhead all the guys are talking about?"

Ranma coughed, some of his meat cutlet sandwich going down the wrong way at the sudden question. He looked up in surprise at Daisuke and Hiroshi, the pair currently standing near where he had been eating lunch on one of the rooftop benches with Kyosuke. The esper boy whacked him a few times on the back to help him.

"R-redhead?" Ranma finally managed to get out. Memories of other worlds floated across his mind as he took a breath, a similar version of this questioning taking place. "What redhead? Minami?"

"Not her. The other one. Try and keep up, Saotome." Hiroshi wondered how observant the pigtailed boy really was. After all, he had been eating lunch with a disguised girl for a while now without ever even appearing to realize it.

"I heard her name was Ranko Kuonji." That comment came from Daisuke. "I thought you might know her since you were friends with Ukyo."

"Why ask me about her?" Ranma wondered. "I've got enough troubles with girls."

"Yes, we all feel so sorry for you, Saotome," Daisuke said in sarcastic tones. "You've got Nabiki Tendo and that Kodachi Kuno cutie in your training class, and you're good friends with Ukyo Kuonji, who turns out to be a cute girl. There's even a rumor going around that you slept with that cadet from Ohtori."

"I didn't sleep with her!" Ranma took a big bite of his sandwich and washed it down with some apple juice. "Jeesh! Don't people have anything better to do than make up stupid rumors? Anyway, I don't know anything about this girl you're asking about."

"What are you two idiots doing?" Sayuri blared at them, as she and Yuka came over and Yuka grabbed Daisuke by the ear. She started dragging him off as he yelped. "You were going to eat with us for lunch," Sayuri reminded them, suddenly slapping Hiroshi when he mistakenly muttered "so noisy" at all the fuss.

"Those two are going to be controlled when they get married," Ranma mused about the two boys.

"Yeah, like that would ever happen to a couple of guys like us," said Kyosuke with a chuckle. "Yohko's certainly not that way with me."

Ranma took another bite of his sandwich. "I wish I could say the same thing about Nabiki," he said sourly. He sipped some more of his juice, thinking about the Tendo girl. Either it was coming from the download of memories from a half-male version of her, or something she already was, she seemed really intent on being the man in their relationship.

"Yohko told me that Nabiki's pretty mad about getting beaten up by her." Kyosuke took a bite of his own sandwich.

Ranma nodded. It was just his luck that Nabiki was now going to be after both his male side and female side.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Nabiki got to her locker to pick up her shoes for the day to head home, she was startled to find a letter in it. It was simply addressed on the outside to "Nabiki Tendo" and no other markings. She didn't get love letters from boys like her female peers, so she wasn't sure what it was.

She ripped it open, and a smirk appeared on her face. It was a formal letter of challenge from Ryoko Masaki. She snorted and put it away in her bag. She'd take care of Goblin Girl easily enough in a day or two. Right now, she had more important things to do, like getting home and preparing for the dance. Touga had notified her that he was going to be coming by limo to pick her up at four to take her to dinner before the dance.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi got into her family's limo and settled herself into the seat as the car headed towards Whitehall. Thoughts of Miki were making her smile. She had finally decided on the perfect dress, and she was eager to spend a wonderful evening with him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kuno's thoughts were on the four women he yearned for as he stood waiting for his ride home. A smile lit his face at the thought of them, four such strong women. He was looking forward to his evening.

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Captain Shun Mitaka pulled his car to a halt outside the walls of the Tendo household and contemplated the place. He had gotten the address from the school registrar. A pair of tennis rackets was in the trunk. He had heard from one of the other instructors that Godai liked to play. He thought a game or two of tennis would give him an opportunity to get some more information on that beautiful redhead who drove the lieutenant to work each morning.

There was a woman sweeping the walkway when he entered the grounds. He approached her and doffed his hat, running his hand once through his short hair as he did so. "Excuse me, Miss?"

Kyoko turned around and beheld Captain Mitaka, and she felt her heart seem to skip a beat at seeing the uniformed man, startling her. She bowed to him in greeting, receiving one in reply. "Uh, yes? Can I help you?"

"Uh, I was looking for Lt. Yusaku Godai, and I was told he lived here. Is he at home?" He could not seem to look away from her face, noting her push back a lock of long hair from her face with one hand. He felt very envious of Godai for knowing two such beautiful women.

Then Kasumi emerged from the house and walked past them, having stopped by to have a late lunch with her father. She gave a polite bow to the pair and continued on her way. Mitaka felt like his neck was going to break at resisting the urge to turn to look. He kept his eyes on Kyoko and let loose with a dazzling smile. He corrected his previous inner statement, now very envious of Godai for knowing three such beautiful women.

"Lt. Godai isn't here right now," Kyoko said finally, feeling a hint of irritation inside her at the thought of where he was and who he was with. "I believe he's out with a woman right now."

"Ayaka Kisaragi?" Mitaka was taking a guess, but he realized he had guessed right when he saw Kyoko's hands tightening on the broom handle she was holding.

"Yes." Kyoko's voice was tight. She could only imagine what sort of sordid things the Kisaragi woman was enticing Godai into. She hoped he was strong-willed enough to resist.

"Well, since he's not here, could I interest you in an afternoon out playing tennis and maybe an early dinner?" He gave her a dazzling smile as cherry blossoms seemed to swirl in the air around them.

Kyoko, startled, looked at him for several moments and then nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Despite intentions to moderate his alcohol intake on his get-together with Ayaka, Godai already had a glass of Bacardi rum in front of him, actually his second for the afternoon. It had been a fun time with the redheaded Institute agent so far, a good meal already in him, almost feeling like it was a real date to him. He took a sip of his drink, starting to relax from the stresses of his week.

Ayaka was feeling mellow as she finished her second glass of rum. She was having a great time chatting and drinking with Godai. She wondered if he might like to go and do some karaoke with her, but she knew she needed to be a bit more inebriated to have a good time at that. It just wasn't as much fun when sober.

"So, Godai-kun," Ayaka said suddenly as she looked at him. "Are you seeing anyone right now? Got a girlfriend?"

Godai coughed a bit, feeling rum searing his throat, startled at being asked such a direct question by a woman. "A-am I s-seeing anyone? A g-girlfriend?" His thoughts drifted to Kasumi and the wish he had made that night, but she was a married woman and just wanted a friend. He shook his head, feeling suddenly depressed. "No, I'm n-not seeing anyone."

"Well, you're a great guy. There are lots of women who'd like a guy like you." Ayaka swallowed some of her rum and grinned at him. She moved a little closer, her leg touching his as she gazed at him. "Take me, for example. I like you."

"Y-you do?" Godai's eyes widened a little in shock, and he took a drink to calm himself.

Ayaka clinked her glass to his when he set it down, and she nodded. "So, maybe this could be considered a date, Godai-kun. What do you think about that?"

"D-date?" Godai said with a gulp. Ayaka wanted to date him? He was surprised. "Y-you don't have a boyfriend?"

Ayaka frowned. "Boyfriend?" She took another drink of her rum. "The last guy I was with was a jerk. No, I don't have a boyfriend." She took one more drink and looked steadily at him. "I haven't had good luck with men. My boss says I need someone steadier and more reliable. No more playboy types."

"Uh, steady and reliable?" That was the first time a woman had ever said something like that to him. He took another drink.

Ayaka snuggled a little closer to him and took another sip of her drink. "Uh huh." She turned and gazed into his eyes, the two of them very close now. "Are you a steady and reliable sort of guy?"

Feeling her hip touching his and seeing the full swell of her bosom when he looked down, Godai could only nod helplessly.

"Good," Ayaka said with a grin. She took another sip from her glass and encouraged her companion to drink more.

She was looking forward to the rest of their evening together.

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Yohko smiled as she sat with Kyosuke in the very back of the movie theater, his arm around her, and her fingers entwined with his as they held hands and watched the film. She leaned her head on his shoulder and gave out a very quiet sigh of contentment. She felt so lucky to have a boyfriend like him in her life, finally feeling free of her past bad luck with men. They had been dating for a few months now, without him becoming possessed, seeing something 'Man Was Not Meant To Know' and going totally insane, or dying in some bloody, horrible fashion. Before Kyosuke, she had started to lose hope about ever having a successful relationship.

Unfortunately, the Institute cadet was proving to be almost painfully shy with her, despite _numerous_ hints on her part that he could be more aggressive. Make that much more aggressive. After all, they were involved together in a long-term, steady relationship, which meant certain things were supposed to be happening between them. But they weren't happening. The most intense activities that seemed to occur between them was either some snuggling like this or maybe a little kissing. It was starting to make her afraid maybe he didn't find her attractive enough to try something more with her, or maybe her being a Devil Hunter made her seem unfeminine.

Even when she had invited him over to her house on Monday to study with her, the two of them all alone while her grandmother was away for the night, Kyosuke remained a gentleman with her. And she had even worn a low-cut blouse and a tight pair of cutoff shorts for his benefit. Maybe she just wasn't being obvious enough to him in her attempts to take their relationship to the next level. Or maybe he was afraid of being rejected if he came on too strong.

She was about to lean up and start kissing him along the underside of his jawline when there was a sudden noisy commotion from the front area of the theater. Several people were running, scrambling away as best they could and screaming as a large ball of energy materialized right in front of the screen and quickly transformed itself into a four-armed demon with leprous skin and a pretty serious set of dental work. And the less said about his other accoutrements, the better. What was it that made most demons perverts too? Didn't they get enough satisfaction ripping people's intestines out through their nostrils?

"FOOLISH MORTALS! RUNNING SHALL DO YOU NO GOOD! FOR I AM THE DEMON LORD PAIN-INNA-REER, AND I COME TO FEAST UPON YOUR BLOOD AND SOULS!"

Yohko growled deeply, and her gaze narrowed lethally as it focused on the unwelcome intrusion upon her date with her boyfriend. Something like this always seemed to happen whenever they were out together in public, since Nerima seemed to have the most serious infestations of spirit entities in all of Tokyo. With a grimace, she broke away from her embrace with Kyosuke and got out of her seat, stalking her way down towards the creature, intent on doing some serious demon butt-kicking in the next few moments. At least that would help her work out some of her feelings of frustration, even if it was not at all how she had planned for her date with her boyfriend to go.

"AH! A HUMAN FEMALE COMES TO OFFER HERSELF TO ME IN A HOPE FOR MERCY! SPLENDID! I SHALL AVAIL MYSELF OF YOUR NUBILE YOUNG FLESH, BEFORE I- ACK!" There was a disturbing sound of bones breaking like kindling wood and then some teeth as well. "AHHH! CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT THIS?" The sound of more bones breaking was heard and then an almost effeminate squeal. "AIYEE! IT HURTS! OH GODS! MERCY!"

Kyosuke winced and turned his face away from the gruesome spectacle, resisting the urge to clutch himself in sympathy for where Yohko had just brutalized the demon. Then the Devil Hunter girl started to really get serious, and she had not even bothered to transform yet. Punches, kicks and other techniques from her martial arts arsenal were unleashed almost with abandon on the creature.

He decided to let her be while she worked out her issues. Ever since her shopping trip with Nabiki, she had been rather edgy and tense and maybe this would help. He was extremely glad her present wrath wasn't being aimed at him though. He winced again as Yohko did something unmentionable to the demon, and another rather high-pitched squealing was heard and then more begging. He quickly resolved to buy her a large bouquet of flowers and a very big box of expensive chocolates later on, just to be safe.

Since Ranma was now involved with Nabiki, sort of, he would have to ask him how he handled their relationship. After all, the two hadn't been seen brawling with each other outside of their training class for a while, so maybe they were getting along a bit better now. The pigtailed boy was probably his best source of advice for handling moody, highly combat-capable girls.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma considered his reflection in the mirror, decked out in a black tuxedo. He was striking poses and examining the results. He smiled. Tonight was going to be an opportunity to get away from most of his problems for a while. All he had to worry about was having a good evening with Utena and keeping an eye on Kodachi.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Utena turned around slowly in front of the mirror in her room and contemplated her appearance one more time in the light blue dress she was now wearing. Slender straps held the silk cloth of the gathered décolletage up over her breasts, exposing only the tops of their swell and a bit of cleavage, even while it plunged low in the back, almost to her derriere. The skirt region fell well below her knees, and it showed off the calves of her long, coltish legs rather nicely. A matching pair of high-heeled shoes completed the ensemble.

Anthy and Wakaba sat on the bed and both smiled at the sight of her. Ranma was coming to pick Utena up for dinner before the dance, so she was getting ready a bit early. She didn't want him to have to wait.

"This Ranma guy's not going to know what hit him," Wakaba commented. "He'll love seeing you in it." Her tones then dropped to a dark mutter. "And I'm sure he'll try getting you out of it."

"What was that?" Utena said, turning to look at her friend with a puzzled smile.

"Nothing," said Wakaba quickly. She smiled, planning to keep a very close eye on Utena's date.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miki Kaoru waited in the sitting room while Kodachi completed her preparation for their date. His stopwatch was currently accumulating minutes and seconds as he waited, resisting the urge to pace. When she stepped into view, his thumb absently pushed the button, stopping it. He arose from his seat, a sense of wonder filling him at the sight of her.

Kodachi paused in the doorway, suddenly feeling a bit shy, dressed in a fine silk dress in light green. She had decided in the end to go for something more risqué than demure. The dress was backless, dipping down to her derriere. The front was held to her by a tie that went behind her neck and plunged down low in the middle to expose her cleavage. The skirt went down to her calves, but it was slit up high on one side, exposing tantalizing glimpses of her thigh. She wore long gloves that matched to the dress and reached to her upper arms.

Coming over to her, Miki swept down low in a courtly bow and took her hand in his. He felt tempted to give it a kiss but held back, not trusting himself to stop there. Not letting go of her hand, he stood back up straight and gazed into her eyes.

"You will be the loveliest woman there," he said sincerely, not letting go of her hand. He inhaled her delicate perfume, feeling his body seem to tingle in response to her nearness. "Sh-shall we go?" he finally managed to get out.

Kodachi nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She was fighting down an urge to skip the dance completely and just take Miki back to her room. She was shocked to have such a shameless, animalistic urge, betraying her feelings for Ranma and likely harming her reaffirmed friendship with Miki if she gave into it. She blamed Sukeban-Kodachi, suddenly imagining she could hear the girl's mocking laughter in the back of her mind.

Miki offered his arm, and the pair went to his waiting limousine.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Touga Kiryu arrived at the Tendos' home, he bade his driver wait for him as he exited the vehicle. He seemed to gleam in the late afternoon sunlight with a supreme level of handsomeness, every hair falling into perfect place with any sort of movements he made with his head. His fine white suit was perfect, without a single piece of lint or blemish of any kind on it.

When he approached the house, he was greeted by Nabiki Tendo at the door, already prepared for his arrival. He was pleased at her apparent eagerness to be off on their date. He took a moment to admire the black dress she wore, pleased to see that his gift fit her so perfectly, and the heels he had included accentuated well the athletic loveliness of her long legs. She looked womanly in such an outfit, and it caused an unexpected ache in his heart when he saw her.

That sensation actually shocked him. When she drew nearer, there was an even more powerful response to her presence than he had felt before with her. He realized after a moment that he had forgotten his manners in his distraction and reached out for her hand after she had begun to offer it.

"Nabiki Tendo, he said warmly, touching her gloved hand with his lips in a light kiss before looking up at her eyes. "You look most lovely this evening. I am honored that you will be joining me for this little soiree at Ohtori."

"A pleasure, Kiryuu-kun," Nabiki replied, trying to project calm and grace. She glanced back at the house once, enjoying with a corner of her perceptions the pleasant upwelling of sensations Touga was arousing within her, hoping to get away before the false Soun noticed her departure. It was only the two of them in the house right now. Kyoko had decided to take some time off and left on a date of her own earlier, and Akane was off somewhere with her new friend, Sakura.

She didn't know how Ranma put up with the fake Genma, but having the false Soun around was gradually fraying her nerves as she covered for him at home. He kept watching her and sometimes even making babbling comments on how pleased he was to see her marrying Ranma. He was not quite stupid enough to talk openly about that in front of Akane, but it was only a matter of time before he caused that situation to explode in Nabiki's face.

He also sometimes talked to her about how her training class was going. It was probably only a matter of time before he put up a shingle and began advertising for students for the Anything-Goes School. Nabiki had suspected it was coming and had tried to not burden Ranma with what it was like for her at home, but they were running out of time.

Back in the house was a letter that had arrived just today, an official notice delivered by courier pouch from the Imperial Court. Soun Tendo had been selected to be the next Minister of Security for the Empire. As part of his ascension to that post, he would be required to submit to a telepathic scan by someone from the Mobius Institute to ensure his loyalty to the Emperor. While she was confident her real father would pass, the false Soun would likely be found out. Her father had worked too long and hard, sacrificed too much, to get this far in his career.

"Nabiki!" shouted Soun from within the house. "Where are you at, daughter?"

"We should go now." Nabiki turned and hurried Touga away from the house.

Touga was confused. "Perhaps I should meet your father before we go. It would be rude to just leave."

"Kiryuu-kun," she said in suddenly coquettish tones, taking his arm more warmly in hers and pressing her breast against his limb. "Wouldn't you prefer to spend every moment possible with me tonight, and not my father?"

Almost overcome by his desires for her, Touga smiled. Perhaps the gift of the dress had been more a potent aphrodisiac than he realized. She seemed quite eager to spend time with him, and who was he to deny her?

"Your carriage awaits to take you to the ball, Nabiki Tendo," he said gallantly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Ranma finally arrived at the door to Utena's room, he felt a sudden surge of nervousness strike him. Other than going to the movies once with Ukyo, he hadn't been on a real date before. What would they talk about? Would he remember how to dance? He popped a breath mint into his mouth from a package he'd picked up somewhere, just in case. He smoothed his hair and tried to calm himself. He wanted to run away, and he wasn't sure why.

He mustered his courage and rang the doorbell. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself while he waited. Then he almost jumped back when the door was opened very suddenly, his martial artist reflexes expecting some kind of attack coming.

Utena stood there in the doorway, and he swallowed down a suddenly dry throat at the sight of her. He could not seem to stop himself as his eyes traversed her body, pausing ever so briefly at the swell of her breasts revealed in her décolletage, down her sleekly womanly figure to finally reach her coltish legs in high heels. And then he returned his gaze to her face, seeing her blue eyes, clear skin and her pink hair gathered into a beautiful hairstyle. He smelled her delicate perfume and felt a pleasant tingling along his nerves.

When the doorbell rang, Utena had practically run to answer it, Anthy and Wakaba trailing behind her, both of them amused by her antics. She had checked herself one last time, slipped on her shoes and laced the straps around her ankles and then she had taken several deep breaths. Anthy handed her a breath mint, and she popped it into her mouth as the other two girls went to hide back out of sight. Fearing she had made her date wait too long, she opened the door quickly before she ran away and hid in her room. She was surprised to feel that way. No other boy had ever made her feel that timid before.

Ranma stood there in the hallway before her door, and she swallowed down a suddenly dry throat at the sight of him. He was so handsome in his tuxedo; it almost made her heart seem to stop in her chest. Her thoughts flickered back to their first meetings, their battles together and then that night staying over at his house. She recalled the kiss she had given him on the cheek when she left.

They stood there just staring at each other for several moments. Both of them were suddenly aware that this moment was real, that they were a boy and girl who were about to go out on a serious date. Utena blushed, and Ranma put his hand behind his head and looked a bit nervous.

Wakaba was chewing on the handkerchief she held in her hands, able to feel the tension even from back where she was. Anthy was a calmer presence beside her, but she was tense too. The two girls waited for one of the pair to speak, or at least do something other than look like a pair of mannequins.

"You look really good, Utena," Ranma managed to stutter out. He was feeling awkward, half-hoping someone attacked him because then at least he would feel more confident in what to do.

"Th-thank you. So do you." Utena felt her heart pounding in her chest, unable to stop looking at him. It had been like this when she had first met him and every time since then.

Seeing her regard, feeling his own attraction towards her, recognizing on a visceral level that she was a beautiful girl who was attracted to him, something seemed to click inside Ranma, like a missing piece suddenly snapping into place. He felt his posture change, grow more confident, and he smiled warmly at Utena. He reached out and gently took her hand.

"I have reservations for dinner at one of the restaurants near Ohtori," he said as he met her gaze. "I am honored that you will be joining me for this evening. I'll do my best to make it a memorable one for you."

Wakaba dropped her jaw. The guy had gone from nervous and shy to this suavely smooth young man in a single moment of time. She remembered how he had seemed to her before, cute but not really confident with girls. Now he seemed to be radiating self-assurance. Not quite up there with the likes of Touga Kiryuu, but not too far behind it either.

"I've been looking forward to dinner and tonight's dance, Ranma," said Utena, his poise helping her restore hers. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door with him.

After the door closed behind the couple, Anthy murmured, "Maybe he is her prince, after all."

Wakaba frowned. "Maybe." She didn't sound convinced. "Come on. We need to get ready for the dance too.

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Nabiki walked next to Touga as they arrived at the hall where Ohtori was holding the Spring Formal. Roses were everywhere, from petals strewn on the ground to baskets containing numerous bouquets. It was like a fairy tale scene as well-dressed young men and women walked in arm-in-arm. She felt like a princess in her dress and heels.

Standing tall next to Nabiki, Touga felt her arm on his. Dinner had been an enjoyable affair, but his desires had not been for the food. He could not seem to take his eyes off of his lovely companion. At his urging, they had shared a bottle of wine with dinner. By his estimate, they had split the bottle evenly between them by the end of the meal.

Through another door arrived Kodachi and Miki, her holding on to his arm as they entered. Dinner had been a wonderful experience, talking and laughing with her handsome friend, and they had even had a fine wine with their meal. Her enhanced metabolism had mostly burned it off by now, but the remnants were leaving a pleasant little glow within her. The alcohol had eased her nervousness at dinner. She felt so much closer to Miki now. He was truly a good friend.

Mikado, Kuno and their dates arrived through a third door. Juri and Nanami were eyeing each other as the foursome walked in, the younger girl with irritation at the presence of the older girl, one she felt frequently whenever they were together. For her part, Juri was mostly ignoring the Kiryuu girl's dark looks, as usual finding her to be beneath notice.

The Kuno heir was in high spirits, and his meal and dinner conversation with his lovely companion had been stimulating to him. He was enjoying his evening quite well so far. He patted Juri's hand on his arm as he surveyed the room like a general come to conquer, receiving a genuine smile from her in return.

At her date's side, Juri was feeling quite contented, which surprised her a bit. The two of them had discussed swordsmanship at dinner as well as less martial topics, and she had been delighted to discover that her initial impression of him had been correct. She liked him quite well, and his feudal-era manners were charming. His knowledge of the different schools of Kenjutsu had been surprisingly vast as well. He had promised her a duel at their earliest convenience, and she was looking forward to it. But right now she was enjoying his presence and hoping they could dance together tonight.

Having endured a couple of hours already with the little shrew he was escorting, Mikado was in a less than jovial mood. While Nanami Kiryuu was quite pleasing to look upon, in spirit she reminded him of the White Lily all too much, filled with a malicious will. The wine they had consumed with dinner had dulled her sharp tongue, but it had the unwelcome (to him) side effect of unlocking her libido a bit too much more than he cared for.

Nanami held on tightly to Mikado's arm, feeling a pleasant tingling run through her body and enjoying the smell of his musky cologne. She had never imagined any other boy but her brother arousing her like this. She could admit to herself that she had been most ill-mannered to him at their meal together, but she intended to make it up to him now. She turned her gaze to him, and the flower petals blowing in the air seemed to briefly form a halo over his head, causing her breath to catch in her throat.

Ranma and Utena straight-armed the doors open together like a pair of heroes returned from battle as they entered via the fourth set of double doors, each of them smiling and laughing as they appeared. The pigtailed boy felt fortunate tonight at his travels in Europe with his father, and he had impressed his date with his knowledge of French cuisine at the little bistro where they had shared dinner together earlier that evening. He gazed out at the room, looking forward to dancing with Utena.

Clinging a bit tightly to his arm, feeling it touching the side of her breast, Utena was already having a wonderful time. She had enjoyed talking with Ranma at dinner, finding herself unable to look away from him as he told her tales of places he had been, and she had shared a few stories of her own. A pleasant tingling ran through her body at his nearness, and she was idly wondering if he might like to spend the night in her room, if things went late tonight. She justified that in her mind as repayment for her being allowed to stay at his home weeks ago. That was all it was. Really.

Nabiki caught sight of Ranma first, followed quickly in turn by the others noticing everyone else who had arrived, except for Juri, Kuno, Nanami and Utena, who were all too pre-occupied with their dates to look at anyone else. Frowns began appearing on faces. Fists began clenching at sides.

Seeing her fiancé defying her will (and very clear instructions) one more time, his unexpected appearance with the Tenjou girl caused Nabiki's right eyebrow to twitch and a vein suddenly popped up on her forehead. Absently realizing that her situation appeared bad as well in comparison, she held her place and seethed silently instead. Her grip on Touga's arm tightened a slight amount. Her gaze shifted over to see that her debutante rival was taking this about as well as she was, paradoxically making her feel a little better.

Kodachi's gaze focused upon the sight of the commoner harlot currently standing there with her fiancé. The dress the other girl was wearing, clearly one bought off the rack from an ordinary boutique, left little doubt to her eyes that the unworthy girl was trying to seduce Ranma. She clutched more tightly at Miki's arm and happened to glance over and saw Nabiki standing with Touga. What was left of her previous good mood promptly evaporated.

His attention split, Mikado glanced back and forth between Kodachi and Ranma. His gaze was dark and filled with loathing as he looked at the pigtailed boy. After only a short time under Nanashi's training, he was already better than he had been since his last encounter with his rival, but he still felt he needed an edge if he tried something tonight. Feeling the flask of rum in his jacket, one he had decided to bring if the date with the Kiryuu girl grew too agonizing to take without something to dull the pain, an idea occurred to him.

Miki eyed Ranma in an unfriendly fashion, and he felt Kodachi's grip suddenly tighten on him. He absently patted her hand to comfort her. He felt the flask in his jacket under his other arm, one filled with a sweet but potent liqueur. He and Touga would be there to rescue their dates when the Saotome boy made an asinine fool of himself after he drank a few cups of spiked punch. He smiled in anticipation of Kodachi's gratitude.

Standing at Nabiki's side and enjoying her nearness, Touga spotted Ranma across the room as he arrived grinning like an idiot next to the delightsome beauty that was the Tenjou girl, inwardly appalled a bit that the other was apparently more in Utena's favor than he was. He noted his lovely companion tightening her grip on his arm and could feel the tension radiating from her. It annoyed him that a near-peasant like Ranma was even a rival for the heart of an intriguing girl like Nabiki. He smiled coolly, looking forward to ending that rivalry, his hand briefly touching the flask at his hip, concealed by his jacket.

Ranma was startled to see both Kodachi and Nabiki at the dance, and his laughter at Utena's last joke came to a stuttering halt. He looked from one fiancée to the other, frowning. After a moment, he turned to look at Utena, his smile returning at the sight of her face. He had come here to be with her, and he was not going to ruin her evening by getting pulled into something stupid like his analogs would have been at seeing this setup.

"Shall we dance, Utena?" he asked gently. He received a smile and nod in return.

Seeing the pigtailed boy heading to the dance floor, Miki, Touga and Mikado immediately did the same. Seeing his good friend going to the dance floor, Kuno turned to look at Juri.

"'Twould be an honor if you would dance with me, my lady," he said to her.

"I accept," she replied with a smile. Deciding on having a little more privacy, the two went out on one of the verandas to dance, since it was far less crowded.

On the main dance floor, the other three boys made it a point to pass nearby Ranma now and then as he danced quite ably with Utena. The pigtailed boy felt more than one solid elbow strike hitting him in the back of his ribcage as he danced. He growled under his breath after the fourth such impact, Mikado having come around for a second pass.

During occasional breaks, Ranma went over to have punch with Utena at the snack table, as well as sampling the food. It was all quite good, he mused as he set his cup behind him. When he took another drink, it was fuller than he remembered, but he shrugged and swallowed it down, thirsty from the dancing.

After his third cup of punch, he decided to give Utena a break and she went off to chat with her two friends: Anthy and Wakaba. Seeing Miki dancing with Kodachi, he walked over and tapped the other boy on the shoulder. "May I cut in?"

"Of course," Miki replied with a smile, stepping back as Ranma took his place. His smile promptly vanished as he reached into a pocket and clicked his stopwatch before going back to the table he and Kodachi were using, sitting down to rest. He eyed the dancing couple darkly. The flask in his jacket was much emptier now.

"Funny seeing you here at the dance, Kodachi," Ranma said mildly in reproof as he moved gracefully on the dance floor with her. "Is that guy a friend of yours?"

Kodachi looked peeved but maintained her poise. "Miki Kaoru is a dear childhood friend of mine, Saotome-kun," she said with a frown, her body moving with his as the music filled the air and other dancers flowed around them. "What about you and that girl you're with? You two have been very friendly with each other."

"Utena invited me," Ranma declared defensively, dropping Kodachi into a dip. "And I thought it might be fun to go dancing."

Her body unconsciously slipping up close to his as they continued to move together to the music, their dancing became more intimate. Kodachi felt hurt and annoyed by his words. "You could have simply asked me, Saotome-kun. I love to dance. By the way, not that it matters, but you're a very good dancer." There was a pause. "I would not be opposed to going dancing with you someday."

"Maybe I'll take you dancing someday then," he said in mild challenge, dipping her again, her leg rising high and straight behind him as they moved together in harmony. "What do you think about that?"

"As you are my fiancé, I have no choice but to accept," she said with a briefly coquettish look, her annoyance a bit faded as they continued moving together on the dance floor. She felt aroused by his nearness and the skillful way he moved with her to the music. She had never suspected he was such a good dancer.

When the music stopped, Miki came to gather Kodachi away, and Ranma went back over to the punch bowl. He watched Miki and Kodachi dancing with a frown, reaching behind himself to grab three more cups of punch, one right after the other, and draining them dry. He was starting to feel a warm burning inside. Nabiki walked by, apparently trying to ignore him, and he grabbed her hand.

"Come and dance with me?" he asked her.

"If you insist," Nabiki replied with a shrug, letting him guide her to the dance floor.

Behind them, Touga replaced the flask to his hip. It was a bit over half-empty now.

"So, you and that Touga guy, are you two childhood friends?" Ranma pulled Nabiki closer as music for a tango began. They began moving together to the latin rhythms.

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?" Nabiki said softly into his ear. "What about you and the Prince of Ohtori? You had never even met her before the challenge match you two had, and now you two look like a dating couple. You've never even taken me on a single date, and we're engaged, Ranma Saotome." A hint of hurt was in her tones, escaping her usual iron control of her emotions.

The two of them began moving more intimately together as the tango reached the mid-point of the music. Ranma dipped her, feeling her leg partially wrapped around him as he gazed into her eyes. He didn't respond to her words immediately.

"So, what are you saying?" he asked her suddenly when they were both back upright, her body pressed against his tightly. He pulled back to look at her face. "You want to treat the agreement those two fakes made as a real engagement?"

"Would that be so bad?" Nabiki slid her body around his as the tango continued. "Like it or not, Ranma-kun, we're kind of stuck with each other because of those two fakes." She trailed her fingers along his jawline as she returned to his front, strutting a bit as she moved around him.

"I finished the device." Ranma spun Nabiki outward and then pulled her back into a tight embrace. "As soon as my father completes the beacon, we can bring our real fathers home and send those two idiots back."

She ran her hand up to his shoulder and gazed into his eyes. She nodded. "The sooner the better."

"Agreed." The music finally reached its climax, the two of them sharing an intimate moment as they moved together and then stopped, gazing intently into each other's eyes as they caught their breaths, neither quite knowing what to say. When it was over, Touga came to claim Nabiki and moved off with her in another dance. Ranma stalked over to the table where the punch was and stood with his back to it. He grabbed a cup and drank it quickly, feeling it burning down his throat.

Burning? He glanced at the cup, suddenly confused. He felt a bit unsteady, and the room was moving as he weaved a bit.

"Had a bit too much punch to drink, Saotome?" said a familiar voice behind him.

Ranma turned to see Mikado standing there, looking at him with a wicked smile on his lips. The other boy waggled a flask and then put it back into his jacket. While he was standing there, suddenly seeing two of Mikado for a moment, the other boy attacked.

The dance music shifted to a more lively tempo, a heavy techno beat, as the pigtailed boy shot off the edge of a balcony to land in one of the many courtyards, his feet skidding back a little, propelled there by the other boy's kick. Mikado came down to land near him at the end of a long leap.

Charging at Ranma with a snarl of hatred, their fight began.

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"You sure look like you're having a good time, Utena," Wakaba said with a smile as the three girls walked around to cool off. Each of them had cups of sweet punch in their hands. "I have to admit, that Saotome guy is a really good dancer."

Utena smiled. She felt wonderful. She hoped Ranma was enjoying his evening as much as she was.

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Ranma's head snapped to one side from Mikado's punch, one of several blows he had taken so far during the fight. He lashed out with a punch and kick of his own, but he missed. Mikado seemed to be moving faster and better than he had before, which was confusing.

"What's the matter, Saotome?" the other boy taunted, driving his knee upwards into Ranma's ribcage and knocking him over to land on his back, a Muay Thai maneuver that Nanashi had taught him. "No smart remarks to make this time?" Before Ranma could stand, Mikado hit him in the face with another hard punch.

Things were going much better than Mikado had hoped. He had noticed the two Ohtori cadets giving spiked cups of punch to Ranma earlier that evening. The rum he had given the pigtailed boy straight up seemed to have finished the job. He hit Ranma several more times in succession, bloodying his face. It felt good to expend his energies this way, and he drove another savage blow into the other boy's gut.

Rallying, Ranma managed to block the next couple of strikes and got a solid hit upwards in an explosive uppercut to Mikado's jaw. He felt woozy on his feet and staggered a bit, angry that he was losing because of dishonorable cheating on the other boy's part. He launched himself in a flying kick that gave him the satisfaction of hearing a solid impact into Mikado's shoulder.

"Damn you, Saotome!" Mikado, his lip split from the uppercut, got a firm hold of Ranma's jacket and slammed him down face first into the pavement. "Still got some fight in you? This should take care of that." He rolled the pigtailed boy over and forced his jaw open before pouring more of the flask down his throat.

Ranma felt the rum hit the back of his throat and gagged and sputtered, swallowing some more of it, feeling it burning all the way down his gullet. "Get off me!" He kicked Mikado away in a sudden spasm of movement, spilling some more of the rum on himself. He got back to his feet and weaved in place slightly. There was something tickling the back of his brain and trying to get his attention, about alcohol and fighting that he should know.

That was it, the memory suddenly clicking into place inside him. He had learned it for one of his first movie roles, wanting to be authentic on camera. Or rather, his actor analog had done so.

Spotting the flask laying on the ground, Ranma grabbed it up and poured some more in his mouth. He swallowed it. Mikado was looking at him in puzzlement.

"Never figured you for a drinker, Saotome," the other boy mocked him. He paused in his attacks, deciding to let his nemesis have one last drink before he put him down, if Ranma so chose.

Ranma drained the last of the rum down his throat where it burned warmly inside him. He tossed the empty flask away and then hiccupped once. He took up a stance, his hands out in front of him as if they held cups, weaving in place. He gave a taunting smile to Mikado.

"Come and (hic) get me, Sanzenin."

"When I'm through with you, they're going to need a stretcher to carry you home!" Mikado charged again, infuriated, another punch aimed at Ranma's head. To his surprise, the other boy jerked suddenly to one side and a powerful punch hit Mikado in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground. He lashed out with a kick, and Ranma dodged aside again, rolling over his limb and striking down with an elbow.

Again and again, Mikado tried to attack, and each attack was thrown back in his face or dodged when Ranma seemed to spasm suddenly and apparently at random. He punched and missed, receiving an elbow to the face for his efforts. He kicked and was blocked, and the other boy slammed a kick into his face in reply.

After a time, Ranma's metabolism began clearing the alcohol from his body. He realized he was sitting on an unconscious Mikado by one of the fountains, not quite sure how he had won the fight. He got up, his body aching in places. He had fought and won, that much he could recall, but the details were hazy.

"There you are," said Utena, and he turned to see her coming his way. When she saw his bruised and battered face, the rips in his tuxedo and the unconscious boy bleeding from his nose and mouth into the pavement, she felt her previous annoyance at his unexplained absence vanish. He had clearly been in a fight. She took out her handkerchief and dipped it into the water in the fountain before cleaning some of the blood from his face. "Are you all right, Ranma?"

"Yeah, it looks worse than it is," he said with a grimace of pain when she dabbed under his nose. "The last thing I remember clearly is this jerk attacking me." He sighed and looked sad. "Sorry about ruining our date."

"Oh, I had a great time up until now," she reassured him. "So don't you worry about that." She gave him a smile, glad to know he was all right. "You and I sure do seem to attract violent jerks, don't we?"

Ranma chuckled at that one and then grimaced again, his ribs aching. With Utena's help, he stood up. Eyeing the fountain as if the water might reach out and attack him, he started walking away from it, Utena helping hold him up.

"We'll go back to my room, and you can rest there tonight," she said suddenly. "You shouldn't try to travel without some rest first. I can call your mother and let her know you're staying over."

Ranma nodded tiredly at first, wanting to find some place to lie down and rest for a while. Then her words seemed to percolate up into his awareness. His half-open eyes snapped open fully.

"Uh, that's okay, Utena. I wouldn't want to impose."

At that moment, others arrived.

Nabiki and Kodachi saw Ranma's beaten appearance and took in Mikado's unconscious form by the fountain. They shared a look and then came over to Utena.

"We'll take him from here, Tenjou," said Nabiki, moving to take over holding the pigtailed boy up. She smelled alcohol on his breath and clothes and noticed the open flask lying to one side on the ground. She had felt the hip flask under Touga's jacket while they were dancing but had thought little of it at the time. Now she wasn't so certain.

Mikado wasn't good enough to hurt Ranma this badly, she was certain of that. But if someone had gone to the trouble of spiking all the punch she had seen him drinking during the night, it might be possible. She recalled seeing either Miki or Touga at the snack table whenever Ranma was there. That was suspicious, but she had no proof of any wrongdoing on their parts.

"No need to trouble yourself about this guy anymore, Tenjou. Kuno-dono and I can take care of everything from here." Behind Nabiki's fake smile, her unspoken message from their last encounter was repeated: 'Don't ever come near him again.'

"Yes, we shall take care of his injuries and see him safely home." Kodachi put herself under Ranma's other arm. Her rivalry with Nabiki was set aside in the face of a common threat from an outsider.

Standing off to one side, Miki and Touga both glowered a bit at the pigtailed boy getting attention from three attractive girls. When the girls looked their way, they brightened as if nothing at all was the matter.

"You can use my limousine to get him home, Nabiki," said Touga with a smile.

"And we can carry your friend, Kodachi," Miki exclaimed. "I wouldn't want to see you stain your lovely dress."

Kodachi smiled at Miki. "You're very kind to do so, Kaoru-kun." It was clear to her that the treacherous Sanzenin animal had attacked Ranma. She would have kicked him, but she was too far away and also didn't want to shock Miki by committing such an unladylike act in his view.

While they stood there, Nanami suddenly rushed past them all, even her brother, to attend to the fallen Sanzenin boy. She gave Ranma a brief, extremely malicious look as she wet her handkerchief and began cleaning Mikado's face.

Touga was a little startled to see this, but he hid it well, only raising one eyebrow. He shifted Nabiki's share of Ranma to himself, disappointed that his plan had been derailed. No matter. A victory after a few setbacks would only make the final conquest all the sweeter.

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Meanwhile, on one of the verandas, Kuno and Juri Arisugawa were taking a break from dancing. They stood close together and watched the stars. No words were spoken between them, but he was holding her hand as they stood at the railing.

Juri was smiling and feeling warm inside.

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"It was an entertaining evening, Nabiki Tendo," said Touga with a smile after helping put Ranma in the car. "I look forward to seeing what our next time together holds." He gave her a kiss on her hand.

"It might be fun at that," Nabiki replied, smiling. She had been a little concerned that the nobleman might try something, based on his reputation, but he had been a perfect gentleman with her all evening. She would continue to explore a friendship with him. She could always correct him if things got too serious between them.

On the other side of the car, Miki and Kodachi stood together. "I had a good time with you, Kaoru-kun." She leaned closer to him, and Miki thought she was going to kiss his cheek. "Because of this evening, I think Saotome-kun and I will have a better relationship," she whispered into his ear. "Thank you for your help." She then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"No problem," Miki said calmly, his fist clenching at his side as he feigned happiness for her. When she was inside the car, he glared at the semi-conscious pigtailed boy. He wanted to scream and rage at the unfairness of it all. Why did Ranma have Kodachi's warmest regards, and he was just seen as a friend?

Utena approached him after saying her goodbyes to Ranma. She had been hustled out of the car a little rudely by the Tendo girl, but she didn't want to damage her dress by starting a fight, tempting as it was to smash the other girl for her impertinence.

"Thank you for your help, Miki," she said with a smile. "Can I count on your help with Ranma in the future?"

Miki blinked. He turned to face her. "What do you mean?"

"I noticed that you and Kodachi Kuno are good friends. Knowing her, do you think she's right for someone like Ranma?"

"No." His tone was certain as he watched the limousine driving away.

She turned to face Touga. "Do you think Nabiki Tendo is right for him?"

"I think such a girl is wasted on one like him," the nobleman said with a smile.

"Can I count on your assistance in getting Ranma away from them?" She smiled at the pair. "I mean, since they aren't right for him."

Miki and Touga looked briefly at each other and suddenly both boys wore matching smiles. They nodded to each other in silent agreement.

"In speaking for Miki and myself, we'd be quite happy to assist you in getting them apart, Utena my dear."

Utena nodded, grateful for their promised aid. She turned to watch the limousine carrying Ranma fade off into the night.

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My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of my readers for all of their comments and suggestions.


	27. The Chinese Amazon Connection, Part I

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Soun paused at the open door to Akane's room, dressed in a casual robe, having just enjoyed a leisurely bath before he dressed and went out to join Genma for some drinking and relaxation. Nabiki wasn't home, but since it was a Saturday night, she was possibly out on another date with Ranma. Things seemed to be going well for the couple. That made him happy, even though it also felt subtly wrong that it was not Akane the boy was with. Even so, a Tendo and Saotome would be wedded, so it was still good.

He watched his youngest daughter for a few moments, as Akane leaned over her schoolwork in intense concentration. The studious sight drew up memories from two lives. This Akane was so much like his own in so many ways, he thought fondly as he studied her, smiling.

However, his attention was drawn away from the girl to a familiar sight that caused him to frown deeply, an image that conjured up unpleasant memories for him. Hanging on the wall above his daughter's desk was a full-length, life-sized poster of Shampoo, dressed in a light purple silk fighting outfit, her body shown poised in a combat stance. It was one of three different posters that Akane had of the Chinese girl hung up around her room, not to mention owning three videos she was in and a small stack of lurid magazines with interviews with her. He studied the picture of the Amazon, remembering very bitterly that last day when Genma had taken Ranma and Shampoo from his house and terminated the engagement.

No, not Genma. It was the Genma of this world who had done that, this 'Professor Saotome' person who had broken the sacred promise to unite the two families together. He had cast aside the agreement like it was nothing, dismissed it as some drunken agreement of no consequence and then he had taken Ranma and that miserable Chinese freak away. Soun forced himself to calm down, feeling his temper rising as he recalled the events of that day.

When Ranma had gotten home after helping rescue Akane, the boy had been quite respectful to his father-

Wait.

Soun paused and thought about that scene again for a moment, studying it from a perspective he had not been able to before, and he made a connection at that moment that startled him. Over several cups of sake on the day he had first been brought here, Genma had told him about how this Ranma was in his lab that entire day, not coming home until late in the evening.

Could it be?

Soun blinked in astonishment at what he had just realized and then his expression began to darken into an icy rage.

Why that miserable punk, he thought grimly. It had been _this_ Ranma who had broken his little girl's heart, leaving willingly with that Shampoo girl. He glanced at the poster again, his gaze now grown cold. He considered the best way to punish the boy for his conceit. No, not just punish him, to make Ranma beg for his help, to break his spirit.

This arrogant boy and his father had interfered in a matter of honor that was not their concern. Everything would have been just fine if he and that other Genma had never butted into their lives. Akane would surely have wed Ranma eventually, joining together their two families and Schools, and Shampoo would have eventually left. But those two had chosen to interfere in that fate, to change it.

A mirthless smile crossed Soun's lips as the plan quickly gained detail in his mind. What was it that this world's version of Shampoo did each Friday night? Oh, yes. The 'Amazon Challenge' was what it was called. That would be perfect. He recalled Genma had mentioned enlisting the boy in it as a form of training, to further hone his fighting skills, but he had not made the connection at the time, being a bit too drunk.

Soun was quite certain that the Amazon's counterpart on this world would quickly crush the pigtailed boy during the worldwide television broadcast. While he had gained that other Ranma's skills and was a product of numerous enhancements from Project Phoenix, even those advantages could not replace the years of physical conditioning a true martial artist with such skills would have, conditioning that the boy he knew on the other world had gone through and this one had not. He would be out of his depth and would lose to the Amazon, lose badly, thereby forfeiting months of his life that would then be spent fighting for the Empire's pleasure in the Arena.

After the boy had healed up and stewed in his fate for a while, he would make Ranma an offer that he would be foolish to refuse, not if he wanted his freedom back before serving out his time. And then the cocky little punk would have to do whatever he asked. He would simply have no choice.

It was a perfect plan, and Soun could see no way that the boy would be able to escape it, no matter how smart he was. He would not be able to think his way out of this one. Instead, he would have to deal with it using the same tools that other Ranma would have used, relying on his martial arts and fighting his way out of it. But this version of the boy was woefully lacking in that area, no matter what was now imprinted on his nervous system. The Chinese girl would mercilessly trounce him on worldwide television when they had their match together.

Yes, Soun mused as he continued on towards his room to change clothes, it was going to be a fitting fate for that arrogant boy.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Before reading this chapter, please check out DB Sommer's two works: "Path of the Warrior" and "Life on the Inside"

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +0.001, -0.001 – The world of Scholar Ranko (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Mikado shared an intimate moment with the White Lily and mused on his plans for Kodachi. Jun Fan Lee trained Ranma in both his male and female forms. The omiai with the Masakis did not go well. Godai had dates with Kasumi and Ayaka. Nabiki, Kodachi and Ranma attended the Spring Formal at Ohtori, and the evening ended with a fight. Afterwards, Utena enlisted Miki and Touga to help her attain Ranma.

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Chapter 27 – The Chinese Amazon Connection, Part I

In the event that a woman warrior is defeated by an outsider,

if her opponent is a man, she must make him her husband.

- The Laws Of The Amazons

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*** Earth +0.001, -0.001

"I'm telling you, I'm fine, Mother."

Exasperated at her daughter's continuing stubbornness, Nodoka turned to face Dr. Tofu, standing there with a mildly amused expression on his face. "She's been home for over a week, and she still can't remember anything from the time she went missing."

"Well, we've done MRI scans and run every test I can think of, and everything checks out fine." He checked through Ranko's chart. "I don't see any reason to keep her in the hospital any longer. As far as her missing memories go, they may come back over time, or they may not. The brain is still very much a mystery to medical science. However, from what I can see, there is no physiological damage."

Kaneda Tendo appeared outside the window and gave Ranko a brief wave, and she smiled. One good thing about coming home was that her former tormenter had been much nicer to her. Since he wasn't family, he had been sneaking into her hospital room and bringing flowers or snacks for her. The two of them had talked a lot since her return. His attitude towards her had changed, and she had been revising her opinion of him.

When everyone was gone, she went over and opened the window. Kaneda slipped into the room and presented her with a small box of candy. "I was listening outside," he said. "So, you're coming home tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's right," Ranko replied, pulling her robe around her body a bit tighter, suddenly feeling shy. "Thanks for the gift." Now that he was near, she felt the familiar soft tingling he always made her feel.

"I-I'm glad you're okay." Kaneda stood there, feeling the attraction for her he had felt ever since the first day they met, a feeling he had previously tried to cover over by being macho and insulting to hide his insecurity around her. "It just hasn't been the same without you around."

She touched his arm and smiled. "If you keep being this nice to me, I might let you walk me to school." She blushed and looked away, taking her hand from him. "You know, if you wanted to. Not that I'm saying I want you to."

"I might take you up on that offer," he said, hopping back up to the window. He gave her a smile. "Goodnight, Ranko-chan."

"Goodnight, Kaneda-kun." She closed the curtain and sighed happily. She then went to lie back down in bed.

Observing the scene invisibly from a corner, Bernkastel nodded. She had succeeded in removing the girl's memories of the other worlds she had seen, and she did not recall how she visited them. That was good.

This world was already free of the Shogun, but that victory had only been an illusory one for Bernkastel. With her direct aid, a teenaged Yumi Kuonji and her lover Comb had died in battle against the Shogun over twenty years ago. In that same battle, Cologne and Katsuhito Masaki had made the ultimate heroic sacrifice, foiling the Shogun's latest attempt at apotheosis on this particular iteration. Seeing him vulnerable after facing all those foes, the witch had attempted to end the Shogun's life here, trying to finish it herself as she had once before, but it had only caused a divergence to form like it had on her previous attempt at taking a more direct hand, five centuries earlier in the timeline.

For some reason, the Shogun could not be killed if she interfered too much. Doing so only caused a split in time, creating a new divergence, in this case creating the Saotome boy's timeline over twenty years ago. She was certain her powers could lock down and prevent another such split from occurring, but it would require her to focus on that when the decisive moment arrived, which meant she could not be a direct participant in the scenario. The Shogun would have to be ended by someone who was part of that scenario and not an outsider from time like herself, so she would need to construct the board carefully and position her pieces as best she could beforehand.

Bernkastel gave one last glance at Ranko. Removing the girl's memories of her inter-dimensional travels eliminated a variable she could ill afford to allow to exist at this point. The final defeat of the Shogun was an outcome she would do anything to achieve, to finally find the right mix of pieces that would allow her out of this Schrodinger's maze of altered timelines and win the safety of all her entertaining worlds she so enjoyed playing with.

She shimmered and vanished.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

On Saturday evening, Lord Kuno tipped back his mug of beer and quaffed deeply from it, the cold amber liquid rolling easily down his throat. He smiled at his two companions seated at the private table they shared.

"Never thought I'd ever see the two of you sitting together as friends, Saotome-kun," he said, setting down his glass, noting the addition of Soun Tendo. The two had come in together, instead of Genma's normally solitary arrival for what had become their usual night out carousing on Saturdays.

Genma grinned. "Times change, Kuno-kun," he replied. He took a deep drink of his own beer and sighed with enjoyment. "Nothing like a cold beer to bring an end to the week, eh, Tendo-kun?"

"Quite right, Saotome-kun," said Soun, nodding once before taking a drink from his own glass. He felt himself relaxing after his upset earlier that evening about Shampoo and Ranma. Work was becoming more stressful as well. Events at the Directorate were starting to get complicated now that the current Director had announced his imminent retirement. It had been expected for some time, but now that it was official, the politics had kicked into high gear.

Akemi Roppongi came over to their table and promptly sat down on Lord Kuno's lap. "I see I'll be working extra hard for you boys tonight." She gave Lord Kuno a deep and lingering kiss and then she smiled at Soun and Genma saucily before turning her gaze back to the nobleman. "You let me know how many girls you'd like for tonight, Milord." She grinned as he patted her bottom, before she picked up their last round of empties and went off to bring more.

"G-girls, Saotome-kun?" Soun gulped, suddenly a bit nervous. While he and Genma had shared a drink with Akemi in the other bar she worked at, he had already been a bit drunk at the time. Remembering the warmth of her body next to his, her hand caressing his thigh, made him feel embarrassed now.

When they had entered this bar, he had noticed the numerous attractive, scantily-clad young women serving drinks and sitting in booths with patrons, even more than had been at the other bar. But seeing Lord Kuno fondling Akemi openly had just brought everything home to him. He suddenly felt out of place, something his younger self on this world would have found amusing. This bar was different from the usual sorts of taverns he and Genma would have frequented back at home, simple establishments where a man could just drink a beer and talk with friends.

Genma grinned. "Relax, Tendo-kun. It's all harmless fun. Am I right, Kuno-kun?"

"Quite right, Saotome-kun," said the man, grinning. "Sampling the water trade is a time-honored tradition for men to relax and be men." He took a deep drink while gazing over the rim of his glass at Genma and then set it back down on the table. "Although I trust that your boy is never going to frequent such establishments as this. He's going to marry my precious daughter, after all."

Genma blinked, surprised. "Ranma?" he snorted derisively. "Have no fears on that. The boy's never had a drink in his life, and his head would probably explode if he came into a place like this." He grinned, casually watching one of the bar girls sauntering by.

"Saotome-kun," Soun prompted, nudging his friend.

Genma took another drink, pulling his gaze away from the girl's rear. "Uh, yes. Tendo-kun and I wanted to talk to you about that. Ranma's engagement to Kodachi." He chuckled. "There's kind of a funny thing that happened, you see."

"If this is about Ranma being engaged to his daughter and the Kuonji girl, I already know," said Lord Kuno, setting down his glass. His expression was neutral.

The frank admission set Genma back a bit. "Uh, you know?"

Soun was startled as well. The Kuonji girl? He gave Genma a look.

"I make it a point to keep tabs on my dealings with others, in case any complications appear," Lord Kuno replied. He signaled for another round for the table. "It doesn't bother me much, so long as Kodachi is fine with the arrangement. As far as I'm concerned, Ranma can marry a dozen girls if he likes. I'm sure my wife will have a different opinion, but my only concern is my little girl's happiness. She's my only daughter. If you had one, you'd understand." His gaze shifted to Soun. "Having three daughters yourself, I'm sure you do, Tendo-san. Am I right?"

Soun nodded, taking a deep drink from his glass to calm himself, a bit irritated with Genma for pulling a repeat of his stunt with Ukyo. He set his glass down and looked at the nobleman. "I do. My only concern for my two remaining unmarried daughters is that they both find good husbands."

"Then I don't see a problem," Lord Kuno grinned. "Unless the girls don't get along, that is. Then things could get difficult." He gave Genma a look. "I trust we understand each other, Saotome-kun?"

Genma nodded, sweating a bit.

"Good," said the nobleman more pleasantly. "Then drink up. The night is young, and I'm buying." He raised his glass. "Here's to your son, Saotome-kun. May he grow to be a man among men and keep all the women in his life happy and contented."

All three men clinked their glasses together and drank deeply.

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Roanapur was a cesspit of a city.

That was Perfume's thought as she looked out the window of the small hotel room she and Mousse were sharing after their arrival here. Her companion was currently taking a shower, having refused to use the cold water showers available on the train during the long and sweaty trip here, never giving her a satisfying reason. She had no idea Mousse was such a weakling as to avoid bathing in cold water, something Perfume personally found invigorating. Shampoo was welcome to him, the stupid, pathetic, half-blind fool.

As she looked down, she saw two local women on the street, prostitutes by their dress and manner, chatting in a friendly manner with a pair of Imperial soldiers. Her lip curled with disdain at the sight of it. The thought of a woman selling herself like that to whatever man had money in his pocket to pay her was anathema to how she had been raised. She wondered idly if Shampoo had fallen that far in her corruption by outsider men. Hopefully not, she mused.

The sights of this city had been bad enough, but it also smelled of filth and corruption. It was like a taint in the air, one she was sure the locals no longer even noticed. It made her feel very far away from the clean air of her home village. She could hardly wait to find what they needed and get away from this place before it tainted her too.

Like many, she had heard numerous stories and rumors about this place during her travels as she prepared for her rematch against Shampoo. It was said that this city was controlled by a secretive organization known as Shadowlaw, which was in turn said to be controlled by the even more mysterious figure who called himself the Shogun of the Dark. The drug trade of the Empire flowed through here, aided by bribes and payoffs at all levels of the regional government, one of the main engines of commerce that Shadowlaw controlled. The Empire's hold on the place was weak, creating the festering pit that Perfume now had to deal with.

She heard the water shut off in the bathroom. Mousse emerged, rubbing a towel through his long hair. Without turning to look at him, she said in Mandarin, "Get dressed. We need to start looking for passage and the paperwork we'll need."

Perfume went back to looking out the window as she heard him getting ready. She hoped they found what they needed quickly. She wanted to be away from this place as soon as possible.

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"Dear, I'm concerned about Manami-chan."

Maho Minami grunted once at his wife's words, and Kunami was relieved to know he was awake and listening as she sat there in bed next to him.

"She's been dating an awful lot of boys lately. Why, just this week alone she went out with three different ones. And now she's friends with that trashy Mano girl, Yohko."

She sniffed disdainfully. "I knew her mother when I was younger, the little man-stealing tramp." Her gaze hardened as she spoke. "She went through boys like they were tissue paper or something, so it was no surprise she had a child out of wedlock. Why, I've heard that this Yohko girl is just like her, and she's already had several boyfriends herself. Now she's even involved with Manami-chan's senpai, Kyosuke. He always seemed like such a nice boy, certainly not the type to take up with a loose girl like that. How his poor mother must feel."

She sniffed again. "To think our sweet, little Manami-chan is friends with such a person like that dreadful Mano girl. Frankly, dear, I'm very worried."

He grunted once, shifting his position in the darkness.

"Yes, I haven't forgotten the recent changes in her appearance. It's obvious that she's finally inherited my good looks and blossomed into quite a beautiful young woman. But she's now at that age where she should start planning out her future. Don't you agree?"

There was another guttural grunt from his side of the bed and a faint rustling of sheets.

Kunami gave out a relieved sigh. "I'm so glad you agree, dear. Now, I've been giving it a lot of thought, and there's just one thing to do at this point, before our daughter throws away her future with this libidinous lifestyle she's pursuing." She paused a moment, gazing fondly at her husband as he appeared to sleep while they talked. They always seemed to communicate best at such times, especially after making up in bed from one of their frequent fights. She knew it kept their marriage fresh that they could express their passions so well with each other.

She smiled and said, "I think we should find Manami-chan a husband."

She nodded at his grunt. "Yes, I know we've discussed it before, and you always felt she was too young. But now she's also become involved with that Kisaragi woman as her mentor, still unmarried at her age. Why, in only a few years, she'll be thirty. It's shameful! No, you can't talk me out of it this time." She looked out the window. "But decent matchmakers are so expensive, so how will we find Manami-chan a proper young man?"

Maho made a questioning grumble in his throat, and he laid his arm across his face. Kunami smiled brightly as she looked back at him.

"Why, that's just a perfect idea, dear. He's always been well-mannered whenever he's been over here for study sessions with Manami-chan, and they've known each other for so many years. And I'm sure his mother would be pleased to make a match as well, since I'm sure his prospects are not the best. After all, you married me and look how well our own marriage has turned out. Oh, I'm sure our little Manami-chan will be simply thrilled!" She smiled and lay back down next to him.

"I'm so glad we had this talk. You've put my mind at ease, dear."

Maho began to snore. Kunami cuddled up to him, happy to have such a good husband at her side, and one who listened to her so well too, even after sex. She drifted off into a contented sleep as she thought about her daughter's future happiness as a married woman.

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Director Kasuga looked up from finally coming to the end of reading through this week's pile of papers that had been looming over his desk when the intercom buzzed for his attention. Setting down his pen, he reached over and tapped at it.

"Yes?" His voice sounded tired, even to himself. It was after eight on a weekend, and he was still in the office. The long days were really starting to catch up to him. He resolved to take Sunday off, maybe spend some time with his daughter and grandson.

"Frost is here to see you, sir."

"That's fine. Send her in." He shuffled the papers in front of him back into a rough semblance of order as the door opened. He could use a break.

Frost came in quietly and bowed slightly to the agent holding open the door for her. Her pale hair was held back in a loose ponytail by a jade hairpiece, her feet covered in soft silk slippers and she was wearing a silvery silken robe with embroideries of pale gold thread depicting a stylized Phoenix, the Chinese symbol of femininity. The outfit made her albino coloring even more otherworldly.

After taking a seat in front of him without speaking or waiting to be offered a chair, she sat quietly for several moments. She fidgeted slightly as he studied her, bouncing her heels a little. When he still said nothing after several more moments, she finally looked up at him. Her gaze had a glimmering of emotion in it, an unusual sight to see in the normally placid girl.

Director Kasuga folded his hands in front of him and tried his best to smile reassuringly. After all, the Chinese sorceress was one of his pet projects, and he had been her legal guardian for many years, ever since the unfortunate death of her parents in an incident in China that had first brought her to his attention. "So, what can I do for you, Frost?"

"I-it's about what happened to me after the Belldandy matter," said the girl, her usual cool and confident tones absent. She looked a bit uncertain of herself as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "Th-there was a boy, a trainee of the Institute. H-he defeated me." Her voice fell almost to a whisper as she blushed slightly. "I-I would like to see him again."

Director Kasuga blinked. Frost had been involved in dozens of arcane duels, going back to her arrival years ago. When she was only ten years old, one of her classmates, no doubt jealous of the foreign girl's much greater talent, had learned of her people's Amazon code and had spread it around the Institute as a way of mocking the pale-skinned girl and her aloofness. With typical male pride, one boy had challenged Frost to a duel that same week, a top-ranked student two years older than the Amazon sorceress.

Frost defeated him within moments, knocking him unconscious with a blast of icy magefire. Within a single week, a score of the Mobius Institute's most promising young mages had joined the boy in defeat, and her legend began. Someone began calling her the Wizard Slayer and the nickname stuck. Her natural magical talents, already vast in their potential, appeared to thrive on each new challenge. Her power and skill grew with every victory. So it was with every young wizard and esper who dared to challenge her. Not one proved able to defeat her.

Until now.

"So, who is this young man who has caught your eye?" asked Director Kasuga with keen interest as he studied Frost. He was curious to know what young prodigy had finally taken down the undefeated legend, and he noted idly that the girl was showing more emotion now than he could ever remember her displaying before, though they were still only brief flashes. Even in the midst of a battle, Frost's countenance would always remain utterly composed and as cool as her namesake, which had earned her a less respectful nickname of 'Robot Girl' from one of her female peers. It was quite possible that her defeat had rattled her self-control.

Frost whispered a name too softly for him to hear, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that, Frost. Could you repeat his name a little louder?" He leaned forward, his curiosity tantalized.

"I-it's Hikaru. Hikaru Gosunkugi." And Frost smiled, a tiny wisp of a smile, as she said his name, her gaze looking down at the floor as she sat demurely.

"I don't believe it," Director Kasuga remarked, sitting back heavily in his chair with an astonished look on his face. That name was the absolute last one he would have ever expected the pale-skinned girl to utter in answer to his question. He noted that Frost was once again fidgeting slightly in her seat, her slender hands resting on her knees as they bounced up and down a tiny amount.

"I-it's true." Frost looked at the floor demurely as she spoke softly. "He defeated me in single combat. By the laws of my people, he is my 'Airen' now. He is the man I must marry." Frost blushed again slightly, and the crimson flush showed up rather starkly against the paleness of her skin. She fidgeted some more.

Director Kasuga studied the young Amazon sorceress for several moments before smiling. "Then I am happy for you, Frost," he said sincerely. "So, what are your plans now?"

"I've thought a great deal about this since that night, and I would like to go live with him in his mother's home," Frost replied, still looking demurely at the floor. "Even though it is not true under the Empire's laws, in the eyes of my people, he is my husband. I should be with him. I-I wish to be with him."

Director Kasuga sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. Frost was indirectly asking his permission to move out of the small dormitory room she had lived in since she was nine. He then said, "Well, you're partially correct. The Empire has recognized the Amazon laws in this regard as an engagement, as fully and as legally binding as any other engagement contract, so you are now his fiancée, assuming he fulfilled all the requirements involved. But are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes," she replied softly, nodding her head once without lifting her gaze.

"Then you have my blessing, Frost-chan," he said, slipping for a moment into more familiar tones. While she was a valuable asset of the Mobius Institute, he had come to look on her as another daughter over the years. And he trusted her judgment that this would not interfere with her duties to the Empire. "I will telephone his mother and inform her of your arrival, as well as the circumstances surrounding it."

Frost looked up at that point, and a quiet smile was on her face. She stood and bowed to him. "Thank you, sir. I should be done with packing tomorrow. I plan to see him first thing on Monday morning."

Director Kasuga watched her as she left his office. When she was gone, he turned around in his chair and faced out the armored glass of his window. He shook his head slightly.

"Hikaru Gosunkugi," he said with a bemused shake of his head. "Will wonders never cease?"

After a time, he turned back to the intercom on his desk and buzzed his aide. "Bring me Hikaru Gosunkugi's file and schedule the boy for a full battery of tests. It seems we have some serious revising to do on his capabilities."

"Yes, sir."

Director Kasuga shook his head. Another name that was associated with Nabiki Tendo and Ranma Saotome had turned up in a most surprising way. Although he had given his word to Cherry to keep the Institute at a distance from the duo, he resolved to talk a bit with his friend Soun sometime in the near future about his middle daughter.

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Early Sunday morning, Godai rolled over on to his side on the futon and immediately wished he hadn't. The room started spinning immediately, and he laid still for several moments until the movement came to a gradual stop. He slowly rolled on to his back and looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling, not knowing where he was at first.

A soft snore alerted him to the presence of another, and he looked over to see Ayaka next to him, asleep with her mouth open, drooling a little bit into her pillow. He studied the scene for a few moments before his brain finally engaged and then his eyes suddenly widened. He sat up quickly, almost immediately wishing he hadn't. He held his head as the room spun again, and his stomach was making gurgling noises of warning.

Meanwhile, Ayaka was dreaming a pleasant dream about Godai. The two of them were frolicking together on an island paradise somewhere. She was dressed in a sarong and a bikini and he was dressed only in a pair of swim trunks. The two of them eventually became entwined in each other's arms at the edge of the surf and began to kiss deeply as waves crashed in nearby.

Godai heard his companion suddenly start chuckling in her sleep and making groaning sounds. Now that the room was stabilizing again, he noted that he was still mostly dressed and so was Ayaka. He was very grateful for that, since he had little memory of last night. He had a vague recollection of the two of them talking about dating, but the rest of their evening together was a blur after all the rum and other alcoholic drinks they had. He did remember carrying her home after doing karaoke with her, but not much else.

Eventually getting to his feet, he staggered to the bathroom and then checked his appearance in the mirror there. He smoothed his hair down with the aid of some water from the tap and drank a bit to ease his thirst. His pants, shirt and tie were all rumpled from his sleeping in them. He tucked in his shirt and straightened his tie. Exiting the bathroom, he saw his jacket was hung near the front door.

Ayaka was still slumbering, chuckling occasionally in her sleep as she laid with her arms and legs splayed out. Her blouse was partially open, exposing her breasts, and she wasn't wearing a bra. He gazed at the sight, unable to look away for a moment. Had they done something last night? He could not remember.

Deciding it was better to let her rest, he went to the entryway and put on his jacket and shoes. He opened the door quietly and went out into the hallway, closing it softly behind him and hearing the latch engage. He checked it once to make sure it was locked and then left.

Sometime later, Ayaka woke up from her sleep, finding herself kissing and hugging one of her pillows. She blinked, wondering where Godai was and then realized she had been dreaming. Now fully awake, she vaguely recalled him carrying her home on his back last night while she held an almost empty sake bottle in her hand and sang. She smiled when she realized he must have gone home after helping her get back to her apartment. Unlike some other men she had dated, Godai was not the type to try taking advantage of a drunken woman. He really was a nice guy.

She put her hands behind her head and looked up at the ceiling, still smiling, thinking about what it would be like to have someone like him as her boyfriend. The thought made her feel really happy.

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Hinako sat in bed and gazed at the form slumbering next to her. She nibbled on her lower lip in concern, contemplating the sleeping Tofu Ono. She had never let herself be so careless before.

After the debacle with Ranma, her resulting rage at Gendo for causing her to miss her opportunity to seduce the boy had managed to snap her self-control, and she had thrown him out the window. Luckily, she had retained enough awareness to aim the end of his fall at the pool. While temporarily cathartic, the violence had done nothing to ease her body's needs in other areas. As her other regular bedmates were not available that week for one reason or another, she had been getting increasingly edgy each day and then Kasumi's husband had come in to see her for a meeting, to discuss how things were going for his young wife.

She had rarely felt such a sudden attraction for a man, and she had turned on the charm without fully realizing what she was doing. Since it was towards the end of her normal work day, they had adjourned to an out of the way tavern to continue their discussion. After a couple of drinks, he had made the admission that he was unhappy in his marriage. Other men had made similar confessions to her during her rise to power, men she had used and later discarded when they were no longer useful to her, preying upon their moral weakness. Her own needs driving her to an action she would not normally have done, she had seduced Tofu, not that he had resisted much.

They had gone to a love hotel and spent many, many hours satisfying each other's needs. Hinako was impressed with his stamina, and he was the first man to have completely satisfied her. That led to her present confusion. She wanted more of him, everything he had to give her, and she was willing to toss aside all of her other bedmates and take him alone as her lover. She might even have fallen in love with him, but she was not sure.

She gazed at Tofu and pondered what to do. Continuing the affair would be dangerous, but that danger had a certain appeal as well. She laid back down next to him and caressed his side gently as he slumbered.

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Outside the love hotel, Kasumi eyed the door of the room where her husband and her superior in the Security Directorate had gone the night before, her eyes burning from lack of sleep, sustaining herself mostly on tea and coffee as the sun rose higher. She felt mostly empty inside. She supposed she should feel betrayed, but she was oddly more relieved than anything else. In her pocket was a digital camera with the proof of her husband's infidelity, including several pictures taken through a gap in the curtains of the room that clearly showed both parties in the middle of the act. She had already uploaded them to a secure server, just in case.

Her marriage was over in her mind. Now she had to pick up the pieces of her life and decide what to do with the rest of it. She could not tell her father or sisters of this, not yet, and while her new friend Yui Ikari would likely be an understanding ear, having been betrayed in recent months by her ex-boyfriend in a similar set of circumstances, it was too risky, since she might tell Hinako out of loyalty. She felt the need to speak with somebody about her problem, but, who? Then, like a sudden flash of inspiration, she realized she did have someone she could tell all of her troubles to, someone she had come to trust and possibly even love.

Yusaku Godai.

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"You're going to have to hit harder than that if you want to win, Akane! Come on! Faster! Harder!"

Sakura Kasugano braced herself on the other side of the heavy punching bag as Akane laid into it with renewed vigor. She was actually driven back a little from the sheer force that the other girl was bringing to bear as she pummeled its mass with powerful punches. "That's it! Keep it up, Akane!"

Her fists impacted deeply into the bag's resistance as Akane worked her body as hard as she could. She had to get stronger and faster than she was now if she was going to put Nabiki down, to avenge herself for her sister's treachery. She had been intensifying her training regimen even beyond what her mother had ever put Kasumi though. With Sakura's able assistance, advice and coaching, Akane was honing her already strong fighting abilities into a precision instrument.

Sakura had already begun teaching her the special technique that she had used in their fight together, the Cherry Blossom Fist, showing her how to harness her internal energies and release it through her fists as destructive power. She had not mastered it yet, but it was only a matter of time. Akane could hardly wait to use it against Nabiki, to pay her sister back for her heartless betrayal.

Cloaked in invisibility, Minami watched Akane train, fascinated by the sheer determination so clearly visible in the other girl's eyes. She had been watching and learning about the Tendo girl for weeks now, ever since she had made the decision to befriend her. Her initial dislike for Akane, as a rival for the Ghost Sweeper's desires for Gosunkugi, had long since vanished. All Akane talked about was Ranma. No other boy even interested her.

She envied the two girls in their close friendship that she had seen, and she found herself wanting such a friendship too. While she was now friends with Yohko, she knew Yohko's best friend was really Nabiki, and that would not change. She wanted a best friend too, a girl she could confide in and share interests with, now that her former best friend, Rei Hino, was far too pre-occupied with her fiancé to spend any time with her anymore.

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Early Monday morning, Kunami was preparing her daughter's lunch when she heard a sound in the next room. Wiping her hands, she walked into the living room. She thought she glimpsed some movement out of the corner of her eye, but there was nothing there when she looked more directly.

Her husband had already left to prepare for his day at the temple. He was developing an unhealthy obsession with a recently refurbished Shinto shrine in the area, one being run by the elderly Katsuhito Masaki and the boy, Tenchi. With the pretty Rei Hino acting as their shrine maiden and the foreign beauty named Belldandy around, there was a surge of interest in the place, which translated into more visitors. It was leaving her husband's temple with much fewer visitors, hence the sudden obsession by her husband to deal with the new competition.

Kunami was about to turn and go back into the kitchen when she noted an envelope on the table. She picked it up and opened it. Her eyes widened at what she saw inside and then she clutched the document to her chest, her eyes beaming with happiness.

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Minami put the finishing touches on herself and then incanted the words that had by now become second nature to her, sealing the spell of cosmetic sorcery in place until the next sunrise. She then spent several moments admiring her physique in the mirror. A smile lit her face at what she saw, her figure looking nicely firm and well-rounded today. She first turned to one side and then the other as she struck a few poses, some quite demure and others more sultry and suggestive in nature. She then nodded at the effect, her face turning serious.

"Perfect," she murmured. "Now let Gosunkugi-kun just try and ignore me." She felt a new determination filling her. She had begun to doubt the power of her femininity to attract his attention, but today was a new day and the start of a new week. She was confident that he would pay her more attention now, hopefully even ask her out on a date.

And if he knew what was good for him, he would finally take more notice of her when she showed up at his door to walk with him to the Academy today. Grabbing up her schoolbag, she exited her bedroom and headed downstairs. Her step was filled with purpose.

Today was going to be a good day for her, she was confident of that.

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Hitomi Gosunkugi was nervous as she fixed her son's breakfast. Today was the day when she would finally be hearing back from Genom on her application for a loan to purchase a lilith. Unfortunately, the best she could afford on their limited budget was one of Genom's factory seconds with minimal training packages installed. Still, she (since Hitomi didn't like thinking of a lilith as an 'it') would be able to help maintain the household and be a companion for her little Hikaru, and that was all that really mattered to her.

Visiting Genom's new showroom in Nerima's commercial district had actually been quite a pleasant experience, and she had seen a great many varieties of the female liliths and the male samaels on display for potential customers. It reminded her a bit of how shopping for a car had been like when she had gone with her husband, back when he was still alive, but a car could not talk with an interested buyer about available options and pricing plans like a Genom replicant could.

In fact, the only real human being there had been the general manager. Everyone else on staff had been produced in one of Genom's production facilities, from the demonstration models and salespeople right down to the cleaning staff. And all of them had been so nice to her; it had made her feel so much at ease.

One of the samaels, a handsome and muscular young man named Ryo had seemed quite happy to take her around the showroom and introduce her to the various models on display. She had not known that there was such a variety available. He had also happily explained about Genom's new sales drive this year, to make replicants more commonly available to the average family by offering cash rebates and very low-interest payment plans.

She had left her information, and Ryo had promised to look around for a bargain for her. She hoped he was successful in his search. The wait was starting to fray her nerves. If a lilith did arrive, she hoped Hikaru would be happy with his new companion.

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Frost materialized in the hallway outside the apartment where Hikaru lived with his mother, startling one of the neighbors on his way to work. Instead of her usual loose robes, she was wearing a pale blue Chinese-style dress, tailored to her figure and slit up one side to just below her hip, with dark blue shoes and a small matching pocketbook. After shrinking her staff down to the size of a pencil, she put it inside her purse and snapped it shut. She then cast a simple charm spell on the man, who was still staring at her, causing him to forget her sudden appearance and even ignore her current presence. She watched him as he walked down the hall, muttering to himself.

When she was finally alone in the hallway, Frost pulled out a small compact and did one last check on her appearance in its tiny mirror, wanting to make a good first impression on her future mother-in-law. She smoothed back her pale hair with one hand and adjusted her jade hairpiece, fussing with it until it was just right. When she was finally satisfied, she put the compact away and took a deep breath to calm herself, letting it out as she rang the bell. Her expression became placid once again, especially since a smile might have made her appear frivolous. Besides, she was unused to smiling, or even showing any emotions actually.

Then she waited.

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"Mother, why are you walking with me to Gosunkugi-kun's place?" Minami asked in irritation, turning around briefly. Rain dripped off of their umbrellas. The woman had been walking with her for several minutes now, making typical mother-daughter small talk with her. It was really getting on Minami's nerves, this rare attempt by her mother at familial closeness.

"I just have something to discuss with Hikaru-kun's mother, and her telephone wasn't working," Kunami said cryptically. "Besides, we don't spend much time together anymore, Manami-chan, so I thought I'd walk with you and we could talk a bit about how things are going with you."

"Great," Minami muttered, pasting a smile on her face. The promising start to the day was dimming.

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Director Kasuga set down the telephone when the Gosunkugi household's number came up busy again. His aide came in at that point with some new crisis threatening the Empire, so he decided he would just have to try again later. Hopefully, a slight delay would not cause Frost any kind of problems.

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Hitomi jumped a bit when she heard the doorbell ring. She hurried out of the kitchen and opened the front door. She blinked at the sight that greeted her eyes, seeing the calm, pale-skinned girl standing on her doorstep. Then she smiled. With coloring like that, Genom must have made her. She was an adorable little lilith.

"Come in, dear," Hitomi said pleasantly, standing aside to allow the girl in and gesturing for her to come inside. "Come right in. I've been expecting you. I wasn't told your name, I'm afraid."

"I am Frost." Although her expression did not change, the sorceress was relieved that she had not arrived before Director Kasuga had been able to make his telephone call. She bowed slightly and then stepped into the small apartment, looking around with interest. She noted that Hikaru's mother was studying her as she walked past.

Hitomi watched as Frost slipped off her shoes, looking the girl up and down. Such an exotic name the lilith had, but it seemed to suit her. The albino coloring and pale hair had been a bit of a shock at first, as well as the girl's Chinese features, but she had a certain ethereal beauty that was pleasing to the eye. Her figure was slender but nicely proportioned, with an adequate enough bustline to attract a boy's attention without being overdone like someone Hitomi could name. The silk dress she wore showed that she possessed coltish, shapely legs. She was sure Hikaru would love his new companion.

"Oh, let me go get my son," she said, gushing with excitement. She shut the door and hurried to Hikaru's room. "Oh, he's just going to adore you!"

Frost made her way to the main room and settled herself at the main table to wait for Hikaru's mother to deliver him to her. Although her face had an appearance of wintry disinterest upon it, inside she felt quite pleased that things were going so well, especially her future mother-in-law accepting her so readily. She was looking forward to announcing her formal claim upon Hikaru and setting a date for the wedding. She then wondered what their future children would be like and started considering what she would name them.

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He was falling. The streets of a vast, sprawling city lay spread before his vision as he plummeted down towards the paving stones of Rome far below. Terror gripped him as the scene blurred in his gaze as tears filled his eyes, the ground rushing up at him as he rolled and tumbled helplessly.

Air roaring past him stole his voice. He could not breathe. He could not scream. His life was about to end, and his own pride had killed him, for dueling one of the Nazarene's followers with magic. How could that simpleton Peter have defeated him? He was Simon Magus, damn it! He was the greatest sorcerer in the entire Roman Empire, the Lord of Illusions, and yet he was about to die on the cobblestones of the Holy Way of Rome below him within moments, bested by the powers of a mere fisherman.

His thoughts spiraled into regret, that he would never see his beloved Helen again, never be able to feel the touch of her hand or taste her lips anymore. Tears flowed from his eyes, and his soul screamed in defiance of his fate. He would cheat it. He would cheat death. He would not let it end this way!

The cobblestones zoomed upwards at him-

-and Hikaru Gosunkugi came awake with a gasp, his heart pounding. For a moment, he didn't know where he was and looked around wildly, yet his mind was blank as to why he felt such blind terror, the reasons already vanished.

After a few moments, the familiar sights of his small room finally registered on him. With a shuddering sigh, he buried his face in his hands and tried to calm his labored breathing, to still the nameless fears that had already begun to fade. As he did so, he heard someone knocking on his door.

"Hikaru-kun?" Hitomi called through the door and then she knocked once more. Her precious son was sometimes slow to wake in the morning. "Hikaru-kun? There's someone here to see you." There was another pause. "It's a surprise I have for you."

"A-all right, Mother," he called back, his voice still a little shaky. "I'll be right out." He slowly got out of bed and then began putting on his uniform, wondering what was going on.

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Minami rang the doorbell and waited for Hikaru or his mother to come and answer the door. Behind her, her mother was humming cheerfully, a suspicious thing in itself. The whole experience was beginning to seriously grate on her. She shot her mother a glance, wondering what was going on in the woman's head. Impatiently, she rang again, leaning on the button a bit this time. What was taking them so long?

Kunami Minami fingered the document in her purse, and she smiled as she sighed wistfully. Her frequently erratic husband had surprised her once again. No wonder he had been so nonchalant about their daughter's future when she had discussed the matter with him in bed. She still couldn't quite believe her good fortune when she had found the signed engagement contract that morning, between her precious daughter and the Gosunkugi boy. According to the date on it, it was made by her husband and Gosunkugi's dearly departed father years ago.

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Hearing the doorbell ringing several times, and knowing that Hikaru's mother was busy, Frost got up from the table and took it upon herself to answer it. Her bare feet padded softly on the tatami mats laid out neatly on the floor. She rested her hand on the door handle, suddenly realizing that she was acting just like a proper Japanese wife would. With a faint smile on her face at that thought, she opened the door.

"Welcome to-" and then Frost stopped, seeing who was at the door. Her wisp of a smile vanished as she stared at Minami, wondering what the Ghost Sweeper trainee was doing here. And who was that stocky woman with her? She appeared much like the redhead standing before her might look in about twenty years.

The two girls briefly gawked at each other.

Breaking the brief staring contest, Minami blinked at the unexpected sight of the pale-skinned sorceress in a Chinese-style dress. What was Robot Girl doing in that slinky outfit? And, far more importantly, just what the hell was she doing there in _her_ Hikaru-kun's apartment answering the door?

"Um." For a moment, Minami actually found herself at a loss for words.

Frost's gaze narrowed slightly and then she simply shut the door in Minami's face and headed back to the main table to sit down.

"Hikaru will be out shortly, dear," said Hitomi as she came back into the room. "Who was that at the door?"

"No one of consequence," Frost remarked calmly as she sat back down.

There was a sudden loud banging on the door. Hitomi glanced at Frost and then answered it herself.

"Where is she?" a seething Minami demanded. "WHERE'S FROST?"

"Um." Now it was Hitomi's turn to find herself at a loss for words. She noticed Minami's mother behind the girl before the young Ghost Sweeper quickly pushed past her.

"Such a lively household you have in the mornings, Gosunkugi-san," said

Kunami critically, with a frown on her face. "Do you mind if I come in for a little bit? There's something important we should discuss."

Hitomi shook her head automatically and stood aside to let the other woman past, still a little shocked at all the excitement suddenly going on. Behind her, she heard Minami's loud voice and Frost's quieter one as the two girls began arguing.

"What's the big idea of shutting the door in my face?" Minami's glasses glinted menacingly as she loomed over Frost. "And what the hell are you doing here, anyway?"

Frost looked up, her gaze serene. "Your presence here is not required, Manami Minami," she said simply. "Please leave." She then went back to ignoring the seething redhead while she quietly waited for Hikaru to arrive, so that she could formally state her acceptance of his victory over her and bestow upon him a proper Kiss of Marriage. Then they could begin making plans for their wedding.

"Not required?" Minami felt one eyebrow twitch a bit at the use of her full name, and her glasses fogged up some even as a vein pulsed briefly on her forehead. She hated the alliterative sound of it, which was why she only used her family name. "Look, Robot Girl, I don't know what kind of twisted game you're playing here, but I want you out of this apartment! Go back to the Mobius Institute and study a spellbook, or whatever it is you usually do."

"No." Frost glanced only briefly at Minami, wondering when the noisy intruder upon the peace of this household was going to leave. She then went back to considering what names she would be giving to her future children with Gosunkugi; three seemed a good number and hopefully all daughters, finding that to be a more pleasant activity than dealing with the fuming redhead still looming over her.

Minami's right eyebrow twitched again, and her glasses glinted with menace. She was about to utter a scathing tirade upon Frost when Hikaru made his timid appearance. She glanced at him, her gaze fierce and accusing.

"Um, what's going on?" he asked somewhat uncertainly, shying back a little from Minami's angry glare at him as he set his bookbag down. "W-what's all the shouting about?"

Frost stood up from the table when he came into the room. "Airen," she said calmly, and then she strode over to him and draped her arms over his shoulders. "Wo. Da. Airen." Her voice was measured and careful. And then she kissed him firmly on the lips, bestowing upon him the Kiss of Marriage. She did find it to be so much more pleasant kissing him when he was awake and aware, although she still wasn't quite sure if she was doing it right, never having kissed anyone before. So, after a moment, she began putting more effort into it, finding the resulting sensations enjoyable.

Reactions were mixed.

Hikaru blinked when Frost's lips first made contact with his, and he felt her arms reach around his neck and gently hug him to her. He just stood there, shocked to the core of his being, uncertain what to do. A girl, a _pretty_ girl, was kissing him!

Wait, not just any girl. She was Frost, the Wizard Slayer.

His eyes went very wide as he stood there in a state of near panic, the initial kiss beginning to deepen as the young sorceress started putting quite a bit more of herself into it. He twitched with uncertainty, unable to decide whether he should embrace her back or shove her away from him. The desire to do the former was quickly winning.

Minami stared, utterly aghast, wondering what was going on and why her Hikaru-kun was being molested by this pale-skinned Chinese floozy. Why was Robot Girl kissing him? And how dare he look like he was enjoying it so much? That stunned expression on his face didn't fool her a bit.

Hitomi was startled. Her son's new lilith was certainly an aggressive girl, but it was probably the right approach to take with her shy son. Her little Hikaru was apparently enjoying her gift to him, and she was secretly pleased by the effect the scene was having on Minami. Maybe this would finally allow her to be rid of the overbearing, loud-mouthed girl from their lives.

Kunami stood there, shocked and aghast and then she glanced from her daughter to Hikaru. Why wasn't the Gosunkugi boy pushing that little Chinese tramp away from him? How could he kiss some foreign bimbo in a tight dress right there in front of her precious Manami-chan like he was doing? Did the boy have no shame at all? And what of his mother? What proper mother would ever want their son involved with a foreign girl? It just wasn't right.

"H-Hikaru-kun!" Minami finally managed to stammer out and then she stomped over to the couple and pulled them apart quite forcefully, her breath coming in heaving gasps. She immediately put herself between them and then glared at the stupefied look on Hikaru's face. "Snap out of it!" she commanded him and then slapped him, quite hard.

Kunami whirled to face Hitomi. "What kind of a boy are you raising here, Gosunkugi-san?" She pointed at Frost. "And who is this- this-"

"I am Frost," the Amazon sorceress said calmly. "By defeating me in arcane combat, under the laws of my people and those of the Empire, Hikaru Gosunkugi is now my Airen, my intended husband."

"Th-that's ridiculous!" Minami blustered, keeping her position between Frost and Hikaru. "Y-you're the Wizard Slayer! No boy has ever been able to defeat you, not even the upperclassmen! How could Hikaru-kun of all people ever beat you?"

"I was undefeated, until now." Frost laid a hand on Minami's shoulder. "Stand aside, please. He is mine now."

"Like hell," Minami muttered angrily. Who did this albino freak think she was dealing with? She was Ghost Sweeper Minami! She was the most powerful Ghost Sweeper of her generation! There was no way she was just going to back down from some emotionless mannequin of a girl, no matter what her rep was. Fueled by her surging passions, she began summoning up her powers, feeling them flowing quite easily within her. A red-gold aura began to rise from the floor and surround her as she started to incant a spell.

"Darkness beyond twilight... Crimson beyond blood that flows... Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows..."

Immediately recognizing the overly emotional girl's spell, Frost began raising her own powers to defend herself, and a blue-white aura began to coruscate up around her. She had previously considered the redhead to be well below her league as a spellcaster, but her knowledge of such a powerful spell and the apparent ability to cast it forced Frost to revise her opinion of the other girl upwards quite a bit. Even so, she was confident she outmatched Minami, and the pale-skinned sorceress was certain she would eventually prevail if it came down to a fight between them. However, she was uncertain how to minimize the collateral damage that would occur if she and the Ghost Sweeper battled each other here.

When both girls began powering up in front of him, Hikaru abruptly came out of his kiss-induced paralysis and quickly grabbed hold of Minami's shoulder before things went too far, interrupting her incantation just before she could complete the spell. "P-please d-don't do this. N-not in my Mom's apartment!"

"W-what?" Minami replied, a bit startled, looking back at him as her energies began dissipating. She quickly glanced at Frost and then to him once more. Then she whirled on Hikaru, her temper flaring up again. "Oh, I see how it is now! Fine! Go ahead and play house with Robot Girl! You can't handle a real woman, Hikaru Gosunkugi, so you want to play with this emotionless doll instead! You couldn't handle something like this!"

She suddenly grabbed him and kissed him with sizzling ardor, pouring into the embrace all of the passions for him she had held back for so long, feeling tears stinging her eyes and misting her glasses. It was far more intense than their first kiss had been; the one where he had called her by another girl's name. Well, she would show him her measure as a woman in this kiss, as she put her entire being into it.

For the second time this morning, Hikaru's eyes went wide as he felt his vision glazing over. What was Minami doing? Why was she kissing him? Was that her tongue? She felt so warm as her body pressed up tightly against his. He belatedly realized it felt pretty good, now that he thought about it. He felt a sudden heat run through him like a flash fire as the kiss deepened and became even more passionate, and he began instinctively putting his arms around her to return the embrace.

"That's enough," Frost's cold voice suddenly announced, grabbing one of Minami's arms and quickly muscling her away from Hikaru. The two girls began exchanging withering looks at each other again, Minami's eyes flashing with fire and Frost's holding an icy chill within them as they regarded one another grimly. Invisible sparks suddenly clashed within the air between them as they briefly attempted to glare each other to death.

Gosunkugi took that opportunity, while the two young sorceresses were distracted with each other, to beat a hasty retreat before they could blow up the apartment, or him, for that matter. He quickly snatched up his jacket and bookbag, only pausing at the door to slip on his shoes before he bolted from the room as fast as he could run. Once clear of the door, he unconsciously muttered an invisibility spell and kept on running.

Several moments later, both girls suddenly realized he was gone.

"Coward!" Minami roared, charging out the door after him. How dare he run out on her like that after she'd declared her true feeling for him? A blush burned her cheeks as she thought about the passionate kiss.

Kunami spared a pointed look at Hitomi and then she too left. Her poor daughter. Well, it was quite obvious how strongly her precious little Manami-chan felt for the boy, and it would deal with two big problems at once, since it seemed both her daughter and the Gosunkugi boy were running wild with the opposite sex. Her husband's foresight in engaging them to each other would at least give the pair an acceptable outlet for their hormonally-driven passions.

As she walked down the hallway, she began considering plans. The first thing she would do was make sure the engagement agreement was filed with the appropriate ministry. Then she would arrange for a more proper meeting with Hikaru's mother and make their claim on the boy. The idea of some Chinese strumpet marrying the Gosunkugi lad was ridiculous. What mother would allow their only son to marry some foreign girl?

After everyone else had left, Frost turned to her future mother-in-law and looked at her calmly. "So, where will I be sleeping?"

Hitomi, still a bit shell-shocked by everything that had just happened, chuckled slightly. Did other mothers have such difficulties with their sons?

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Ryoko, her bag slung over her shoulder, paused at the gates of St. Hebereke and eyed the various welcoming committees waiting for her. Word of her return had apparently traveled ahead of her. She saw Makoto Kino standing by the gate, looking at her and frowning. They eyed each other for several moments.

"Well, it's about time you got back," Makoto said neutrally, before breaking into a sudden smile.

Ryoko shrugged. "Training took longer than I thought." She eyed the groups of girls standing around, most giving her a respectful nod, and the much smaller number of boys, none of whom would meet her gaze due to her reputation. As this was the first year the school was co-ed, there weren't many of them.

Over to one side stood Eda Langley, dressed in the school's regular uniform, chatting with Mariko Konjo and the rest of St. Hebereke's Combat Cheerleader Squad. The blonde gave her a brief nod of welcome, and Ryoko returned it. The older girl then went back to her discussion with Mariko, occasionally blowing a bubble from the gum she was chewing. The other members of the squad standing there looked like an all-girl street gang that just happened to be dressed in school uniforms.

Over by the statue of the school's namesake, two girls leaned casually against it, standing a short distance apart from each other, chatting. Rebecca and Roberta were trying to look nonchalant doing it, but they weren't succeeding very well. Rebecca had a cigarette in her mouth, and Roberta was twirling a balisong knife in one hand between her fingers. The two were apparently on better terms with each other lately, being able to stand that close to each other without a fistfight breaking out, the Masaki girl noted with amusement.

"What's with them?" Ryoko asked as she walked with Makoto towards the building.

"Oh, that's right, you weren't here," Makoto replied with a grin. "They got into another big fight last week, and Balalaika came down hard on them. She had them in her office for over two hours after they were finally pried apart from each other. Word is that the scary Russian lady gave them an assignment, something secret, that they have to work on together, and it seems to have changed their relationship. They're actually getting along now. I even witnessed Rebecca cracking one of her dirty jokes and Roberta actually smiled."

Ryoko was amazed, and she looked at the pair with interest. Either of those two girls could give her a run for her money in a fight. But if they worked together, they would be practically unstoppable.

"I'm thinking it has something to do with a boy," Makoto observed with a thoughtful look. There was a pause. "You met a boy while you were training."

"How do you know that?" Ryoko looked surprised.

"You seem a little edgier today than normal," Makoto observed with a grin. "Did he get scared and dump you?"

Ryoko growled, causing the other girl to put up her hands. "Easy there, demon girl. I was just teasing."

"If you must know, I met two very interesting guys while I was off doing my training," Ryoko said with a grin. "If you buy me a can of tea before class, maybe I'll tell you about them."

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"I must say that it was a surprise when the Directorate called me this morning regarding you, Sakuranbo-san," said Dean Fuyutsuki as he folded his hands together and smiled professionally at the young woman seated on the other side of his desk. "It was just late last week that our former nurse received her orders for a posting in Australia with the prefectural governor's office there, a position she has been hoping to get for a while. You must have been right at the top of the queue when her paperwork finally came through. The Security Directorate isn't normally that efficient in personnel transfers."

Sakura smiled and crossed her legs demurely. "Well, I'm afraid I'm going to be pulling a double duty in accepting this posting here, Fuyutsuki-san. My primary assignment is as a monitoring agent of a preternatural entity held at a local shrine near the campus, working on behalf of the Mobius Institute. While acting as the Academy's nurse is only a temporary duty on top of that, I will do my best. With the great importance that this facility has to the Empire, I do understand it can be difficult to find qualified staff with the proper credentials. Since I already happened to be in the area, I was tapped for this post until someone more permanent can be found. I will try to be present on campus as often as possible, but luckily I'm only a few minutes away by car if something should come up while I'm at the shrine."

"I understand. Would you like a tour of the facility?" He stood up from behind his desk. "I make it a point to welcome all new staff aboard in this fashion. It gives me an opportunity to talk with them, to get to know those I will be working with a little bit better." He smiled. "It's especially pleasant when that new hire is a lovely young woman such as yourself."

"That's very charming of you to say, Fuyutsuki-san," she replied with a nod, feeling a bit flattered by the compliment. Kuonji-kun could learn a few lessons in how to treat a woman from such a man, she mused inwardly. The Jusenkyo-cursed woman was not the most well-mannered of people. Luckily, she had other good qualities to make up for it. Sakura stood up and smoothed her knee-length skirt. "I'd love a tour."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. His assistant poked her head in. "There's been an accident, sir. Sakuranbo-san is needed in the infirmary."

"Duty calls, it seems," said Sakura, bowing to Fuyutsuki.

"Yes, so it would seem." Fuyutsuki bowed back. "I'll show you to the infirmary now, and we can do the full tour sometime later." He led her out as they headed off to the infirmary together.

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Later that morning, Minami grumbled to herself as she sat in her seat in class. Her anger over the events of this morning was still evident in her movements as she struggled to pay attention to the instructor, the grip on her pen tight enough to whiten her fingers. A shadowy cloud seemed to hover over her.

"Damn that Hikaru Gosunkugi and his spinelessness," she muttered darkly as she glowered. The coward had skipped classes, going off somewhere to hide from her righteous wrath. "That- that womanizer, playing with my feelings and getting involved with that emotionless doll, Frost."

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While she was heading to the faculty lounge to enjoy her lunch, Ayaka came around the corner and almost ran into Sakura. The two women gawked at each other briefly. Ayaka broke the tableau first.

"You!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," Sakura retorted haughtily. "I heard you were on assignment in Tokyo, but I wouldn't have accepted a posting here if I thought you were in this area."

"I've been here for a couple of months now." Ayaka eyed the other woman, remembering their past together. She struck a superior pose. "And I'm doing quite well here, actually. I've even started seeing a very nice man, an instructor over at Furinkan and a military officer who knows how to treat a woman like a lady."

"I'm surprised this place hasn't burned down yet," Sakura sneered.

"That only happened once!" Ayaka glared at her former partner. "You still pining after you know who? Or are you with a real man now?" she asked archly.

Sakura felt her eyebrow twitch. "Kuonji-kun is quite manly!"

"Yeah, except when he gets in hot water, and we both know what happens then," Ayaka replied coyly. She smiled at the annoyed look Sakura gave her. "I've also been given an apprentice, and she's doing quite well in her training."

"So have I!" snapped Sakura, still smarting from the comments about her relationship with Yumi Kuonji. "Mine is Rei Hino. She's a charming girl and listens very well to my instructions. She's very obedient."

"Well, not only is my apprentice spiritually powerful, she's also very popular with the boys." Ayaka grinned. "She's very outgoing and takes charge of situations with a lot of initiative."

"Hopefully she's not as slutty as you were at that age," Sakura growled in reply. "That was how you got popular at the Institute, as I recall."

Ayaka glared balefully at Sakura for several moments and then stalked off, grumbling under her breath, having lost her appetite. She would show Sakura which of them was the better woman.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hitomi sat at the main table of her apartment and listened closely as Director Kasugano explained the situation with Frost. She nodded occasionally, saying "I see" each time. Her heart felt light inside as she heard the good news.

"Do you understand now, Gosunkugi-san?" asked Kasugano mildly.

"Oh, yes," she replied, bowing slightly to him as she spoke over the phone. "I hope Frost wasn't upset that I thought she was someone else."

"It was an understandable mistake, I suppose. I trust you'll make the girl feel welcome in your household. Coming as she does from a society dominated by women, I think your opinion will matter very much to her."

"Oh, I will." Hitomi smiled brightly as they said their goodbyes and she hung up the telephone. This was an even better solution to her problem than buying her son a lilith.

Frost would marry her son and then she would finally be free of that obnoxious Minami girl.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"To what do I owe this honor, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki calmly eyed the pair of tickets held in her fiancé's hand as she sat outside waiting for Yohko to have lunch with her underneath their usual tree. "Are you finally asking me out on a real date?"

Ranma considered the question and then shrugged. "Well, I guess I am, but I can go with Kodachi or Ukyo, if you aren't interested. I just thought, after what happened over the weekend at Ohtori, we might try going on at least one date, ya know, just to see how it goes."

"Tickets to the Arena are pretty expensive, especially on a Friday night." Nabiki projected coolness, but she was secretly pleased. Her ploy with Touga had apparently been successful after all in lighting a fire underneath the pigtailed boy, causing him to make more of an effort with her. Even so, his casual mentioning of her two main rivals was irritating. But she would overlook it this time.

Ranma stuffed the two tickets back into his pocket. They were a gift from Genma of all people. He suspected a trap of some kind was being laid, but he wasn't sure what it could be. "Look, do you want to go or not?"

"Sure, Ranma-kun, I'd love to go." She suddenly smiled at him, looking forward to the thought of an evening alone with Ranma, their first real date. She hoped nothing went wrong.

"Great, I figured we can head out after classes are done." He gave her a smile in return. "The bouts will be starting at eight, so that should give us enough time to get something to eat and get to our seats."

"Do you know who'll be fighting that night?" She didn't really follow the Arena scene much. That was more her sister Akane's thing. But it should be fun to watch, maybe pick up some new techniques doing so.

Ranma shrugged. "I got no idea. When Pop gave me the tickets, I just thought it might be something we'd both enjoy."

Nabiki nodded. "It does sound like fun, Ranma-kun."

He nodded and walked off, waving casually at her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

During dinnertime on Wednesday, Gosunkugi sat as far away from the strange intruder that had recently come into his life as he dared, still unsure what to make of her presence. He had come home from spending the day hiding from Minami on Monday to find Frost still there, and several boxes of her things had been delivered in the meantime. Since there were only two bedrooms in the apartment, she was now sharing his, despite his protests to his mother that it would be better for the girl to stay with her.

For once, instead of nodding and giving into him like she usually did, she had stood firm and refused. His new fiancée should stay with him, so they could begin getting used to each other. His mother actually seemed quite happy to have the girl living with them. That first night, she had even placed Frost's futon next to his.

As perplexing as his home life had become, he was still more distraught over Saotome. Ranma had somehow escaped picking up a Jusenkyo curse from that tank in the warehouse. Just today, he had cast a minor spell, causing a janitor to 'accidentally' spill an entire bucket of water on the pigtailed boy during lunch, and nothing had happened other than getting Ranma wet.

The whole matter was frustrating in the extreme. Twice now he had attempted to bring down ultimate doom upon Saotome's head, and twice now he had failed. It was like the other boy lived a charmed life, and it was depressing him. Even his new abilities at spellcasting could not overcome his feelings of being a failure.

The Institute had tested him, rather thoroughly, painfully and at great length, but the results were inconclusive. They suspected he must have had a latent sorcerous aptitude all this time, his abilities somehow masquerading as esper talents. But they could not explain his detailed knowledge of hermetic formulae, or the strange dreams he had started having.

At least he did not appear to be possessed by some ancient sorcerer from Atlantis or something, which was their first explanation for the change in his abilities. That was a relief. He had no desire to be killed or locked away for study in the Institute's spell-warded vaults, which would have happened if they had seen him as some kind of threat to the Empire.

There was a delicate clearing of a female throat.

Gosunkugi looked over at Frost, who was smiling at him, something she frequently did around him, although the expression didn't look like one she normally used very often. He hastily went back to eating his meal. While the pale-skinned Chinese girl had been living in the apartment with him and his mother for several days now, he still didn't know exactly what to make of her. Frost, the previously undefeated Wizard Slayer, claimed that he had been the one to beat her in arcane combat, that he was now her fiancé and eventually would become her husband and the father of her future children. And that she would like three of them and preferably daughters, she had very calmly informed him.

When he had tried to explain that he did not recall anything about this supposed battle, she just smiled her quiet smile and said it was her own memories that mattered. Then she tried to hug him and kiss him, calling him 'Airen' once again. And later that evening she had even slid over and gotten into his futon with him! He didn't get a wink of sleep that whole night, even though he closed his eyes and tried hard to pretend he was unconscious. She seemed to have been expecting him to do... something. But that would have been a betrayal of his feelings towards Akane Tendo.

His head nodded a little to one side from lack of rest, the normal dark circles under his eyes even darker and deeper than usual today. Lately, he had taken to sleeping while leaned up against the wall, trying to stay as far away from Frost as he could. She frightened him, in a way that only Minami ever had before, and the way the Chinese sorceress looked at him sometimes made him feel strange. She was so eerily calm and collected all the time, even when she called him 'Airen' and smiled at him. It was quite a contrast to the much more high-spirited Minami, the two like fire and ice.

Speaking of the fiery-tempered Ghost Sweeper, she had been angry with him for a few days now, and he had absolutely no idea what he had done to deserve that, unless it was something to with Frost's presence. When the Chinese sorceress had appeared and started calling him her 'Airen' that first day, that had apparently been taken by Minami as some sort of declaration of war, with him as the disputed territory. While they were childhood friends, what with all the different boys she went out with nowadays, he was at a loss as to why she was so mad that another girl was paying attention to him. After the arrival of the pale-skinned girl, the Ghost Sweeper had been acting much more attentive to him. She walked home with him after classes every day and kept offering to study with him, which seemed to put her further at odds with Frost.

The two had not come to blows, not yet, but it was coming. He could see it in the lethal way they regarded each other, as if they were trying to glare each other to death every time they came into contact. He had never suspected another girl existed who could match Minami in that particular ability, although Frost's technique had a quieter aspect to it, as the irises of her eyes became like chips of frozen hydrogen to Minami's supernova blaze.

His mother seemed blissfully unaware of the storm that had swept down into his life with Frost's arrival. She even kept actively encouraging him to sleep with the Chinese sorceress, saying that it would be good for him and help him gain confidence in himself and his manliness. The two apparently had been spending their days together while he was at school, with Frost helping his mother around the house like she was already his wife or something. Maybe because of that, his mother was looking less tired and more cheerful now than he could ever remember her being, so he had been playing along with the whole thing, trying to figure out how he could resolve this mess without any blood being shed, especially his.

Frost looked over at him again and smiled, and he smiled back weakly.

He blamed Ranma for the whole thing. Somehow this disaster was all his fault!

When the doorbell rang as they were finishing up dinner, he jumped a bit due to his frayed nerves. His mother went to answer it, and he was startled to see Minami and her mother standing there. The Ghost Sweeper had a small suitcase with her and a determined look behind her glasses, which did not seem to bode well for him.

"Gosunkugi-san," Kunami greeted Hitome as she swept into the room, her daughter following with a purposeful stride. The woman bowed to him and said "Hikaru-kun." In a far less friendly manner and with only a slight bow, she said to the Chinese sorceress, "Frost."

"Minami-san. Manami-chan," Hitomi greeted the pair. She had been trying her best to avoid speaking with the Ghost Sweeper's mother for several days now, but the one thing she knew about Kunami was that the woman could be very strongly determined whenever she wanted something. She then blinked as the other woman suddenly presented her with a photocopy of a legal document of some kind. "Uh, what is this?"

"This is a legally binding engagement contract that was entered into by my husband and your dearly departed spouse many years ago, promising your son to my Manami-chan in marriage," Kunami stated in very solemn tones. "Earlier this week, I took the liberty of making certain it was properly recorded at the appropriate government offices, and now I've brought my daughter here to stay with you for a while, to allow her and Hikaru-kun to begin adapting to each other before their eventual wedding."

Minami adjusted her glasses, pushing them up the bridge of her nose with a finger before gazing briefly at Frost in an unfriendly manner. She turned to face Gosunkugi and bowed to him, her expression softening a bit. "I promise I will make every effort to be a worthy fiancée to you, Hikaru-kun."

Gosunkugi's eyes went wide, and his mother shut her eyes in disbelief and dismay. Frost frowned slightly, but otherwise her facial expression remained fairly placid. However, chips of frozen hydrogen were forming in her gaze as she regarded Minami intently.

Kunami began speaking again, her voice almost dripping with disdain. "Now that we've presented our own claim, Frost can now leave this household, since an engagement contract surely outweighs whatever quaint little backwoods Chinese custom she is using as the basis for her claim upon Hikaru-kun."

From where she was standing, Minami turned her gaze upon the other girl and smiled, certain that she had checkmated the Amazon sorceress with her mother's assistance. She wished she had known about the contract much sooner. Some of the boys she had dated to make Hikaru jealous had turned out to be quite grabby, and, while she was looking forward to doing all kinds of things like that with Hikaru, she was not that kind of girl with just any boy.

Frost's gaze managed to somehow grow even colder and more intense as she locked eyes with the Ghost Sweeper. "Oh, really?" she said softly. "I'm afraid you are mistaken about the validity of my claim. Under the terms of the Joketsuzoku's surrender to the Empire, the laws of my people in regards to an outsider male defeating a woman of the tribe became fully upheld by Imperial law. The Mobius Institute, on my behalf, filed the paperwork over the weekend. Hikaru Gosunkugi is my fiancé, officially." She pulled a document from her robes and presented it to Hitomi, a copy of an engagement agreement prepared by the legal department of the Mobius Institute.

"WHAT?" Minami screamed. Her mother looked wrathful at Frost's calm assertions but said nothing.

"However," Frost continued calmly, paying no attention to the reactions of the two Minami women. "As Imperial law does allow for a man to have multiple wives, I am willing to allow this other claim." She then gave a wintry smile, her gaze still like twin chips of frozen hydrogen.

"ALLOW?" It took both Hitomi and Kunami to hold back the Ghost Sweeper from hurling herself bodily at the Chinese sorceress.

Hikaru Gosunkugi suddenly realized that he was now the fiancé of two girls. He looked from one to the other, a snarling Ghost Sweeper and a placid Chinese sorceress, and he wondered how he was ever going to survive this. "D-don't I have any say in this?" he timidly asked.

When both girls turned their attentions to him, he shrank from the combined intensity of their gaze, aroused by their confrontation with each other. Seeing his fear, each of them suddenly realized they were here because they wanted to be with him. They exchanged a look.

"Well, I'm willing to accept this, for now," Minami said suddenly, trying to appear magnanimous. "For Hikaru-kun's sake, that is." At least she would have him all to herself at school, she mused with a slight smile. She was looking forward to spending lunches together with him and then she realized she would probably have to start preparing his, which she wasn't looking forward to doing, not being much of a cook. She turned to look at Frost.

"As am I, to ease my Airen's mind," Frost answered calmly. She turned to face Minami, the two girls eyeing each other intently with only barely-restrained hostility.

Gosunkugi felt himself start to sweat at his new situation.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Classical music played in the background as Ranma and Kodachi danced in one of the ballrooms in Kuno Manor. After learning of their mutual interest in dancing during their visit to Ohtori for the Spring Formal, Kodachi had invited him to come over tonight for dinner and then to show her his skills in private. Both of them were dressed finely, Kodachi having acquired a small wardrobe of expensive clothing in his size.

"You look very beautiful tonight, Kodachi," Ranma said as they flowed across the dance floor gracefully. "I like your dress."

"And you are quite handsome in your suit, Saotome-kun." She moved with him as the music played, enjoying this quiet time together with him. It was their first real date, even though they had not left the mansion. She sighed with happiness as he guided her around the ballroom, only a few of the household servants present.

Konatsu was one of those servants, dressed in traditional ninja garb, with his padded clothing appearing every inch an attractive kunoichi as he watched the couple from a place of concealment. He smiled at how happy his mistress looked, dancing like a princess out of a fairy tale with her prince. He briefly fantasized about how it would look with him and Ukyo down there, wishing once again that his childhood friend was a girl.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Yu-chan was doing a brisk business with its usual middle of the week office worker crowd when Fuyutsuki walked in. He saw Ukyo behind the counter and nodded to her. She smiled at him professionally after she finished serving a customer his order.

"Welcome to Yu-chan's, Fuyutsuki-sensei," she said as he came over and sat down in front of her. "What can I make for you tonight?"

"I'll try the crab and shrimp special tonight, Kuonji-san." He sat forward and rested his arms on the counter in front of him. "Is your aunt around?"

"Yeah, she's just getting some of her special sauce from the storeroom. She should be back in a minute."

Fuyutsuki nodded and slipped open his briefcase while he waited, pulling out a file folder. Ukyo walked down the counter to take the order of another customer sitting there.

"Here's the sauce can, Ukyo," Yumi said, emerging from the backroom area hefting it. "Well, hello there, Fuyutsuki-kun," she said with a smile, spotting him sitting there at the counter. She set the can down under the grill area. "I haven't seen you for a while."

He nodded and smiled. "Good evening, Kuonji-san. Do you have a few minutes to talk? It's about your daughter."

"My-? Uh, yes, of course." She turned to Ukyo. "Cover the griddle for a little bit longer, Ukyo."

"Sure thing," the girl replied, smiling. She wondered what interest the man had in Ranko of all people. She watched them for a few moments as the two headed off towards a back table before turning to the next customer waiting.

Fuyutsuki briefly smoothed down his hair with a hand as he walked to the table behind Yumi. He had been rehearsing what he wanted to say for over a week now, ever since he had made the decision to speak with her. Unfortunately, staff functions and family obligations had prevented him from getting here until tonight. His gaze briefly dipped down to watch her trim backside as she walked, before he hastily yanked it back up to much safer territory.

Stopping at a table, Yumi sat down and gestured for him to do the same. "So, what exactly is on your mind, Fuyutsuki-kun? You said something about Ranko-chan?" She smirked. "Has she done something? Gotten in a fight?"

He set down the file folder in front of her. "It's not anything bad. I wanted to offer her a chance to take the Academy's entrance exam."

"You want her to do what?" she asked, startled.

He smiled professionally. "She impressed me the other day with her skills. I mean, I'm somewhat familiar with the stories about your family, that the Kuonjis are not simply okonomiyaki chefs. Tell me, how long have you had her watching over Ranma Saotome?"

"Eh? Uh, er, I don't know what you mean." Yumi backpedaled a few steps mentally. She was aware of the fight Ukyo had with Ryoga, but little else of what might have happened. What had Ranma done?

"There's no need to be coy, Kuonji-san," he said, still smiling. "I know what the girl must have done when your niece got into that fight with the boy who came by the campus. Getting Ranma away from there unseen for his protection while under the watch of security cameras was an impressive feat. So I wanted to take this unorthodox step of giving her a chance to attend the Academy as a Security Directorate cadet."

Yumi blinked. "Uh, Ranko-chan is very busy with her training right now. And even if she passed the exam, it wouldn't be possible for her to attend every day." For that matter, would Ranma be able to take the exam and do well enough to pass on such short notice? She had no idea how good a student the boy was. And from speaking about it with Ukyo, all she really knew was that the place had maybe the harshest entrance exam in the entire Empire.

"Hmm, that is a problem. It is a policy of the Academy that every cadet maintains regular attendance." He looked disappointed.

Yumi had a thought occur to her. "Well, perhaps I could suggest an alternative, if she passes that is."

"What do you have in mind?" he asked, looking at her quizzically.

She smiled. "Since Ranma will likely be marrying into my family in the next few years, I thought he should begin receiving some training in the skills of the Kuonji. So I propose an exchange of sorts. For say one or two days a week, I'll give you Ranko and you give me Ranma in exchange. That way, you get your teaching time with them, and I get mine." After all, she mused, Ranma working on maintaining his 'Ranko' persona was a form of ninjutsu training. Plus, it could be amusing. Her smile grew broader. "So, what do you think?"

"That's highly irregular, Kuonji-san," he said gruffly, but he was a bit intrigued at her temerity in suggesting it. "Assuming she passes the entrance exam, do you think your daughter could keep up with a full class load while attending only a day or two a week?"

Yumi leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "Well, she's a very smart girl. I'm sure she'd do fine."

"Hmmm, it's not just me, there's also Lee-sensei to consider," he said, pondering the matter. Still, the notion of Ranma receiving ninjutsu training had a certain appeal to him.

"Lee-sensei?"

"Ranma is now the student of Jun Fan Lee. I don't think he will accept a substitute for the boy for training."

"I'm sure something could be arranged," she replied thoughtfully. Jun had told her about his observations on Ranma's female form while they were out drinking together, and how he planned to use both forms to better train the Saotome boy. "Tell you what, you set up the exam for Ranko, and I'll have her there to take them. As for Lee-sensei, I'm sure he and I could come to an understanding." She smiled. "We're old friends."

Fuyutsuki blinked. "It sounds like you've led quite an interesting life, Kuonji-san. I had no idea you knew such famous people."

"It's had its share of adventures," she said nonchalantly, waving it off. "So how long is this exam and when should I have Ranko there to take it?"

"I could set it up for Friday, I suppose. The exam takes roughly four hours, and it covers a wide range of subjects." He smiled. "I should warn you that the test is very difficult. There's only been one perfect score since the Imperial Academy was founded."

"I see. Who might that young prodigy have been?"

"Ukyo's friend: Ranma Saotome. The boy has perhaps one of the most brilliant minds I have ever encountered in my career as an instructor." He smiled. "But Ranko doesn't need to score anywhere nearly that well for entrance. If she somehow manages to score over ninety-five percent, I will agree to your terms."

Yumi got an odd look on her face. "I feel confident in saying that Ranko will do well. As I said before, she's very bright."

"Well, I would like to see that," he said sincerely, smiling. "She would need to have quite an amazing intellect to do that well."

Yumi resisted snickering and smiled instead. "I'll let her know. Ranko is out training right now with her brother, so it might take me a while to get her."

"That should be fine," he said, nodding. "We'll plan to do it after homeroom is over in the morning. Say, ten?"

"No problem. It's a date." She suddenly noticed the man looking a bit uncomfortable. "Is there something else?"

"Well," Fuyutsuki said slowly. "I, uh, was wondering if you might like to have dinner with me Saturday night."

Yumi blinked, cursing her luck at his asking now, after she and Sakura had gotten back together. "Oh, I'm sort of seeing someone right now."

"Sort of?" He raised an eyebrow.

"It's kind of complicated; an old flame that's come back into my life." She shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Sorry."

Fuyutsuki nodded. "I understand. I've had one or two of those sorts of things happen myself over the years." He smiled. "If your situation should change, just let me know."

"I will," she promised. She bowed to him. "Thank you for being so very understanding about it."

He waved it off. "It's quite all right, Kuonji-san."

"You know, you don't have to be so formal with me all the time," she said with a smile. "Yumi is fine, or Kuonji-kun, if that makes you feel more comfortable."

He nodded. "Very well," he said, still smiling. "Kuonji-kun then."

"Thank you for asking, Fuyutsuki-kun." She reached out and laid her hand gently on his for a moment. "The timing was just wrong."

Now it was his turn to shrug. "It's the story of my life." He stood up. "Well, I'm going to have my dinner now and then tomorrow I expect to see you and Ranko in my office Friday morning."

"Understood. We'll be there." She bowed to him again and gave him a jaunty wave.

Fuyutsuki made his way back to the counter and sat down. He smiled at Ukyo as she served him his meal. The smell was quite enticing.

"Kuonji-san," he said, as he started to pick up the first bite.

"Yes, sir?" Ukyo walked over to him. "Is something wrong?"

"I've been thinking about that boy you were fighting with the other day." He put the bite of food in his mouth and chewed. It tasted even better than it smelled.

Ukyo looked dismayed. Was she in trouble? None of the instructors had said anything to her about the fight last week. "Uh, his name is Ryoga Hibiki. He's an old friend of mine from home."

"I know." He took another bite and chewed.

"Uh, am I in trouble, sir?" she asked, starting to worry. She had been disciplined before at her last school for fighting, not that she ever went looking for trouble. It just seemed to find her for some reason.

Fuyutsuki shook his head. "No, not really. I'd like him to attend the Academy."

Ukyo breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. Okay, sir."

He watched as she turned away and then focused his attentions fully on his meal. The Hibiki boy was proving surprisingly elusive so far with his random changes of direction, and there were also reports of a panda seen in his vicinity, further distracting the agents out hunting for him. The coincidence was intriguing.

Fuyutsuki pondered the future social fabric of the Academy as he ate. The interactions and group dynamics of young people never seemed to fail to fascinate him, especially such a lively group of individuals as Ranma and Nabiki seemed to be forming around them. And to think, he had once thought having students from the Mobius Institute around would be the most interesting thing he would have to deal with.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Godai sat across from Kasumi at their booth in the bar they were in and wasn't sure what to say to what she had just told him. She had called him earlier that day and asked to see him. She had something important she needed to talk to him about. She gave him the address she would meet him at and told him to dress casual to avoid attention his uniform might cause, that he should wear clothes like he would for a date.

He picked up the picture she had brought with her and looked at it again, one of Tofu and Hinako entering a room at a love hotel. He put it back down on the table face down and took a sip of his beer as he considered his next words. When she put her hand down gently on his, he twitched and almost spilled his drink on himself. Kasumi was definitely dressed for a date, ladylike but very attractive, and he kept his gaze away from staring at what he could see of her revealed cleavage in the yellow silk blouse she was wearing. He also tried not to think about the short skirt she was wearing. He kept his eyes focused on her face, not an overly difficult task as beautiful as she was. He could tell from her eyes that she had been crying recently.

Touching Godai's hand made Kasumi feel better. She was not blind to the fact that he was attracted to her, and she was comforted by that, since she had feelings for him too. She knew she was wearing attire that drew a man's gaze to her body, but she felt safe with Godai to dress up like this, that he would not try and take advantage of her. It was also part of the guise she wanted to present, that she was just a woman meeting a man for a date, nothing more. It would make them relatively invisible among the other bar patrons.

"This had to have been a terrible shock, Kasumi-chan," Godai finally said, turning his palm up and now holding her hand with his. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm not certain yet, Godai-kun," she said with a sigh, taking a sip of her beer. "But I'm glad you're here with me now. I need a friend." She squeezed his hand, feeling him return the gentle grip with one of equal pressure.

"Of course." Godai nodded. He felt bad inside, that someone would hurt a wonderful woman like Kasumi this way. "I'm here for you. Whatever you need from me, just ask."

Kasumi nodded. She was already feeling much better, and holding his hand was easing her upset emotions. "Right now, this is fine. I just need you to be with me." She gave his hand another gentle squeeze and smiled bravely at him. Seeing his gentle regard, sensing his gentleness of spirit, she allowed herself to ponder her future. Divorcing Tofu was a foregone conclusion now, but then what? The thought of the man now with her possibly sharing that future was surprisingly pleasant.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The flickering of the flames reflected from Ranma-chan's eyes as she gazed at them, a pan of cold water from the nearby stream cooling her hands. She was dressed once again in her borrowed okonomiyaki seller's outfit. The heat from the fire burning in front of her raised a light sheen of sweat on her face, even as her expression remained set with determination. After a few moments of studying her nemesis, she pulled her slightly burned hands from the water and balled them into loose fists.

"You can do this," she murmured. "You know what it feels like."

She tossed a bag of sweet chestnuts into the flames and then cast the bag aside to join nearly a dozen empties. She could hear the flames sizzling against the meat of the chestnuts as they quickly heated. Her nose could smell them beginning to cook.

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Ranma-chan's hands blurred into the fire, ignoring the heat as the flames raged against her skin. Chestnuts were pulled from the flames in a blur of motion. When she was done, she slumped on her knees, feeling exhausted but elated.

"I did it," she muttered, her head bowed. She began to chuckle.

Standing up, Ranma-chan put out the fire, emptying the pan over the coals. When it was out, she stood up and gathered her things together to return home. She hissed with pain as she tried closing her hands into fists. The burns on them from her previous failures were mild and would heal quickly, but they were somewhat painful at the moment. It was a good thing her hands were far more toughened now than they had been before her immersion in the vat of Jusenkyo water, if that had been all it was. She was starting to wonder about that. Despite all the gymnastics training her male form had undergone before arriving at the Academy, these hands had not been at this level before, having spent most of his life holding a pen or a soldering iron rather than driving them into heated sand and punching bags.

She washed her callused hands in the stream, sighing with relief as the cool water flowed over her mildly seared flesh. She then patted them dry with a towel and applied some salve and bandages to the worst spots. From one of her other selves, she could recall the memories of doing such training while her flesh had been sensitized to heat. This level of pain was nothing in comparison.

At long last, she had finally mastered the Amaguriken. Two of her other selves had mastered it, and now she had too. It irritated her on a fundamental level to know that Nabiki had mastered such a difficult technique already and used it against her. Such an action had demanded a response. After their date, she would challenge Nabiki to another duel, to regain the position as the top fighter between them.

The pigtailed girl packed up her things and began walking back to the Yu-chan. Life was feeling better now, all things considered. She was looking forward to a bath and change of clothes before heading home for the evening.

The park was quiet tonight in this area, which was why she used it for training. The Ranko of that other Earth had actually been the one to know about the spot, having visited it on her own world to keep up her training in private, without anyone around to bother her. It was her place to think, away from Kaneda Tendo or any of the other rivals she had accumulated in her life on that other Earth.

Ranma-chan paused when she came to a fork in the path. In fact, she thought, looking up the left-hand path, if memory served her correctly, a weekly gathering should be taking place tonight. With a grin, she headed up that way. It felt like months since she had last walked this direction, but everything looked exactly the same, even if it had been on another world.

Emerging from the trees, Ranma-chan quickly spotted several groups of people, teenaged males and females, gathered together on the far side of the expanse of cement she now stood on, watching some sorts of commotion going on at the center of the cluster. Judging by the many different uniforms she saw, they attended the various schools in the area. She grinned, spotting uniforms from Blackhall and Whitehall, some tough-looking girls that looked like they were from St. Hebereke and a fair number of Furinkan cadets. The sight brought back memories of many battles fought in the past in this place. That the other world's Ranko had fought in her past, she quickly amended in her thoughts.

Oddly, in that moment, the pigtailed girl felt like she had come home.

The sounds drifting over towards her were unmistakable, as were the sights of what was going on beneath the lighting poles that illumed the area. It might not have had the grandeur of the Imperial Arena, only using an impromptu region of the park for the battleground, but such trappings were unnecessary.

This was street fighting, martial arts combat in its purest form. She made her way over to the crowd and began to elbow her way to the front to see who was fighting. When she did, she just stood there, oddly not surprised.

Akane ducked under the fist thrown by the boy in front of her, a broad grin on her face. Off to one side, Sakura shouted advice and words of encouragement. Not that she needed any, as the youngest Tendo launched a furious counter-attack on her opponent, a boy a year older than her who hailed from Whitehall. Her punch drove through his guard to slam into his gut.

"Come on, Akane!" Sakura shouted. "You've got him! Take him down!"

The youngest Tendo leaped high into the air, her legs split wide as she twisted her body around. The stunned boy was unable to defend himself as her kick landed squarely on his nose, her foot crushing into it in a brief spray of blood, knocking him away from her. He spun around as he staggered back several steps and then promptly fell face-first to the ground, unconscious. In the meantime, Akane gracefully landed looking away from him, kneeling to let her legs soak up the shock. She then looked up and grinned at Sakura.

"That's another one for you, Akane." While money was quickly exchanged around them, the other girl came over and held out her hand, and Akane slapped it with a grin as she walked past, like the signal for a change of fighters in a tag team match. As the Tendo girl headed to the side to drink some water and relax, now it was Sakura's turn to take the center area. She grinned at the young men and women in the surrounding crowd.

"So, any takers?" She looked around at those surrounding her and more than a few wouldn't meet her gaze. She smirked. She had brought Akane here as part of her training and as a celebration of the Tendo girl finally becoming a full member of Furinkan's Combat Club, thanks to one of the boys in the club refusing to take 'no' for an answer when he had asked Akane for a date. Sakura remembered actually being surprised that someone with Akane's skill had never taken part in street fighting, but the other girl had been making up for lost time. A fair amount of yen notes were in their pockets now, the result of her friend's impressive debut tonight.

It didn't surprise Sakura that no one would take up her challenge. She had already beaten a few macho guys who thought they were tougher than her earlier, as well as some of the delinquent girls hailing from St. Hebereke, in between Akane's matches. Since St. Hebereke had gone co-ed this year after being taken over fully by the Church to use in their advanced combat training program, she had heard there were a few solid fighters brought in for the program, but those girls hadn't yet shown up to the matches, a disappointment to her.

She hopped lightly up and down on her feet, feeling pumped full of adrenaline. This was what she lived for: martial arts combat. She was the current undisputed queen of street fighting in this small corner of Tokyo, just as her absent, beloved Ryu-senpai was its undisputed king. She suddenly spotted a new face in the front of the crowd tonight, a girl around her age dressed like an okonomiyaki seller, her hands bandaged up a bit.

"How about you?" Sakura said, pointing in Ranma-chan's direction. The crowd turned to look at who she was pointing at, and Akane looked as well. "You look pretty tough, shorty. Up for a match?"

Ranma-chan was tempted, especially seeing Sakura standing there and looking so cocky. There was also the 'shorty' comment to consider. While she was taller than the cursed forms of her analogs by a couple of centimeters, she was not a tall girl by any means. That remark decided it for her. No way was she going to let that one go.

She nodded with a slight smile and answered, "Sure, sounds like fun." She handed her small pack of training supplies over to Akane as she stepped free of the crowd. "Could you hold on to this for me for a minute, Miss?" She gave Akane a quick smile.

"Uh, sure," Akane replied, curious as to who the girl was. There was an odd feeling coming from the pigtailed girl, very much like what she felt around Sakura. It also reminded her of the sensations the arrogant Kodachi awoke in her, an awareness of a strong rival and a desire to crush her, but the girl's rather friendly attitude towards her blunted most of that response, like it was blunted for her with Sakura. She even found herself smiling back.

Ranma-chan nodded at Akane and walked over to where Sakura waited, still bouncing lightly from foot to foot, utterly confident in her skills. She took up a stance and waited. "Ready."

In a flash, the two were engaged, Sakura charging in with skilled punches and kicks, testing Ranma-chan's defenses. The pigtailed girl responded skillfully, shifting her body about in rapid evasions and making swift parries with her limbs, causing Sakura's strikes to miss her by small margins. Now and then, she launched her own attacks, searching for the proper timing to use with her opponent before she committed herself to a more aggressive stance. She was unconsciously analyzing the 'fighting code' Sakura used, each of her foe's movements like a line in a computer algorithm leading to the correct pattern of attack. Once she took the other girl's measure, the Furinkan cadet was going down.

Akane watched the fight with eagerness as the seconds ticked by, amazed at the strange girl's high level of skill. She was good, incredibly so. She clutched the pack she was holding for the redhead and wondered who she was.

Sakura had been holding back her full might at first, to test how skilled her opponent really was without ending the fight too quickly, but she was quickly forced to end that charade. She was getting pressed too hard by the other girl and unable to penetrate the redhead's solid defenses. Luckily, she had other options to use than just her basic barehanded fighting techniques.

As she continued parrying and attacking, ignoring the damage she was receiving from the other girl, she began raising her chi, feeling it flowing into her from her surroundings and down into her hands. Only another few moments and this battle would be over. She was a little disappointed, but despite how hard she was getting pressed she had never really doubted her eventual victory.

There. Ranma-chan had been waiting for this. Her analog having fought battles with a similar version of this girl, she knew what was coming next and was already preparing to counter it. The timing would be critical.

"You're a good fighter, whoever you are," Sakura remarked, her voice sounding almost regretful. The energy built up to a peak within her. "But now it's time to finish this. SHO-O-KEN!"

Ranma-chan was already moving into position as Sakura launched herself at her, winding back a fist that was suddenly glowing with cerulean light. The redhead leaped right over the incoming blow, using a move her analog had once seen a blonde fighter from England use, one hand grabbing hold of the other girl's forearm and using it like a balance beam. Sakura's devastating "Cherry Blossom Fist" missed her completely. Caught off-guard, the Furinkan cadet tried to recover, never having seen someone evade her technique in such a way, but it was already too late.

A fire burning inside her at the challenge the other girl had been giving her, the pigtailed girl spun around and brought her legs down around Sakura's neck. Her back was to the Furinkan cadet, grasping her in a tight grip between her legs. She then let go of the held limb and quickly plummeted to the ground. Landing with both hands planted, she clenched her body with all her strength, lifting her opponent up and over her to slam down hard face first into the pavement, creating a shallow crater.

When it was over, Sakura lay there in a heap, twitching slightly even as the redhead flipped free to land on her feet. The fallen girl slumped down, already unconscious. Ranma-chan scratched the back of her head and smiled at having won, knowing how tough the other girl could be if given more of a chance. The crowd was stunned, Akane most of all.

"Flawless victory," a boy said in the crowd, sounding impressed. There was a general murmur of agreement from others.

"Th-that was incredible," the youngest Tendo murmured. Even as tough as Sakura was, this strange girl had just taken her down in less than a minute, without receiving a single injury in the process.

Ignoring Akane, the pigtailed girl immediately squatted down next to Sakura. Unlike what had happened on another world, she wasn't going to make the same mistakes again. She nudged her, wary that the Furinkan cadet might have been faking it. "Hey, you all right?"

The other girl responded with a groan and a rueful look as she slowly levered herself up from the shattered concrete. "Uhn. Yeah," Sakura replied, rubbing her forehead and rolling into a sitting position, a little blood dribbling from her nose. She frowned as she looked at Ranma-chan. "You beat me so quickly."

"It was a good match," the cursed girl said quickly in consolation, smiling and trying her best to be friendly. "You fought well." She offered the Furinkan cadet a hand up.

Sakura stared at the proffered limb, then up at the other girl. One could almost see the gears turning in her head. She then snorted and smiled back, taking Ranma-chan's hand and letting the pigtailed girl haul her up to her feet. "Thanks. I got too overconfident, I guess. That was some maneuver. You're a really strong fighter."

"I've been training all my life," Ranma-chan averred, grateful that she had apparently managed to avoid picking up an enemy this time around.

Sakura grinned back, still holding Ranma-chan's hand tight, feeling the strength inherent in the other girl's grip. At last she had found a rival worthy of her, someone to test herself against and grow stronger. She was already looking forward to their next match. "By the way, I'm Sakura Kasugano of Furinkan Academy. You wanna be friends?" She let go of the impromptu handshake as Akane joined them.

"Uh, sure," the pigtailed girl replied, startled at the suddenness of the offer. "I'm Ranm- Uh, Ranko. Ranko Kuonji." The false name she gave was becoming more familiar to her as time went on.

Sakura grinned and nudged Akane forward. "And this here is Akane Tendo. She's a fighter at Furinkan, too. And she's a good one."

"Hello there," said Ranma-chan, bowing slightly in friendly greeting, feeling an odd sort of vaguely aggressive tension inside herself at the nearness of the two other girls, who were both pretty cute, actually. She hastily shoved that thought away, especially when it came to Akane. "Uh, it's very nice to meet you both. I watched your match, Akane. You're pretty good too."

Akane was still a bit stunned. "You beat Sakura, and you made it look so easy."

"Hey, it wasn't that easy for her, Akane!" Sakura protested quickly, her expression falling into a frown again. She immediately turned her gaze to Ranma-chan. "It wasn't, right?"

The pigtailed girl nodded, resisting the impulse to assume a bragging posture with some difficulty. "I guess I just got a little lucky."

"No, luck had nothing to do with that," Sakura declared, eyeing the other girl. "You beat me fairly. Your skills are very strong."

Seeing that another fight wasn't about to happen, the crowd around them began to disperse for the night. A few people congratulated Ranma-chan on her fighting skills. The girls from St. Hebereke eyed her but did not approach, eventually heading out together in a small group.

One of them remained behind to observe further for a moment, leaning against a tree, a tall blonde named Eda Langley. She was a third-year cadet and the captain of the Combat Cheerleading Squad at St. Hebereke. Eda quietly considered Ranko's skill level as she blew a bubble and popped it. The Kuonji girl would make a fine addition to St. Hebereke's student body, she mused. She would discuss the matter a bit with Sister Yolanda, St. Hebereke's headmistress, and the school's primary combat instructor, the Russian woman, Sofiya Pavlovena. Eda was sure that something could be arranged to acquire the Kuonji girl for the school. She turned and walked off.

When Ranma-chan and the two Furinkan cadets were alone, Sakura said to the pigtailed girl, "Not bad for your debut. I was the local champion here." She grinned. "I intend to beat you back, you know."

Ranma-chan held her tongue again. "Uh, understood. I'm looking forward to it, I guess."

"Maybe you could fight me sometime, too?" Akane interjected. "I'm not quite up to Sakura's abilities yet, but I bet I could give you a good match. And my family even has its own dojo out back of my house we could all use."

Memories of other worlds floated across Ranma-chan's mind. "Uh, sure. I guess so." She shrugged.

"But I don't want you to take it easy on me," Akane declared a bit more fiercely. "I won't get any better unless I'm challenged." She paused. "Hey, you said your name is Kuonji? Any relation to Ukyo Kuonji?"

Ranma-chan hesitated. "She's my cousin."

"Are you two very close?" Akane asked, her gaze narrowing slightly in suspicion.

The pigtailed girl shrugged. "We only met recently." It was pretty much the truth, no matter how one looked at it. "I'm helping out sometimes in, uh, my Mom's restaurant. I'm usually out training."

"Oh," Akane said, nodding. Her eyes suddenly glittered eagerly a bit as she gazed at the other girl. "Who trained you? I've seen your style before. It's one my sister uses." And a boy she liked, but she was not about to say that to a potential romantic rival.

"My P-" Ranma-chan paused. "Uh, I mean-"

"There you are, Ranko," said Yumi-kun's voice suddenly as he came towards them, a grin on his face. "I thought I might find you around here." Knowing that Ranma was using this park region to train lately, he had been searching for the cursed boy. It figured Ranma-chan was around a spot where fights took place. Yumi-kun stopped and nodded to the two girls with his 'sister' as he shifted the battle spatula riding on his back slightly. "Hello there. I'm Yu Kuonji, Ranko's brother."

Ranma-chan chuckled nervously. "Yeah, this is my big brother."

"Hi there," said Sakura, bowing quickly to the handsome older boy. "I'm Sakura Kasugano."

Yumi-kun grinned back, mainly at hearing the girl's first name. He wondered how the other Sakura he knew would feel about her.

"Nice to meet you," said Akane reflexively, bowing quickly to Yumi-kun as well. "My name is Akane Tendo."

Yumi-kun looked her over. There was something oddly familiar about the girl. He was sure it would come to him soon enough. "It's nice to meet you both." He looked around, smiling. "This brings back memories."

"Are you a street fighter?" Sakura inquired, interested. Having a big brother who was one went pretty far towards explaining Ranko's superior abilities. After all, she fully intended to train any future children of hers (fathered by her beloved Ryu-senpai, she hoped) how to fight.

Yumi-kun turned back to face the trio of girls. "I've had a few fights here and there around the Empire, but I haven't fought seriously in well over a year." He dropped an arm around Ranma-chan's shoulders and looked down at the boy turned girl. "So, did you win?"

"Yeah," Ranma-chan replied, nodding. "I won."

Yumi-kun's eyes glittered with amusement. "Was your opponent very strong? Maybe I'll try my luck and come with you next time."

"Are you any good?" Akane interjected before Sakura could get a word in, sounding interested.

Ranma-chan looked at Yumi-kun and grinned, before looking back at the Tendo girl and shrugging. "He's okay, I guess."

"Okay?" Yumi-kun said, sounding a little annoyed. He put Ranma-chan in a sudden headlock and kept speaking even as the girl struggled. "You should have more respect for your older brother."

Akane and Sakura stared at the sight. The two were certainly a lively sort of brother-sister pairing. Akane was a little envious of the girl having such a strong older brother.

While still holding on to Ranma-chan's neck firmly, the girl starting to turn various odd shades, Yumi-kun smiled at Akane and Sakura. "I have to get Ranko home now. We have some family business to discuss."

"Okay," Akane said brightly. She bowed to the pair. "Come by my house anytime, Ranko. I'm looking forward to that match."

"Yeah, and I want a rematch, too." Sakura bowed slightly. "Come on, Akane. Let's go grab some sundaes and celebrate our victories." The two Furinkan cadets waved and headed off, chatting together happily.

Realizing belatedly that Ranma-chan had ceased struggling, Yumi-kun let up on his grip. The pigtailed girl gasped and sucked in air. When the woman turned man was sure she wasn't going to collapse, he let go of Ranma-chan and tugged her along to follow.

While they walked through the park, a now recovered Ranma-chan asked, "So, what did you need to talk to me about, uh, bro?"

"A proper younger sister would call me Oniisan," said Yumi-kun with a serious look, belied by the twinkle in his eyes.

Ranma-chan snorted. "Right. Anyway, what's up?"

"Dean Fuyutsuki came by the restaurant earlier tonight. He wants you to take the entrance exam."

The pigtailed girl blinked. "But I've already- Wait." She gestured at herself. "He wants this me to take them?"

"Uh huh. It seems you impressed him with your skills the other day; by making Ranma disappear off campus." He grinned. "So, he wants you and 'Mother' in his office Friday morning and then you're going to take the exam."

"But I'm already attending in my male form," Ranma-chan protested. "I can't be both identities at the same time. That's impossible!"

Yumi-kun grinned more broadly. "This is why he agreed to let Ranko and Ranma trade off, with Ranko attending only one or two days a week. Of course, this is only if you get over ninety-five percent on the exam."

"Of course I can get- Wait." She paused and then shook her head. "It's still no good. Would Lee-sensei go for it?"

"I'm sure he will."

"What makes you think I'd go for this?"

"Judging by those two girls back there," said Yumi-kun, gesturing over his shoulder with a thumb. "You're already starting to make friends as Ranko. Why not try living two lives and see what happens?" He paused and turned away to look at the trees around them. "Or, are you afraid?"

Ranma-chan immediately bristled. "I'm not afraid! I could do this easy. No problem."

"Then be in your girl form outside Fuyutsuki-san's office on Friday," said Yumi-kun, turning around after schooling his features to hide his grin. His new 'sister' was proving to be fun to play with.

The boy turned girl smirked. "Hey, I aced it once. I could ace it all over again. Ninety-five percent sure won't be any trouble."

"Then let's get you cleaned up, so you can go home and get a good night's sleep. I'll expect to see you on Friday morning outside Fuyutsuki-san's office."

Ranma-chan nodded as the pair headed back to the Yu-chan. Things were certainly becoming more interesting lately. Yumi-kun was glad he could spectate on events rather than be at ground zero this time around.

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Ryu Kumon dodged back from his opponent as the crowd gave a roar of approval to his foe. He blocked the next blow with an arm and followed up quickly with an uppercut to the other boy's face. A grim smile lit his features when he felt the blow connect solidly. His body was fully healed from his beatings, the first at Shampoo's hands a few weeks ago which had condemned him to this place and then a couple of times since then at Tarou's. It was fortunate that he always healed remarkably quickly, only taking days to recover what took others weeks to heal. He needed an edge like that here.

It was Thursday night, and his third official match since he had become a prisoner of this place. The first one had been against one of Tarou's cronies, a loss for him that he would someday avenge. His current opponent was from Thailand, a recent arrival from Shanghai's arena, heavily muscled, brutish and very skilled in Muay Thai. They had only been dueling for a handful of minutes, and the chance for Ryu to cut loose was a welcome release. Before his opponent could recover, he kept attacking, driving punches and kicks into the other boy's defenses, seeking for any openings he could exploit.

Tomorrow night was going to be another one of Shampoo's famed Amazon Challenge matches, and he planned to be there to watch. Last week's challenger had paid cash instead of wagering time in the Arena, but the one coming in tomorrow was gambling six months of his life. After defeating so many would-be suitors, only the bravest were willing to gamble that. The name had just been released today: Ranma Saotome. Ryu vaguely recalled the name, a cadet at the Imperial Academy he had been hearing about and had been planning to challenge before he got stuck in here.

The other recent arrivals watched the Japanese boy battle, and Shenhua was among them. She was scheduled to have her next match on Saturday night, so today was a break for her to rest. Unhappy at the thought of staying alone in her shared apartment and being bored while her roommates were all out, she had wandered down to the Arena level to observe some of the fights with other contenders. Using a compact from her purse, she checked her makeup as she only half-watched Ryu's match, studying the state of her lip gloss and eye shadow critically. Her freshly-manicured nails were a lustrous red in color, courtesy of the beauticians on site. She sat with her legs crossed in her seat, her short-skirted cheongsam displaying most of their length.

Ryu blocked his opponent's knee strike by planting his hands down on the up-thrusting limb and using the momentum gained to leap up and drive his own knee up into the other boy's chin. There was a sharp crack of bone as the boy's jaw dislocated, almost biting his tongue as teeth crunched together. Falling backwards, the Japanese boy finished his opponent off with a spinning kick while still in mid-air, sending the Thai boy flying high to impact hard into the thick Plexiglas.

The crowd roared their appreciation for his efforts as he stood there and basked for a few moments in their adulation. He raised his fists high and turned around slowly, letting them all see him. Behind him, paramedics rushed to aid the Thai boy, putting him on a stretcher quickly and carrying him out.

After a couple of minutes, Ryo stalked off the Arena floor, feeling his mood a little lighter. His victory tonight had made him feel a little better, but it darkened again quickly when the crowd forgot about him and focused on the next fight. Grabbing a towel from the rack by the exit, he wiped the sweat from his face and walked past the other recent arrivals, most of them watching the next match.

"Impy boy have good match tonight," said a female voice from the seats above where he walked.

Ryu lowered the towel from his face, seeing Shenhua seated there in a casual pose, appearing bored. His gaze briefly traversed the length of her legs as he looked up at her, passing the swell of her bosom tightly encased in her snug cheongsam-style dress under her white jacket before finally arriving at her face. It was partially hidden by a thick length of her hair artfully draped across it. Her eyes studied him casually in return. As he stood there, he was startled to feel a sudden sense of heightened awareness of the girl, as if lightning tingled along his nerves.

Startled by an odd feeling seeming to spark within her body at the boy's nearness, one she had never felt before, she closed her compact with a snap. As if really seeing him for the first time, Shenhua pulled her gaze from the next match going on to look down at him. The bored look was gone from her features. After a moment, she hopped down from the row of seats to join the citizen boy.

"Thanks," Ryu replied when he finally found his voice. "Shenhua, right? You already know me, it seems." He rested the towel on his shoulders, occasionally dabbing one end at the remaining sweat on his face.

Leaning against the wall, the Taiwanese girl gave him a brief nod. She mused on the sensations she was experiencing. It was rare for her to experience such a strong attraction for a boy. The feelings intrigued her.

"Impy boy not have any friends yet, yes?" She gazed at him with a coquettish smile on her face. "Maybe we be friends, yes?" She bent one leg at the knee and rested her foot against the wall. She noticed his quiet regard, secretly enjoying it.

The girl reminded Ryu of Shampoo, the way she spoke in sing-song tones. Her offer of friendship was also intriguing, and he could not deny that he felt attracted to her. After his release from the infirmary and days spent eating alone and training by himself, only interrupted by jibes and bullying by other fighters, the offer was welcome. His time in this place was teaching him a new appreciation for embracing his darker impulses, the ones he had kept hidden from Sakura and the others at Furinkan.

"Maybe more than friends?" he asked archly, stepping closer to her.

"Shower first and take Shenhua on proper date, then we see," the Taiwanese girl replied with feigned coolness. In her thoughts, she was hoping her roommates were out for the entire evening. She was feeling urges she needed to work off. She hoped the Japanese boy could be talked into helping her with that.

Ryu nodded and headed for the locker rooms. His new companion trailed along quietly behind him.

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In her room, Shampoo stared at the fighter profile on the table in front of her, which included a head and shoulders photo of Ranma in his Academy uniform and a very brief bio. His picture had first caught her attention, startling her to see the face of the boy Ensign Shan had spent such a passionate and pleasurable night with on another timeline. But his name on the outside of the portfolio was what mainly held her attention, a name that she had been searching for since receiving Ensign Shan's memories.

The Amazon now knew his full name: Ranma Saotome.

She had not been able to find him, and now he was coming to see her. Gazing at his face, she noted the serious look he wore on it. It was a good face, a handsome face, she thought, holding the picture in her hand as she studied his appearance. Unlike with other opponents she had gone up against in the past, she was looking forward to seeing how good of a fighter this one was.

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Too much going on, so I've broken the chapter into two parts.

To be continued in The Chinese Amazon Connection, Part II.


	28. The Chinese Amazon Connection, Part II

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma-chan unlocked the door to the apartment over the Yu-chan and stepped inside, her hand reaching over to flip on the light. She felt good, pumped up from the fight with the Kasugano girl and her victory. Mastering the Amaguriken made the day even better.

She went into the kitchen and pulled out a cold can of juice from the refrigerator, taking it back with her as she walked over to sit down on Yumi's Western-style bed and relax. After popping the can open, she tipped it back against her lips, feeling the cold liquid run down her dry throat as she drank down half of it quickly. She gave out a sigh and set the can down on the nightstand. A small belch escaped her lips, and she grinned a bit ruefully.

Undoing her pigtail, she fluffed her hair out, running her fingers through the strands. She then rolled her head from one shoulder to the other, hearing a few faint popping sounds come from her neck and then she stretched, kicking out her arms and legs, feeling tight muscles loosening. After sitting up, she slipped her top off, tossing it with an overhand throw to land on the small pile of dirty clothes already in the hamper basket.

Her fingers were deft as they undid the clasp on the back of the sports bra, a skill that would have at one time baffled her male aspect and then it too joined the top in the hamper, leaving her dressed in only leggings. The open closet door showed two more such outfits now, bought with a portion of the allowance money given by Nodoka to her son.

Ranma-chan took several moments examining her body for bruises or other injuries after taking off her leggings, leaving herself dressed only in light blue panties, unsure if she had taken any damage in the fight that had gone unnoticed due to adrenaline. Many of Sakura's blows had come very close to hitting, and it was possible one or two might have connected in a glancing way. As she studied herself, she ran a feather light touch over her exposed skin, and she was still amazed at how sensitive certain areas of her anatomy were and wondered idly if all girls were this way.

A brief fantasy about touching Kodachi like this crossed her mind. Then her imaginings drifted to what it might be like to be with other girls, like Nabiki or Ukyo. While the fundamental core of her identity still saw herself as Ranma and male, Ranko's memories were also undeniably present, greatly easing the experience of being in cursed form. Both shapes felt natural to her, now that the initial shock of being cursed was over, and Ranma-chan had started noticing a shift in perceptions occurring when she changed, even viewing herself more and more often as female when in cursed form.

Once past its initial horror at what happened, that male identity had started feeling strong temptations to touch and explore her new shape, but the vivid memories gained from her other Jusenkyo-cursed selves, who feared and hated their female forms, held her back. Even now, with Ranko's memories smoothing the experience of being female, guilt and shame lurked in the back of her mind at doing such things. She sighed, getting up and going into the bathroom.

A little while later, after a long, hot shower, Ranma emerged, drying himself with a towel. He felt good, which surprised him a bit. His training with Master Lee was going well, and so were his preparations for the rescue of his father. He was even growing more comfortable with his girl form, a process likely facilitated by Ranko's memories, now no longer being suppressed in his subconscious.

Yumi had been right. Being honest with himself for a moment, he was curious to see what it would be like to explore being female, to see all that his cursed form had to offer. While he had originally intended it as a way to get to know the girls in his life without any of the engagements looming overhead, he was surprised to discover how enjoyable it was to spend time with them as a girl and to make friends with them, like it had been with Ukyo. He was looking forward to having them as his friends, and someday he hoped to eventually tell them the truth.

Even Akane seemed like she might make a good friend, which was somewhat shocking to him, and that Sakura girl seemed interesting as well. He rubbed a towel through his hair and then tied it back into its usual pigtail. Life was looking pretty fascinating to him, the scientist in him intrigued at a previously unimagined new realm to explore. Even so, he knew there were adjustments he was going to have to deal with.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

Before reading this chapter, please check out DB Sommer's two works, both set in the QD universe and detailing Shampoo's life in the Arena: "Path of the Warrior" and "Life on the Inside"

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Perfume and Mousse reached Roanapur, eager to find passage to Japan. Frost the Chinese sorceress and Ghost Sweeper Minami became Gosunkugi's fiancées. Hinako seduced Tofu, a betrayal witnessed by Kasumi. Sakura Sakuranbo joins the staff of the Imperial Academy and had a run-in with Ayaka. Fuyutsuki invited Ranko to take the Academy's entrance exam. Ranma mastered the Amaguriken and made some new friends. Shampoo was informed that Ranma would be her next opponent and looked forward to meeting him.

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Chapter 28 – The Chinese Amazon Connection, Part II

No man may have me, unless he's beaten me in a fair fight.

- Red Sonja

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Herb eyed her opponent wrathfully in the darkened chamber, flames occasionally belching up from gas leaks in the floor. Sweat and blood dripped down her body from the heat and her injuries, and she could smell acrid smoke. Explosions lit the night sky outside as Musk and Matriarchy warships battled, and screams of rage could be heard as infantry fought and died in the streets outside. None of that mattered. Her only focus was on the enemy in front of her, wearing the face of Prince Herb.

He sprang at her, intent on killing her, chi energy lancing from his hands leading his physical assault. She evaded both, and they engaged each other in a furious melee exchange. He wanted to destroy her, and she refused to die this day. She dropped split-legged to the floor and her fist drove upwards into his groin with all her might. As he gasped and started to clutch himself reflexively, she sprang up and then brought her elbow down hard on his back. She felt several of his ribs crack.

However, he was not finished yet and struggled to recover. His left palm slammed hard into her gut, followed up with his right palm striking upwards under her jaw as she sagged forward, snapping her head back. More blood spattered on the floor from their savage battle as the screams of the dying outside continued on like the wails of the damned.

She recovered quickly and slipped past his guard, grabbing his head with both hands and driving her knee into the cartilage of his nose. She felt it snap from the strength of her blow, a cry of pain forcibly expelled from him. His guard finally collapsing, she began driving powerful blows into his body and face. He had underestimated her will to survive, looked down on her as weak, as prey for him to consume, and now he was going to pay the ultimate price. She would see to that.

The struggle reached its finale, each of them relentlessly driven to this point by an undeniable urge to overcome the other. But, in the end, there could be only one victor. He finally collapsed to the ground underneath her, and her hands went around his throat. Her grip began to inexorably tighten, and she felt his trachea buckling as she increased pressure on it. She was finally going to be rid of him, and her lips parted in a snarl of fury as his eyes began rolling back in his head, his face purpling.

His image began to fade beneath her as she absorbed his essence into herself.

It was finally over-

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-and Herb snapped awake with a gasp, feeling her own hands squeezing her throat. She released her grip on herself, staring up at the ceiling as she caught her breath. Confusion roiled within her as she struggled to remember where she was and what had happened to her.

She was alone now. Her two companions were absent, separated from her during their flight from prison. Two relentless women had pursued them, heavily armed and highly skilled, catching up with the trio after only a few days. Being Musk, they had chosen to fight, since their foes were women. But she had been struck by a bullet creasing across her skull within the first minute of combat, and the impact had knocked her off a cliff and into unconsciousness.

When she finally came to hours later, she was on the shore of a river, covered in muck and slime, and Lime and Mint were both gone. Believing they had led the pair away from her, she had backtracked up the river a few miles and searched, but she had been unable to find them or their pursuers. She wasn't even sure how far she had drifted from their last position while unconscious. Nothing looked familiar.

Herb sat up on the bed, dressed in a T-shirt and short pants, hearing the faint rattling from the window as the air conditioner struggled to keep the room cool against the heat and humidity outside. The heavy curtains were drawn, blocking the lights and sounds coming from the street. She set her feet on the ground and stood up.

Padding to the window, she opened the curtain slightly and looked down on the neon-lit street below her shabby hotel room. There had been no sign of her companions or the two women since that day, but she refused to believe Lime and Mint were dead. Her time spent adrift in the river had driven her path far to the south, so she had continued to head that way, seeking a city. Fortunately, her wounds had healed after only two days, not even leaving behind any scars. Then, a week ago, she had found her way here, to the city of Roanapur. It was an easy task for her to lose herself amidst the transient population here.

Her confusion easing as she watched the activity outside on the street, she pondered her latest dream, and what it meant for her. The dreams had started up the day after she made her escape with her companions, dreams of that other life lived as a prince of the Musk Dynasty and being a scion of the House of the Dragon. That other self had utterly loathed being female and looked forward to someday unlocking this form and then removing the curse placed upon it, going back to being male. Those dreams had been ones of savage battle between her male and female identities, each brutal, bloody and without quarter.

At first, he had been the victor, but for some reason he was never able to completely dominate and destroy the self that was native to this body. He had initially viewed her as weak, a sheep to be devoured after he was done toying with her. But, after she had been struck in the head by that bullet, the dreams began shifting, that female self gaining in strength and fighting back more strongly each night. That invading personality had slowly faded in importance as her identity gradually reformed into a new matrix, as their two lives slowly merged and became one. Those memories from him were still present, but she had been the one to take him into herself when she finally killed him in the dream and consumed him like prey.

In the end, there could be only one, and now that end was here. Her identity was clear and sure to her, for the first time in her life.

The person once known as Herb was dead and had been replaced by another, a woman named Ginseng. The name was oddly appropriate for her situation. She carried the blood of dragons within her, a warrior on a sacred quest to find Sage. She no longer wished to return to the Musk; that goal was dead to her. But she was still driven to find him. He was her only family on this world, though Sage had been adopted and was not actually blood-related to her. She was not sure how much he might even remember of being one of the Musk, or if he remembered having a brother named Herb, but it did not matter. Sage's face was in her thoughts and haunted her dreams. She had to find him and make sure he was well and then she would hopefully find a place for herself in his life.

Ginseng went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face and then gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was growing out already, so she would have to touch up the roots, having dyed it dark brown to better blend into the local population. She was still startled at times to see her face, noting her ears appearing more human and less pointed now, her eyes more human as well, still jade green in color but lacking the slits for pupils she had once had as 'Prince Herb' in that other life. While the files she had read in that facility told how she and her companions had been created from genetic materials harvested from Musk Dynasty captives, an effort had apparently been made to render them more human in appearance. Even so, she did have an exotic beauty to her face, a draconic sharpness to her features, she noted.

Leaving the room, she went up to the roof area, the June night air sticky with humidity and heat even though hours still remained until dawn. She began moving through a kata, seeking to arouse the blood of dragons within her. Chi energy began flowing along her body in a bluish nimbus like St. Elmo's fire, dim and weak compared to what she had once been capable of in her life as Prince Herb, but growing ever stronger each day. Although her physique possessed the potential to generate and release tremendous power, just having the knowledge and memories was not enough. Training her body was still required, and she had done so rigorously every night almost since the escape from the place of her imprisonment.

Improving herself was necessary for another reason, as the remaining funds she had obtained from her former jailers were insufficient to gain her passage to Japan right away. Most of it had been spent on documents and bribes to change official records for her new identity as a Chinese woman named Jin Tseng, although she was sure she would get used to hearing it pronounced Ginseng by the Japanese. That unfortunate person had lost her life in the underbelly of this city and was her twin in appearance except for hair color, and that had been easily fixed with dye.

The rest of her funds had gone for food, some clothing and the rent on her room. As she lacked any sort of desire to work at a menial job or prostitute herself, she had been earning money the only way left open to her, fighting in the dog pits of Roanapur. She had gotten the idea from reading through Ginseng's personal effects. The woman had been an undefeated contender in the dog pits and was about to make the jump to the next rung up as an Arena fighter, heading to Hong Kong.

Stepping into that identity had been easy for her, and she had been doing quite well for herself after acquiring it, since an attractive young woman battling men was always more pleasing to the rabble here than watching men beating each other up and thus earned her more than enough money to sustain herself. Although she didn't know it, all those who knew the truth about the switch had died shortly afterwards in underworld shootouts or various horrific accidents, further securing her identity from ever being breached. The stories of a woman in a blue kimono vanishing from the scenes of each death were chalked up to being an urban legend.

Because it added to her mystique in matches, she decided to continue using the costume design that the original Ginseng had used in her matches up until this point, buying new items to replace the worn ones. The outfit was pleasingly risqué to her, and her matches so far using it had shown it was distracting to her opponents as well as giving her plenty of freedom of movement. Thigh-high, low-heeled satin boots in black with green metallic knee-guards and gold trimming drew attention to her shapely legs, and the matching forearm guards and bands on her biceps helped show off the sleek musculature of her arms, her hands sheathed in fingerless gloves. A bustier with gold trimming and black laces across the front brought male attention to her breasts, and the rest of her athletic figure was displayed by the bikini briefs she wore with a knee-length, flowing sarong at the front, the entire outfit in green. A cloth mask tightly covered her lower face up to her nose, concealing her identity and even further increasing her mystique. She wanted to wear her hair like the original Ginseng had, in a long ponytail, but it was still too short for the time being.

While her current selections for opponents were all far beneath her abilities, nothing but dog meat (to use the parlance of her current peers) for her to sharpen her techniques on and learn how to play to the crowd, she looked forward to fighting much better opponents. In her acquired effects was a letter informing her that a talent scout would be arriving in Roanapur any day now to evaluate her potential for Hong Kong and sign her to a contract. If she did well there over the next few months, she could advance to the Arena in Tokyo that she had heard other fighters talk about, to face off against the best martial artists in the Empire. She had been told that there was even a Joketsuzoku there, and she was sure that one would make for an excellent challenge for her. Her warrior soul burned at the thought of facing stronger foes, challenging them and overcoming them.

Her new career would also cover her entry into Japan quite nicely where she could better search for Sage.

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Ryoko drummed her fingers on her desk, irritated by how the week had gone for her. Her challenge letter to the Tendo girl had not received a response, and it irked her. Did Nabiki view her as beneath notice? Was she being taunted?

She looked around the classroom, unchanged from her last time here before she went off on her training trip. Their class was exclusively female, as there were not any second-year students at St. Hebereke who were male. A few of the girls made eye contact with her in a respectful way when her gaze fell upon them and then went back to whatever they were doing before she looked at them.

The teacher came in to take attendance, a grizzled older woman dressed in a nun's habit with a sour-looking face. Ryoko tuned her out almost immediately, responding briefly when she heard her name called. She was the only one in the class who could get away with that. Most of the teachers feared her too much to comment on any displays of disrespect.

Sofiya Pavlovena, although she preferred using her old Arena identity of Balalaika, was a Russian woman who administered discipline on campus and was the homeroom teacher for the first-year class holding the two Tetragrammaton Nun trainees: Rebecca and Roberta. The Russian left Ryoko alone as long as she didn't step too far out of line. She and the Masaki girl had an understanding of mutual respect with each other, and Ryoko actually did respect Balalaika. Earning her citizenship in the Arena was an impressive feat, especially fighting on to victory after getting her face half-burned in her final match, scars the woman still had to this day.

Ryoko would give the Tendo girl until the end of the week to respond, she decided. If Nabiki didn't appear at the shrine by then to face her, she would just go to the girl's house. She looked forward to battling her rival, although she was hoping the other girl put up a halfway decent fight.

She hoped she didn't get splashed with cold water again, as turning into a cat was proving to be most annoying. How could she strike fear into the Tendo girl as a housecat? She had been very wary of water since getting cursed. Most people could go all day without getting splashed with water, but not her. It was like it lurked and waited to pounce upon her.

Her thoughts then drifted to musings about Ranma, how skillful he was in their sparring match to be able to defeat her. She also thought about Ryoga, remembering with enjoyment how strong he was in bouts against her. She had never imagined there existed any boy able to match her in sheer physical power like he could, wondering where the Hibiki boy had vanished off to.

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The next morning, after homeroom was over and a quick, cold shower in the still unoccupied dormitory building, Ranma-chan waited in front of Fuyutsuki's office, dressed in a simple skirt and blouse. She sat down and crossed her legs in a very ladylike manner. After a brief time, she realized what she was doing. There was a pause.

She purposely uncrossed her legs and sat with them slightly apart, like a man would, and leaned forward to think. Her breasts pressed against her arms, and she quickly leaned back, surprised once again at the distracting sensations aroused by touching them and how sensitive they were. She then re-crossed her legs because they felt wrong spread apart like that. There was another brief pause and then she shook her head and grinned ruefully.

At that point, Yumi arrived, dressed in her usual garb. "You look very nice," she said approvingly. "You have a good eye for color. It makes you look very feminine."

Ranma-chan grumbled. Despite her growing comfort with her female form, it was still troubling to hear that she looked feminine. Sensing that, Yumi plopped down next to her and sat like a man, without any sign of discomfort and then put her arm around the girl.

"This is all going to be just fine," the older woman said with a grin. "Look, you just take the entrance exam while I talk with Jun-kun, and don't worry about anything else. If you do well, Ranko-chan, maybe I'll give you some more money for pretty clothes. How does that sound?"

Ranma-chan debated matricide, despite the fact that shopping did have a secret appeal to her. She was saved from further thought on the matter by the appearance of Jun Fan Lee. He looked at her and then his gaze shifted to Yumi.

"Hello, Kuonji-san," the man said with a bow. "It's nice seeing you again so soon."

Yumi nodded and then bapped the girl on the back of her head while grinning. "Stand up and be polite to your elders."

Matricide was briefly considered again as Ranma-chan stood. "Hello, Lee-sensei." She bowed.

"She does take after her mother," he teased mildly, while Ranma-chan stifled a snicker and Yumi frowned. "You were never well-mannered at all, as I seem to recall from when you were my student."

Yumi looked irritated. "You know, you're not too famous that I won't take your butt outside right now and kick it around the block for a while, Jun-kun."

"You are welcome to test your skills against mine any time, Yumi-chan," he said with a sudden smile. "Sparring with you the other day was the most fun I've had in a while. The years have been very kind to you, and I'm pleased that you've grown even more capable as a fighter."

Yumi smiled and stood up, gesturing to one side for them to go. "I do my best to keep in shape. Let's go grab some tea and talk while Ranko takes her test. It will give me an opportunity to discuss my proposal with you."

"Very well."

The two walked off, leaving the pigtailed girl sitting alone again. She had a brief debate with herself about asserting her masculinity again but decided against it. She sighed again, sitting with legs crossed, her chin resting on her fist while her elbow rested on her knee. One foot bounced from her restlessness.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Dean Fuyutsuki as he opened the door. He looked and saw only Ranma-chan seated there. "Odd. I thought I heard your mother and Lee-san."

Ranma-chan stood and reflexively smoothed her skirt. "They went to have tea together and talk. I'm ready to take the exam, Fuyutsuki-sensei."

"Come right this way then, Kuonji-san. I have a room prepared for you to take it in." He gestured to one side.

"Here we go," she muttered as she headed off with him walking at her side.

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Professor Saotome adjusted the last of the connections on the device he had been working on, roughly the size of a car battery due to the tech level being lower here than what was available in the Empire, checking each one carefully. He applied a small daub of solder to one loose wire and then nodded, satisfied it wasn't going to blow up or something when he fed it power. He reached up and adjusted his glasses and grinned at the other man with him.

"It's ready for activation, Tendo-kun," he said.

Soun nodded, eager to get on with it. They had been working together on the device for many days now, although that mainly involved him handing the other man tools and generally playing fetch and carry. He was used to being the one in charge, but this was an area where his companion had far more knowledge than he did. When it came to electronics, his expertise was more focused on wiring demolition charges and bugging techniques.

"Do you want to do the honors?" Genma asked.

"If you insist," Soun replied with a nod and a smile. He reached out and flipped the switch on. The device began to hum slightly and draw power from the cord plugged into the wall. Genma eyed it. Everything seemed to be working correctly.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

In the drawer where it rested, Ranma's device suddenly lit up, its circuits detecting a signal. The digital readout on its face blinked several times and then blanked suddenly for a few moments. The number that came up next was for two days, six hours and a small handful of minutes and seconds.

It began counting down.

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*** Earth +4.888, +4.611

A monitor light began blinking on a console of the Kara, the last vessel still remaining in service from the old Valkyrie Class of the Solnoid Matriarchy's destroyers. Eyeing it was Ensign Shinobu Miyake, on duty at the communications station, surprised for a moment before her training took over. She hastened to acquire more readings, sweeping the trailing ends of the yellow sash denoting her rank behind her.

Noting the sudden commotion while signing some paperwork for the fresh supplies they had just loaded into cargo, the commander of the vessel swiveled her chair around, an attractive Japanese woman just turned thirty. The sash worn as a belt for her uniform was black, signifying her rank. Captain Saeko Nogami eyed the ensign, a recent addition to her crew, fresh out of the academy on her first assignment. The crew was scheduled for some shore leave now that supplies were done loading. The Kara would be making its final voyage before being decommissioned in a few months.

"What's the matter, ensign?" she asked calmly in Solnoid.

The girl finished analyzing her readings and stared. "I'm reading a signal from an uncoded paratransponder beacon in a nearby tangent, Captain," the ensign reported crisply. "I've checked the charts, and it does not correspond to anything in our database."

Captain Nogami swiveled her chair around to face another woman on the bridge. "Commander Nattori, can you confirm?"

Kazue Nattori, the woman seated at the science station studied her screens and crunched once on a strawberry-flavored pocky stick in her mouth before answering, a habit that the captain always found a bit endearing. "Confirmed, Captain. I have triangulated with navigation buoys in the local grid and checked our charts. This signal is not originating from any Matriarchy-controlled worlds, but from somewhere in the frontier zone. Shall I alert the crew to prepare for phase translation to investigate this?"

"Make it so, Commander."

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

The Kara phased into existence in orbit over the Earth below, and the young woman at the helm, Lieutenant Kozue Nanao, powered down the main drive to standby mode. The crew waited at their duty stations, and the captain was pleased at their performance, taking less than two hours from receiving the initial contact to completion of the many phase translations necessary to reach here.

They were now past the outermost fringes of explored paraverses, at the limits of the network of navigation beacons that allowed Matriarchy vessels to find their way back to the central worlds. To go any deeper into that wilderness would be to risk losing that lifeline and never being able to return home again. It was the frontier, unexplored and unknown, and the thought of being here, to go where no other woman of the Matriarchy had gone before, was an exciting one to the crew.

"My compliments on the smooth transitions, Lt. Nanao," Captain Nogami stated crisply. "Begin standard scans and stay alert for Musk activity in the area. And activate the cloak. This could be a trap." She forced the tension down that she was now feeling and strived to appear more relaxed as her bridge crew began their activities. It didn't take long for a report back.

"I have readings of a fairly sizable debris field in the Lagrange point just past the moon, Captain," reported Commander Nattori. There was a pause and then her face went a bit pale as she picked up a faint signal. "It's one of ours, the Huntress. I'm reading the automated distress signal from their black box. I'm also picking up a hull alloy signature among the debris that matches with Musk Dynasty ship construction."

There was a coughing sort of sound from Ensign Miyake, a stifled sob. The girl hastily busied herself with her console, holding back tears. She had been friends with one of the crew of the Huntress: Ensign Shan Pu. She mourned at the loss of her in battle.

The signal information she was monitoring began narrowing down in scale as she watched, first at a planet-wide scale, then down to Japan, then down to the eastern side of the main island and finally down to Tokyo. Unfortunately, she could not localize it any more precisely than that.

"Captain!" squeaked the young ensign suddenly. "I have located the signal source on the planet. It's in Japan. Specifically, Tokyo."

The captain was contemplating that revelation when Commander Nattori suddenly looked up from her station.

"Captain, scans have detected the presence of Jusendo energies in China. Your orders?"

"Weapons Officer, charge up the spinal mount and ready a kinetic kill torpedo for immediate launch. Five megaton yield should be more than sufficient." Such a bother, the captain mused. This tangent was proving annoying. First there was the sad discovery of the remains of the Huntress and now this. Still, it could not be helped. Standard orders given to all Matriarchy warships required the elimination of Mount Jusendo and the nearby 'Holy Waters' of Jusenkyo that were held so dear by the perverted, vicious Musk whenever they were found.

Commander Nattori nibbled on a fresh pocky stick as she continued her readings. She was detecting something strange about this tangent's version of Jusenkyo. She enhanced the resolution of her scans and called up the ship's database to run a cross-comparison on what she saw, checking for any prior instances on other tangents that fit what she was seeing. When it came up with a match, she studied the results and suddenly chomped down on her pocky stick in shock, half of it falling to the deck at her feet.

"Captain!" she shouted. "I have a confirmed reading of something underneath Jusenkyo! Something huge! It was heavily masked, but I've managed to get a clear enough reading to make an exact match with the database!"

"Explain." Captain Nogami turned to face the girl, and she briefly held up one hand to the weapons officer. "Hold on torpedo launch for a moment."

The commander said only a single word. "Maelstrom."

That one word chilled everyone on the bridge. The entity that called itself by that name had manifested on two previous occasions in other paraverses. The first time it appeared, it had only been defeated by a combined effort by Matriarchy and Musk forces that had been forced into temporary alliance against the beast. Thousands of lives had been lost.

It was encountered a second time when a Matriarchy vessel attempted to destroy it while it was still sleeping underneath that paraverse's version of Jusenkyo. It failed, a failure later analyzed as being due to too weak of an attack, which had only awakened the beast. It had taken an entire battalion of vessels pulled from other regions to deal with that mistake.

Later analysis work theorized that weapon damage somewhere over thirty megatons being delivered into the beast would be assured of destroying it. High Command had then issued a new General Order to all vessels that encountered Maelstrom to destroy the creature. It was a clear and present danger to sentients on all tangents and was to be terminated with extreme prejudice whenever the creature was found. Non-nuclear damage was recommended to avoid long-term contamination, but even nuclear weaponry was authorized to be used if non-nuclear options were not available.

The captain came over immediately and looked at the commander's scans, a multiphasic deep resonance scan of Jusenkyo Valley and its environs.

Knowing where they were scanning brought back memories to her, of the pilgrimage she had made as a young girl to the Matriarchy's original timeline, visiting that quiet region of China, the ancient birthplace of the Solnoid Matriarchy in the Bayankala mountain range. To see what she was seeing now pained her greatly. She was doubly pained by what she was now under orders to do, obeying one of the High Command's General Orders for all captains, to attack Maelstrom without delay.

"Weapons Officer, reset the spinal mount to its maximum yield of eighty megatons." It was extreme overkill, but she was taking no chances in carrying out her orders and risking the lives of her entire crew by making too timid of a response. She would only get one shot at this.

"Aye aye, Captain," replied Lt. Rally Vincent, quickly completing the change. "K-Torpedo ready at eighty megatons estimated yield." She was then quite startled when the captain suddenly came over to her station and gestured for her to move aside.

Captain Nogami paused as she realized what she was about to do. No one else should have to shoulder this burden but her. When she fired the torpedo, the Kara's spinal mount cannon, a surface bombardment weapon for use against Musk worlds, would accelerate the thousand-kilogram ceramic-coated mass to a small fraction of light speed before it began the long trajectory to the surface below. That mass, heat shielded and streamlined by its ceramic coating to prevent it from burning up in the atmosphere, would gain even more kinetic energy from the descent before finally ending its existence far below and releasing its entire payload of accumulated kinetic energy in a blast that would utterly obliterate Jusenkyo, Jusendo Mountain...

...and this tangent's version of the village of Joketsuzoku, if it even existed.

May our ancestors forgive me, she mused sadly, regretting the sometimes brutal necessities she was so often called upon to perform at times like this, a level of ruthlessness required against an unrelentingly savage foe like the Musk Dynasty.

Her finger pressed the firing button.

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Cologne was leading Akane and Ryoga to the Saotome household as she passed by a store selling televisions, and what she heard caused her to pause.

"...and the devastation seen in this region of the Bayankala mountain range has been truly staggering. The Chinese government has so far been attempting to deal with the aftermath on its own, but with very little success so far. Aid from the United States and the surrounding nations has been offered, but has not yet been accepted by Beijing. For those of you just tuning in, we are reporting that a cataclysmic meteor strike occurred a little less than two hours ago..."

Cologne gazed at the images on the screen, noting the tiny map in the corner that pinpointed the exact location and scale of the blast zone, recognizing in horror a few landmarks as the satellite imagery was relayed over the television news. The two children with her paused and wondered what the delay was. They had completed their training. It was time to finally settle things up with Ranma and Shampoo.

The elderly Amazon could not seem to look away as more reports of the tragedy were relayed to viewers. She closed her eyes and felt a sob unexpectedly escape her, a few tears rolling down her face. She took a moment to compose herself, surprised that one of her advanced years and self-admittedly cynical nature could still feel such a sense of loss.

It was all moot now. She and Shampoo, as well as any other Joketsuzoku that were away from the village when the catastrophe occurred, were all that remained of their three thousand years of tradition and history. There was no point in recapturing the cursed girl now, and she turned to eye the two teens with her thoughtfully. Now that Comb and all the others of her bloodline were gone, Shampoo was her only remaining legacy, her only remaining family and one of the last Joketsuzoku in the world. The girl had to be preserved at all costs now.

"Come, you two," she said brusquely, continuing on in the direction of the Saotome household at first before suddenly turning down a nearby alleyway. The two with her followed eagerly, both of them hungering for revenge on Ranma and Shampoo.

There were the sounds of a brief struggle from the alley and then an ominous silence.

Sometime later, Akane and Ryoga woke up to find themselves lying in an alleyway together. The pair looked at each other, neither sure what was going on. And both of them wondered why they felt so refreshed and their hair smelled so nice.

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Perfume gazed in shock at the scenes of devastation shown to her on the television screen. She could not believe what she was seeing.

It was gone. Her home was gone. Her mother, her family, her friends, all gone, wiped from existence by a rock falling from space.

She would be dead too, if she had not been out hunting Shampoo. She and her old rival were some of the few Joketsuzoku now left in the entire world, possibly the only two remaining.

She collapsed to her knees and began to wail.

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Gazing down at the Earth's surface, Lt. Nanao adjusted their heading slightly to avoid another satellite in high orbit. There was a lot of junk floating around up here from the various nations, a fact she noted as her fingers moved skillfully across the controls. After a moment, the large dust plume in the atmosphere came into view once more as the ship completed another orbit, the blast zone where the K-torpedo had struck.

Kozue looked at it with regret. The war had taken so much from so many people over the years, forced the previously peaceful Matriarchy into its present form, able to do such extreme violence to anything it perceived as a threat. She absently touched the gold ring she still wore on her finger and recalled her husband, dead now for three years in a savage Musk assault on their colony, one established on a previously empty version of Earth. They had been planning to start a family right before he died.

She missed him terribly sometimes, even seeing him in her dreams. He had been a proper man of the Matriarchy, mild of manner and gentle of spirit, helping take care of his mother's household before Kozue had wed him. He was literally one of the rare ones, a man with no analogs among the Matriarchy's worlds. She would never forget him, the only man who would ever have her heart, her precious Yusako.

Her thoughts turned wistful even as her training kept her hands moving skillfully across the controls avoiding more space junk. She wished she could find someplace far away from the war, where she could live a more normal life. Unlike a growing number of her peers, she did not believe that males, especially males from beyond the borders of the Matriarchy, were all just horrible, hateful, lust-filled creatures. She refused to believe that a man was only good for procreation purposes.

She had known one good and kind man.

Maybe, if she wished hard enough, she would someday find one just like him again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki was taking her ease on the rooftop after lunch, enjoying the fresh air. It was a free period for her, and she didn't relish going back to class yet. She wondered how things were going with Akane's quest for revenge. Her last letter from her sister indicated that it would be over soon. She hoped it was, so they could all get on with their lives.

The next thing she knew, she found herself lying on one of the benches. She sat up and shook her head to clear it. She must have fallen asleep. She felt very refreshed from her nap and briefly wondered why her hair smelled so good.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kasumi was drying a dish after making herself some lunch. She felt tired. She hadn't been sleeping well since Ranma and Shampoo had left.

She was wondering how things were going with her father on his latest outing from the house. He had been so mysterious lately, but she was happy to see him looking so purposeful and energized, no longer just drinking and spending his days in his room. She suddenly recalled she still needed to hang the laundry, setting the dish into the rack to dry.

Seemingly a moment later, she awoke to find herself on the couch. She must have been more tired than she realized. The nap had left her feeling quite well, her head lighter, as if a burden of some kind had been removed from her mind. And her hair seemed to smell so nice too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cologne studied the two men in the Saotome household from a small distance. Incompetent, bumbling fools that they were, even those two idiots might be able to sense someone of her power by chance. But their actions were leaving her feeling very puzzled, watching them as they sat and drank tea together. She was following their conversation by reading lips, but it was only adding to her puzzlement.

Why were they conversing in Russian? What was going on?

She sensed a presence land behind her, one she recognized.

"I'm not interested in dealing with you today, Happi," she said with a grimace. "Leave me."

"I just heard what happened," she heard him speak behind her. Was that sadness in his voice? "I'm not here to cause any trouble. Not today. How're you doing?"

"I just lost my entire people, so how do you think I'm doing?" Her own voice was heavy with bitterness and grief. But she would not cry, not in front of him, anyone else but him.

"Lots of strange things going on lately," Happi commented, not moving from his position. He lit his pipe and began smoking it. "I noticed you watching my two former disciples. Something's different about those two. Genma's not scared of me anymore. Oh, he twitched a little when I saw him recently, but not his usual cowering terror."

"I don't care."

"Didn't think you would, but I just thought it was strange." There was the sound of him puffing on his pipe for a few moments. "The boy will take care of Shampoo, you know. Those two are pretty close to each other now."

"I suppose so."

"Well, I'm around if you ever want to talk, Cologne-chan. Take care."

The elderly Amazon went back to watching the Saotome household. The old letch was right about one thing, she mused. Ranma would take care of Shampoo. The girl was going to need someone strong around her right now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What are you gettin' so sore at me about, Shampoo?" asked Ranma, evading as the now-male Amazon attacked him in a savage fury.

"No talk, just fight," growled Shampoo-kun, water having transformed the Amazon into his present cursed form. He went after the pigtailed boy as if he was an enemy, needing to do something to deal with what he was feeling. Unshed tears burned in his eyes.

They had heard the news at school, one of their classmates commenting on the massive meteor strike in China. It was on all the networks. Some of the news organizations were speculating if there would be a second impact. Scientists were being brought in to speculate.

Crying felt wrong, a weak thing to do even in the face of such horrific tragedy, an action unbecoming of a Joketsuzoku. Then later, on the way home, water had transformed the Amazon into a boy. Ranma had tried to cheer him up, but he didn't want cheering up. He needed someone to vent his sudden upwelling of rage on.

It went on for a long time and became close to a real fight to the finish between the two of them towards the end. The match eventually ended in a draw when both of them pulled back from stepping over that line. At the conclusion, the two of them collapsed to sit back to back, panting, both of them covered in numerous cuts and bruises. Shampoo-kun spit blood from his mouth from a split lip caused by one of Ranma's fists to his face. Pain radiated from his ribs as well as a wrenched shoulder. One of his eyes hurt and was swelling shut.

"It's... gonna be okay... Shampoo," Ranma gasped out. He tongued one of his teeth, feeling it a little loose in his mouth. His stomach hurt from one of the cursed Amazon's kicks connecting solidly and his jaw ached. One of his eyes hurt and was blurry, and some blood was still dripping from his nose.

Shampoo-kun got tiredly back to his feet and offered Ranma a hand up. When the two were finally standing, they just looked at each other for a few moments. Each of them had a black eye on opposite sides of their faces.

"It's gonna be okay," Ranma repeated. "Your home is here now. With us. Pop, Mom and me. You still got a home."

Shampoo-kun nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He felt on the edge of losing it completely. Nothing, not even getting a Jusenkyo curse, had ever felt as horrible to him as knowing that likely everyone he grew up with was dead. Thoughts of his mother and father being gone were like a raw wound in his soul.

Hesitantly, Ranma put his arms around the cursed girl's shoulders and guided him home. He could feel Shampoo-kun trembling.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Captain Nogami sat at the small table in her cabin and considered the electronic tablet Commander Nattori had presented to her. The two of them were alone, drinking coffee together as they spoke. The tablet display detailed what the crew had found from their analysis of the black box information and the debris field.

"You're sure about this?" the captain asked.

She received a nod from her subordinate. "We're still analyzing what was left of the wreckage, but it confirms the log information in the black box. No escape pods were jettisoned. The entire crew complement died in valiant action against the Musk vessel. There were absolutely no survivors." She paused. "But the story doesn't quite end there."

"Explain."

"While in this tangent, the Huntress encountered a resonator signal being beamed here from an unknown origin point. It was from a distance currently thought impossible for a transmission to reach, not without the aid of repeater stations along the way. It used a new frequency and modulation technique that also enabled it to bypass the jamming methods we use to prevent the enemy creating agents within our borders. After learning that the Musk vessel sent three agents piggybacked along its carrier wave back to the origin of the signal, the captain of the Huntress made the decision to send an engram copy of one of her crew, Ensign Shan Pu, to investigate what was on the other end. The young ensign was the only one on board with a match on the tangent of the signal's origin."

The captain frowned. "We'll have to report our findings back to High Command immediately. General Ko Em will need to hear first-hand that her daughter's possibly still alive, as well as the discovery of a new resonator-capable culture with such incredible range. The Musk had been working on such technology, but we stopped that in its tracks when our ships bombed their base a little over two years ago." She stood up and drank the last of her coffee.

"Get us ready to leave when you've completed your analysis work and drop a full-spectrum scanning buoy to monitor what's happening in this tangent while we're gone. Make sure it has plenty of memory capacity. We might not be back for a while."

"Aye aye, Captain."

"We'll be making a short jump into a nearby paraverse before we leave for home. We need to get more information. Ready an incursion team to investigate the source of the paratransponder signal and retrieve it if possible. We'll be taking it back to the Matriarchy with us." The captain paused. "Was Commander Silk able to get back on board before we left port?"

"Negative, Captain. The commander was delayed, but she did send word expressing full confidence that her immediate subordinates could handle anything combat-related that came up."

That brought a shiver up the captain's back. Without a strong woman like Silk to ride herd on her two subordinates in the field, there was no telling what they might do when they were unleashed on the planet below. The duo had been together since their academy days, and their careers had kept them together when it was realized early on they were more easily controlled that way. They held the record for the most promotions and demotions of any two officers in the Matriarchy, once rising as high as the rank of major before both were busted back down to the lowliest ranks. The two in question currently held the rank of lieutenant, and there was a betting pool going on as to how long the two Japanese women would hang on to their ranks this time.

The captain shivered again at the thought of their nickname, the one that always prompted a fight in port, one that was often accompanied with heavy collateral damage and a subsequent demotion, if it was ever mentioned within their earshot.

The Dirty Pair.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma was about to switch the device off and open it up to see how the components were holding up when a shimmering suddenly appeared in the air near him and Soun and quickly blossomed out into a roundish region of blue-shifted light. A moment later two figures suddenly appeared there, stepping out of the distortion, the duo uniformed and armed with rifles held firmly in their gloved hands. Sheer surprise caused both men to hesitate.

The resulting combat was brief. Seen underneath the door leading to the room Genma was using as his private study were two brief flashes of light, accompanied by two muted sounds that were very similar to gunfire.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma regained consciousness slowly, feeling like he was hung over. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious. The smells of steel and various metallic oils were in his nostrils, and he opened his eyes to see he was lying on a bare deck, in a chamber made of steel walls. Judging by his position, he had been thrown into the room he found himself in. He gathered himself and slowly got to his knees, his head beginning to clear. Fortunately, he still had his glasses, and he centered them back on his nose. It was then he noticed he was not alone.

"Do you speak Japanese?" he heard a familiar female voice ask suddenly and brusquely.

When he looked up, the redheaded woman with the disturbingly familiar face with him in the chamber looked at him coolly, her hair cropped shorter than his wife's. She was sleekly muscled and athletic, the skintight uniform she wore showing off her shapely figure. A blue sash was worn at her waist. She had an easy manner about her as she stood up and moved that spoke of significant fighting experience.

"I-" Genma coughed, feeling thick phlegm in his throat. "I speak Japanese," he finally croaked out.

"Good, that will make your interrogation go much easier," she said. "What is your name, male?"

"Where am I?"

In his still dazed state, he was unable to avoid her sudden move. Her fist slammed across his face, blasting it to one side and causing him to stagger back a step. After a moment, he spit out blood from a cut on the inside of his cheek.

"I ask the questions here, male!" Apparently to make sure he was paying attention, she hit him again, knocking him back into the bulkhead. He promptly collapsed to the deck once again, coughing in pain from where her fist had hit his floating ribs.

"I-I'm Genma S-Saotome," he said slowly, coughing briefly, gathering himself back to his knees. "I'm a professor of cosmology, mathematics and ontology. Can I at least know who I am speaking to? What this is about?"

The woman smirked. "I am Nodoka Kamiya, male. You are now a captive of the Solnoid Matriarchy, and you will answer my questions."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Soun regained consciousness, but he showed no sign of it. Keeping his eyes closed, he used his other senses and began cataloging what he found in his surroundings. It had been a while since he had last experienced something like this. The smells in the air reminded him of a submarine, having an oily, metallic tang to it that atmospheric scrubbers could never seem to completely remove. He was lying on some kind of metallic surface, possibly some sort of deck plating. His nerves felt jangled like the aftermath of being hit by a high-powered taser. He could also detect another presence in the room with him.

"Pretending to be unconscious will only irritate me, male," said an oddly familiar female voice. There was the sound of a seated person changing position slightly.

He lifted himself slowly from the deck, his head clearing as blood seemed to move through his body again. He came to rest for a moment in a seated position. When he lifted his head, his training abandoned him for a single moment at what he saw.

"Kimiko," he breathed.

The woman seated on one end of the sleeping bench in the cell narrowed her gaze at him. Her hair was worn shoulder-length and held back in a ponytail, longer than his dead wife's, but the face was identical. He was always good at remembering faces, not that he could ever forget hers. She even had a faint scar on her chin like Kimiko had, his wife having picked it up in a teenaged mishap of some kind.

"You know me, male?" Her tone was brusque and cool. It reminded him of how his wife had been when they first met.

"I knew a woman who looked very much like you," he said after a moment. Then he remembered his training. "My name is Soun Tendo, and you are?"

"Your jailer, Soun Tendo," said the woman with Kimiko's face with a smirk that reminded Soun of Nabiki. "I am Kimiko Nakakami, and you are now a prisoner of the Solnoid Matriarchy. We have many questions to ask you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later on, the two lieutenants met with the captain to report on their findings. The captain sat behind her desk, hands clasped together as she listened. There was not very much to learn from the initial attempt at interrogation, but the males would eventually break and tell them everything they wanted to know. Few ever resisted for long.

She turned to face Commander Nattori. "What do you have for me?"

The woman crunched another one of her ever-present pocky sticks before speaking. "My technicians are examining the broadcast device, and we've hooked it up to ship's power while we run tests. The diagrams and notes we found near where it was running have been very helpful. The technology is quite revolutionary in concept, and it explains why we were able to detect it at such extreme range. I have also completed analyzing the brain scans done when they were both brought on board, and the two of them show clear signs of significant resonator activity in the memory regions of their brains, possibly even an engram imprint. I'd say it was fairly recent, perhaps weeks ago at most."

"I don't think they're Musk," Nodoka said after the other woman finished speaking. "The heavyset one doesn't have that naked disdain for females that a Musky would have in their eyes."

"He interests you, doesn't he, Nodoka-chan?" said Kimiko teasingly, switching for a moment to Japanese.

"He does not!" the redhead seethed. "He probably doesn't even know how to fight! He said he was a professor!"

Seeing the smirk on the other woman's face and the knowing look in her eyes, Nodoka was very tempted to wipe that smirk away with a punch to Kimiko's mouth. It irritated her that the other woman was right. The male was an analog for the mate of one of her own analogs, a woman who ran one of the brothels in the capital world's port. They even had twins together, Ranma and Ranko, who called her "Auntie" whenever she stopped in for a visit. She understood the boy was quite popular with the female cadets who frequented the place and had a few regulars who preferred him to any other comfort male. The girl was studying business and would likely inherit the brothel when her mother retired.

"Are you two quite through excluding us from your conversation?" the captain asked irritably in Solnoid.

"Pardon, Captain," said Kimiko gently, shifting back to Solnoid as she elbowed Nodoka in the ribs. "I was just teasing my cohort here. Her biological clock is ticking, and she has yet to find a male strong enough to best her."

Nodoka contemplated brutalizing Kimiko again, feeling her emotions seethe within her once more. It had been a while since their last brawl together, and they were due. While drunk after one mission, she had foolishly admitted to her friend that she envied that analog her happiness and having a family. Unwinding with various comfort males after missions had been fun when she was younger, but the thought of having her own mate, a male to call her own and have children with like that other Nodoka did, had been growing more attractive to her as she got older.

The captain smiled. She had forgotten that anyone still followed the ancient ways of the Matriarchy other than those of the Joketsuzoku Order, staunch believers of its eugenic practices. Kimiko and Nodoka were both firm adherents to those tenets, despite their otherwise worldly manner.

"What about the beacon, Captain?" asked the woman still chewing on a pocky. "If they weren't signaling the Musk, then who were they trying to call?"

"Leave it active," the captain ordered. "We'll take it with us and see who might come visiting it." She pointed at the two lieutenants. "You two continue interrogating the prisoners, but don't be too harsh with them. Since they do not appear to be Musk operatives, they are not to be treated as the enemy."

"They're males," snorted Kimiko derisively. "Of course they're the enemy. All males are, even if they aren't Musk."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma's device suddenly went blank, the digital readout ceasing to count down as its circuits detected the original signal end and a new signal start up a few moments later. The digital readout on its face blinked several times as it started to recalculate the time until a portal could be opened to the new destination.

This process repeated about once every five minutes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Silk gazed at the photographs on the table in front of her and frowned. They showed four bodies in various states of recent decomposition, two of the replicants and their hunters. The bodies had been discovered a day after Asagiri had radioed in that she and her partner were about to engage the escapees and attempt subdual. The battle must have been quite savage, judging by the sheer numbers of rounds expended at the scene and the state of the bodies. One of the Musk had torn both arms from one of the women before expiring from multiple gunshot wounds; the two of them found lying together in death. The security detail had tried to describe the carnage to her.

She turned to the representative from the Mobius Institute, who looked back at her with a calm expression on his face. "Have your people been able to determine what happened?" she asked him. "The lilith called Herb is missing from this gruesome scene."

The Institute inspector adjusted his glasses and responded, "We have gone over the area thoroughly with forensic postcognitives working alongside the Security Directorate's criminological experts, and together we have reconstructed the events leading up to the end with what we are certain is a high degree of accuracy. The missing lilith you refer to was struck through the head with a single round near the beginning of the conflict, and the agent doing the viewing is quite confident it was a mortal wound. All our subsequent attempts at tracking down the lilith have failed. No mind matching the last pattern we have on record was found." He looked at her steadily. "Herb is dead."

"Thank you for your help in this matter," said Silk, standing and bowing respectfully to the man. "Please give my regards to Director Kasuga for his assistance, Inspector."

The man stood and bowed in return, his stiff expression softening at her politeness. He had heard that Silk was a more hard-edged woman, and extremely unforgiving of bad news she had to report to Moreau. "I shall do so, Silk-san." He stood and looked at her. "I had heard the Director was assisting you in recovering your lost memories."

"He tried," Silk replied, her expression returning to its usual level of hardness. "They were unable to be reconstructed, something I will someday repay Keel Lorentz for in full." There was a pause. "You may go, Inspector."

He bowed and left the room, relieved that it was not him who had earned such wrath from her. Silk sat down and pulled out a cigarette from the case kept in her jacket pocket. She lit it up with a practiced move and frowned at the information given her as she set her lighter down. She placed the photographs back in their file folder and closed it before she sighed, smoke curling out her nostrils.

The case of the escaped replicants was over, and she began preparing her notes for closing the files on Herb, Lime and Mint. It was a shame that two capable women had lost their lives, but the pair could take comfort in the afterlife at their efforts. She took another drag on her cigarette as she wrote, already looking forward to leaving this place and returning with Moreau-hakase to his laboratory.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Yellow Flag was a seedy establishment that Perfume had learned of during her search for passage to Japan. She was told that smugglers and pirates could be found there, and hopefully one of them was skilled enough to ferry them to the Empire's home islands and hungry enough for money to take the risk. To avoid drawing too much attention to herself, having learned the hard way in other such bars she had made inquiries in, that lustful, disrespectful men filled this wretched city and were distressingly aggressive with attractive young women, she had covered her usual silk outfit with a dark hooded cloak. She carried her sword at her waist.

She and Mousse went in through the front door. The smells of alcohol, vomit, tobacco and even narcotics made for a truly rancid combination of scents, and her nose wrinkled as it assaulted her nostrils. Mousse was a solemn presence next to her. The assembled patrons gave the pair a brief eye before going back to drinking and doing whatever villainous things they were previously up to.

The bartender, Bao, wiped a glass with a rag casually as he watched the pair with solemn eyes. He had just rebuilt his place for the fourth time, and he was hoping to get through the night in peace rather than in pieces. Cloaked and hooded strangers usually meant trouble for him.

"Can I help you two?" he asked in Thai, when they arrived at the bar. He saw the boy watching the room while the cloaked figure, a girl, stood in front of him. He doubted that the boy's thick glasses were doing him much good in the dim light though.

"I've been told we might find passage to other places here," Perfume said calmly in Japanese, not quite sure what the man had just said.

"Do I look like a travel agent?" Bao inquired, shifting to Japanese, setting the glass down and leaning forward on the bar. "You and the boy on your honeymoon or something?"

The next thing he knew, his face was slammed down on the bar, his cheek pressed against it as the girl leaned in closer, her gaze unfriendly and dangerous now. "I am not amused by your joke," Perfume said softly. Behind her, she heard Mousse shift slightly in response to some of the bar patrons acting agitated by her actions.

"Can we please avoid another fight?" Mousse asked mildly in their native Mandarin. "We're going to run out of bars before we find passage at the rate we're going."

"S-sorry! Sorry!" Bao gasped out, feeling the girl's hand gripping his shirt collar tightly. He pointed to one of the corner areas. "Talk to Dutch. He might be able to do something for you."

"Thank you," Perfume said graciously as she released his collar. "You have been most helpful."

Walking over to the table with Mousse trailing along after her, Perfume saw a pair of men seated there. One of them appeared African to her, a large man, heavily muscled and carrying a dangerous air about him. The other was Japanese and quite handsome to Perfume's eye, but his look was too openly appraising of her for her tastes as he sipped his beer. Despite his much more casual appearance, she could sense a dangerous air about him too.

"Which one of you is Dutch?" she asked, standing at their table.

"That would be him, cutie," said the Japanese man with a grin, gesturing with his thumb at the other seated with him.

She made an attempt to repeat her face slam trick with him, but he moved back just enough to avoid her, and she was surprised at his speed. He just grinned at her, almost boyishly. "Easy there, princess. No need to get rough." As an afterthought he added, "Ryo Saeba, at your service."

"I'm Dutch," said the African-looking man. "I know it won't be easy, but try not to kill him. It's just his way." He gestured at the far side of the booth. "Take a load off and relax."

"We're looking for a ship," Perfume said after she and Mousse sat down.

"A ship we have," Dutch replied. He took a sip of his beer, not taking his eyes off either the girl or the boy.

"We're in kind of a hurry." Perfume closed her cloak a bit more, not liking the Japanese man's regard of her. "Is it a fast ship?"

"Fast ship?" interjected Ryo. "You've never heard of the Black Lagoon?"

"Should I have?" Perfume's gaze was cool. She was wondering if the irritating man was making fun of her.

"It's the ship that made the Kyoto run in less than twelve hours," he replied and then leaned forward. "We've outrun Imperial warships, not the local cruisers, mind you. I'm talking about the big Korean-made ships now. She's fast enough for you, cutie-pie. What's the cargo?"

"Only passengers," Perfume said, still frowning at his manner with her. "Myself, my companion here and no questions asked."

"What is it? Some kind of local trouble? Or are you two running away together?"

Perfume was sorely tempted to draw her sword at the last question. She answered stiffly, "Let's just say we'd like to avoid any Imperial entanglements." She wasn't sure how well their purchased travel papers would stand up to a detailed inspection and would prefer to avoid it.

Ryo grinned. "Well, that's the trick, isn't it? And it's going to cost you something extra. Two hundred momme of gold, in advance."

Perfume's gaze narrowed. "We could almost buy our own ship for that."

"But who's going to pilot it, girl? You? Your boyfriend?"

The Amazon was sorely tempted to attack again. In all the bars they had visited, why did men always assume Mousse was her boyfriend? She chose to lay this current indignity on the pile she was accumulating for her eventual meeting with Shampoo. Her rage at the other girl was growing more profound by the day, almost an ache deep inside her.

"I have an alternate proposition," Mousse stated calmly, hoping to defuse the situation before Perfume got them into another senseless fight. He adjusted his glasses. "We will pay you a hundred now, plus another hundred and twenty-five when we reach Kyoto."

"Two twenty-five, huh?" Ryo and Dutch considered the offer, looking at each other briefly. Dutch nodded and Ryo looked at them with a smile. "Okay, you two've got yourself a ship. Be at dock ninety-four early tomorrow morning at dawn, and we'll ship out."

"Ninety-four." Mousse nodded. The two got up and left.

"I could have handled that," Perfume seethed at him in Mandarin when they got outside. "We didn't have to pay so much of _my_ money."

"We got a ship, didn't we?" Mousse said irritably. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

"Don't presume to make decisions for me, Mu Tse!" Perfume dropped her hand to her sword. "I am not one of these weak, outsider women! I will teach you respect, if you push me too far."

"Understood." Mousse let the blade he had summoned to his hand fade as the girl began calming down. "Can we go eat now?"

Perfume's stomach rumbled at the mention of food, and she glared at him as if daring him to say something at her expense. When he did not, she stalked off, head held high.

Wisely, Mousse held his tongue and followed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Arena Director eyed the monitor image as he studied Ranma entering the main gate to the Battledome, a young woman at his side. He saw the boy laugh at something the girl said. He made a commanding gesture, and Ana came over to him. Uni was off taking care of another task for him, but he doubted it would require both Pumas to deal with one teenaged boy.

"Young Saotome is here, Ana. Take two security officers with you and escort him to the green room to get ready for his match. If he gives you any trouble, you have my permission to be forceful with him, but do not harm him significantly before his match."

The catgirl nodded and marched out, checking her truncheon in its holster as she departed, a smile on her face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yumi and Jun Fan Lee sat together in a box seat that he owned, a gift from the Emperor many years ago at Lee's ascension to becoming a full citizen. Like all box seats, the front was covered with thick one-way glass, allowing them a measure of privacy and quiet. Together, they watched the crowds filling the Battledome.

"You really know how to treat your friends well," Yumi said with a grin, before taking a drink from the beer she held in her hand, an expensive brew obtained from the refrigerator in the room. Her stomach felt pleasantly full after dinner. "I haven't spent a Friday night at the Arena in a long time. Thanks for inviting me."

Lee gave her a smile and came over to sit down in one of the four comfortable seats placed right in front of the glass. "I'm glad you accepted. There's a fighter here that I'm interested in your opinion on. I think she'd be perfect for a movie I'm trying to cast."

"Oh? Not that Mina Li girl, I hope." Yumi took another sip of her beer. "She seems a bit psycho to be a good actress."

Lee shook his head. "You might be surprised how psychotic actresses can be." He looked briefly thoughtful. "No, she's not the one. But I am considering her for a villain role in the movie. No, the girl I want you to observe tonight is Shampoo. Her technique is almost flawless, and she's extremely photogenic."

"I've heard of her," Yumi replied. "I think my niece mentioned her a few times. She follows the Arena contenders more than I do though. What's the name of the movie?"

"Young Master: The Legend Begins," Lee said before taking a sip of his beer. "I think Shampoo would be perfect for the heroine role, since I need a Chinese girl for it who really knows how to fight." He looked at Yumi. "I've been considering asking Ranma if he'd like to try out for the leading role. He's got more than enough fighting talent to be believable on screen."

"I don't know if Ranma has any interest in acting." Yumi took another drink of her beer. She shrugged. "But you're right. I think he'd be a great choice for an action movie star, at least as far as the physical abilities needed."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Down the hallway a short way from where Yumi and Lee were now seated, another couple made their way commandingly to a different box seat. The figure of Cardinal Synn and his companion, a hooded and robed woman dressed as a Tetragrammaton Nun plowed through the crowd by sheer force of presence. People got out of their way instinctively, as they would any predator, and they arrived without incident at their destination.

The woman unlocked the door with a magnetic key card and went in before the Cardinal, pulling a small device from her robes as he locked and bolted the door behind them. She began carefully scanning the room, finding and destroying a small handful of monitoring devices. When she was satisfied that the room was clean, she flipped back the hood of her robe, revealing the stunningly beautiful face of a Chinese woman with sea-blue hair that fell in graceful waves to just below her shoulders. She began shrugging off her concealing robes, giving it the appearance of a striptease for the benefit of her companion.

Beneath that mantle of cloth, she wore a golden dress with slender straps that tied behind her neck, the slit in her calf-length skirt revealing long, graceful legs. Her athletic frame radiated graceful power and feminine sensuality. The dress was backless, her favored style, showing an amazingly lifelike Tiger tattoo that took up the majority of her back. To those who knew her, this woman was called the Tigress, but she had once been known as Lao Cane, a Joketsuzoku. The feline depicted in her tattoo was identical to its mistress, radiating power and possessing a beauty that called out for it to be tamed. She rarely flaunted the image, preferring it remained hidden, unless she wanted to show it off. The man she was with had earned that privilege and more.

He had paused to watch her remove her outer covering, drinking in the sight of her, and then he did the same, beginning by removing his mask. Behind the covering, the visage of Shishio Makoto was revealed, a clone of the original and possessed of all that one's memories and skills, and he smiled at her when it was removed. She was one of the few people in the world who had ever seen his genuine smile. He unbelted his swords and set them down with reverence, for they were the original Makoto's blades, acquired at great cost. He then began removing his outer robes and formal armor, taking his time, knowing that doing so would inflame the woman's libido.

He had barely removed the last item, leaving himself clad in a black bodysuit and boots, when she flowed over to him and embraced him. Her mouth became one with his as the two exchanged a deep kiss. He held her tightly, feeling her ardor arousing his own.

"Airen," she breathed in a husky tone. "Thank you for your invitation tonight. I know I saw you only recently, but it seems like ages each time we are apart."

"Indeed." He smiled at her again. "I thought you might enjoy seeing the girl from your former village fight tonight, my wife. I understand she has a new suitor vying for her hand, and this one seems like he might be very special." He picked her up easily and carried her to the couch in the room, her hands beginning to unfasten his remaining garments. His tone turned darker. "The director of this facility hired Golgo to prevent tonight's suitor for the girl from winning. I am troubled by this."

Laying her down on the couch, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not interested in talking right now. He smiled at her and laid down next to her. Then no further words were spoken for a while.

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Ranma relaxed back into his seat. They still had plenty of time before the matches were scheduled to begin, so they had been chatting while waiting, the evening going very well so far. Nabiki was off visiting the facilities, the train ride having been a bit long getting here. While he waited, Ranma watched people moving to their seats around the Battledome. This place is huge, he thought with a small amount of awe.

He had read that the Tokyo Battledome was remodeled a few years ago to provide a variable fighting area to increase audience excitement. At the flip of a few switches in the control room, spikes could be raised through the floor, metal plates and a thin layer of oil could be spread to make footing more treacherous, or any of a dozen other obstacles could be placed. This was to make the fights within the Plexiglas walls surrounding the fighting area more dangerous, which meant it was more exciting for the audiences to watch. Currently, the floor was set in its default mode, a bare, rubberized surface.

As he was drinking the soda he'd bought before coming to their seats, a presence suddenly loomed over him. Ranma looked up, startled to see a tall Puma in paramilitary garb looking down at him. The sight of her catlike ears and slit-pupiled eyes almost made him spit out his soda.

"Saotome-san," Ana said with a professional smile. "If you would please come with us. We are to escort you to the ready room to prepare you for your match against Shampoo."

Ranma suddenly realized that the fake Genma had outmaneuvered him rather neatly. It had been a trap, and he'd just walked right into it like a trusting fool. "And what if I refuse?"

"By the terms of your contract, that would be considered a forfeit to the Amazon. Your six months in the Arena would begin immediately, and you would lose the opportunity for a rematch after one month." She continued to smile, the expression growing more predatory, and her hand dropping to rest on her truncheon.

"Six-?" Ranma started to blurt out. He eyed the lilith briefly and then he nodded. "Fine. All right. I'll fight."

He stood up and went with them.

A few minutes later, Nabiki arrived back at their seats and wondered where Ranma was. His drink was in the armrest cupholder, accumulating condensation. She assumed he'd gone to the restroom and sat down to wait for him to come back.

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Far away from the Battledome, in the village of the Joketsuzoku, the Matriarchs of the village gathered in the Council Hall. Cologne, most respected elder in the village, bounced in atop her staff accompanied by Shampoo's mother, Comb, the Enforcer for the will of the Council. Comb was an attractive woman with dark purple hair, quite young in appearance for a woman in her thirties, armed with a pair of battle axes slung at her back, the emblems of her position as the Enforcer.

"You are certain that Shan Pu is scheduled to fight tonight?" asked Cologne in Mandarin.

"That is what the program has printed," replied Comb with a slightly aggrieved tone as she flipped through the pages of the document in question. The village received one every month, a glossy book detailing all the matches that were scheduled to take place. At Cologne's direct request, Comb dutifully went through it at the beginning of every month and marked down the times of Shampoo's matches. The Matriarch had seen every single one. While she greatly missed her great-granddaughter, she consoled herself with the knowledge that Shampoo would return to the village a far greater fighter than she ever was before, and also likely an Imperial citizen at the rate she was going.

The two Amazons watched the rest of the council entering into the hall, the Matriarch Be Dea entering with one of her usual sour expressions. Comb exchanged a brief look of mutually chilly disdain with Perfume's mother, Peh Yin, Be Dea's ally among the more traditional faction of the council. Cologne sat at the head of the chamber due to her rank, which also happened to give her the very best view of the village's sole television. It had been purchased when Shampoo first left, in anticipation of the girl's ascension to her current venue for fighting.

Cologne enjoyed being able to witness the girl's progress from afar, a live broadcast the next best thing to being present. She always kept very careful watch during each match, and she sent detailed critiques of every one of Shampoo's fights in her weekly letters, along with compliments as the girl's technique developed. Her great-granddaughter had improved extremely well in the months she had been gone, far beyond what she had been capable of when she won the village's tournament before her departure.

It was little wonder that no outsider male had been able to best the girl. If one finally did, he would be truly extraordinary. A male like that as her husband would earn Shampoo and her family great honor, and their children would strengthen the village greatly. However, with each suitor that Shampoo sent down to crushing defeat, even suitors that would have possibly defeated her only a year ago, Cologne found herself wondering if any young man would ever win Shampoo's hand.

Occasionally, Cologne mused, there were women of the village who went undefeated by any man for their entire life. Silk had been one such warrior and Comb's best friend. That one had finally left the village to seek her fortune seven years ago and vanished without a trace. It was assumed she was dead.

She abruptly turned her thoughts away from such gloomy things, watching as one of the younger women turned on the television. I will give these outsiders credit for one thing; they create the most amazing devices for entertainment, Cologne thought with a smile, eyeing the television briefly as she sat and listened to the chatter in the room.

In addition to watching Shampoo's matches, the Matriarchs also used the device to remain aware of events going on in the outside world. While the mail was delivered each month with typical Imperial efficiency, many on the Council had grown used to the convenience of receiving news through the television. Many Matriarchs would never admit it, but they had also grown somewhat addicted to the daily drama programs. Cologne would most especially deny it, quite vehemently if pressed on the matter.

"You seem unusually quiet tonight, Granddaughter," noticed Cologne as she looked at the Enforcer.

"It is nothing, Grandmother," replied Comb with a slight shake of her head. "A personal matter."

"What affects one Amazon also affects us all, child," said Cologne with a smile. "Tell me what troubles you."

"I am finding myself growing restless at remaining in our village, Grandmother." Comb hung her head sadly. "I think I grow envious of all that Shan Pu has experienced in the outside world." There was a pause. "And I miss her."

"Ah, I thought as much," said Cologne. "Perhaps a trip might not be out of order for the two of us."

"The _two_ of us, Grandmother?" Comb looked at the elderly Amazon in surprise.

"I too have been feeling restless of late," replied Cologne. "I sense something momentous is about to affect our village in some way, and I think that it will involve Shan Pu."

"Should we warn her?" Comb unsheathed one of her axes, flipped it casually from hand to hand, and then re-sheathed it at her back.

"Warn her of what, child? The vague, uneasy feelings that I have been having as of late? No. I think whatever is about to begin should be allowed to take shape of its own accord. I will influence it when the time is right. For now, we will sit here and watch Shan Pu show the strength of the Joketsuzoku to the world once again." Cologne smiled.

"As you command, Grandmother, said Comb with a slight bow. "My honor is to serve."

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*** Earth +4.741, +4.622

"We have explained to you repeatedly that we are not part of this Musk Dynasty you are at war with, so why are you still holding us?" Genma asked Nodoka sharply. He had sensed faint quiverings in his inner ear as the ship began making something called 'phase translations' every five minutes or so, and another one had just completed. "For that matter, just where are you taking us?"

The woman he was addressing eyed him irritably. Now that he and Soun were fully recovered from their capture this morning, they had been taken to bathe, been given clean clothes and gotten something to eat, all done under escort by their two captors. Before going back to their cells, they were now being allowed to have a little exercise. Other crew in the gymnasium area watched the male arguing with the redhead with interest. Word had spread on the ship that a pair of males had been taken aboard, not Musk but also not like Matriarchy men. There was a certain amount of curiosity at seeing a male speaking up for himself like this.

"You are being brought to the core worlds of the Matriarchy, Genma Saotome," Nodoka said with a frown. "Our scientists are very interested in learning more about you and your home. Resonator technology is unheard of in paraverses beyond control of the Matriarchy and the Musk." She was not certain how to deal with him. A Musk she would have likely killed by now for being so impertinent with her, and a man of the Matriarchy would not address one of the superior gender so. He perplexed her.

"We are not your enemies," Soun said sincerely to Kimiko, looking at her.

"You are male," Kimiko immediately declared when she met his gaze, as if that explained everything. "All males have the potential to become feral savages like the Musk."

"Is there nothing we can do to convince you to let us go?" Genma looked at Nodoka in exasperation. "Can I speak to your captain about this?"

The redhead smiled wolfishly. "I'll tell you what, Genma Saotome. If you can defeat me in single combat, I will take you to speak with the captain about your request and be your advocate." Seeing his look of surprise, she smiled more broadly, confident that her challenge would go unanswered. After all, the man had said in his interviews that he was a scientist. Even if he had accepted, no male had ever defeated her.

Genma pondered the situation briefly. He had left a life of violence behind in his teenage years, but circumstances kept confronting him with situations requiring fighting as the answer rather than reasoned discourse. Also, the superior attitude of the woman before him with Nodoka's face irritated him, her manner clear that she thought little of him and expected him to back down meekly before her threat.

"I accept," he said, adjusting his glasses and gazing solemnly at her. The worst that could happen would be a beating, he supposed.

Nodoka blinked. She noticed her crewmates watching her with interest. Kimiko was also observing her, her expression unreadable.

"No one is to interfere!" the redhead snapped out, glaring at the women in the room. She took up a stance, supremely confident in her skills and defiant in the glare she gave him. "Come and get me, if you dare, Genma Saotome."

Their duel began simply, the two of them merely testing each other's defenses at first. Genma felt odd, facing an opponent like her, a woman wearing his wife's face but far more obstinate and irritatingly proud. He mentally shrugged as they quickly began getting more aggressive with each other, and he was startled to realize he recognized her style, the same one that the Chinese girl Shampoo used: Joketsuzoku Kung Fu. That gave him a slight advantage, for he was familiar with her style from his many sparring matches with the Chinese Amazon, and Nodoka was likely not familiar with his. And the Anything-Goes School was founded on using every one of an opponent's exploitable weaknesses to achieve victory.

Off to one side, Soun wasn't sure what to make of the wolfish smile that Genma suddenly showed on his face. He recognized the woman's style as well, but wasn't sure what good that would do his friend. He knew what Karate and Kendo looked like too, but he wouldn't claim that gave him any particular advantage over practitioners of those arts. Then he saw the man beginning to probe at very specific areas of the woman's defenses, as if trying to provoke a certain response. When Nodoka extended her arm a fraction of an inch too far making a punch in reply to one such probe, Genma grasped it with his left hand and then twisted it outwards and down in a sudden, brutal motion even as he drove his right hand, curled into a fist, straight up into the Matriarchy soldier's jaw. Soun could hear the impact from where he stood, and Kimiko winced.

Nodoka felt her brain go blank from the force of the blow, absently realizing the male had stunned her. Her movements suddenly felt like she was weighed down with cement coating all of her limbs. She managed to block the next two attacks he made by reflex alone, her body moving only using instincts honed on a hundred battlefields. She felt a punch slam into her gut when she missed the following strike and then her world went black when Genma's follow-up roundhouse kick impacted into her ribs and sent her flying into the wall of the gymnasium.

When she recovered her senses, Kimiko was looking down at her with an unreadable expression, puzzling Nodoka. Why was she lying on the floor? What just happened? The very last thing she remembered, she had been fighting with the irritating male. She suddenly shot up into a sitting position and looked at Genma, kneeling next to her and looking with concern at her. An array of thoughts whirled through her mind and then quickly settled. An odd sort of warmth seemed to fill her as she looked at him and realized what he had done, a feat no other male had ever achieved.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake so soon, Kamiya-san," Genma said. He was startled when the woman suddenly looked at him softly, unshed tears suddenly appearing in her eyes. "Uh, that is-"

Nodoka felt extremely happy as she put her arms around his neck in a quick movement, bringing her face very close to Genma's and her body up tight against his. "It's you that I love," she said suddenly and with extreme certainty.

She then bestowed upon him the Kiss of Marriage.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

High above the Arena floor, Uni was leading the man the Director had instructed her to assist past security. Tonight, that task was much more difficult than it would normally be. The Arena was hosting a very special guest tonight, but his presence was kept secret for security.

The Emperor was in attendance tonight.

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The last of the stragglers found their seats as Nabiki was beginning to worry about where Ranma was. He had been gone for far too long.

The house lights dimmed, and the announcer walked to the center of the Arena. A video monitor high overhead brought the man's face into clear focus for all. As close as she was to the floor of the Arena, Nabiki watched the man himself. He had the smarmy looks of a game show host, but with even better hair. The man bowed to the crowd briefly and then stood up with a smile.

"Good evening, gentlemen and ladies of the Empire! Tonight we have an excellent show lined up for you, so sit back and enjoy the next several hours of spine-tingling carnage! Prepare yourself to witness the acts of masters of the arts of fighting! Our eager competitors come from the far corners of the Empire! So give a cheer for our warriors for the evening!" The man paused as the crowd erupted into cheers for their favorite fighters.

Young men and women dressed in colorful fighting costumes jogged out to join the announcer in the center. Nabiki listened with interest to the cheers from the crowd. Some of the fighters apparently had some large fan sections. She noticed the spotlights flashing through the crowd. Each fighter also briefly appeared on the monitors with their name below. Nabiki happened to turn her head at the right moment to see a familiar face.

Shampoo, she mused as she looked at her face on the monitor. She turned to scan the line of fighters and saw her near the center. She was two hundred feet away from her, at most. She studied the other girl as the Amazon watched the crowd with professional calm.

The Chinese girl was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt made from a durable, light purple silk with two golden dragons embroidered boldly upon it in opposing directions. It was just barely long enough to hang slightly below her hips, and it fit snugly across her torso to show off her figure quite nicely without hindering her movements at all. Her sash had been shredded in her fight with Ryu Kumon, and she had not felt a need to replace it like she had other damaged items. A skintight set of black silken pants was worn beneath it, and a pair of soft leather boots in white, laced up the front to mid-calf, completed the outfit.

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Ranma fidgeted in the small dressing room that he had been escorted to. He could hear the sounds of activity out in the hallway as he waited for his upcoming match. He had been provided clothing more appropriate for appearing in the Arena than his school uniform, now wearing a sleeveless Chinese-style tunic in white with red ties, black gi pants and rubber-soled shoes. In addition, he wore leather armbands that covered the lower half of his forearms.

His current predicament caused memories of Shampoo to float across his mind. On one world, the Amazon had lost to one of his analogs from a single strike to the head, her own weapon falling on her, an almost laughably easy victory. On another, she had traveled back with him from China and been a regular sparring partner, but a real fight between them had never occurred, leaving it an uncertain outcome. And on yet a third, his analog had dueled with her for almost an hour before he had finally beaten her.

After months spent in the Arena, undefeated by anyone, this version of Shampoo was not going to be easy to deal with. Luckily, since one of his other selves had sparred with her regularly, he had a fairly good knowledge of the Joketsuzoku's style of Kung Fu and where its weak spots were. It wasn't a tremendous advantage, but combined with the new improvements done to his physique and recent mastery of the Amaguriken, he felt confident he could overcome her. And if his new speed still wasn't enough, the boost was another advantage he had over Shampoo, something she would not be able to match. But he would hold it in reserve to avoid burning himself out too early on.

There was a knock at the door. "Thirty minutes until fight time."

He acknowledged the voice, and the speaker went away. Ranma picked up the copy of the contract he had been given at his request and read through it one more time, looking for anything he might have missed on his previous perusals. Luckily, his reading speed and ability to absorb such information enabled him to get through the document quickly. He stood up and began warming up, running through a kata to limber himself up, and the familiar movements helping him to focus his mind.

If he defeated Shampoo, he won a significant tax-free cash prize but would be engaged to her under Imperial law, an engagement contract that neither of them could rescind. If he lost, then six months of his life would be spent in here as a prisoner. He did have an option for a rematch, but the penalty for losing that one would be to spend a year in here instead of six months. There were also a few other options he had noticed, but the chances of them occurring were practically nil so he didn't even bother considering them.

His only way out he could see, unless he wanted to fight for the next six months of his life in the Arena, was for him to go straight through Shampoo in one-on-one combat. There was no clever bypass out of this situation. He would simply have to take her head on, stand toe-to-toe against her and hope he had progressed enough in his abilities to defeat her. She was undefeated, a strong martial artist in a place filled with powerful fighter, but she was not invincible and she had never faced him before.

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Shampoo fidgeted in her seat. The opening introductions were over, so she had nothing to do except wait for her own match tonight. She was fighting in only one tonight, what the promoters insisted on calling the Amazon Challenge. All but one of her previous suitors had come from rather rich families, so they had simply paid the penalty and left after losing. The one that remained, Ryu Kumon, had accepted his fate with extremely poor grace, at least in Shampoo's opinion.

The Arena promoters always played up her village and its Amazon nature in the programs to try luring more challengers to enter into battle with her. Because of the Joketsuzoku's surrender, by Imperial law any victor over her was not automatically considered her husband but only engaged to her, although neither of them could back out of it either. Also, as one of the Joketsuzoku, she would also be given citizenship automatically by merely marrying a full-blooded Japanese man, something women of other conquered regions could not claim.

This was one of the few exceptions in the complex regulations regarding marriage in the Empire, but it had only been invoked a handful of times in the last century. All female citizens were forbidden by Imperial law to have more than a single husband. On the other hand, male citizens were allowed to have multiple wives. However, one would be considered First Wife, the first one he wed, and she would be considered superior to all other wives. Mistresses were also allowed, but few citizen women ever became such. It was one of the last major holdovers of sexism that still remained in the Empire.

"So, what do you think of this Ranma guy's chances?" asked Running Deer from where she was seated. She wasn't fighting tonight, so she was just there to give her friend a bit of moral support. She leaned on the low wall that separated the fighting stage from the waiting area and eyed the large crowd. Friday night's attendance was always larger than was typical on other weeknights.

The Apache girl's eyes scanned the area where the Arena fighters sat, looking for Ryu Kumon, wondering if he would be watching Shampoo's match tonight. He was there, but when she saw who he was seated next to, the new girl, Shenhua, she frowned. She had heard from some of the other girls that the Taiwanese girl was now part of Mina's posse.

It figured, Running Deer mused sourly. In her opinion, the members forming Mina's clique were the most vicious, slutty-looking tramps fighting in the Arena, so Shenhua would fit right in. She glared at the other girl, feeling her emotions seethe as she saw her with her hand on Ryu's thigh possessively. Seeing the boy she liked sitting with the Taiwanese tramp hurt deeply, especially after she had been doing her best to watch out for him. She turned her gaze away from the horrible sight, feeling hatred for Shenhua igniting within her. The other girl must have seduced Ryu to get some cheap and tawdry thrills. Shenhua couldn't possibly care about him as much as she did.

"Shampoo not worried," The Amazon replied with a smug tone, unaware of Running Deer's sudden emotional pain. She was mentally reviewing what she would say to Ranma after she defeated him, and not really thinking about the fight. "Shampoo is too, too much woman for Impie boys who challenge Shampoo."

"It's certainly a big crowd tonight," observed Running Deer as she peered out past the high Plexiglas walls surrounding the center area, keeping her gaze away from Ryu and Shenhua. "I guess your fan club is doing a good job spreading the word."

"Uh huh," answered Shampoo absently. She had her eyes closed, almost appearing to be asleep. "No worry about fight, Running Deer. Shampoo is no expecting surprises tonight," said the Amazon with a smile.

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At his position high above the Arena floor, the man known as Golgo fitted his scope to his rifle. He set a small case holding flechette darts to one side. They were specially made from a polymer that would dissolve in the bloodstream almost instantly and deliver their payload of chemicals. He checked his tools a second time and then settled into place. He used his scope to check the range and nodded. This would be no problem.

He relaxed and waited.

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The first fights were made up of the weaker fighters. It was designed as an audience appetizer, and most of them were done fairly quickly. It left the crowd hungry for more. Few of these fighters would ever be remembered, but some might rise to the highest ranks, replacing the fading stars of other fighters on the way down. Such was the way the Arena worked. It was a glorious time for some, but it took a tremendous toll in lives destroyed to feed the savage bloodlust of the masses.

As this was the top end of the pyramid for the many fighting venues spread throughout the Empire, even the weakest here fought with great skill. Weapons were not favored in the Arena anymore, so matches were always fine displays of a multitude of barehanded fighting techniques. From her seat, Nabiki watched a Vietnamese girl who couldn't have been more than fifteen years of age take down her larger male opponent with a solid roundhouse kick across his face. The Tendo girl was really getting concerned about where Ranma had vanished off to but wasn't sure where to start looking.

The last of the preliminary bouts eventually ended. The last two fighters left the Arena floor, one being carried off on a stretcher. The house lights dimmed, except for a single spotlight that lit up the center area. The announcer walked out to the middle of the light, and he raised his microphone to his mouth. The crowd went a little quiet in anticipation.

Nabiki watched with a little more interest. I wonder what's up? She started to flip through the program, momentarily distracted from her concerns for Ranma's continuing absence.

"Gentlemen and ladies of the Empire!" called out the announcer to the crowd. "Tonight we once again bring you a very special show, a test of courage and skill to one lucky young man. Coming into the center of the Arena now is Shampoo, one of our finest fighters, remaining undefeated to this day." A second spotlight followed Shampoo as she came out into the center in a series of graceful flips and leaps. She gave one final jump and then landed in the circle of light around the announcer with a graceful stop.

"Who will be making the attempt to tame this beautiful girl?" Shampoo smiled at the crowds and waved. "Tonight's lucky young man, if he is the winner of this match against this lovely girl, gets the very rare opportunity of claiming her as his wife. As all of Shampoo's many fans across the globe know, any man who defeats a Joketsuzoku in fair combat becomes her husband by the laws of her village."

Nabiki felt her face twitch. She was having a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach.

"What man could resist such an opportunity?" asked the announcer with a large smile. "Shampoo certainly seems eager to meet tonight's suitor." The Amazon girl did a few flowing moves from her fighting repertoire. "For those in our audience who may not be familiar with the Empire's views on the subject, Imperial law requires any victor over her to take her as his fiancée and does not immediately proclaim it a marriage."

Nabiki felt her face twitch again.

"The penalty for losing, on the other hand," said the announcer in a dramatically quieter voice, "is to spend six months in the Arena as one of our fighters. So, based on those terms, who has the courage to go up against this lovely girl tonight?" Shampoo smiled brightly into the camera. Her beautiful face filled the monitors. "There he is!"

Deciding to put some flash into his entrance, Ranma came bounding into the Arena in a series of flips and leaps, his path followed by another spotlight. He ended in one last high leap which brought him down right next to the announcer and Shampoo.

Seeing him, Nabiki felt her face twitch once more and a vein throb in her forehead. Tonight was supposed to be their first real date! She was not supposed to be sitting here watching him get engaged to yet another girl!

Ryu Kumon gazed down at Ranma. He was not impressed by the other boy's theatrical entrance. The Amazon would finish him off within a few minutes. Her destiny was to be his someday, not anyone else's.

"Tonight's suitor has entered the ring in a truly dramatic fashion!" called out the announcer. "He even looks to be rather confident on the outcome of this match." The crowd laughed a bit. The announcer paused as Ranma landed in front of him. "Please tell us your name, and what style of martial arts the audience will see tonight." He held the small microphone up to the pigtailed boy's face as the cameras captured a close-up view for the television audience.

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Akane was lying on her bed, and she flipped through the channels to see if anything interesting was on. Mecha show... pass. Evening news... boring. Romance movie... nahh. Another anime show... ick... pervert stuff... pass. She paused on the Arena's channel to catch the beginning of the 'Amazon Challenge' about to begin. Now this was more like it.

She tilted her head to one side, thinking there was something familiar about Shampoo's incoming challenger tonight, but the camera view was from too far away to be sure. She whistled softly in appreciation as the boy leaped into the Arena in such a brazen fashion. Now that looks like a real man, she thought with a smile.

When the camera focused in on his face, her scream of horror could be heard throughout the neighborhood.

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Nodoka was watching the small portable television in the kitchen while she cleaned up after dinner. She was watching the Arena's channel since it was the only interesting thing on during a Friday night, unless she wanted to watch another episode of 'Battlecruiser Macross' tonight. She liked the show, but the romance plotlines were getting a little thick even for her. She had flipped on the Arena channel to have a little noise in the background while she put things away.

She happened to glance over at the television screen in time to see her son suddenly appear on camera. He was challenging to win the Chinese Amazon as his bride. Nodoka paused to think about that, thoughts of grandchildren suddenly filling her mind again. Her shout of joy could be heard throughout the neighborhood.

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Cologne watched the screen closely. She noted the rest of the council studying her great-granddaughter's newest suitor. "He seems to carry himself well, but it will take much more than attitude to win the day against Shampoo," she murmured after a moment of thought.

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"My name?" asked Ranma with less than his usual wit. He was feeling a little intimidated by all of the cameras. "My name is Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts," he said reflexively. He looked at Shampoo and then he felt his nerves begin tingling. It startled him, since the Amazon was not part of the Project. He was surprised to feel such a strong level of attraction towards her, even more powerful than it was with any of the other girls he knew. He felt his heart suddenly seem to pound in his chest with nervousness at being near her.

Now that he was closer, Shampoo suddenly felt her body respond to the presence of the pigtailed boy. It was like it had been with Ryu Kumon, only even more profound. She had never felt such a strong level of desire for any boy before, which perplexed her because Ranma had not defeated her. How could she be so attracted to a boy that had not yet proven his strength to her?

Nabiki growled deep in her throat at Ranma's announcement. She was going to pound him into the ground for his pronouncement of heirship when they got home. Her gaze then shifted to Shampoo, not liking the appraising look the Amazon suddenly had in her eyes when she got nearer to Ranma. It reminded her unpleasantly of how Utena had regarded him whenever she saw them together, and she wasn't looking forward to a repeat of that sort of experience.

"There you have it, Arena fans," said the announcer as he turned to face the cameras. "Ranma Saotome is the name of this brave, young citizen. He is a challenger who represents the youth of this new generation, the future strength of the Empire. He is willing to bet six months of his life on his fighting abilities. We will now pause for a brief station identification break. When we return, the Amazon Challenge will begin!"

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Perfume stared at the television, aghast at what she was seeing. She and Mousse were seated in a grungy restaurant finishing up their dinner. There was a small number of Shampoo's fans clustered over by the bar, cheering for her whenever she appeared on screen.

She was too late. Shampoo was going to become a Joketsuzoku legend, and she could only watch it happen.

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Pausing as she drank a cold beer in celebration of her victory earlier that day, Ginseng studied the face on the television screen before her. She knew him! It was Sage! Fortune had smiled on her and given her his name on this world, the name of Ranma Saotome. He was in Japan, in Tokyo, and she would be with him soon. She took another drink of her beer and smiled.

Everything was coming together for her. Within weeks, possibly two to three months at the outside, she would finally be reunited with Sage after over two years of searching for him. That made her happy, and tears suddenly appeared in her eyes.

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Cologne blinked when she heard the name of the boy's school of martial arts. It wasn't possible. It couldn't truly be the Anything-Goes School he was using. Happosai was long dead, and none of his teachings were ever passed on. She had seen him die with her own two eyes. She had seen the firing squad execute him decades ago.

If it was the Anything-Goes School, then an impossible thing was about to occur right before her eyes.

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Shishio Makoto was still in the process of dressing as he gazed down in interest at the young man facing off against Shampoo. The Anything-Goes School? What an amusing name for a school of martial arts. He looked forward to seeing what the boy could do. He was still troubled by what Golgo might do to interfere, but there wasn't time to hunt the man down and demand an explanation.

Wait. He paused the playback on the screen and rewound it for another look at the close-up of the boy. There was something oddly familiar about that face. It took him a few moments to place it.

Kenshin Himura.

The boy reminded him of that man, a figure from the original Shishio Makoto's past. There was something about the eyes, the shape of the boy's face. How very interesting. He made a note to check Ranma's family registry later on.

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Shampoo did some quick stretching exercises while she waited for the match to begin. Ranma had gone off to the opposite side to limber up. She was grateful for that as it allowed her a chance to regain her poise. Her sudden and powerful attraction for the pigtailed boy was throwing her off her game, and she had to gather herself back together.

Despite the bravado of his entry, she anticipated a victory over him. Her skills had come far since leaving her village, and she knew she was all but undefeatable now. Even so, she would have to be careful and not seriously injure him when she put him down. She needed him to be able to talk soon after the match, to find out what he knew about resonator technology. Even so, she found herself excited at the idea of fighting with him, even though she was certain she was going to grind him into the floor.

The announcer came halfway to the center of the fighting area. He had a feeling that this match was going to be something special, no matter which fighter won. He looked at both opponents. Both Ranma and Shampoo appeared to be ready for the match. The boy had a serious look on his face, like a man on a mission. The announcer looked up at the capacity crowd as the camera light went on.

"Welcome back, home viewers, to what may prove to be the most exciting fight for the week!" he called out. "In one moment, our two fighters will meet in a battle of the sexes." He paused as the crowd erupted into a roar of excitement. "Who will emerge victorious in the Amazon Challenge? Let the fight begin!"

The announcer trotted for the sidelines, and Shampoo surged forward. After all of her many defeats of would-be suitors, she was feeling confident that victory was already hers. A shame really, she mused. It would have been wonderful if the analog of the boy Ensign Shan had known so intimately was strong enough to defeat her. Her cheeks burned momentarily with a blush at the memory of that experience.

Shampoo leaped into the air to get an aerial attack advantage for her initial strike. Ranma smirked and leaped into the air to meet her. The Chinese girl was so surprised at their mid-air meeting that he almost managed to get the first hit right then. They hung in the air for a moment as they exchanged a lightning quick series of strikes and blocks. They plummeted back to the ground, still exchanging blows.

He's better than I thought he'd be, mused Shampoo clinically during the exchange. A lot better.

This isn't going to be easy, thought Ranma with an inward grimace. He had been right about the Amazon. She was much better than her analogs, her techniques honed to a razor's edge and her experience giving her the ability to create new ones on the fly. She was a stronger foe than any of his analogs had ever faced so far in their lives.

Neither of them had managed to hit the other yet. He sprang back and blocked as Shampoo followed her landing with a flashy assault of spin kicks and quick punches. He heard the announcer commenting on their movements as if from a great distance, so focused on the fight he was.

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Yumi was enjoying the fight a great deal, impressed with Ranma's demonstration of skill, oddly reminding her of her own battle many years ago with Comb. She took a drink of her beer, her head tipped back for a moment when she noticed something odd. There was a brief sparkle of light up amidst the catwalks of the stadium. She picked up a pair of binoculars she had been using to watch the fight and had just set down to take a drink.

She focused them on the spot where she saw the sparkle and saw a man with a rifle watching the fight.

"I have to go take care of something, Jun-kun," she said, standing up suddenly. "I'll be right back."

Before her companion could reply, she was gone.

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Akane sat and hugged her pillow. Her eyes held spellbound by the images on the television. Ranma was fighting far better than he had against her weeks ago, and she found herself wondering if she could even keep up with him now, even after all her training with Sakura. How good a fighter was he? Where had he been hiding all this ability?

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Ranma took a hit to the shoulder, Shampoo getting the first strike in, and he traded it for a kick to her thigh. He managed to block a rapid series of punches that she threw and leaped back to get some breathing room. The noises of the crowd were almost deafening as they roared their approval. Shampoo kept the pressure up on him, and leaped at him with a high flying kick. He ducked, and the Amazon landed behind him.

A powerful kick impacted hard into his lower back before he could turn around to face her. He flew across the Arena and landed on his face just short of the Plexiglas wall. His thoughts went fuzzy from the pain. He needed a better strategy, he realized, even as he tried to regain his senses. He rolled over and saw Shampoo leaping at him. Her stomping kick might have ended it right there if he hadn't rolled suddenly to the side.

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Nabiki felt her heart unexpectedly leap up into her throat when Ranma was knocked down. The program she held was steadily being shredded as she twisted it in her hands. A growing anger was building inside her. That Chinese bimbo is going to pay for every injury that she inflicts on Ranma-kun tonight. She continued to watch the fight intently with glittering eyes.

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The Amazon backed up, blinking her eyes to clear them of tears. After Ranma sprang back to his feet, she had traded a few more punches and kicks with him again and then he had managed to hit her solidly. The blow to her face could have broken her nose if she hadn't managed to roll with it. She could tell that she was going to have some colorful bruises for the next day or two. She had given Ranma some good shots in exchange though.

Shampoo was actually enjoying herself. Ranma was a good fighter, much better than she had expected. He gave back as well as he got. He was fast, too. His blocks with his hands were especially quick. She dodged his next kick and knocked him off his feet again, sweeping his legs this time. She was starting to feel doubt as to the eventual victor in their fight, and that was rare for her. It gave her hope that she might have found the man worthy to be her husband. Her smile broadened more.

At that same moment, Ranma felt a small sting on the back of his neck.

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Yumi cursed when she reached the catwalk Golgo was on. She was just in time to see him pull the trigger. She leaped at the man.

Golgo sensed the ninja's attack a moment too late. Her foot slammed into his ribs, and he felt a couple of them crack before he could even respond. He reacted with inhuman resilience and lashed out at her with a punch, rocking Yumi back on her heels. In that moment, he drew his combat knife. There could be no witnesses.

"You, I know you," Yumi said suddenly, evading back from his slashing knife. "Golgo Seven? Nine maybe?"

"I'm Golgo Twelve," replied the man coldly. "You're Yumi Kuonji. Keel Lorentz sends his regards." With that, he attacked with his blade.

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Why is she smiling like that? Ranma wondered for a brief moment. Her fist slammed into his chest during that moment of inattention, and he mentally cursed himself for letting himself get distracted. Her leg whipped around in a lightning-fast spin kick to land a devastating blow into his shoulder. He felt his left arm suddenly go numb from the shoulder down. He forced Shampoo to back off from pressing her advantage by leaping over her head. His foot tagged her full-force when she turned to face him while he was still in mid-air. She never even saw it coming.

Shampoo felt pain explode across her face. Ranma's mid-air kick had caught her solidly on one cheek. She rolled with the blow as best she could, but she still felt a little staggered. She reached up to feel her cheek, and her hand came away bloody. She caught a brief glimpse of herself in a reflection off the Plexiglas, and saw a bleeding cut on her face to add to the blood from her nose. Now I finish this, she thought grimly. This had ceased to be amusing to her, and she blamed her attraction to him for her letting things go this far. She could not lose to a boy, not before she got to the Emperor's Tournament and won her citizenship.

She was done playing around. Ranma was an excellent fighter and had taken her closer to a loss than any male had in a very long time, even closer than Ryu Kumon had managed, but he had not beaten her. She felt suddenly frustrated at the thought that she was still alone, that she had no one in her life to share it with. Thoughts of Mina mocking her people's ways seemed to fill her mind, arousing her anger. It was time to put her would-be suitor down and finish this fight.

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Watching from the bar she was in, Ginseng was quite astonished at what an excellent fighter Ranma was. Sage had been more scholar than warrior in that other life. Oh, he could fight, every Musk male could, but he was nowhere near the ability that this analog was demonstrating before her eyes.

A surprising feeling seemed to blossom within her as she watched the fight and marveled at Ranma's skill and physical prowess. She suddenly found herself looking at him, not as a long-lost sibling anymore, but as a woman looked at a man she found highly desirable. It perplexed her a bit and brought a sudden blush to her cheeks.

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Ranma felt sensation quickly returning to his left arm, and his shoulder didn't seem to be as injured as he feared. Shampoo was powerful and fast, stronger and swifter than anyone he'd faced so far in his short career as a fighter. He could understand now how she could remain undefeated this long. This one wasn't the same cute girl who followed one of his analogs back to Japan. She wasn't even like the one who was cursed to turn into a man. This was a seasoned fighter who had battled her way up through many dangerous foes and emerged victorious, who could match his own ability. His chance at victory was slipping away unless he could manage to turn the tide in his favor somehow. There was only one thing he could do now, and he set himself for it as Shampoo came leaping at him, her gaze looking intense, her intent clear to finish him off.

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

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There was a stunned silence from every member of the Council of Elders.

Cologne stared at the screen, aghast, watching in total disbelief as Ranma unleashed a storm of blows with both fists into Shampoo's body. It was impossible. That was a high-level Joketsuzoku technique that only a handful of Amazons currently knew.

How did the boy know that technique? Who had taught him?

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Perfume felt her mouth go dry with surprise. She knew of the technique that Ranma had just unleashed, but she had not mastered it herself. She was astonished at the sight of an outsider male using such a high-level Amazon technique.

Mousse was currently lying unconscious next to the table. His ranting about the Japanese boy had finally gotten too annoying. No one had chosen to complain about her actions after she had embedded a few of the more aggressive outsider men into walls and thrown a few more out through windows.

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Lao narrowed her gaze as she watched Ranma unleash his attack. "This one suddenly interests me, Airen."

"He is quite exceptional, isn't he?" Shishio replied jovially, his eyes glittering. "I didn't think that the Joketsuzoku ever taught outsiders their special techniques."

"They don't, not normally." She smiled as she mused on what a wonderful find the girl had made among the Japanese, almost as good a find as her own husband. If she wasn't already so much in love with Shishio, she would have spirited the boy away that night. "As you well know, only extraordinary men are offered such secrets."

Shishio laughed, but his eyes glowed at the sudden possibilities opened up to him. Yes, he would watch this boy. Perhaps he could be brought into Shadowlaw's fold, if the right incentive was offered.

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Ginseng watched the display of incredible speed and felt her heart seem to flutter within her chest. Ranma was a magnificent warrior. She felt herself blush again and took a deep drink of her beer, trying to figure out these unexpected new feelings she was experiencing.

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Up in the audience, Nabiki watched in amazement as Ranma unleashed a full onslaught of blurring punches into Shampoo, surprised that he too had mastered the Amaguriken. The Amazon seemed to hover in the air for several moments, held up by the furious blizzard of blows. When it was over, the Chinese girl flew backwards, flipping end over end.

Ranma and Nabiki were both surprised when Shampoo landed unsteadily on her feet rather than immediately falling to the ground unconscious. As he stood there, he felt weakness begin filling him, and his head felt woozy. Had using the Amaguriken drained him somehow? It hadn't felt like this in training. The world was going hazy.

The announcer loved every minute of this fight. Both fighters were giving their all, and the crowd could sense it. The cheers for both fighters could be felt through the floor. "This is one of the best fights that this announcer has ever had the pleasure to see!" he shouted into the microphone. "Shampoo refuses to give up, despite Ranma's best efforts to knock her down. That last one had to hurt!" The battle of the sexes had taken on a whole new meaning.

Shampoo was only standing now by sheer willpower, refusing to lie down and let it end as she gazed at Ranma fiercely. Her ribs ached and the world was hazy at the edges, but her pride and fury sustained her. He had used an Amazon technique against her! Her nostrils flared as she sucked in air in gasping breaths. She just needed a few moments to recover and then she would attack. The world began going hazier.

"Finish her!" came a deep-voiced shout from the crowd.

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Yumi struggled with Golgo, the blade of his knife barely an inch away from her right eye as she felt her back bent over painfully hard against the guardrail. She had forgotten how tough the man was in a fight. She drove her knee hard into his gut again even as her arms strained against his, pushing back with all her might to keep him from plunging the blade into her skull. Blood seeped from some cuts on her arms and back and a deep stab wound in her belly, and she could feel the growing blood loss from them weakening her.

She had killed him at least twice in her career that she could be certain of, but he always returned. Because Golgo was not truly a man, but an unnatural creation of Keel Lorentz, a killing machine in human form. Somehow, like with the cold-blooded Ayanami girl that Keel also employed, that twisted madman had crafted his favored assassins to be able to be reborn into new bodies identical to their last, complete with memories up to the death of their last body.

"Now you die, you bitch," Golgo growled, ignoring the pain from her knee strikes and the other injuries she had inflicted upon him. He grinned savagely as the blade moved inexorably closer to her eye. Their bodies strained against each other.

"Not today... and not by you!" With a surge of desperate strength, Yumi moved her head aside and twisted her grip on the blade before shoving it downwards and back towards him with all her might. The knife sank low into Golgo's own guts, driven in all the way to the hilt by their combined strength. Raw hatred for her could be seen almost glowing in his eyes. Ignoring the blade stuck in his own intestines for the moment, he punched her hard in the face, breaking her nose.

Ignoring the pain, Yumi managed to keep her grip on the knife with both hands and ripped upwards a small distance before yanking it back out accompanied by a gout of crimson fluid. Golgo staggered back in shock and pain, trying to hold in his own intestines even as more blood leaked from his body. She drove the blade back into him a second time all the way up to the hilt, just under his sternum and angled upwards, aiming for his heart. Blood burbled from his mouth as the already dead man fell back hard against the railing, already loosened during their brutal struggle. It snapped free when he hit it.

The last sight Yumi had of Golgo was the hatred his eyes still held for her even as he fell backwards and off the catwalk into empty space.

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Ranma felt a few drops of blood suddenly splash his hand and cheek, distracting him for a moment from Shampoo's intense gaze. He glanced upwards and saw a body plummeting down towards her from behind her. Without thinking, his only desire to protect her from harm, he leaped forward with all of his remaining strength and tackled the Amazon hard, knocking her back out of the way a second before Golgo's body landed head-first with a sickening snap of bones on the very same spot where Shampoo had just been standing. The force of his solid impact into her midsection rendered her unconscious immediately. As their bodies came to a rest on the Arena floor, the chemical cocktail in his system completed their task and he too collapsed, his head falling to rest on her breasts.

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Yumi stood at the railing and looked down at the scene below, seeing Golgo's body splayed on the floor of the Arena and Ranma lying on top of Shampoo, the two teenagers unconscious. The blood oozing from her wounds was thankfully slowing, but she had to get her injuries medical attention very soon. There was a sudden, explosive displacement of air to her right, and she was relieved to see Akemi Kasuga appear. Seeing Director Kasuga's daughter there, ready for anything, was a surprise. She was part of the Emperor's personal guard.

Akemi took the scene in instantly and relaxed her hold on the Power a little, seeing an old friend who always had a knack for getting into situations like this. "Yumi, I guess I should have expected to find you here, even after you retired," she said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, I guess I just can't keep... myself... out of... trouble..." the ninja replied in a growing slur and then her eyes rolled back up in her head. She almost fell from the catwalk herself, finally passed out from blood loss now that her adrenaline high was ending, but Akemi caught her with the Power and held her suspended.

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Cologne and the others stared at the television screen in shock. The Arena attendants quickly began checking Ranma and Shampoo as the crowds began murmuring, uncertain what to make of this development. Had the boy won or lost? Who was the dead man?

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the two youths both being carried out on stretchers, still apparently alive. She felt extremely grateful to the boy for his efforts saving Shampoo's life. One or both of them would have been killed if he'd hesitated a single moment longer before acting. That act of bravery and the amazing fighting ability he had demonstrated earlier had proven he was worthy of Shampoo in truly spectacular fashion.

Comb kept her face neutral, but inside she was concerned for her daughter. She noticed that Cologne was trying to speak to her again when she felt the Matriarch's staff tapping on her skull. "Yes, Grandmother?"

"Pack your things for a trip," ordered Cologne. "We are leaving first thing in the morning for Japan." She turned around and quickly hopped out of the Council chambers, her thoughts troubled. She left a puzzled murmuring behind her.

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Akane stared at the screen in shock as the scene shifted away from the sight of Ranma and Shampoo being carried from the Arena on stretchers to a pair of commentators. She wasn't sure what to think. Shampoo was her idol, the girl she most wanted to be like, and Ranma was the boy she loved.

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Nabiki was shocked by what had just happened. Ranma had just saved Shampoo's life. That was clear. But what happened now? Had he defeated the Amazon? Both of them were unconscious. Her memories of Amazon law from her other self were unclear on this.

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Ryu Kumon felt anger swell within him at the scene before his eyes. Ranma had accomplished what he had not. He had beaten the Amazon in single combat, an act witnessed by millions of people around the globe, robbing him of his destiny as her husband and the fame defeating her would have brought him. His fist tightened with his sudden, white-hot rage, his nails digging into his palm.

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Ginseng felt relief that Ranma did not appear to be seriously injured by his heroics. The match between him and Shampoo had been quite exciting to watch. The commentators were debating if he had won or lost his match with Shampoo. What was the result of a mutual knockout when it involved a Joketsuzoku? Was it a loss for her or a victory?

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Perfume ruminated on what she had just seen. When Mousse began to stir back to consciousness, she slammed her fist down on his skull and sent him back to sleep. From her knowledge of the Joketsuzoku's laws, things were in a gray area now, even further complicated by how Imperial law might affect things.

She might still have a chance to steal this suddenly very interesting boy from Shampoo, but she would have to move quickly. A wicked smile lit her face.

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The Arena Director watched the medics that were taking Ranma and Shampoo to the infirmary through one of the many security cameras. It automatically flipped views to the next camera as he watched. His face was troubled.

Golgo had waited too long to dose the boy, but there was still a way to turn this in his favor. Millions of people had all seen the boy's great heroism in saving Shampoo's life. Having a full-grown man like the assassin fall on your head from that height was a lethal proposition, even for a top-level fighter like her. There was also the incredible fighting expertise Ranma had demonstrated to consider. The boy had likely just made himself a hero to many people across the Empire.

There was a sudden commotion in the hallway and then Ana flew through the oak double doors, shattering them open. As the Puma groaned in pain on the floor, the Director felt his mouth go dry when the distinctive figure of Cardinal Synn strode commandingly into the room. Several solid strikes with a bare fist could be heard in the other room for a few moments, ending with Uni's moans of pain after she too came flying in to land in a heap. A woman wearing the garb of a nun entered his office like a grim specter of death itself, her robes spattered with blood, her hood concealing her face.

"I-I can explain," the Director began, knowing who it was behind that mask. He stopped speaking when the other man raised a hand sharply. The nun stood silently, but he could sense her unfriendly gaze upon him. He was reasonably sure he knew who she was under her concealing garb. The pair before him was arguably the most lethal duo in the Empire, maybe even the world.

"I do not wish to hear explanations for your stupidity in this matter," said Shishio, his voice modulated by the mask into a deeper, even more chilling timbre than his normal tones. "Nor do I care for your reasons in attempting to cheat the boy of his rightful victory against the Joketsuzoku." He glanced back briefly at his wife before returning his gaze to the other man. "The courtship of a woman of the Joketsuzoku is a pure thing, a holy rite that separates the strong from the weak. To be able to claim a woman of that tribe as a bride is a rare privilege and honor for a man, and I am personally offended at what you have done to this boy to sully his victory over the girl."

The Director felt his bladder begin to empty into his clothes. He swallowed in terror, certain he was about to die. The woman had not moved, but he could sense waves of anger coming from her. "P-personally o-offended?" he said weakly.

"The Emperor is not pleased either."

"Th-the Emperor?" His voice had become a squeak. He realized absently that the Emperor had been in attendance at the Arena that night, but he had not made the connection with Shampoo. "H-He's a f-fan?"

"Indeed," said Shishio coldly. "He saw her fighting in Hong Kong and became intrigued when he learned more of her people. He has been hoping for a night like tonight. He had plans." There was a pause. "And you almost destroyed them."

"P-plans?" A puddle or urine now spread out from his feet, his trousers and footwear soaked.

Shishio growled at the man's obvious cowardice, a sharp contrast to the courage the Saotome boy had displayed earlier on the Arena floor. One had earned his disdain, and the other had achieved the rare honor of earning a small measure of his respect. He advanced on the Director grimly and grabbed him by the throat with one hand. He lifted him clear of the ground, holding him aloft without any apparent strain.

The Director gasped and choked, his hands clutching at Shishio's wrist. Shishio began speaking in cold, menacing tones.

"The Emperor wishes to tie the Joketsuzoku more closely to the fortunes of the Empire, you pathetic, spineless, witless fool. Now that a loyal subject of the Empire like Ranma Saotome has finally emerged from the masses with the ability to win the hand of one like Shampoo, I have been instructed to make an offer to them. If the girl continues to fight in the Arena and emerges victorious in the upcoming Emperor's Tournament, in addition to her being made a full Citizen of the Empire, every woman and girl child of the Joketsuzoku tribe shall be made full Citizens as well. They would have all of the freedoms, rights and responsibilities that such rank entailed them, responsibilities such as fighting on behalf of the Empire if asked. It is that plan that you almost ruined."

With evident disgust, Shishio let the Director fall to the carpet to land in the puddle of his own urine. He stalked back over to his wife, who continued to radiate silent menace. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder for a moment, feeling the tension within her. "Do not kill or permanently cripple him, my love. Despite his many, many flaws, he is still useful for now." There was a pause as he regarded her. "Other than that, you may... indulge yourself. Meet me at the car when you are done with him. I shouldn't be too long."

"I'll try to restrain myself, Airen." Lao slammed one foot into Ana's jaw with bone-crushing force, sending the Puma into unconsciousness. She leaped into the air and came down on Uni's back, blasting the air from the other Puma's lungs and knocking her out as well. Her tone then turned more sensuous. "However, I expect to be rewarded later on. Don't make plans for the rest of the weekend."

He nodded and departed. Lao turned her attention to the cowering man on the floor, a predatory smile appearing on her face. She began stalking towards him as she became the Tigress once more.

Shishio heard the sounds of brutality and screams of pain gradually fade behind him as he strode down the hallway, smiling behind his mask.

Oh, how he loved that woman.

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Ranma returned to consciousness slowly, his head groggy from the drugs given him to counteract the concoction Golgo had dosed him with and the painkillers in his system. He opened his eyes to see Yumi and Master Lee seated there in the infirmary room he was in. Yumi, her nose now reset and bandaged, grinned at him.

"Welcome back, champ," she said. "You have a visitor waiting to see you." She stood gingerly and urged Master Lee ahead of her as they headed towards the door. "Move, Jun-kun. Let's give the boy a little privacy."

"A visitor?" He turned his head to see Shampoo standing there in the doorway, gazing at him. She was bandaged up and one of her eyes was blackened. She did not move forward until Yumi gently nudged her. "Shampoo," Ranma said softly, not sure why she was there. He glanced down at his hands, an IV stuck on the back of one of them. He didn't remember anything after leaping at her. "I guess I lost, huh."

"No," the Amazon said gently, a smile appearing on her face. She walked towards him slowly, one of her legs still feeling stiff and sore from the injuries he had inflicted upon her. She wasn't in any better shape than he was, but she had forced herself out of bed for this. "Ranma not lose." She stopped next to his bed, somehow now understanding what it was she had been seeking all her life in a man but not knowing how to describe it. She still had no words for it, but she knew it now.

"But I lost consciousness," he protested. He felt her presence like an almost tangible thing, and he felt better just having her near him.

"Shampoo knocked out when Ranma tackled Shampoo and saved life," she replied as she contemplated him gently. He looked very cute to her, seeing his battered face take on a puzzled expression. After a moment watching him, she realized it was time to end his confusion. She placed her hands on each side of his face and gazed deeply into his eyes, feeling love for him swelling within her. There was a silent pause.

"Wo ai ni."

Their lips touched, and Ranma felt an almost electric charge go through him at the contact, the tingling feelings of desire within him becoming even more profound. Shampoo felt it too, and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks when she felt his arms go around her and pull her closer, their kiss deepening. It went on for a while and then Shampoo pulled back, smiling at him again.

"Hello, Son-In-Law," suddenly said a voice from the door, startling him.

"Gah! Old Ghoul!" Ranma shouted reflexively, looking over and seeing Cologne standing there in the doorway, her ancient visage frowning at his unexpectedly rude greeting. Running Deer was there as well, beaming with happiness at seeing her friend finally find a guy for herself.

"What Great-Grandmother doing here?" Shampoo asked, puzzled.

"That would be my doing," said Director Kasuga from the doorway as he and the others came into the room. Yumi and Master Lee came in as well. "I brought her here to Japan at the personal request of the Emperor."

"The Emperor?" Ranma's eyes went wide with surprise. He noticed the symbol of the Mobius Institute pinned to the man's suit.

"Yes, the Emperor himself witnessed the match, Son-In-Law," said Cologne, studying him. She faced Shampoo. "I'll excuse his rudeness this time, but see to it that he learns proper manners when addressing me in the future, Great-Granddaughter."

"Yes, Great-Grandmother!" She beamed with happiness.

Cologne nodded. "Very well. Having witnessed the match myself, his performance was extremely impressive, so the matter of his losing consciousness as well can be overlooked. Shampoo lost consciousness first." She gave a brief stare at Ranma. "It was quite surprising that you knew a Joketsuzoku technique, Son-In-Law."

The pigtailed boy met her gaze briefly, uncertain what to say.

"But we will discuss that matter at another time," Cologne continued. Right now, I am to relay a message to you two from the Emperor."

"A message from the Emperor?" Ranma looked astonished again.

"You two will face each other in the Arena again, one week from today," Cologne said neutrally. "Should Shampoo defeat you, she will be allowed to rescind the Kiss of Marriage, if she chooses to, and you can be on your way without any penalty, boy. But, until that day comes, you will remain here in the Arena and prepare yourself for one final match against my Great-Granddaughter." She then turned her gaze to Shampoo. "If he remains engaged to you at the end, then as your fiancé he will have the right to take you from this place, Great-Granddaughter. Your path as an Arena fighter will come to an end."

"But what about Emperor's Tournament?" Shampoo protested. "What about becoming a Citizen?"

"Ah, here is where the Emperor's offer gets interesting." Cologne smiled. "If, after Ranma proves that tonight was not some kind of a fluke, he then allows you to keep fighting in the Arena, your victory at the Emperor's Tournament will win the honor of being a Citizen for every woman and female child of the tribe, not just for yourself."

Yumi whistled softly, and Running Deer looked impressed. The others in the room had varying expressions of amazement. Even Director Kasuga looked surprised, and it took a lot to surprise him.

Shampoo's eyes almost glowed. Her path had been long and hard to this point, even more difficult than she could have ever imagined when she first left the village. To have such a reward as this at the end of it would make all of the hardships and trials she had endured even more worthwhile. She gently reached out and took Ranma's hand, gripping it warmly in hers, feeling him holding hers back. With this man at her side, she somehow knew she could accomplish anything she desired and overcome any obstacle that lay before her.

"If you can somehow achieve this thing, you would become immortalized, Great-Granddaughter," said Cologne with a proud smile. "Your name would be remembered among the greatest legends of our people and would never be forgotten. Now, as the Emperor's Tournament is still a few months away, we have time to train you to get ready for it. A great deal rides on you now, more than merely you becoming a citizen." Her gaze shifted to Ranma. "And if this one can keep a civil tongue in his head while he explains to me how he knows a Joketsuzoku technique, I might show him some additional techniques as well."

"Ranma-kun," suddenly said a voice from the door.

Everyone turned to look and saw Nabiki standing there. Shampoo and Running Deer recognized the Tendo girl from their night out on the town in the Nerima area. The Amazon and Nabiki began glaring at each other when Nabiki came closer to Ranma's bedside, tension saturating the air between them like heat lightning.

"Why short-haired girl here?" Shampoo demanded, putting herself in the other girl's way. "This no concern of hers."

"Ranma is my fiancé," Nabiki stated flatly, her gaze locked fiercely with Shampoo's. "He's mine." Standing near Shampoo was like being near Utena or Ukyo, giving her urges to drive away a threat to her property. This girl was not the cute Amazon of her inherited memories but a much more hardened fighter and would be a very serious threat to her own interests in the Saotome boy. She already had enough competition around to deal with. She did not back down in the face of Shampoo's glare at her, meeting it fully with her own gaze as she said firmly, "You can't have him."

Shampoo glared back menacingly and growled out, "Ranma is Shampoo's Airen." Not since she was last around Perfume had she felt such dislike for another girl on an instinctual level. Not even Mina annoyed her this much just by her mere presence. Nabiki's rudeness only intensified her feelings of antipathy.

Yumi gave Ranma a sympathetic look and then clapped her hands down on both girls' shoulders, causing Shampoo to wince a bit. "Let's take this outside and let Ranma rest, ladies." Even injured, her tone brooked no resistance.

As he watched everyone leave his room, he saw both Nabiki and Shampoo give him lingering looks before departing. Shampoo's regard was more openly loving and Nabiki's was more unreadable. Just before they were out of his sight, they turned far more lethal gazes on each other.

Ranma sighed and closed his eyes as he heard the two begin arguing as soon as they were out of the room.

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To be continued next chapter...


	29. Worlds Apart

*** Earth +6.123, +5.298

Genma woke up suddenly when Nodoka moved against him, her naked body warm against his. He relaxed at the familiar feeling and smell of her, comforting him after his nightmare. He closed his eyes and was quiet for several moments.

His eyes snapped back open and stared at an unfamiliar ceiling, blurry to his view without his glasses but definitely not home. He took stock of his companion, noting the shorter hair and somewhat more muscular physique than his wife's and tried to recall what had happened after their duel. They had been on their way to see the captain when Nodoka stopped at her cabin for something she said she needed to do before their meeting. She had offered him a fruit juice, saying it was a tradition for one of the Joketsuzoku Order to offer refreshment to a man who had defeated her.

Since she refused to budge until he drank it, he took a sip and could detect nothing wrong with it, and he doubted she would poison him. Thirsty after their duel, he drank down the entire cup and handed it back to her. He remembered her smiling at him lovingly and then not much else after that other than a haze of intensely erotic images.

When Genma shifted slightly, Nodoka awoke and looked at her new husband happily, smiling after the events of their wedding night. She felt languidly content. Her hand caressed his chest, marveling at her memories of last night. He had done everything with her she enjoyed, as if they had been lovers for years, and his endurance was pleasing to her. She felt like a blessed woman.

"Ready for more, my beloved husband?" she purred with a lecherous grin.

"H-Husband?" he gulped. He sat up, his movement pulling the sheet free from her torso. He could see she had a few faint scars on her flesh from the many past battles she had fought in but nothing to detract greatly from her appearance. If anything, her athletic physique had a pleasingly firm appearance for a woman in her late thirties.

"You defeated one of the Joketsuzoku Order in fair combat, Genma Saotome." She reached out to caress his chest again, and he grabbed her hand before it could make contact with him there. She smiled at this, wondering if he wanted to wrestle with her now. She had always loved a bit of wrestling with males during bedroom play. "Under the laws of the Matriarchy, in recognition of the Order's commandments, you are now my husband and belong to me."

"I'm already married," he said in firm protest, pushing her hand away. "Your own analog is my wife."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter who claimed you before outside our borders. You are in the midst of the Matriarchy now, and you're mine by our laws. You and I are married, Genma Saotome. Nothing you say or do will change that. You proved yourself worthy of me." She smiled at him, now understanding how he had known her sexual preferences so well. "I look forward to having children with you to strengthen the Matriarchy and making a family together with you, my beloved husband. Fortunately, with Matriarchy anti-agathic medicines, I still have many years ahead of me to conceive children. Four seems a good number to me, hopefully at least three of them girls."

Genma shook his head. She wasn't listening to him, a trait she shared with the other two versions of Nodoka he knew, stubborn once they set their minds on something. He got out of the bed they were in, a narrow affair and not really comfortable enough for two. He grabbed his clothes and began putting them on.

"Take me to see your captain," he said, trying to stay calm as he dressed. She had drugged him with something and had her way with him, and he had not been expecting that. "I need to speak with her."

Nodoka sat up in bed and stretched, utterly unashamed of her nakedness and causing Genma to turn around to avoid staring at her shapely body. "Of course, beloved husband. You're now a citizen of the Matriarchy through your marriage to me, so you may speak to her a bit more freely. And, as I promised, I'll be your advocate with her, should you need me."

"Where is the signaling device I built?" he asked, troubled by her certainty that he would just accept 'marriage' to her so easily and still trying not to think about her trim physique. Were all Joketsuzoku women so self-confident in this area?

"I'm sure it's being analyzed by our technicians, along with your notes." She went to her closet and retrieved a fresh uniform and underwear. "Don't worry. They won't damage it, and its signal is still active and transmitting."

Genma paused in slipping on his shirt, one provided from the ship's limited stores of male clothing. "They left it on?"

"Well, when whoever is listening for your signal comes, we'll be here waiting for them with open arms." She stepped into her quarter's small refresher unit, closing the door and beginning to shower quickly.

Worries for his son suddenly flooded Genma's mind. The sheer oddness of his present situation was beyond anything he could have ever imagined weeks ago. Ranma was still back in their original world, he was in the flesh of another world's Genma after the accident occurred with the resonator, and now he was dealing with yet a third timeline's version of his own wife, a powerful and troublingly alluring warrior woman who called him her husband simply because he had defeated her in a duel.

"The one who'll be coming is my son, Ranma." There was a pause. "And he's also the son of your analog."

Nodoka stepped from the refresher, toweling her hair dry, amused at his continuing shyness in looking at her after his libidinous performance last night. His reduced inhibitions with her had been aided by the very special herb concoction she had added to his fruit juice, herbs used by the Joketsuzoku Order for millennia. They also had the added benefit of subtly addicting him to her to ensure his loyalty as her husband. "You have a son? Well, if Ranma's as fine a warrior as his father, I know there'll be quite a few girls of the Joketsuzoku Order who'll be very interested in meeting him. He'll be well-treated in the Matriarchy, assuming he minds his place, as will you."

Genma continued to avoid looking at her while she was naked, suddenly realizing that this version of the woman he loved viewed males as a form of property and that this view was a normal thing to her. He suspected that this opinion was not uncommon among the women here. Oddly, he was reminded of the version of the Empire he had once seen, where slavery of foreigners existed and his own analog's family had recently acquired a version of Shampoo as a slave for Ranma's analog there. But here, in the Matriarchy, males were the underclass, a type of property, possibly viewed as being little better than slaves. He filed that piece of information away, planning to bide his time, watch and wait for the opportunity to escape this place with Soun, hopefully before Ranma was also ensnared by the women here.

Unaware of Genma's thoughts, Nodoka mused on the sharing of quality males as she dressed. There was always a severe shortage of strong men to meet the Order's level of demand for them, the answer to that problem usually being solved with one such male shared among several women as their common spouse. Thinking about that, Nodoka found herself disinclined to share her new spouse with any other women, even other sisters in the Order. That surprised her, since she and Kimiko had frequently shared comfort males with each other in the past when they were enjoying shore leave together.

"Let's go have some breakfast and then we can see the captain," she said with a smile.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Herb goes through a mental transformation. Professor Saotome finishes the beacon and activates it, attracting a vessel of the Matriarchy and two people familiar to Genma and Soun. Perfume and Mousse find a ship to carry them to Japan. Ranma faces Shampoo in the Arena, arousing interest from others when he shows his abilities there, including his mastery of the Amaguriken. Cardinal Synn reveals his true identity and the plans made for the Joketsuzoku, plans that Ranma's fighting abilities may have allowed to come to fruition.

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Chapter 29 – Worlds Apart

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs,

even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor

spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a

gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Nodoka rolled over in her sleep and suddenly woke up, hearing sharp sounds of battle in the backyard. She relaxed when she recognized them. Ranma and Shampoo were sparring again this morning, her son's voice keeping up a running commentary, apparently trying to get the Chinese girl to open up and talk to him. That was good. She understood it was their daily routine, and doing routine things would help the girl heal after the incredible loss she had gone through. However, she only heard two voices out back, not three. It had become her husband's habit each morning to join the two and offer coaching advice, and Shampoo had been steadily improving with his guidance, forcing Ranma to work even harder to stay ahead.

She looked a bit forlornly at Genma's empty futon, still laid out on the floor, unused. Her husband had not come home last night, and it worried her. She wondered if he and Soun had gone out drinking. She was happy that they had retained their friendship after the failure of Ranma's engagement to Akane, since Soun had been secretly visiting while the children were at school. They had made it clear to her that while neither of them was interested in resurrecting it, they were still friends.

Perhaps he was at the Tendos' house this morning, sleeping off a drinking binge or something. His pack was still here, so he could not have gone far. After Ranma and Shampoo headed off to school, she would visit the Tendos and check to see if he was there. She hoped he was all right.

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*** Earth +6.123, +5.298

Soun sat with a half-eaten plate of food before him and looked out the porthole in front of him, seeing the Earth moving below them, gazing at the sight in wonder. Across from him sat Kimiko, eating her own meal and occasionally glancing at him. He had spent the night in his cell, waiting to speak with Genma after his visit with the captain. However, his friend had not returned all night.

"It's considered polite to make conversation during a meal," Kimiko said suddenly. When he glanced at her, she gave him a cool look. "I could take you back to confinement, if you don't like my company." She speared a piece of scrambled egg and put it in her mouth and chewed.

Around them in the Kara's mess hall, uniformed women sat in pairs and small groups and ate breakfast. Several of them studied him, not quite sure what to make of his presence, and a couple looked at him as if they despised him. While he didn't understand the Solnoid tongue, a few muted conversations around them seemed to be filled with speculation and gossip about him, judging by the looks and whispers. Kimiko appeared to tune it all out, but she seemed irritated at something. She hid it well, but her manner was so much like his own wife's that he could tell she was upset. And it did not seem to be merely over his failure to make conversation with her.

"I apologize for my silence," he said with a slight bow before resuming his own eating. He knew he needed to keep up his strength. Since he was a prisoner, he had a duty to maintain his health and keep watch for an opportunity for escape. In his younger days, he had been imprisoned more than once, usually as part of a mission. Fortunately, his current incarceration was much less rigorous than any previous ones. "I've just never been in space before."

"Below us is Solnoid Prime," Kimiko said, pausing to take a sip of her tea. "You should feel honored, Tendo-san. It is the original timeline of the Solnoid Matriarchy. Few outsider males have ever beheld it."

"I see." Soun studied the planet. It didn't look any different to his eyes from his own version of Earth. "It did not take us long to get here."

"I suppose not." She continued to eat and did not elaborate. Soun found her reticence reminding him, not only of his wife this time, but also Nabiki. Both had a tendency to be sparse with their words when they were irritated about something.

At that moment, Genma and Nodoka arrived in the mess hall. Soun watched as the couple filled trays with food and approached their table. He caught Genma's eye, but the other man just shook his head slightly.

"Good morning, Kimiko!" Nodoka said cheerfully, setting her tray down and sitting. Her friend just eyed her solemnly without speaking.

"Tendo-kun. Nakakami-san." Genma put down his tray and sat near Nodoka. He looked at Soun. "I have not yet spoken with the captain about our situation. There was... a delay." He began eating, feeling starved.

"You'll get to speak to her soon, Genma-kun," Nodoka promised.

Soun raised one eyebrow and studied the other man, noting the honorific she had used with him. "Delayed, eh?"

"It's a long story, Tendo-kun." Genma kept eating and drinking.

"You can talk to your friend later. It's time to go back to your cell, Tendo-san." Kimiko abruptly stood and took hold of Soun's arm.

Genma and Nodoka watched the pair walk off, Kimiko keeping a firm hand on Soun's arm after they returned their trays. Nodoka shrugged and went back to eating, unsure what was wrong with her best friend. She was sure the other woman would talk to her about what was troubling her when she felt ready to open up.

Genma was thoughtful as he watched Soun leave and then went back to eating his own meal. Ever since he and Ranma had both used the boy's resonator invention, life seemed to be getting more complicated and dangerous for both of them. He hoped his upcoming talk with the captain of this vessel would be a turning point for his own difficulties, so he could finally return to his son and beloved wife. He missed them both so much and wanted to finally be done with all this violence that had come into their lives.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Ranma woke up rather abruptly in the morning when a cold bucket of water was poured on his face. He jerked awake with a loud scream. His hands clutched at his chest, his heart pounding. "YAHH! What'd ya do that for?"

His assailant, Tarou, smirked and casually set down the bucket he was holding. This Ranma guy sure doesn't look like much for someone strong enough to defeat the likes of Shampoo. What a wimp. A little cold water never hurt anyone.

As the top male fighter in the pigtailed boy's age category, he had been given instructions by the Arena Director to 'welcome' Ranma to the Arena in any way that he saw fit. The only limitation on Tarou's fun was the strict order that the other boy was not to be damaged in any serious way. Tarou saw it as a chance to let the citizen boy know his place, like he had a few weeks ago with Ryu Kumon. He looked forward to it. The guy might have somehow managed to defeat Shampoo, but he was still nothing more than fresh meat here.

Ranma relaxed a bit when he realized he was still male. The waterproof soap was still working for now. He shuddered to think what might happen if he transformed here, and he needed to get Yumi to bring him some for his stay here. He doubted he could avoid cold water for an entire week. He was still lying in his bed in the infirmary, but the IVs and sensors had all been removed while he slept. His injuries were mostly healed, but hunger gnawed at his guts now that he was awake.

He was still trying to sort things out when the Chinese boy growled in impatience and stepped closer to him. What's his problem? Ranma mused, looking at the other boy. He didn't get a chance to pursue that thought any further before Tarou reached down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

"Come on, fresh meat," Tarou growled, hauling Ranma roughly to his feet. "You've had your bath, Saotome. Now it's time for breakfast. I know the others must be just dying to meet you." He smirked, mistaking Ranma's look of confusion for fear. He _should_ fear me, thought the Chinese boy with supreme confidence. The wimp needed to learn his place before he got ideas after beating Shampoo. There was only one top fighter here among the males, and his name was Tarou.

When Ranma began glaring back and resisting, the Chinese boy released his grip on the pigtailed boy's shirt and lashed out with an uppercut that sent him tumbling to the ground. He took a single step forward, intending to brutally punish Ranma for eyeing him like that, but then he remembered that he wasn't allowed to do harm to the other boy in any serious way. For his part, as he laid there on the ground, Ranma felt a sudden, strong desire to wipe the floor with the Chinese boy, but he held himself back... for now. Getting into a fight before he understood what he was dealing with was poor strategy. Recalling advice from his readings of Sun Tzu and what Lee-sensei had told him, he knew he should pick his battles carefully, but the jerk in front of him was on his list now.

"My name is Tarou," snarled the Chinese boy. "Look at me like that again, and I'll rip your lungs out and stuff them up your ass." He casually walked around the cot to where Ranma was sitting. Tarou grabbed the front of Ranma's shirt again and hauled him back up to his feet with one hand. "Just think of me as the god of this place, and I think we'll get along just fine." Tarou spoke pleasantly with a hint of not-so-veiled menace in his tones. "However, should you cross me in the slightest way, you _may_ live to regret it."

"I understand." I understand that you're a bastard, Ranma finished in his thoughts. He contemplated the other boy and kept his temper under control, unwilling to be provoked by words, trying to do as Lee-sensei had taught him, but it was more difficult than he could have imagined. He felt a powerful yearning within himself, to knock the other boy down and demonstrate his strength.

Letting go of the pigtailed boy's shirt, Tarou stepped back, a little disappointed at the response Ranma gave him. Mistaking restraint for weakness, he wondered how the other boy could have had the guts to step into the ring against the Amazon. The win must have been a fluke, he mused, but it had shown every man in the Arena that Shampoo was not invincible, that she could be beaten. He smiled inwardly at that, his eyes glittering at the possibilities, fantasizing about what he would do with the girl.

Ranma simply waited. His mind was already assessing his options. He only had to hold out until his rematch with Shampoo and then he planned on paying the Chinese boy back in full before he left.

"Come with me," ordered Tarou. He turned around and walked out of the dormitory room. After a moment, Ranma sullenly followed along behind. His stomach was crying for food, and he felt a little weak. He needed to build his strength back up before he could do anything else.

As he followed the Chinese boy, Ranma mused on last night's events. After the others had left, Yumi had come back to explain to him about Golgo, the man who had died. The assassin had shot him with some kind of a toxin, not a lethal concoction but one that would have ended his match with Shampoo as a loss, condemning him to stay in the Arena for months.

Yumi was going to look into who might have hired Golgo through her contacts, but Ranma had a few suspects already in mind. Two popped to the top of his list right away: Mikado Sanzenin and Kinnosuke Kashuoh. Both of them were rich, honorless types, and Ranma could imagine either one hiring someone like the assassin to fix the fight against him. In addition, he could not ignore Nabiki's smarmy new 'friend' either: Touga Kiryu. That one looked the type to pull something underhanded like this too. He briefly considered Kodachi's childhood friend, Miki Kaoru, but the stopwatch-loving boy didn't strike him as villainous enough to do such a thing, no matter how much he disliked him for other reasons. And while Tatewaki Kuno was a stupid pain to deal with, Ranma suspected Kuno had too much bushido honor to use assassins to do his dirty work.

He would have to be careful while he was in here and watch his step. He was going to be surrounded by a lot of very dangerous people for a few days, highly-skilled fighters who might look on his win over Shampoo as a challenge to them. Any one of them could do something nasty to him in here, out of sight of the outside world. The Arena was like its own little domain, and he needed to learn its rules and cliques quickly.

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Shampoo ate her breakfast slowly. The food was actually quite tasty, but she didn't seem to have much appetite. Her thoughts kept coming back to Ranma. She had been defeated by a worthy male, a handsome one too, but he came with problems attached.

The first difficulty was that he was already engaged. The annoying, short-haired girl, Nabiki, had been quite emphatic on that point, stating more than once during their rather loud discussion together that Ranma was hers by means of an arranged marriage their fathers had set up, and she wasn't giving him up to an 'ignorant barbarian' like Shampoo. The concept of parents arranging marriages for their children was a strange one to her, but the Japanese were a strange people. Even so, after the passion he had displayed to her in the Kiss of Marriage, she found herself doubting that Ranma could be interested in the other girl very much, so it fell to her to deal firmly with this unwanted rival. That was fine with the Amazon. She doubted the other girl was strong enough to stand up to her.

The other problem was her libido. After the Kuonji woman had pulled Nabiki away before things devolved into savage violence, especially after Nabiki's numerous disparaging remarks, Cologne had told her that she would have to wait until after the rematch before anything intimate with Ranma could occur. Kissing and hugging him were fine, but nothing more, not until after his worthiness as a male was proven beyond all doubt, then she could do anything she liked with the pigtailed boy.

That had been a disturbing conversation to have, especially coming from someone as ancient and withered as Cologne. It wasn't helping her mood that her dreams last night had been of Ensign Shan's experiences with another version of Ranma, a comfort male in the Heavenly Pleasures Inn back in the Matriarchy, extremely erotic dreams. Training hard today would hopefully take her mind off such things and reduce her edginess, and maybe later she could spend some time with Ranma and start getting to know him.

She noticed Running Deer consuming her food listlessly. Her friend usually loved meal times and always ate as much as she could. Despite how much she ate, she never seemed to gain an ounce of fat on her body. It was clear to her that she was taking Ryu's involvement with the Taiwanese girl badly, and Shampoo found herself resenting the Impie boy quite a bit for his poor choice in women. Both of them continued to pick at their food.

"Why Running Deer not eating?" asked Shampoo finally, the silence and tension finally getting to her.

"Dunno," replied the Apache girl, the tone of her voice showing she clearly was bothered by something, and Shampoo became more certain than ever it was about Ryu. "Just not hungry." She glanced up over Shampoo's shoulder and gestured with her fork, glad to change the topic. "Look who's up and walking around."

Shampoo turned around and saw Ranma coming into the mess hall behind Tarou. He looked much better, just a few bruises remaining from their battle yesterday, which was about her current condition as well after a good night's rest. To see him up and moving so well was a great relief to her. Their gazes met for several moments. Ranma gave her a nod and smile, and she found herself smiling back, suddenly feeling very happy inside at seeing him.

From her table, Mina Li sat holding court with her cronies and a few of Tarou's, the two groups chatting together amiably, and she watched the new arrival with a calculating look. She studied how he carried himself and considered what she had seen of his abilities. Despite his brutal battle against the Amazon last night, he appeared mostly recovered from his injuries. He moved with surprising grace and was handsome to her eyes. She idly wondered how he would be in bed.

She happened to glance over at the right moment to see the lingering gaze he exchanged with Shampoo, and her eyes narrowed at what she saw in his expression. Unlike the Kumon boy, Ranma's gaze did not appear to be powered by animal lust and possessiveness for the Amazon as was true of most men. Oh, he was very clearly attracted to the Chinese girl, but there was something softer there as well, a genuine sort of caring in his regard of her, as if they were two old friends reunited. Mina's attention shifted over to Shampoo.

While the look in the boy's eyes had been troubling to her, what she saw in Shampoo's answering gaze caused her to tap one manicured finger irritably on the table as she pondered her nemesis. The Amazon's look towards the pigtailed boy made her feel even worse. She wore the visage of a girl in love; one could see it in her eyes, the way she gazed at Ranma. The two of them seemed to Mina like characters from a romantic movie, spotlights suddenly shining down on each of them the only thing missing from the scene. She felt envy curdle her soul at the sight of the pair.

The way Ranma regarded the Amazon, even in that brief meeting of their gazes, told a tale of love, although one that both parties had likely not yet realized for themselves, and Mina's heart simmered darkly with jealousy and hatred at seeing it. No man had ever looked at her that way, not even her boyfriend Tarou. Men lusted after her, desired her. But love? Her upper lip curled into a sneer, and she felt a sudden, intense loathing for the two of them spring to life within her.

Her dark eyes turned to study Ranma again, considering what he had done last night. He had proven that Shampoo was not an undefeatable icon, forever shattering the Amazon's illusion of invincibility. And if she could be beaten once, then it could happen again. With the Emperor's Tournament coming up in several months, she was running out of time to kill the Chinese girl and regain her proper place as the most beautiful and powerful woman fighting in the Arena, a spot Shampoo had usurped and irritatingly retained for a few months. The thought of breaking the other girl was a pleasant fantasy Mina held in her heart's darkest place, and she looked forward to the day when she destroyed the Amazon slowly, a piece at a time, killing her only after she was satisfied with her vengeance.

She mused vindictively about the new couple as she went back to eating. True love was a myth, and she pondered ways she could destroy their relationship while it was still in its cradle. She had never failed at seducing any man, and Ranma would be no different. It would also serve her faithless boyfriend Tarou right for his chronic philandering ways with female fighters, not that any of them dared spend time with him except for newcomers who didn't know better. She had dealt brutally with the last interloper to try, the cocky girl's broken and bloody body left dead behind her on the Arena floor when she exited from their match, a clear warning to others to stay away from her man.

From where he stood, Ranma eyed the people in the room. Most had turned to look at him when he first walked in with Tarou. A few had smiled in a grim sort of way, most likely amused at seeing an Imperial Citizen brought down to their level. Shampoo was watching him and giving him a more genuine smile, and he was grateful for that. The tall girl seated with Shampoo was eyeing him as well, not grimly like the others, but her expression was more solemn than the Amazon's.

A few of the people in the room, both male and female, regarded him with deadly eyes, like the Korean girl he noticed studying him intently for a few moments. Ranma made a mental note of those faces. He would avoid as much contact as possible with them until he could get himself out of here. He made a second mental note to watch everyone here very carefully. Surprisingly, he found himself missing Nabiki, knowing she would have had his back in this situation.

He didn't seem to have any friends here except for Shampoo, his newest fiancée, although that was still somewhat in doubt. Seeing the people the Amazon had been dealing with for months, he now truly understood why she was so strong a fighter. It was a disturbing situation he found himself in, and it reminded him of a prison he had once visited with his father during their travels. The inmates had given them the same sort of animal-like looks.

"Attention, everyone!" announced Tarou in a booming voice. His usual smirk was back on his face. "We find ourselves honored today with the presence of an Imperial Citizen. I want everyone to make him feel welcome during his time with us. I'm sure that he's eager to socialize with our collection of warriors."

Ranma wanted to get some food and go join Shampoo and her friend, but Tarou kept a powerful grip on his arm. He spied one person seated over in the corner who hadn't appeared to pay much attention to his arrival. He was Japanese, and he seemed to be rather engrossed in eating his meal. An attractive Chinese girl sat with him. Tarou quickly noted the direction that the pigtailed boy was looking and smiled.

"Ah," he said grandly to Ranma. "I see that you've noticed our other representative of Imperial Citizenhood. Let me take you over and I'll introduce you two to each other."

"No need to trouble yourself," said Ranma mildly. "I just want to have something to eat." He tried to twist his arm free. The Chinese boy just frowned and pulled him along by one arm, maintaining his strong grip.

"I insist," Tarou said coldly. To avoid a fight, Ranma let himself be led over.

The Japanese boy stopped eating when their footsteps got closer, and he and the Chinese girl with him turned and studied the pigtailed boy. He was Ranma's age, and he even had a build similar to Ranma's physique. The other boy's brown eyes watched them coldly as the pair got closer. His black hair was brushed back into a short, braided ponytail, and he wore an outfit that consisted of a white karate gi with the sleeves removed and a pair of black pants.

"Ranma Saotome," said Tarou with a flourishing gesture as he pointed at the other boy. "Allow me to present Ryu Kumon. He is our other example of what happens when one of you Impies fights with the Amazon princess over there, although he didn't do as well." Tarou laughed. Ryu seemed to be trying to ignore him.

"Hello, Kumon-san," said Ranma politely with a slight bow. Ryu flicked his eyes at him, his gaze cool, but made no other acknowledgment that he had even heard Ranma. The young scholar could sense anger bubbling beneath the surface of the other boy, for some reason directed at him, causing an answering antipathy to rise within him at Ryu's rudeness. The two eyed each other like a pair of wolves.

From her position, Shenhua noted Ranma's presence silently with her usual bored expression while sipping her tea. Ryu's nearness to her overpowered any feelings of attraction she might have felt for the young scholar, and she was also feeling quite languid and satisfied after being with the Kumon boy for a good portion of the night, helping him work off some of his frustrations. While she had been with other men before, something about Ryu was different, arousing within her deeper feelings, a yearning to be with him that went beyond merely sexual desire. She found herself already looking forward to another session with him like last night's.

"It appears that your countryman is not in a talkative mood, Saotome," said Tarou in an unfriendly tone. "I may have to speak with him on this later." The Chinese boy seemed to take a measure of pleasure in the brief look of hatred that appeared on Ryu's face. With another smirk, Tarou dragged Ranma back to the food line.

Ryu balled his right hand into a fist under the table. His mind focused on Ranma, feeling a white-hot rage burning within him. The pigtailed boy had stolen what was rightfully his: Shampoo! He would never forgive him for that, for denying him his place as the Amazon's husband. Even more frustrating, instead of the Kumon School beginning its rise to supremacy in the world, Ranma's victory over the Amazon had instead made the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts into an overnight sensation in the Empire. He had even heard a rumor that the Emperor himself now knew Ranma's name.

"Here is where I leave you, citizen boy," said Tarou with his usual smirk on his face when they got to the line for food. "You should be able to find your way well enough from here with your new bride's help. I look forward to a day when we might meet together in combat. I always enjoy beating on a weaker opponent." The Chinese boy laughed at his own jokes and then turned and walked away. As he left, Ranma glared at his back. With an intense effort, he forced his anger back under control, refusing once again to be baited by words.

I can get through this, he thought as he calmed himself. I'm Ranma Saotome, the heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. I'm a man of reason and learning, not an unthinking brute who can be goaded into rash actions. I _will_ get through this.

Shampoo watched, undergoing an unaccustomed nervousness within her when Ranma approached with his heavily-laden tray of food, feeling herself blushing, an unfamiliar sensation for her. Running Deer studied him as he sat down, noting his physique with interest and looking forward to hearing all the juicy details from the Amazon on how her new fiancé performed when they finally got intimate with each other. Despite her worries over her own love life, she was very happy that her friend had finally found a man she was interested in. The Amazon's celibacy had often puzzled her, and she suspected her friend was a virgin, although she had never come right out and asked.

"Hey there, Ranma," the Apache girl greeted him with a wave. "Welcome to the Arena."

"Thanks, Running Deer. Uh, hi, Shampoo." The pigtailed boy sat down and busied himself with his meal for a minute to hide his nervousness. His hunger was like a ravenous beast in his belly, clawing at his insides, demanding sustenance. He glanced briefly at Shampoo, and he suddenly felt himself blushing, unsure why he was so nervous, the confidence that he had felt around Utena last week abandoning him for the moment. He knew three different versions of the Amazon already through the resonator, two who loved analogs of him and one a close friend to a third analog. This one could not be so different from them, could she?

After Ranma returned his attention to his meal, Shampoo eyed him as she sipped her juice, holding down her own feelings of edginess and coolly studying him with an analytical gaze as he wolfed down food like a starving man. She believed she had finally puzzled out how he could have known a Joketsuzoku technique like the Amaguriken without being taught by a Matriarch, aided by Ensign Shan's memories. She strongly suspected he had obtained the knowledge by using a resonator device. It was not unheard of in the Matriarchy for those who used the technology to demonstrate skills transferred over from an analog, but it required the disabling of the government-mandated engram filters.

Such altered devices were frequently found among the black markets and underground clubs that did a brisk business in illicit possessions of alternate selves, something she had heard occurred among the Musk as well. Most who did so would use those analogs to experience thrills and adventures they did not dare use their own lives for, often ruining those other selves with sexual escapades, acts of savage violence, or committing other illegal acts. Some harvested knowledge and skills from other selves, but the resulting mental contamination brought on by mixing together too many multiple lives tended to drive them insane. It was a rare individual who could handle having more than two or three sets of memories mixed together in their minds, especially if acquired over a relatively short period of time. Go past that point and varying levels of insanity became almost certain for all but the rarest few.

Her Amazon pride was somewhat offended by that, viewing such skill gains as a form of cheating, side-stepping the hard work that obtaining such proficiencies required, although she was well aware that she had benefitted from Ensign Shan's scientific and technical knowledge. It left her initially wondering if all of his martial arts ability had been gained that way, but studying his physique inclined her to think otherwise. He was well-muscled and athletically built to her appraising gaze, and his hands showed the unmistakable calluses that could only be obtained from many years of martial arts training, similar to the state of her own hands and feet. Also, the flexibility and range of motion in his limbs that he had demonstrated last night would not be possible without years of heavy training.

Another thought suddenly occurred to her as she contemplated him: it could have been accidental. If he was the inventor of such technology on this tangent, he could have been using it without any form of engram filters installed, not even knowing that such a thing existed. In that case, his acquiring new skills would have been unintentional.

Yes, now that she thought about it away from the heat of battle, she could tell that Ranma had prepared for many years to be such a strong and skilled combatant, while his knowledge of the Amaguriken was very likely gained by accident. Her pride mollified at that, she began studying her new husband-to-be. He was quite handsome to her eye, and, judging by the feelings of sexual attraction he already aroused within her, she held hope that being intimate with him would be a rapturous experience for her.

If he was able to perform like the analog she remembered within the Matriarchy, she would be extremely well satisfied with him as her husband. Now that she took time to consider it, he reminded her a bit of her father in his manner, with a maturity greater than his age, although his table manners needed work. In her imagination, she could easily see herself standing at his side and facing down any troubles that came their way.

While her newfound fiancé ate, Shampoo pondered the next steps they would take with each other. In thinking back over last night's match with him, she grew more certain that, barring a lucky break or two on her part, Ranma should be able to defeat her a second time, clearing his claim to her and removing all doubts as to his worthiness. His ability was marginally better than hers, a gap she would work hard on eliminating in the future. With any other opponent, especially against males like those she had faced since leaving her village, men who had looked at her lustfully, objectified her and could care less if she even had thoughts or feelings, the notion of losing to such men would have troubled her greatly. But with Ranma she felt differently. Once he had proven himself beyond all doubts as worthy of her hand, she was certain they would begin a wonderful relationship together.

After her heated argument with Nabiki and taking some time to cool off afterwards, she had done some checking and discovered a few things. As Ranma's fiancée, becoming a quasi-Citizen herself at that point, she would no longer be as tied down to the Arena's rules as before. She would be able to travel more freely within Tokyo, even staying overnight with him should she so choose. She expected she would be exercising that option as frequently as her match schedule allowed, her gaze studying his physique and feeling her desires for him rise within her, and then she felt herself blush again. Flashes of memories from Ensign Shan and her time spent intimately with that other Ranma assailed her once again, and she banished them with difficulty.

She began eating with more vigor, her appetite coming back as her worries eased. They could wed before the Emperor's Tournament, but it was probably better to wait. After she had won, obtaining citizenship for herself and her people, marrying Ranma would be a true joining of equals, the sort of relationship her mother enjoyed with her father, and she looked forward to that.

Thinking about the tournament, she hoped Ranma would be interested in having regular sparring matches with her. With his level of skill, that would help a great deal to prepare her for it. Sparring against him would aid her in finding and shoring up any remaining weaknesses in her techniques and make her abilities as a fighter even more formidable and flawless.

Then, after winning the tournament, her ascension to citizenship and her marriage to Ranma, she could return to her home village for a visit and rub all of her accomplishments in her archrival's face. It would be glorious to show Perfume how much she had grown, both as a person and as a fighter. She was no longer the callow girl who left her village behind all those months ago and took up the challenge of being an Arena fighter. She had matured from facing many trials and challenges since her departure, meeting so many people and seeing so many new places, going up against and defeating numerous strong foes along her way, and those experiences had forged her into something greater than she once was. Even the worst parts of her experience had strengthened her and changed her for the better, when she looked back at them.

Shampoo found herself smiling, suddenly realizing that having Ranma in her life would fill a void within it that even a close friend like Running Deer could not. After their rematch was over, she would give him her heart without reserve and become his confidante and lover, and no one would ever keep them apart. Life was looking good to her.

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His face bandaged like a mummy and leaving only his bloodshot eyes and a slit for his mouth visible, the Arena Director watched Ranma eating with Shampoo and Running Deer, viewing the trio through a television monitor. An impotent rage filled him, and he seethed with hatred, one even more intense now than what he had felt before. The aches in his body that painkillers could not quite soothe, a gift from the Tigress that would take time to fade, only seemed to purify his fury against the boy like a forge.

He felt frustrated, forbidden from doing anything to the boy directly, not unless he wanted to be killed with excruciating slowness and in exquisite pain by the legendary Tigress. She had spoken to him as if lecturing a disobedient child while she brutalized him, instructing him in what he was not allowed to do. Several of his ribs were broken and other bones in his body were fractured, and she had used her knowledge of pressure points to keep him from passing out. The Tigress had been very clear to him in her directives even as she instilled horrible pain into him. The boy was off limits.

The sports press was having a field day with the events of last night, and it was starting to spill over into other areas of the media. Videos of Shampoo's match with Ranma were spreading across the datanet like wildfire, accompanied by rampant speculation on the boy. There had been numerous demands for interviews with Ranma, but he had fended them off so far.

"Y'all had quite the party here, it looks like," suddenly spoke a voice from behind him.

Turning around in his chair as quickly as his injuries allowed, he saw a hooded figure in a brown robe standing there, surveying the damage done to his office. Ana and Uni were currently absent, the severity of their injuries requiring them to spend a few days in the infirmary before they were healed up enough to resume their duties as his protectors, another debt he added to the Saotome boy's pile for eventual collection someday. He studied the mysterious figure, not quite recognizing the voice.

The hood was suddenly thrown back, revealing the face of an attractive blonde girl at the end of her teens with deep blue eyes. She ran a hand back through her hair and regarded him calmly, a hint of a sultry smile on her beautiful face. He recognized who she was immediately, but it wasn't possible. The person standing before him appeared to be none other than the legendary Colt Remington, a former member of the Six Pack, the group of fighters who had dominated the Arena two decades ago in the famed 'Year of the Dragon' when Jun Fan Lee had won citizenship. However, she looked like she hadn't aged a day since then, which was impossible.

"Colt Remington?" he asked, wondering if he was seeing a ghost.

"In the beautiful flesh," the girl replied in mildly accented Japanese, quickly coming around his desk to look at the monitor he was watching. Her gaze became momentarily cold as she saw one of the faces there on the monitor screen, settling on the Amazon's. Her smile turned briefly predatory before returning to its sultrier look. She settled herself on his desk, the lower portion of her robes parting to reveal shapely, powerful legs as she crossed them. She wore tall cowboy boots that were somewhat battered. "I heard tell you had a run-in with the Tigress and the General last night. Looks like one of them worked you over pretty good." Her tone was one of professional appreciation.

"You can't be Colt Remington."

"Sure I can, darlin'." She gently patted his bandaged face with one hand. "Shadowlaw has access to ways to keep the body young, if you're willin' to pay the price, and I ain't talkin' money."

"I wouldn't know anything about that," he said carefully. "I'm an honest professional, not a gangster."

"Sure ya are, darlin'." Colt smiled warmly at him, and her hand moved down to grip his chin painfully. "You and I both know who you work for, the same one I work for, but we'll leave the name unsaid. I saw the China girl's match last night, and I heard from reliable sources the boy has the Dragon for his master. Seein' him fightin' the Wombat's little protégée sure brought back some memories, like history repeatin' itself. I also find it interestin' that someone like Yumi Kuonji is keepin' a watch over the boy. Killin' someone like Golgo ain't easy at all, not that he stays dead for long."

The Arena Director said nothing, his bloodshot eyes cold as he pondered the woman before him. "And what do you intend to do?"

"To them? Nothin'." Colt smiled, her expression growing more predatory again. "At least, nothin' right now. China girl's still not yet ready to face me, not and make it interestin', but she's gettin' real close to bein' tough enough. I was actually thinking I'd rile the boy up some for fun, now that it's lookin' like he's gonna be her man. I'm also thinkin' of payin' a little call on Kuonji-san sometime, now that I know she's in the area. I owe her big from somethin' a few years back, ya see."

"I'm afraid I don't follow your meaning." He kept his gaze on her face as she bobbed one booted foot, her clasped hands resting on her leg.

"Oh, I ain't gonna tell ya exactly what I got planned," she said with a wicked grin. "I mainly just dropped by to see the Tigress' handiwork is all." She patted him on the cheek again, almost slapping him, causing him to wince. "You just keep an eye on that boy. He's got a big week ahead of him, and I aim to give him a prize he'll never forget when he wins that girl."

She hopped off the desk and sauntered across the office, giving the Arena Director one last grin before she flipped her hood back up and strolled out, closing the newly-replaced doors behind her.

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Colonel Gendo Rokubungi, the Headmaster of Furinkan Military Academy, tightened his grip on the sports pages as he studied the article headlined 'Shampoo Defeated?' and the face he saw there in full color underneath the headline. He recognized him! It was the same punk kid who had thrown him out a window! Not once but twice! And broken one of his fingers! He read the name again in the article: Ranma Saotome.

Hatred for the boy seethed within him, and he set the newspaper down on the desk in his office. He adjusted his glasses and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and lacing his fingers together. He gazed at the far wall grimly. He would have to come up with something appropriate to pay the boy back.

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"Nabiki Tendo!"

Already in a sour mood from the events of last night as she left home and headed off to school, Nabiki frowned deeply when Ryoko Masaki landed in front of her. The other girl was dressed in a St. Hebereke uniform and carrying her bookbag. Ryoko ran a hand back through her long hair and smiled grimly at her.

"What do you want, Goblin Girl?" Nabiki asked in irritation.

Ryoko's left eye twitched at the comment, her smile at finding her prey swiftly vanishing. She pointed at Nabiki accusingly. "You've ignored my challenge letter. Why?"

"I've been busy." Nabiki eyed the other girl and then smirked. "But I think I can pencil you in for a few minutes this morning, Fangs."

With a roar of rage at the Tendo girl over her continuing insults at her expense, Ryoko attacked. Fists and feet flew at each other, and Nabiki actually found herself hard-pressed by Ryoko. The other girl's strength was easily Hibiki-level, something she realized quickly when Ryoko's fist blew a sizable hole through a solid granite block in a wall behind Nabiki's head without causing her any sort of distress.

After several minutes of fighting, the two were at a near standstill. While Ryoko's speed was slower than Nabiki's, her physical strength and endurance were inhuman. The two broke apart, eyeing each other with a wary regard.

"Not bad, Fangs," said Nabiki, breathing a bit heavily. She pretended to be unhurt, despite the aches in her body from a couple of Ryoko's strikes that had gotten through her defenses. "You're pretty good."

"Same to you, Tendo," growled Ryoko as she caught her breath. Her hatred for the other girl burned within her, and Nabiki's habit of calling her insulting names during their battle kept her rage at a boil. "It looks like I get to fight you all out after all. Prepare for your end. I'll try and make it quick."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow when suddenly there was a second Ryoko standing next to the first. She grimaced as the pair leaped at her. Perhaps she had been a bit premature in treating the Masaki girl as some kind of a joke.

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*** Earth +6.123, +5.298

"Captain Nogami, thank you for agreeing to speak with me. I hope we can reach an understanding on this situation."

Genma and Nodoka stood in the captain's cabin, space being at a premium on a military vessel. The captain sat at her desk, her computer station showing text of some kind to Genma's view, although the writing did not use any sort of alphabet he was familiar with, nor was it any form of kanji. When he was done speaking, she studied the two of them.

"First of all, let me offer my congratulations to the newly-wedded couple," said Captain Nogami with a smile. "I heard about your duel from some of the witnesses. They said it was quite a show."

Genma started to protest but quickly decided to let the matter alone. He could not afford to antagonize these women, not with his life and Soun's possibly at risk. A plastic smile appeared on his face as Nodoka took hold of his arm possessively and grinned as she leaned against him.

"Thanks, Captain! I was hoping to take some of my accumulated leave time and spend it dirtside with my new husband," Nodoka cheerfully explained. "I have an analog here that we could stay with. She runs a few businesses in the capital."

"That should be fine," Nogami said with a nod. "It looks like we're going to be here for a while. High Command wishes to confer with your new husband and his friend about the possibility of opening diplomatic relations with his tangent of origin."

"Captain?" Genma looked surprised. "Does that mean we could be returned home soon?" Nodoka suddenly frowned at that question, and her grip on his arm tightened a slight amount.

"It's still much too early to say, Saotome-san," Nogami replied. "I've just received orders this morning to treat both you and Tendo-san as diplomatic envoys for now. Discovering a new culture with resonator capabilities, especially one able to reach so far across superspace, has High Command interested in a possible exchange of technology and opening peaceful trade relations."

"That's excellent news, Captain. Thank you."

"We'll be sending you and Tendo-san down to the surface in a shuttle in a day or two, Saotome-san. Since Lieutenants Kamiya and Nakakami are already familiar to you, they will be acting as your escorts and liaisons." The captain eyed Nodoka. "I trust you and Lt. Nakakami can both behave yourselves while dirtside?"

Nodoka immediately let go of Genma and stood at attention, her gaze straight in front of her. She brought her right fist to rest upon her left breast. "Yes, Captain!"

Genma felt a little more relaxed now. Once he and Soun were back home with their families, the fakes inhabiting their lives could be sent back home. Even better, returning home with a spaceship filled with representatives of another timeline would be definitive proof to his colleagues at the Science Ministry that alternate worlds did exist.

As far as this version of Nodoka went, perhaps she could yet be made to see reason. It wasn't that he didn't like her. He actually felt quite strongly attracted to her, but he was unable to see how it could work out between them since he was already married. And how would he explain this to his wife? Where could he even begin?

It looked like the problems he, Ranma and Soun had been having, the various tribulations originating from interacting with these different alternate worlds, might finally be coming to an end. He hoped that was true.

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"It appears there has been a change in your status, Tendo-san," said Kimiko, opening Soun's cell. Her expression was neutral. She stood waiting at the door. "You are no longer a prisoner."

Nodding, Soun stood up. "That is good news."

"I have been given orders to act as your escort and liaison during your stay in the Matriarchy." Her gaze at him was cool.

Walking to the doorway, he paused and met her gaze, puzzled at her attitude. "Have I given you offense in some way, Nakakami-san?" It felt odd to him to say his dead wife's maiden name while looking at a woman who was her virtual twin.

"Only through omission," she said, moving aside.

"Could you elaborate?" He stood there, the two of them in tableau for several moments when she did not immediately reply.

"I had hoped- Never mind." She turned and left the cell. "It appears my destiny is to be alone," she muttered softly.

Realization dawned in Soun. She wanted him to do as Genma had done with the other Nodoka. "I'm sorry, Nakakami-san," he said more gently.

She whirled on him, standing tall and proud, her gaze hawklike and fierce. "Yes, you are sorry! You are a most sorry excuse for a male!"

He met her gaze without flinching. "You are much like the woman I once knew."

"Well, I am not her." Harrumphing imperiously, she turned on her heel. "Come, Tendo-san. I will escort you to your new quarters on board."

Nodding, he followed her, his expression calm, but inwardly he was troubled. She was not the Kimiko he had known, but the similarities were jarring to his emotions. He would have to watch himself. He could not let himself fall in love with her. He could never love another that deeply again.

That way would only lead him to pain.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"

Hundreds of punches slammed into Ryoko's guts and ribcage, and she staggered back. As awareness left her gaze, her last sight was of Nabiki standing in front of her before her eyes rolled up into her head. She collapsed to her knees and then fell sideways. The duplicate Ryoko, already knocked unconscious nearby, suddenly shimmered and vanished.

Nabiki dropped to her knees on the grass, her breathing heavy and gasping. Her aching ribs prevented her from taking in a proper breath, and her vision blurred for several moments. Their fight had ranged from the street to the empty lot near her house, the same one where she had met the cursed Ryoga. She was amazed at how tough the other girl was, and she would not take her so lightly again. She had been forced to use the Amaguriken technique more than once to win the fight, the Masaki girl and her twin relentlessly pressing her right up until the very end. The exhaustion began fading slowly, and she was grateful at not losing consciousness even as the adrenaline drained from her system.

"Damn it," she muttered. "I'm going to be late for school now. Thanks a lot, you teal-haired freak." She got to her feet and started running as best she could.

Watching quietly from concealment, Cologne eyed the Tendo girl as she departed. She had witnessed the entire fight while she was on her way to handle some errands in the area, one of them being to greet her great-granddaughter's prospective mother-in-law and see what sort of woman she was. Her gaze narrowed as she considered what she had just witnessed, a second youth who knew the same high-level Joketsuzoku technique that Ranma inexplicably knew.

Pogoing out on her staff, she paused to examine the unconscious girl, probing gently at her injuries with her fingers and pressing pressure points that would speed healing. Despite the beating she had taken during her fight with the Tendo girl, Ryoko was not seriously injured, likely due to her very sturdy frame. As Cologne worked to aid the fallen girl, she was impressed at the bone and muscle structure Ryoko possessed.

The two teens had both been extraordinary, each one fighting at a level equal to the best Joketsuzoku girls their age. The Tendo girl's ability to fight at such a level was a concern to the Amazon matriarch, since she was a threat to Shampoo's interests in the Saotome boy. She would have to be kept distracted. Her gaze fell upon Ryoko, considering the possibilities the girl offered.

"May I be of any assistance, Madame?" suddenly asked a voice behind her in accented Mandarin.

Cologne, shocked that someone had been able to approach her without her awareness, whirled around to see Cherry standing there. As they stared at each other, he smiled at her enigmatically, tipping back his straw hat. She stood up from her efforts to aid the fallen girl. "I thank you for your offer, but I require no assistance," she brusquely answered him in Japanese.

"As you wish, Cologne-san," Cherry said politely.

The elderly Amazon narrowed her gaze and asked, "You know me?" She tried to get a reading on the wizened figure in front of her, and while she could sense only a trickle of power emanating from him, that didn't necessarily mean anything. She knew several techniques to tamp down her own emanations of fighting strength unless she needed them. "Who are you?"

"Oh, pardon my poor manners," said the wizened monk. "I am Cherry, a humble follower of the Buddha, at your service." He bowed. "The girl there is a recent acquaintance of mine." He moved past Cologne and knelt down next to Ryoko, setting down his ringed staff, which had made no sounds until after Cologne had turned to see him. He began to check her injuries.

"How do you know my name? I did not give it." She eyed the monk with suspicion.

"Perhaps we knew each other in another life?" Cherry suggested with another enigmatic smile.

Cologne harrumphed at that. As she pondered the mystery of the monk before her, Ryoko returned to wakefulness.

"Cherry?" she asked, sitting up.

"Greetings," Cherry replied. "Do you need help to stand, Masaki-san?"

"No," she grumbled, standing up, noticing Cologne. "Who's the old lady, Cherry? Is she your girlfriend?" That earned her a sharp rap on the head from Cologne's staff. "OW! Hey, watch it, grandma! I'm injured and not in a good mood!"

Cherry stifled a chuckle, and Cologne frowned at both of them.

Still rubbing a hand on her sore head, Ryoko checked her watch. "Crap! I'm late! I gotta go. Later, Cherry." She ran off, grabbing her bag from where it had been abandoned and heading to St. Hebereke Academy.

"Such a lively morning," Cherry observed. He picked up his ringed staff and gave the elderly Amazon a bow. "Perhaps we will see each other again sometime, Cologne-san." He started to walk off, his ringed staff jingling, but her hand falling on his shoulder stopped him. She let go when he turned around, sensing something in him for a split-second that made her wary, but it was gone too quickly for her to be sure.

Cologne was reluctant to ask him for help, but she had spent quite a bit of time wandering the neighborhood seeking the Saotome household without success. "Do you know where Ranma Saotome lives?"

"Yes, I do."

When he did not elaborate and just stood there smiling beatifically, Cologne began wondering if the old fool in front of her had lost his wits to senility. "Will you guide me there?" she finally said through slightly gritted teeth.

"It would be my pleasure." Cherry bowed and began walking briskly, his staff ringing as Cologne pogoed along at his side.

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Ryoga gazed down calmly at the devastated condition of his foe, feeling his gloomy mood lightening a bit at his victory. The battle had taken longer than it should have because he wanted to draw it out, especially after hearing his opponent bragging so much about his skill. A good match against a strong opponent should be savored, not that he had actually been challenged very much. He smiled, showing his fangs.

Opening his fingers, he let several white stones fall into the bowl beneath his hand. They made a distinct clattering sound in the Go salon, and the small crowd around them let out their collective breath. The gray-haired man seated across from him glared down at the game board before gazing at him once again, as if trying to memorize his face.

"I believe you now owe me eight thousand yen," Ryoga said with a smirk after beating the man in three straight games. "You can try for double or nothing again, if you like."

His opponent grumbled and reached for his wallet, revealing a shoulder holster with a pistol under his jacket, causing the Lost Boy to tense a bit. He thought the man was a yakuza until he noticed the peaceforcer badge at his belt, an inspector's badge. The older man pulled out eight thousand-yen notes and slapped them down irritably on the table before walking out. Ryoga picked them up and added them to his lean wallet. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had not eaten breakfast yet.

Gathering up his backpack and umbrella, Ryoga slipped the pack on, slung his umbrella and then headed out of the Go salon. When he stepped outside, another unfamiliar town greeted his gaze, this one somewhere on the outskirts of Kyoto. All the ones he had seen blurred together in his memory, and he cursed himself once again for running off without thinking after his duel with Ukyo. It had been many days since then, and his life had developed a routine as he struggled to get back to her.

Footsore, out of food and down to his last few hundred yen, he had stumbled upon a Go salon a few days after the duel. One of the patrons had taken pity on him and given him a sandwich. He had watched a few games being played while he ate before he noticed that some of the people were playing for money, and it gave him an idea. A few hours later, he walked out of that Go salon many thousands of yen richer, letting him afford a meal at a restaurant and restocking his supplies. Since that day, he made it a point to keep on the lookout for any Go salons. He had also started to send postcards to his family, so they wouldn't worry about him back home.

Sitting now in yet another town's small restaurant, the meal he had ordered on a plate in front of him, he could only think about Ukyo. His face took on a determined look, the same one he got whenever he thought about his childhood friend. He would find his way back to her, and he would tell her how he felt, hoping she forgave him for his stupidity. How could he have known her for all these years and not known she was really a girl? Was he really that blind and stupid?

But what if she didn't want him? What if she was engaged to that guy, Ranma Saotome? His heart felt as if it would shatter like glass at the thought of the other boy engaged to Ukyo. Knowing she was a girl, he found himself scared of her now, something he had never experienced when he thought her a boy. Maybe she even wanted an arranged marriage. Maybe she didn't like him back that way.

No, that wasn't true. It couldn't be. He remembered the way she used to smile at him back home, her face lighting up every time she saw him show up.

His hands clenched into fists. Don't worry, Ukyo, he thought with a serious look. I'll put a stop to this travesty. I won't let you be forced into a loveless relationship. I just have to find this guy again, this Ranma Saotome jerk. I'll make him give you up, if I have to break every single bone in his body.

His fury rose even higher when thoughts of Nabiki and Ryoko appeared unbidden in his mind. They needed him too. Ryoko's family might have already forced her into an arranged marriage with that Saotome guy as well. And Nabiki had been so kind to him, an angel of virtuousness and feminine grace who had appeared to him in his darkest hour. His fragile heart seemed to shatter within him at the thought of what villainous deeds the Saotome boy could be doing with all three girls while he was not there to protect them, imagining Ranma laughing at him. He needed to get back to them, and he needed to avenge himself on Saotome and that redheaded girl for getting him cursed to turn into an animal.

He quickly wolfed down his meal, slapped down some bills from his wallet, picked up his things and then he was swiftly out the door.

"JUST YOU WAIT, RANMA SAOTOME!" he bellowed, heading off in the general direction of Kyoto.

A few minutes later, a white van pulled up outside the restaurant and two women in peaceforcer uniforms got out. With them was the man Ryoga had been playing Go with earlier. He waited outside while the pair charged into the restaurant and then came back out shortly.

"He just left," said Miyuki Kobayakawa, the senior officer in charge of the hunt for Ryoga. A frown was on her face as she solemnly put her sunglasses back on. "He can't have gotten far this time."

Natsumi Tsujimoto, her partner and friend, grumbled at that. They had been given the supposedly easy assignment of tracking the Hibiki boy, and he had led them quite a surprising chase across a good portion of Japan, making them a laughingstock among their peers for not being able to bring in one teenaged boy. Just when they thought they were finally closing in on him, he would suddenly veer off in a random direction. There were also numerous sightings of a panda bear along the boy's trail, further complicating their hunt.

Their friends, Yui Ikari and Ayaka Kisaragi, had sent them a small stuffed panda as a gift. That joke did not go over well at all with Natsumi. After removing it from the box, she had tossed it into the air and shot it twice with her sidearm before it hit the ground, stomped on it, set what was left on fire and then cast the still burning remains into the sea, shaking her fist at the raging waves and vowing vengeance on the Hibiki boy for making them look like fools. Miyuki was a little worried that Natsumi was coming close to losing it completely, each failure to capture the boy bringing her closer to the edge.

"If you'd sent out an Empire-wide notification, you'd already have him. I thought there was something odd about the boy, but I'm curious what the Directorate could want with him. He didn't seem overly dangerous to warrant a pair of peaceforcers pursuing him."

"They want this kept quiet, Inspector," grumbled Miyuki, having had similar conversations with other Directorate personnel across more of Japan than she cared to think about. "If you should happen to see him again, please take him into custody and let the Directorate know."

"Understood." He gave the woman a bow. "Happy hunting."

"JUST YOU WAIT, RYOGA HIBIKI!" Natsumi bellowed before getting into the car. The inspector raised an eyebrow and watched as they drove off.

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Mousse was jittery as he followed Perfume down to the dock area as the morning sun arose on the China Sea. Seeing all that cold seawater made him feel distinctly uncomfortable, and he hoped there was a nice, dry hold he could hide in on the ship until their voyage was over. He had been lucky so far, the two times he had changed since joining his companion had occurred outside of Perfume's sight. Finding water warm enough to revert him back to human form had been done by stealing tea kettles.

Perfume noticed Mousse give an involuntary shiver and frowned. What was with the idiot? He had been useful so far in their travels, but her patience with him was thin. Shampoo was pulling ahead of her again, and now she appeared to have snagged a strong male for her husband. What was even worse, he was an intelligent boy, and the thought of her archrival winning a male who combined brains and brawn irritated her greatly.

She had been doing some reading last night on the name of Ranma Saotome after the Amazon Challenge match was concluded, looking up everything she could find about him on a terminal in a dodgy datanet café that she felt had charged her way too much. Some of the scientific journals she came across had articles written by an 'R. Saotome' she had perused very closely, picking her way through the mathematics and concepts the articles discussed with some difficulty. If he was the same person, he was far too good for an apish imbecile like Shampoo to have as her husband.

When they reached the appropriate dock, Perfume raised an eyebrow, gazing at the boat parked there. It was a converted military vessel, a survivor of the many wars that the Empire fought against other nations as it expanded its grip upon the globe. That much she could tell just by looking at it. But it was also rusted, pitted with salt water damage in places and looked like it would fall apart if it achieved a speed faster than a rapid walk. She was visibly unimpressed.

"What a pile of junk," she muttered in Mandarin.

Ryo Saeba was fueling the boat with diesel as they approached, and he stood up. "That's the idea, cutie-pie," he said in Japanese with a grin, unoffended by her words. "What? You were expecting a cargo ship operating out of Roanapur to be sleek lines and shiny? That's a good way to get picked up by the Empire. But a ship that looks like this slips by unnoticed. Dutch and I have made a few special modifications to her as well. She'll get you where you need to go."

He walked over to them and held out his hand. "The money?"

Perfume grumbled and handed over the advance portion of their payment. Ryo's eyes glittered with happiness at the sight of the gold in the small bag. He put it away quickly.

"Aren't you going to count it?" she asked.

Ryo shrugged. "I've got the whole trip for that. Now, you two kids head on board, and we'll get out of here."

"Saeba-san?" Mousse asked, eyeing the seawater around the dock. "I'm not fond of ocean travel. Do you have a dry area downstairs I could spend the voyage in?"

Ryo nodded. "Sure thing, kid. But if you get seasick, try and aim it out a porthole, okay? I don't want to have to clean it up."

Nodding, Mousse gingerly headed up the gangplank past him and into the ship. Ryo grinned at Perfume. He watched her walk past him, her head held high. His gaze dropped to her derriere when he was behind her, and his grin grew larger.

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Nodoka emerged from the Tendo household with a puzzled expression on her face. Kasumi had been the only one home, the younger daughters away at school. The girl had greeted her when she came in the gate, out sweeping the walk at the time. After polite introductions were over,

Nodoka had asked her if she had seen Genma. The girl had given her an oddly blank sort of stare, explaining that she didn't know him.

What was going on? Where had Genma gone? With the difficulties Shampoo was going through right now, he had picked a fine time to vanish.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

A freshly-lit cigarette in his mouth, Soun Tendo examined information gathered by his department on Ohtani Media Corporation, the zaibatsu that owned Shampoo's contract. There had been quite a lot of chatter from her fandom after last night's events. A great deal of speculation about Ranma had begun floating around the datanet since then, but that wasn't Soun's concern.

Someone had hired Golgo, the legendary assassin, to attack Ranma and make it look like he lost against the girl. Even with his bloodstream filled with a concoction of sedatives, the boy had retained enough fortitude and quick wits to save Shampoo from Golgo's falling body, the assassin killed by an unnamed agent of the Mobius Institute, not that Soun would have been overly troubled if the Chinese girl had died. He was far more concerned with what he had seen the boy do in that fight, the shocking level of competence he had shown.

It shouldn't have been possible, but this version of Ranma had fought far beyond Soun's expectations. There was much more going on with the boy than just an imprinting of knowledge on his nervous system and a few months of training at the Imperial Academy. Not even this Ranma's genetic enhancements could replace the conditioning that other world's version of the boy had.

Somehow, in some way, this boy was a martial artist on a level he just should not be able to perform at. He had defeated the girl by a narrow margin, possibly made even narrower than it would have been by the concoction found in his system. There was also the matter of the boy's use of the Sweet Chestnut Fist. The Ranma of Soun's old world did not know such an attack, and the speed it demonstrated was astonishing. Fans of the Amazon had slowed down the video to a crawl and counted two hundred and forty-two punches thrown into their idol in the space of a few seconds.

The leadership of Ohtani was collectively livid over the matter of Golgo's involvement, but they were also speculating on how they could capitalize on the Amazon's initial loss to Ranma and the scheduled rematch in a week to clear any shadow from his victory over her. The boy, as well as the Anything-Goes School, had attained fame across the globe overnight, and Shampoo's popularity was growing even greater as well, their fight being rebroadcast and their situation debated in offices and homes across the Empire. Even those who didn't follow the fights in the Arena were becoming aware of the new couple.

The press had been given strict orders to give the Saotome family a few days before anyone questioned them about Ranma, a command coming down from the Ministry of Information. Since Nabiki had been with the boy last night, Soun had fielded a few calls this morning asking for interviews with her. He had replied to such inquiries with very brief statements, asking that his family be left alone as well until the blackout period on interviews was done. He pondered how he was going to deal with the fallout Genma's stunt with the boy was causing. Things had not turned out as he had expected.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While sitting at her desk as lunch began, Ukyo had a small mob of people surrounding her desk. Since she was known to be Ranma's friend, everyone wanted to know more about what was going on with him. They also wanted to know how she felt about his match against Shampoo.

How did she feel? She wasn't sure how she felt about it. While she admired Shampoo very much as a fighter in the Arena (especially her ability to combine being both a warrior and a desirable woman), she wasn't sure she liked the idea of sharing Ranma with another girl. She was already having enough stress dealing with the likes of the Iron Bitch of the Imperial Academy, Nabiki Tendo, and the soft, pampered floozy in the next classroom, Kodachi Kuno.

On the other hand, Ranma's engagement to Shampoo, assuming it survived the week, might give her an ally she could then use against those two. Since she and the Amazon would be his only official fiancées under Imperial law, they could stand together and drive off all the other girls who sought after him. It seemed a relatively small price to pay, and maybe she and Shampoo could even become friends over time. The more she looked at it that way, the better it sounded to her.

Tsubasa was one of those in the crowd surrounding the ninja, the young Goju grateful for a chance to get closer to the Kuonji girl. Elbowing her way to the front, currently shapeshifted to female form as she always was for school, she stood near Ukyo and hoped to be noticed. As far as she was concerned, Ranma could stay locked away in the Arena forever.

In the back of the class, Hikaru Gosunkugi looked more haggard than he ever had before, although he was eating better lately thanks to Frost's efforts. He had seen hell ever since the Amazon sorceress and Minami had moved in with him and began fighting over him. The thought that Saotome could experience an even worse fate was somewhat gratifying to him. With the three girls currently engaged to Ranma, something he had learned through Minami's visits in secret to the Ranma Saotome Fan Club headquartered in the basement, adding a fourth girl like Shampoo would make his own trials seem mild in comparison.

He sincerely hoped they all moved in with him together. That would be a far worse punishment for Ranma than anything he could ever come up with. Girls were scary up close. He had never realized before how very scary they could be.

Next to him, Ghost Sweeper Minami had recently acquired an eyelid twitch whenever the words 'Amazon' or 'Joketsuzoku' were ever mentioned in her presence, so talk about Shampoo was giving her minor fits. At the terror-filled request of Hikaru's mother earlier in the week, special collars had been fitted on both girls, limiting their magical abilities until they could get used to each other, or at least ceased trying to blow each other up. If they were needed to deal with something supernatural menacing the Empire, the collars could be rendered inert by those with the proper spell keys, such as Ayaka Kisaragi or other select senior Mobius Institute agents.

Since they couldn't cast attack spells at each other to settle their differences, another form of conflict resolution had been occurring between the two...

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Minami yelped with pain beneath her as Frost twisted the young Ghost Sweeper's arm up higher on her back, straddling the redhead and pinning her to the floor with her weight. Both girls had black eyes and other bruises on their faces and bodies, each of them had their clothing all askew and their hair a mess. The Chinese girl was seriously regretting that she knew only the very basics of Joketsuzoku Kung Fu. Luckily, Minami was about as bad at barehanded fighting as she was, having neglected all such training offered at the Institute and the Academy.

"I get to sleep in Hikaru-kun's room tonight," Frost growled, her eyes glinting like frozen chips of hydrogen, muscling the other girl's arm up a little higher while Minami yelped some more and spat out numerous invectives that would have shocked the redhead's mother. Spending time around her Airen and the other girl had been stirring her emotions more than they had ever been aroused before. "Yield."

"I give! I give!" Minami slapped the ground with her free hand and ceased her struggles. "You can sleep in his room tonight!"

Gosunkugi sat at the main table, terror filling his being at the sheer ferocity both girls kept demonstrating against each other in their desires to be with him, wondering what terrible sin he had committed in this life or a previous one to be cast into this hell. Across from him, his mother had a slight smile on her face as she sipped nonchalantly at her tea.

Of course, not every battle went Frost's way...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Let go of my hair." Frost gripped Minami's hand and tried to pry the other girl's fingers loose from their hold on her pale tresses. Unable to do so, she changed tactics, took a firm hold of her foe's hair and began pulling on it hard. The redhead yelped with pain, snarled out some truly colorful invectives and then growled with rage.

"I'm going out tonight with Hikaru-kun, and you're not stopping me," Minami snarled. During their struggle, the Ghost Sweeper managed to push the other girl up against the wall and then slammed Frost's head back into it. When that didn't produce an immediate result, she did it again even harder, leaving a skull-shaped dent in the thick plaster and momentarily stunning the Chinese sorceress.

Quickly balling her left hand into a fist, Minami slugged Frost in the jaw as hard as she could. Letting go of her grip on the other girl's hair, she followed it up with another punch across the cheek with her right. Even as the Chinese girl's eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped to the ground unconscious, the Ghost Sweeper felt pain surge from her sore knuckles. How did those martial artist jock types do this sort of thing without breaking their hands?

Outside the closed door to his bedroom, Gosunkugi listened to the sudden silence in dread and hoped one girl had not just killed the other. Every night since the two of them arrived it had been like this, the pair brawling inexpertly with each other. He had been forbidden by both girls from interfering in their disagreements after his first timid attempt to do so. His mother was calmly drinking tea at the main table, but her expression was somber.

After several minutes of ominous sounds and the even more ominous occasional silences coming from the bedroom, Minami finally opened the door and came out smiling. She had fixed her hair and makeup as best she could for her movie date with him. Behind her, Frost was lying on a futon, having been dragged to it by Minami and deposited there, still unconscious.

"Shall we go, Hikaru-kun?" Minami asked, offering him her arm. Seeing his look of concern for Frost, she frowned. "Don't worry about her. I cast a healing spell on Robot Girl. She'll be fine by morning."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Minami twitched some more at talk of Shampoo in the classroom. The boys in class were envious of Ranma's good fortune, snaring a hot girl like the Amazon. The female cadets wondered why he would even want a foreign girl when he now had plenty of female fans at the Academy.

The Ghost Sweeper realized she needed to become a better fighter to deal with the Chinese sorceress. She hoped her friend Yohko Mano would be able to help her. While Frost wasn't a very good fighter, Minami knew she was even less so without her magic, and there was no way she was going to let that continue. The Chinese girl presented a clear and present danger to her relationship with Hikaru-kun, much more so than his previous long-distance adoration of Akane ever had.

Ukyo noticed one of the quieter girls in class still standing near her desk after the crowd had drifted away to start eating their lunch. She turned to face Tsubasa.

"K-Kuonji-san," the young Goju squeaked out nervously and bowed. "I-I'm Tsubasa Kurenai."

"Hello, Kurenai-san," Ukyo replied with a forced smile. "It's nice to meet you. Did you have a question for me about Ranma?"

Tsubasa wasn't sure why she was feeling so nervous, wondering if it was because of her female form's hormones or something. When a Goju shifted shapes like this, they actually changed to a new form all the way down to the cellular level. "I-I know you and Saotome-san eat lunch together a lot, and I wondered if- if- uhh- youmightlikecompany?"

Ukyo blinked. This was the first girl who had expressed an interest in being friends since her fight with Ryoga had taken place, the rest generally avoiding the 'cross-dressing freak' in their midst, as she had heard whispered about her in the halls. A few girls in the school, and also a couple of boys, had revealed they would like to be 'special friends' with her, now that everyone knew she was really a girl and just cross-dressed as a boy. Having a normal girl as a friend would be nice after dealing with all that, since her cousin Ranko wasn't around very much. Maybe Tsubasa could also help her learn how to be a girl, to help her win Ranma's heart.

"Thank you, Kurenai-san," she said with a more genuine smile, finding she liked the shy girl. "I accept."

Tsubasa bowed several times to Ukyo, feeling happy inside.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cologne and Cherry sat at the main table as Nodoka served tea and a light lunch of noodles and cooked vegetable to everyone. The elderly Amazon eyed him with more than a little bit of irritation as he slurped his noodles and drank tea. Subtle hints that he should leave and let the two women talk in private had been ignored.

"It's so nice to meet with someone of Shampoo's family so quickly to settle the details," Nodoka said with a smile as she settled at her usual place at the table, eating daintily.

"Details?" Cologne inquired, a little surprised at the statement.

"Why, for the wedding, of course," Nodoka replied with a smile. "While I was surprised at Ranma taking the initiative like this, especially with a foreign girl, it's nice that he's finally embracing the idea of finding a wife."

Cherry was sipping his tea calmly at that moment, pausing to raise an eyebrow.

"Uh, yes," said Cologne, nodding as she felt herself relax at the ease the boy's mother had with the news. She began to eat as well, enjoying the taste of the food. "The boy does seem to be an excellent match for Shampoo. He's a strong warrior."

"He's very manly," Nodoka agreed, sipping her tea. "I'm sure he will have many strong and attractive children with Shampoo. She's quite beautiful and an excellent fighter." The girl reminded her quite a bit of herself at that age, when she thought about it. "I just hope she gets along all right with his other fiancées."

Cherry raised his other eyebrow to join the first and paused briefly a second time as he quaffed his tea.

"Other fiancées?" Cologne asked after swallowing noodles. "I was only aware of Nabiki Tendo making such a claim upon the boy."

"I'm afraid it's all my foolish husband's fault," said Nodoka with a slight grimace. "He signed engagement contracts with several fathers. The three girls now involved are Nabiki Tendo, Kodachi Kuno and Ukyo Kuonji. Shampoo would be the fourth fiancée. It's quite a complicated situation."

"You don't approve of there being so many?" Cologne managed to keep her hope that this was so out of her voice, since the other woman seemed so favorably inclined towards Shampoo wedding the boy. She sipped some more of her tea, finding it to be quite flavorful.

Cherry continued to eat, not contributing a word to the conversation.

"Not at all," said Nodoka, shaking her head. "I welcome grandchildren, and the Empire allows for multiple wives. I only wish Genma had not made these arrangements behind my back. Assuming I let all of them stand, the question then becomes who will be the First Wife."

"I doubt Shampoo will settle for anything less than that." Cologne ate some more noodles, contemplating the matter and what little she knew of Japanese marriage customs. She knew that the First Wife was considered the preeminent spouse and the one in charge in the husband's absence, and her children were first in line in matters of inheritance.

"I fear the other girls feel the same," said Nodoka. "They are all very spirited sorts, hence my dilemma as Ranma's mother. Do the Joketsuzoku ever have such problems?"

"There is always a shortage of strong men." Cologne sipped briefly from her teacup. "In some cases, the women interested in a man agree to share him. I know of a few such arrangements. They've had varying degrees of success." She did not mention that one attempt had ended in a great deal of bloodshed and violence. It was far more common for women who were rivals over a man to battle each other until one could no longer continue fighting and sometimes not even that would end it.

"So there's a possibility it could work out." Nodoka looked hopefully at Cologne. It would be nice to have girls in the house to help out with chores. While she loved her son dearly, sometimes she wished she had a daughter to pass on her homemaking skills to. She caressed her belly briefly, wondering if the child growing within would be a girl. She hoped so.

"Well, yes," Cologne said thoughtfully. "But Shampoo's situation is different from other women in our village who are involved in such an arrangement. Assuming the boy wins against her a second time to seal his claim, their engagement will then be enforced by the treaty the Empire and Joketsuzoku signed well over a century ago. The three girls you mentioned are engaged to the boy under Imperial contract law, and those agreements can be broken for various reasons. But only Shampoo can rescind the Kiss of Marriage once it involves an Imperial Citizen."

"So her claim is already superior under Imperial law." Nodoka nodded in understanding. She wondered if the girl would be moving in. She would, of course, be sharing Ranma's room, so space should not be an issue.

"Yes." Cologne extended a hand holding her teacup and Nodoka refilled it. "Perhaps one or more of the other girls will choose to drop out."

The two women considered that as they sipped tea together and then both chuckled. Cherry was helping himself to another serving of noodles and cooked vegetables.

"No, I honestly don't think it will be that easy," said Cologne with a smile, accepting more tea as Nodoka poured. She pondered things as she sipped her drink and accepted an offer of cake for dessert. She glanced at the mysterious monk, but he was quietly enjoying his meal and tea.

The elderly Amazon found the situation with Shampoo to be troublesome but not without its benefits. Having rivals for the boy's attention, assuming they were all strong fighters like the Tendo girl, would help keep Shampoo's skills sharp after she was finished with her Arena career, her abilities hopefully winning citizenship for the tribe at the end and empowering the Joketsuzoku to a far more prominent place in the Empire. Having powerful rivals would also give the girl motivation to take her training to even more advanced levels than she had so far.

She then considered Ranma. The boy was undeniably strong as a fighter, and she welcomed the thought of his genes adding to the strength of her family. Her great-granddaughter had found a good one in him. As far as the matter of his rather disrespectful attitude towards her went, while she doubted he would ever be made properly deferential to the superior gender, hopefully he could at least be taught somewhat better manners. Until that time, she would do her best to overlook his rudeness.

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Nabiki stripped off her sweat-soaked, Chinese-style shirt and tossed it into her locker irritably, where it landed with a damp thud. The fight she had with Ryoko this morning had left her more injured than she had realized and sparring while so weakened had been stupid of her. Kodachi had been able to press her harder during training today than she ever had before and then things got worse when the coach left them alone for a few minutes.

The Kuno girl had been steadily improving her abilities as a fighter and gradually closing the gap between them, which was irritating on its own. Even though she was still a bit faster than Kodachi thanks to the Amaguriken training, she was discovering limiters within herself, ones imposed by her physical conditioning being less than her analog's. The sizable advantage she had once had in their relative fighting ability due to her childhood training with her mother and the download of the Anything-Goes School was gradually dwindling.

Both of them had already been feeling frustrated over what was now happening with Ranma, and things had finally verged into an actual fight between them towards the end, the two of them taking it out on each other. Thinking about it more calmly now, she didn't blame Kodachi and might even owe her an apology, since she had been the first to lose control and thrown a punch at full power. She dabbed a bit gingerly at her nose with a towel, crimson staining it when she laid it down. Thankfully, it wasn't broken, but it ached quite a lot.

She grimaced when more pain flared up within her, this time from her bruised ribs. During the ensuing battle after that first blow had been thrown, Kodachi had managed to drive a solid hit into the most injured part of her ribcage, a souvenir from the morning fight with Ryoko, and the ensuing explosion of pain had stunned her at a critical moment. The next thing she knew, the other girl laid into her solidly, exploiting the opportunity and landing damaging blows into her body and face. Before she could rally, she was down on the ground, sitting on her butt, her nose streaming blood. The coach, just then returned from his brief errand, was struggling to pull the young noblewoman back.

It wasn't a loss in Nabiki's mind. If the instructor hadn't stopped them, she was sure she would have gotten back up and reminded the debutante who was truly the better fighter between them. The other girl had only gotten lucky this time. She would make sure it didn't happen again, working harder on her training than ever before.

Another troubling thing had been the look of triumph on Kodachi's face, followed by the other girl actually laughing at her, her wrist held up in front of her mouth in a mockery of demureness. It was a bitchy sort of laugh, one trailing behind her as the noblewoman had turned and headed to the locker room. Nabiki heard the debutante laugh again in the shower. The sound of it set her teeth on edge and made her want to march in there and pound on the other girl.

"OH HOHOHOHOHOHO!"

Kodachi relished the feel of the Black Rose's laugh as it erupted from her throat one final time. The delinquent girl's personality was still ascendant behind her eyes, savoring one last time the memory of the wonderful beating she had just given one of her nemeses. Unfortunately, she had not been able to finish her task properly, the coach pulling her away from Nabiki before she could knock her unconscious. Even so, despite the pains from her numerous bruises and other injuries, her mood was much improved from earlier today after her achievements. She turned her face upwards into the hot spray, the water flowing through her hair and down her body, rinsing her clean of soap, sweat and blood.

Her ongoing private training with her mother had been bearing fruit, gradually closing the gap between her and Nabiki, and, while she hadn't quite won, today she had finally demonstrated to the other girl that Kodachi Kuno was a foe to be feared and respected. After the coach had left to take a phone call, their combined frustrations over Ranma's situation with Shampoo had erupted into violence when the Tendo girl hit her in the face full-force during sparring. Things had quickly escalated from there, exploding into savage battle between them and the Black Rose summoning herself forth fully from within her. That aspect of her enjoyed the ferocious, visceral thrills of fighting and had savored the ensuing brutal struggle with Nabiki.

The delinquent girl's personality still retained control of Kodachi's gestalt for the moment, the others within her whispering quietly in the background of her mind as she turned around and remained standing under the spray. The hot water sluiced down her bruised frame, her wet hair matted and stringy, some of it falling forward to partially cover her face. Her gaze grew solemn as she contemplated her situation.

Dancing with Ranma at Ohtori last weekend and on their date during the middle of the week had shifted her desires perceptibly, increasing his favor with her over that of Miki Kaoru, her childhood friend. He was indeed a worthy mate for the Black Rose, remembering how sensuously delightful it had felt to move her body rhythmically with his to the music during their time dancing together. Thinking about her fiancé, she began running her hands slowly down her body, caressing herself, her sensual sighs and occasional gasps of pleasure drowned out by the thundering spray of the shower, imagining the raptures they would give each other someday. For a brief time, she let herself be consumed by an erotic fantasy of them together.

Nabiki entered the shower area as Kodachi was exiting it, and the two girls eyed each other warily. The young noblewoman broke the silence first, back to her more normal self now. The Black Rose was quiescent once again within her, her desires temporarily sated.

"Tendo-san," she said simply with a slight nod of her head, deciding an apology was an unnecessary thing between two warriors like themselves. An occurrence like their fight earlier was a hazard when passions were roused during training, and both of them were partly at fault. She then strode past, head held high.

"Kuno-san," Nabiki murmured, her hand tightening into a fist at her side. She had considered offering an apology, but the other girl had not even mentioned the matter. With a shrug, she continued into the shower area.

As Nabiki showered, she mused about the situation with Ranma. Why was it so difficult to be more open with him about her feelings? He had fought to protect her from Kinnosuke Kashuoh, and while he hadn't won and the thought of someone trying to protect her when she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself was extremely annoying, she secretly appreciated the effort. She had also really enjoyed dancing with him at Ohtori, and she had been really happy to go on a date with him to see the Arena fights.

Then their date had been ruined, and by Shampoo of all people. Fists formed at her sides as she stood under the shower spray and remembered the argument with the other girl last night. In this world, she and the Amazon bimbo seemed destined to go to war over Ranma, like she was already experiencing with a certain cross-dressing chef and a spoiled, possibly even mentally unbalanced, debutante. And there were also the likes of Utena, Ryoko and maybe even that new girl she had fought with, Ranko Kuonji, all lusting for their chance at him, if given even half an opportunity. Each of those girls wanted to take him away from her and make him their own, and that was just not going to happen.

Her memories from that other world proved to her that she had been absolutely right to get herself engaged to him instead of Akane. As much as she cared about her sister, she just wasn't strong enough to keep him in the face of so much opposition, and Ranma would have had to keep protecting her from all these other girls after him. Besides, in this world Akane had started out as a bully towards him, beating him up more than once, and there was no way Ranma could ever come to like her after that. He would never see how loyal she was to her friends, and the softer side she only let show to other girls.

Nabiki knew that she and Ranma were meant to be together. Every trial they had faced so far since his first experience with the resonator had only seemed to bring them together, ever so slowly. After all, in this world, nobody else was his equal but her. None of the other girls in his life could honestly claim that. She and Ranma were both heirs to the Anything-Goes School, both of them carrying within their minds the memories of ten years of hellish training at Genma's hands. Knowing that, she would not let any other girl have him, and she would fight them all with everything she had within her in order to keep him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the afternoon, the rest of the morning after breakfast having been spent settling into his new temporary quarters and resting a bit to let his injuries heal some more, Ranma reluctantly took a long, hot shower, finally washing off his body the accumulated sweat and dried blood from last night's fight with Shampoo. Unfortunately, doing so also washed off the remaining protection of the waterproof soap, but he decided to take the risk. Yumi had promised to bring him a bar today, so he only had to chance it for a short time.

Ohtani Media Corporation had arranged for him to use an apartment on the upper levels of the Arena's dormitories, where the top fighters lived. He wasn't on Shampoo's floor though. Hers was on the floor directly above his.

She had been called away to speak with someone from Ohtani right after breakfast, so Running Deer had taken it upon herself to guide him around a bit. They chatted a bit, mostly making small talk. When the tour was over, she handed him off to someone he hadn't expected to see in this life: Mai Shiranui.

It turned out the older girl had been assigned as his liaison, to help him settle into life in the Arena during his brief tenure. She had been dressed professionally in a finely-tailored suit with a knee-length skirt, and she had worn her hair up. She also wore glasses, which he had found unexpectedly attractive. She was shy and reserved, quite different from the much more carefree woman he remembered from his action movie analog's life. He must have drawn upon that analog's way with women without realizing it, because it wasn't long before they were chatting like old friends.

After showing him to his apartment, she had given him her business card and then surprised him by writing her personal cellphone number on the back, telling him he could call her anytime for anything he might need. She had then bowed deeply to him, one which he immediately returned at an equal level. She smiled at him and departed, leaving him feeling happy to have made a new friend.

Toweling his hair dry, he was pleased to discover a small wardrobe hanging in the closet, all in his size, courtesy of Ohtani. He picked out a pair of black gi pants and a red, Chinese-style shirt, amused that they were there among the selections available. There was even a pair of shoes like his martial artist analogs wore.

After closing the door, locking it and then pocketing the key, he headed down the hallway to the elevator, planning to have some lunch. He needed to begin preparing for his rematch, but he would take it easy today. While training, he would also need to keep an eye out for cold water until he was able to refresh his protection with more waterproof soap. Weighing the odds, he was fairly certain he would be fine for a few hours.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Greetings, my fellow Lords! I am honored that you have accepted my invitation. I welcome you to my home."

With the sort of smile practiced by many politicians around the world, one that did not quite reach his eyes, Kinnosuke Kashuoh stood up and threw his arms wide in greeting, gazing at his newly arrived guests. Being escorted into the sumptuously decorated dining hall of Kashuoh Manor by Lynx and Tiger, the two young catgirls both dressed in formal kimonos, were Tatewaki Kuno and Mikado Sanzenin. Both teens were still dressed in their school uniforms. The Kashuoh heir had changed clothes to more traditional garb only minutes before their arrival. Panther stood behind him attentively, also dressed in a kimono.

"It is a pleasure to be invited," replied Mikado in his best diplomatic tones, smiling back with the same sort of smile Kinnosuke had. He eyed the fine crystal pitchers of water and various fruit juices on the table for a few moments before his gaze shifted to study the rest of the room. Arrayed around the chamber were numerous liliths, all dressed as maids, each one expectantly awaiting an order to fulfill, their eyes downcast and demure. He took a moment to appreciate the sheer quantity of feminine beauty present in the room. He allowed Lynx to guide him to a seat, where she stood next to it attentively. He took a moment to admire the clean lines of her beautiful face before sitting down and returning his attention to his host.

"Aye, Kashuoh-san, 'tis an honor for us as well," said Kuno grandly. He let himself be guided to the table by Tiger, smiling at the catgirl regally as he sat.

"Before we discuss the reason I have asked you here, I sincerely hope you will enjoy the repast I have had prepared for you, Kuno-san, Sanzenin-san." Kinnosuke snapped his fingers and lilith maids began bringing food to the table.

Lynx, Tiger and Panther took charge of things at that point, serving each young man seated at the table. Lynx and Tiger did their best to make their assigned guest comfortable, even flirting gently as they served food and waited on them. Lynx endured numerous, lingering fondles by Mikado, but her smile remained warm and her tone pleasant. Panther faithfully attended to Kinnosuke, lovingly serving him.

As they ate, their conversation was cordial with each other, but nothing significant was spoken until near the end of the meal. As the catgirls finished taking away the final dishes, Kinnosuke stood up. Mikado and Kuno looked at him.

"My friends, now that our meal is concluded, let me offer a toast to us all as future Lords of the Empire. May each of us serve the Emperor with distinction, nobility and honor throughout our lives." He lifted his glass, a gesture repeated by the other two. He then sat down and smiled at them.

"Well said!" Kuno exclaimed.

Kinnosuke became more somber. "Now that the pleasantries are done, I wish to speak to you about a serious matter that I understand concerns all three of us."

Mikado arched an eyebrow, curious.

"Please, speak on, Kashuoh-san," said Kuno, relaxing in his chair. "What trouble is it that you mean?" He took a drink, feeling mellow from all the good food. He was also looking forward to another date with Juri Arisugawa that night.

"The matter of Ranma Saotome, of course," said the Kashuoh heir even more grimly.

Kuno sprayed his drink in Mikado's general direction, causing the other boy to duck under the table with impressive reflexes. Tiger handed Kuno a napkin to wipe his face. The pleasant mood he had been experiencing abruptly vanished at the mention of the Saotome boy's name. Memories of his innocent and demure little sister being pinned to the floor and about to be ravished by the cad assailed him, and he struggled with difficulty to maintain his composure.

Returning to his seat, Mikado gave a brief look of annoyance to his friend before turning his gaze to Kinnosuke. He resumed a more placid appearance. "You have been annoyed by him as well, Kashuoh-san?"

"I have indeed, Sanzenin-san. So, I wished to discuss how we might work together against him. I believe we have a common cause, and by acting collectively we can each achieve our goals more efficiently. Do I have your interest, my fellow lords?"

Mikado and Kuno exchanged a look and then Mikado turned back to their host and said, "I believe you have our complete attention, Kashuoh-san. Tell us more of your thoughts on this matter."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Arena Director was taking care of some paperwork when Mai Shiranui, his secretary, buzzed him on the intercom. He sighed and then grimaced, his injuries suddenly paining him, reminding him he needed to take more painkillers. His finger stabbed at the intercom button.

"Yes?" he asked in an irritated tone.

"Sorry to bother you, sir," said Mai's slightly nervous voice. "I thought you should know that you have a visitor."

"Who?" His tone was puzzled.

"Jun Fan Lee is here, sir," she said in a quiet but urgent tone. "He has asked to see you. What should I do?"

The Arena Director blinked. Today was proving to be a surprising day. First there had been his encounter with Colt Remington, and now this. He had heard many stories about Jun Fan Lee, of course, but he had not expected to ever actually meet the man. Even after so many years away from it, he was still a legend when it came to the Arena, the one and only Dragon. He paused before speaking. "Give me a minute and then send Lee-san in."

After swallowing some painkillers and washing them down with water, he raised the room lights back up to normal levels, wincing a bit as his still bloodshot eyes struggled to adjust to the brighter light. He had to be prepared to make use of this event as an opportunity. Sitting back in his chair, he tried to remember what he knew of the man.

Jun Fan Lee was born in China's Kowloon Prefecture decades ago, in the Year of the Dragon and the Hour of the Dragon. Trained in Kung Fu and other style, he had become the star of the famed Six Pack, the group of martial artists who had dominated the Arena scene at the time. During the Emperor's Tournament that year, he became a legend. Several of his records from his career as a fighter, such as the fastest recorded knockout, still stood to this day.

He had used his fame in the Arena as a stepping stone to a film career. Those early films had been very cheaply made, but audiences around the Empire had thrilled to his screen exploits. Those had led to larger and larger productions over the years. Today, Lee was an international superstar known across the globe, owning his own movie production company, the cornerstone of a vibrant and expanding business empire, and he earned many billions of yen annually. It was quite a stunning achievement for a man who had once fought in the lowliest dog pits of the Empire for the amusement of peasants.

Now, this legendary man was about to enter his office in the next few moments. The Arena Director was determined to find a way to profit off of this event. Jun Fan Lee had not set foot on any Arena premises in years.

The doors opened, and in walked Lee, dressed in a tailored silk suit. His hair was casual and had the wind-blown look that his female fans adored. He had never married, and the tabloids often paired him up with different young starlets, frequently speculating on his romantic life. He was slender and not very tall, but he had an unquestionable amount of presence.

"Lee-san," the Arena Director said as he bowed respectfully. "This is a singular honor for me. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Lee bowed slightly in return, as a superior would to a social inferior, noting the man's mummy-like, bandaged appearance but choosing not to comment on it. "I have come in regards to my disciple, Ranma Saotome," he stated simply.

"I see." The Arena Director sat back in his chair.

"I watched his fight with Shampoo," said Lee as he brought his hands together. He tapped the index fingers of each hand against their opposite as he studied the man in front of him for any reactions. He could sense the present Arena Director was somewhat of a coward, but that would make things easier. Lee smiled very slightly as he noted the signs of tension in the man when he mentioned Ranma and Shampoo. They were subtle, but he could read them as easily as if the other man had shouted at him.

"Quite an exciting fight, wasn't it?" asked the Arena Director with a forced smile. He leaned back, his bloodshot eyes fixated on the other man, his mind yammering at him. He knows something! He knows I hired Golgo!

"I've come to prepare him for his rematch," noted Lee casually, still tapping his fingers together. "I trust that won't be a problem?"

"Of course not, Lee-san! It will be an honor!" He debated asking if he could film Ranma's training. Such a video would be worth a great deal of yen to the media in their current feeding frenzy over the boy.

Lee smiled and stood. "Thank you for taking the time to see me. I'll be back later to pick up my security badge."

The Arena Director bowed and then watched worriedly as Lee left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Opening the door, Frost was startled to see Cologne standing there. The sorceress was currently alone in the apartment, her fiancé's mother visiting with some friends. Her fiancé and her rival for him were at school. She had been enjoying the quiet, studying a cookbook at the main table and getting ideas for things to make her fiancé, when the doorbell rang.

"Matriarch Ku Lon," she said with a startled look, speaking Mandarin. "It is a surprise to see you."

"Hello, Frost," Cologne greeted her. "I was in the area and thought I'd check up on you. I was informed by your guardian that you have found yourself a man to marry, a young sorcerer of great power."

Cologne was shocked when Frost suddenly smiled at her and nodded. Then she smiled back. Whoever the boy was, she was grateful to him for being able to break the girl out of her shell. After the horrifying deaths of her parents, the girl had been closed off emotionally since that time. This was the first time the elderly Amazon could remember the girl ever smiling in years.

"Please come in, Matriarch Ku Lon," said Frost eagerly. "I shall tell you all about him. You arrive at a most opportune time." Her expression turned more somber. "I could use your assistance and sage advice in dealing with a local girl, an annoying pest troubling my relationship with my intended husband."

"There seems to be a bit of that going around," Cologne murmured softly, coming into the apartment.

"Did you say something, Matriarch?" Frost looked at her.

"Nothing," Cologne quickly declared, more loudly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shampoo entered the gymnasium level dressed in a worn T-shirt and frayed cutoff shorts. It was one of her older outfits, left over from her days with her old trainer during the initial phase of her career as an Arena fighter, when she was still fighting in the dog pits of the Empire. They were snug but still comfortable, and she had worn them on purpose to tease Ranma a bit. A pair of soft-soled shoes shod her feet.

She went to her usual area of the large central mat, and she began to do a slow stretching routine. She purposely didn't look at Ranma, but she saw where he was, noting he was doing a complex kata. Several male fighters paused in what they were doing to watch the lithe Amazon flex and stretch, enjoying the sight of her in such tight clothing. The majority of the female fighters made a large pretense of ignoring her. She either didn't notice or didn't appear to care what her fellow fighters thought of her. She focused on limbering up every muscle for her usual afternoon training, feeling twinges from injuries Ranma had given her that hadn't yet fully healed.

Her talk with the representative from Ohtani that morning had been interesting. After some initial dismay over Golgo's involvement, that someone had gone to such lengths to fix the fight, they had come to a consensus that the situation with Ranma was the type of publicity that money could not buy. There were indications that the rematch fight was going to be almost as big of a draw as the finals of the Emperor's Tournament, upwards of six hundred million viewers or even higher, and that meant a lot of money was at stake.

After finishing her stretches, she stood back up with a graceful move. The bruises from her fight with Ranma the previous day were already beginning to fade, and she felt limber enough for a light workout. She walked over to one of the heavy bags hanging from thick chains, and she began to do kicking practice. Each kick was textbook perfect, and the bag jolted with each strike. After a hundred strikes, she shifted her feet and did another hundred with the other leg.

A few hundred kicks later, Shampoo shifted to punches. It felt good to unload against an unfeeling object. She put more and more energy behind her punches. Each fist strike landed in precisely the same point. After a few hundred strikes with each hand, she paused to wipe some sweat from her brow.

"If you're done abusing that bag, we could do some sparring," she heard Running Deer say behind her.

Shampoo turned around, a smile on her face. "Okay."

Ranma worked his body to gauge his health, finding himself hindered a little bit by his remaining injuries. The pain forced him to move more carefully. He closed his eyes and went through the motions of a kata. After he had completed a cycle, he began a new one and added additional elements to his movements, and the kata became more and more complex. It became easier to move as his body loosened up.

Opening his eyes, Ranma saw Shampoo and Running Deer sparring on the other side of the room. He studied the Amazon carefully, trying not to stare at her chest bouncing within the confines of her tight T-shirt, or how very snug her frayed shorts were, getting a feeling for her patterns of movement. It wasn't anything conscious on his part, and he chalked it up to the fighting skills of his other selves. While her style had Joketsuzoku Kung Fu as its core, she had additional maneuvers overlaid on top.

He could identify techniques from across Asia in her movements. Oddly, it reminded him a bit of his own vast collection of them, and he was coming to understand why she was so much more challenging an opponent than other versions of him had come across. Those variants of Shampoo remained limited to Joketsuzoku Kung Fu alone. While a powerful style, no single style could match the benefit of being able to draw upon a multitude of techniques to confound an opponent, and she seemed able to synthesize new maneuvers on the fly.

He realized he had a unique perspective on her. On one hand, he had an intellectual appreciation for the physics of her movements from his own scientific background, idly calculating and visualizing force vectors as she went. But he also had a wordless intuition taking place in the back of his mind about how she was going to move at any given moment, an instant before she actually made the movement. That would be useful in their next fight.

Mina had been watching Ranma intently as he went through his katas. His patterns had been easy to predict at first, but then she began to lose track as he added more advanced movements, combining so many styles and techniques it astonished her. In a straight fight, she suspected he would be quite a challenge, possibly even better than her boyfriend, Tarou.

She began doing her own workout routine, loving the feel of her body moving in the dance of combat. As she moved, she fantasized about some of the glorious battles that she had enjoyed in the past, recalling the pleasures of spilling blood and breaking bones in her foes. She shifted her practice to freestyle movements and imagined herself fighting a phantom version of Shampoo.

Taking a brief break in her exercises, she noticed that Ranma had paused. She glanced over in the direction where he was looking and frowned. He was watching the Amazon. She felt intense envy curdle her soul again when she saw his face break out in a warm smile. What is it with that horrid Chinese girl that every man finds her to be so damn attractive? I'm ten times the woman that frigid ice princess is!

Shampoo took a break in her sparring with Running Deer when she became aware of something different about Ranma when he started his next set of exercises. What caught her attention was the faint nimbus of bluish light that hovered on the edge of her perception around him. It wasn't a full power battle aura, but even at full power most people weren't aware enough to ever notice one. Shampoo had been taught the trick of seeing them when she was a young child.

"Why are you smiling, Shampoo?" asked Running Deer. The Apache girl looked over where her friend was looking. All she saw was Ranma doing some form of unstructured kata. It was rather interesting to watch, but Shampoo was oddly focused.

"Huh?" Shampoo replied after a moment. She looked at her friend with an embarrassed smile. "Shampoo sorry. Shampoo saw something about Ranma."

Running Deer smiled. "It was his butt. Right? I noticed it too. Kind of cute, but it's a little too tight for my tastes."

The Amazon looked disconcerted. "That not what Shampoo looking at!"

Running Deer glanced back over at Ranma. He was finishing his kata. "I'm surprised you two even had the strength to walk around today, after what you did to each other last night," she said in a more casual tone. "His durability must be as good as yours."

Shampoo nodded, but her thoughts were on what she had seen. Raising an aura of chi was an advanced ability, drawn from the inner essence of a warrior. It was the sign of a great fighter and could allow someone to do things that most people would call impossible.

Ranma rested against a wall and drank some more water from the bottle in his hand, being very careful to not spill it on himself. He settled down into a seated position and observed the other fighters training. He noticed that Shampoo and Running Deer were both watching him. He smiled at them before they turned their attentions away from him, but he saw Shampoo briefly smile back at him.

He let his body recover for a few minutes. His eyes wandered about the room, at last settling on Shampoo and Running Deer again. He took the opportunity to observe their fighting styles some more. They seemed to be a fairly even match, although he could tell the Amazon had the edge even in her injured condition.

The Apache girl was an interesting contrast to Shampoo, using an oddly eclectic mishmash of techniques built around a core of Wing Chun style Kung Fu. She was more of a linear fighter, making use of her slightly longer reach and larger size to good effect against the Amazon. Judging by the sleek muscles in her bare arms and legs, a solid blow would hurt quite a lot. From her appearance, Ranma was sure that the girl was from somewhere in the American Prefectures. She had likely been taught how to fight by one of the Buddhist missionaries there.

Shampoo was countering the other girl with more circular movements, deflecting strikes around her body with skill. She had a smile on her face, and she seemed to be enjoying the challenge. The outfit that she wore left little to the imagination about her figure, and his gaze kept getting drawn to her derriere in the cutoff shorts and the tight shirt she wore. He kept expecting the T-shirt to rip at any moment. Shampoo wasn't as leanly muscular as the taller girl that she was sparring with, but the way that her body moved would only be possible if she had powerful muscles underneath her curvaceous form. She didn't look much different from her analogs on other worlds, but she was a little taller and more muscular.

After a few minutes spent watching them, he suddenly realized he needed to pay a quick visit to the restroom. Tossing his empty water bottle into the nearest trash receptacle, he made his way out of the gymnasium area. More than one pair of eyes watched him leave.

"Time to welcome our new fighter properly," said Tarou to some of his nearby cronies, pausing in his workout. "You know, to make him feel like a part of the group."

The men around him chuckled, and the group headed out after the pigtailed boy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ranma was washing his hands with warm water when the fire alarm suddenly began ringing. Seconds later, the fire sprinklers suddenly activated, drenching him with icy cold water. Glancing at herself in the mirror, Ranma-chan just stood in the torrential spray, frowning.

"Terrific," she muttered.

After a minute, the water suddenly shut off. Then the door to the restroom banged open. Ranma-chan glanced around, not wanting to be caught in her current state. Thinking quickly, she made a move.

"Come out, come out, little Impie boy," crooned Tarou, coming into the restroom with a few of his cronies. "It's time for your initiation, so just come out and take it like a man."

After a brief time spent searching, the group was puzzled. Ranma was nowhere to be found. The entire restroom was empty.

"Now where the hell did he go?" Tarou finally said out loud.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A panel in the roof of the ladies restroom lifted up, and Ranma-chan peeked downwards, checking that things were clear. Fortunately, the room was empty. She lowered herself to the top of a stall, balancing with legs spread apart, one foot on each of the metal walls, and then she quickly replaced the panel before dropping down to the tile floor. Luckily, her smaller form had been able to fit in the area above the ceiling panels, where she had made her way away from her would-be assailants.

"That was close," she murmured. She pulled off her shirt and began wringing it out in one of the sinks. Then she did the same with her pants. With any luck, the clothing would dry fairly quickly now that they weren't sopping wet. She just needed to find a little hot water, and all would be well.

She was just finishing with replacing her top when the door to the restroom opened and in walked Shampoo, Running Deer and a few other female fighters. In a flash, Ranma-chan was back up in the ceiling panels again. Grumbling at the situation, she decided to search for another place to change back. Exiting as a man from the ladies room was not something she wanted to have to explain.

A short time later, Ranma-chan's stomach rumbled as she was walking to the residential elevators. She decided to make a quick stop to refuel at the cafeteria. Luckily, no one checked IDs, the assumption being that if you were here you belonged, so she should be able to grab some food and eat quickly before heading to her room for a hot shower and clean clothes.

Relaxing at a table in her now semi-dry outfit, multiple steaming plates of food in front of her, Ranma-chan was eating heartily. A few fighters watched her in amazement. She was currently finishing her third plate of food and still going strong.

A worn out Shampoo and somewhat less tired Running Deer came into the cafeteria, deciding to eat dinner before heading upstairs to bathe and then relax for the rest of the evening. The Amazon had been planning on inviting Ranma over to watch a movie with them, but he had disappeared rather mysteriously a while ago. She suspected that Tarou might have pulled a stunt of some kind when the fire alarm had rung briefly, but the older boy and his clique did not seem happy when she last saw them, which didn't seem to fit if they had done something malicious to Ranma.

As they moved through the line to get dinner, Shampoo was dismayed to see that they were out of her favorite dessert. She grumbled under her breath. First she had lost track of the pigtailed boy and now there was no cheesecake for her to enjoy, and Saturday night was when they served it with strawberries. What else could go wrong tonight?

It was at that point that she spied a familiar person seated at a table by the wall. It was not actually someone she knew, not quite. However, that face was in Ensign Shan's memories. When she saw the girl eating a piece of strawberry cheesecake, something seemed to snap within her.

Savoring her dessert after the full meal, Ranma-chan stuck the last forkful of savory rich goodness into her mouth and sighed. She had not had such a tasty cheesecake since she was in Germany for a physics symposium last year. A shadow suddenly loomed over her and she felt a sense of ominous menace.

Looking up, the pigtailed girl was startled to see a wrathful Shampoo standing there glaring at her with narrowed eyes. "Uh, hi?"

"Pigtailed girl eat very last piece of strawberry cheesecake." Shampoo began cracking her knuckles slowly. A grim look was on her face. The sight of that expression reminded Ranma-chan rather eerily of a similar scene from another world, where her analog had been caught red-handed eating the prize feast in the village of Joketsuzoku.

In a flash, Ranma-chan suddenly streaked for the door, leaving behind several empty plates and an overturned chair.

"Shampoo kill!" was heard roared out behind her, followed quickly by the sounds of a pursuing Amazon running hard after her. A thrown butter knife suddenly embedded itself to the hilt into a wall, mere inches away from her skull. That impelled new speed into the pigtailed girl's feet the last few feet to the door.

Mina Li, walking and chatting amiably with Shenhua and some of her other cohorts, was suddenly knocked senseless when the door to the cafeteria slammed hard right into her face as Ranma-chan came charging out as if all the forces of Hell pursued her. She laid there stunned, a bruise already beginning to purple her jaw and cheek.

"Sorry about that!" the pigtailed girl shouted back, not daring to stop or even slow down. She spared a single glance behind her and gulped at the terrifying sight of Shampoo still in pursuit, her eyes seeming to blaze furiously with an inner light. She ran even faster to get away, dodging past or leaping over people. "Oh man! I was just trying to get something to eat. What did I do to deserve this?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Arriving in Kyoto as the sun was going down, an ashen-faced Perfume and a solemn Mousse stepped off the gangplank of the Black Lagoon. Behind them, a cheery Ryo Saeba waved at them, pocketing the rest of his fee. "Thanks for the business, kids. Feel free to look us up the next time you're ever back our way."

"I will never travel by boat anywhere again," swore Perfume. Finally, the world was no longer swaying.

Mousse nodded and adjusted his glasses. There was a slight smirk on his face. "You don't look so good."

"I'll be fine," she grunted. Her stomach growled with sudden hunger, now that her hours-long bout of nausea was fading. "Let's get a room for the night and take showers. You smell like engine grease, and I need to wash my hair."

A short time later, Perfume felt much better, toweling her hair dry and wearing a clean set of clothes. She wasn't tired, so she needed to find something to do. Spotting a sign on the street below, she smiled. That was just the thing to clear her head.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryoga was playing a game of Go against himself, relaxing and enjoying a quiet moment. He was laying down pieces and contemplating the results when a shadow suddenly fell across his table. It remained there.

"You're blocking my light," he grumbled, looking up. He blinked when he saw an attractive Chinese girl standing there, a tasseled sword worn in a scabbard slung on her back. She was leaning forward, her gaze intent on the board. He felt a sudden tingling along his nerves and smelled a very delicate perfume in the air, igniting a severe case of shyness within him. "Uh," he said dumbly.

Perfume studied the positioning of his pieces, fascinated at the complex formations he had created. She was startled when she suddenly felt a pleasant tingling along her nerves and an intense and sudden awareness of Ryoga's presence near her. She met his gaze, her pink hair hiding part of her face. "Play with me," she ordered him, sitting down. Her hair remained hanging down and hiding part of her face, and she felt herself blush, annoyed to feel so attracted to a boy she had just met, especially one in worn travel clothes who looked like some kind of a vagabond.

"I was-" Ryoga began, but he stopped speaking at her fierce look. He looked down and obediently began clearing the board. "Yes, Miss."

Confident of her skills, Perfume volunteered to take black instead of drawing for it and then they began playing. Her gaze was intent upon the board, laying down pieces with a sharp clack each time. Opposite her, Ryoga laid down his piece crisply right after she made a move; barely a moment after her own piece hit the board.

Ryoga was puzzled by this strange girl, but it was nice to play against someone who was closer to his own skill level than those he usually dueled against. Her joseki (sequences of moves) was oddly archaic, but that only added to his enjoyment of the game. Even so, the outcome was never in doubt for him. He wondered what her name was.

Staring at the game board, Perfume was quite astonished at what she was seeing. The outsider male was beating her at the game handily, as if she was a mere novice or something. Only those of the matriarchs who played the game in her village had ever defeated her so easily. Grimly, she continued on, her pride refusing to let her just surrender.

When the count was made at the end, she had lost by a significant number of stones, infuriating her. She glared at Ryoga. "What is your name?"

"Uh, I-I'm Ryoga," he said shyly. "Ryoga Hibiki." He felt guilty over feeling attracted to the girl, ashamed of his fickleness. After all, he already liked Ukyo, but he also liked Ryoko and Nabiki. What was he doing, feeling this way about yet another girl? A man was supposed to be loyal to one woman, not several. His mother had told him so.

She studied his physique, noting the broadness of his shoulders and the calluses on his hands. She ignored the feelings he was arousing within her. "Are you a martial artist?" she asked coolly.

"Yeah, I am," he replied slowly, wondering where this was going.

"Then duel me, Ryoga Hibiki." She reached over her shoulder and drew her sword. Her expression was grim.

Shocked and not wanting to fight with a girl, he kicked the sword out of her hand, where it flew up and lodged in the ceiling. He grabbed his pack and umbrella and ran for the door. With any luck, he would be able to get away from this crazy Chinese girl and avoid fighting her.

"FREEZE, HIBIKI!" came Natsumi's shout. "DON'T YOU DARE MAKE US HAVE TO CHASE YOU AGAIN!"

Whirling quickly, Ryoga's umbrella unintentionally struck Perfume across the face, the Chinese girl having come up behind him after retrieving her sword. She was knocked out instantly by the blow. Her body flew off, vanishing into the night. Before he had managed to take a step, four darts struck him in the side and back.

"U-Ukyo," he managed to get out and then the world went black.

"Did you have to hit him with so many?" Miyuki huffed. "That was enough to drop an elephant."

"I'm not taking any chances with this one," grumbled the other woman. She picked up his unconscious form and carried him to the van by herself, laying him down on the seat where he began to snore. Between the two of them, they managed to heft his pack and umbrella and get them to the van.

"He carried this one-handed?" Miyuki grunted as they carried his heavy umbrella to the van and hefted it up. The suspension sagged slightly in the back.

By the time they were finally packed up and were ready to go, Perfume had managed to stagger back to the scene. She saw Ryoga's unconscious form lying in the back as Natsumi shut the side door to the vehicle. She noted that the plates on the van were government-issued ones.

"Wait!" she demanded. "Where are you taking him?"

Miyuki paused and eyed the Chinese girl. "Tokyo. He's truant from school in Nerima, and we're taking him back there." The van then drove off, leaving Perfume behind.

The Chinese girl's gaze at the departing vehicle narrowed as a mixture of feelings churned within her. She had been twice defeated, soundly so, by an outsider male, once mentally and the second time through raw physical force. She had never met a male like this before, and there was only a single possible response she could make.

"Airen," she breathed, finding the word surprisingly pleasing to say.

Perfume retrieved her sword and headed back to the hotel, her gaze thoughtful. She and Mousse still had a long journey ahead of them to reach Tokyo. There, she would finally obtain her much too long-delayed revenge against Shampoo, and she would claim her new Airen.

It was pleasing to her how things were coming together like this.

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Tiredly, Ranma-chan opened the door to her apartment. Hiding from both Shampoo and Mina Li had taken a lot out of her, both girls apparently intent on doing her great bodily harm. She froze when she realized the light was lit in her living room, and she didn't remember leaving it on.

"You look like hell, sis," said Yumi-kun as the cursed woman rested on the couch in male form, even though his own nose was still bandaged. "Rough day?"

Closing the door behind her, Ranma-chan nodded. A bar of waterproof soap bounced off her forehead. She snatched it from the air before it could fall to the ground and sighed with relief. "Thanks. I wish you'd brought it a few hours ago."

"Jun-kun tried to bring it to you earlier, but you were nowhere to be found," said Yumi-kun, standing up and draining the last of his water from the glass he was holding. "He'll be back in the morning for you to begin your training. I volunteered to stick around until you got back, since the security of this place is a joke to a ninja of my caliber."

Ranma-chan nodded. "I'm going to take a shower. I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"By the way, I swept the place for listening devices while I was here, and it's clean. Just be careful, or your secret is going to be out. I'm sure you don't want anyone here to learn it." Yumi-kun headed to the window. "You want me to stay with you tonight to keep an eye on you?"

"Nah, I should be fine now. Thanks, bro." Saying that word was getting more natural each time she was with the cursed woman's male form, like they really were siblings.

Yumi-kun nodded and grinned. "Later, sis." The door to the small patio area opened and then the ninja was gone.

Ranma-chan headed to the bathroom, looking forward to changing back. She hoped the rest of her time here would be less stressful.

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To be continued...


	30. Relationship Upgrades

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-12.15237 Years)

Kimiko watched over her daughter Nabiki as she lay unconscious on the bed, both of them in a room on one of the lower levels of the Ministry of Science. It had been sixteen hours since the Eucharist serum had been administered, and her daughter's fever had been holding steady at thirty-eight degrees Celsius for the last twelve of them. She waited and worried. In the next bed, Akane slept comfortably, experiencing a far less severe reaction to the serum. Her fever had been milder, and the doctors were certain she would recover very quickly.

Not so with Nabiki.

She had been warned it could happen, even after the tests confirming her middle daughter's compatibility with the serum, but the warnings had not deterred her. While her eldest was already too old to receive the treatment, she had chosen to go forward with her younger daughters who still could. She reached out and took Nabiki's small hand gently in hers and bent her head down as if in prayer. She had never imagined that someone like her, a woman raised to be a soldier, a person who had killed many times in her life and survived the horrors of battle, could feel like this, the love she had for her children.

"It's difficult, the waiting, isn't it?" suddenly asked a female voice behind her.

Startled, Kimiko turned to see who had spoken. Standing there just behind her was a tall, solemn Japanese woman wearing a pale blue kimono, her long, straight hair flowing down past her shoulders. She noted that the door was open, so the stranger must have just walked in from the hall. Sensing no malice towards her or her daughters, she looked back down at Nabiki. "Yes, it is hard."

"Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do sometimes. When there is a crisis, we want to act." There was a pause. "But sometimes waiting is all we can do."

"I suppose so." Kimiko eyed the other woman. While she felt no malice, there was something a little off about the woman, like she was some kind of fey spirit in mortal form. "Are you a doctor or something?"

"Something like that," Bernkastel replied. "I'm trying to fix something that went wrong a very long time ago." She raised her hand, and a thin streamer of light jabbed into Kimiko's skull before she could react. She eased the other woman back down into a sitting position, erasing the last few minutes of memories and leaving her asleep.

Bernkastel eyed Nabiki and then flipped off the alarms a few moments before the small girl was going to go into cardiac arrest. "No, little one, you can't die yet. I have need of you, and Ranma will need you someday as well." She gestured and light bathed Nabiki's body, healing her of the organ damage caused by her body's immune system trying to fight off the Eucharist invader. It also suppressed her immune response, allowing the symbiote to finally overpower it and take up residence within her. The monitor showed the girl's heart rate gradually settling into a steady, regular rhythm once again and her temperature began falling.

"Are you a magical girl?" asked an awed female voice from the other bed. "You have powers."

Bernkastel turned around, surprised to see Akane awake. "Not quite. You should be asleep, child."

Rubbing one eye with a fist, Akane said defiantly, "I'm not sleepy." She looked at her mother. "Mommy's been really worried about 'Biki."

"Your sister's going to be fine." Bernkastel turned the alarms back on, now that the moment of danger was past. "I've altered her fate."

"Who's Ranma?" asked Akane suddenly, not understanding what the woman was talking about. She was just happy that Nabiki was going to get better.

"Oh, aren't you just the inquisitive girl," commented Bernkastel with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She sat down on the edge of Akane's bed, tucking her back in. "I'll tell you a bit about him, if you close your eyes and go back to sleep." Smiling, Akane laid back and let the strange woman put the sheets up against her chin.

As she drifted back off to slumber, in a soft voice the woman told her a tale about a very clever boy named Ranma and the adventures he would have someday, exploring faraway places, solving puzzles and fighting villains. It brought a smile to Akane's face to hear about him, and she hoped she could meet him someday. He sounded like someone fun and exciting to know.

As the girl drifted off to sleep, Bernkastel touched her mind gently with a faint glimmer of light. Instead of fully erasing the last several minutes, she merely blurred Akane's memories of this night, rendering their clarity to that of half-remembered dreams.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Professor Saotome and Soun Tendo encounter difficulties and possible allies in the Solnoid Matriarchy. Ranma began his week in the Arena, meeting Ryu Kumon, Tarou and Running Deer. The Arena Director had some visitors. Nabiki Tendo had a fight with Ryoko and a second one later the same day with Kodachi. Cologne met with Cherry, Nodoka and Frost. Gosunkugi's two fiancées have developed a violent rapport with each other. Ukyo and Tsubasa began a possible new friendship, and Kinnosuke Kashuoh made some new friends as well. Ryoga and Perfume met briefly before he was taken away back to Nerima.

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Chapter 30 – Relationship Upgrades

Wonderful girl! Either I'm gonna kill her, or I'm beginning to like her!

-Han Solo

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Her arm lying gently across her beloved fiancé's chest, Frost snuggled up against Gosunkugi's side as they both slumbered. Her dreams were always pleasant when she was near him like this, and the nightmares that had plagued her for so many years were kept far away by his comforting presence. He somehow took away her loneliness by his mere nearness, and for that alone she loved him more deeply every day. She had never known what it meant to care about someone like this before, other than her parents.

Minami sat hunched over by the wall, watching them and looking quite miserable. She was unable to sleep any longer, woken up by Gosunkugi's mother's loud snoring, so she had come here to try and assuage her loneliness, wrapping herself in a blanket. Since she could not sleep, she kept watch over her fiancé instead, to ensure that he was behaving himself properly in the presence of the vile, Chinese temptress. Robot Girl was proving to be a challenging rival for his affections, she mused grimly.

She envied the couple on the two pushed together futons, wishing it was her now enjoying such closeness with the boy slumbering peacefully there. With dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, she glared daggers at the interloper who stood between her and her long-planned lifetime of happiness with her Hikaru-kun. She had lost last night's brawl with the other girl, resulting in her exile to the other bedroom, to share it with her fiancé's mother and sleep after casting a healing spell on herself to deal with her injuries.

Despite her slender frame, the woman snored rather loudly.

"Stupid Hikaru," she muttered. Scowling at the Chinese girl, Minami knew it was up to her to drive away the annoying trespasser. Her Hikaru-kun was apparently too obtuse to see through the other girl's schemes, or, even worse, may already be growing enamored of her.

After a minor mishap Minami had caused in the kitchen, Frost was now the only one allowed to help out with the cooking. She had also taken to wearing an array of slinky, cheongsam-style dresses with short skirts around the house, the outfits emphasizing her exotic beauty and coltish legs. It was probably only a matter of time before the Chinese hussy seduced him, Minami thought bitterly. She had caught the boy staring at Frost more than once. Each time she saw them together, it made her back teeth grind.

However, the fact that she had also caught him staring at her too gave the young Ghost Sweeper hope that she could seduce him before the sorceress did, to gift him with her virginity and take his in return, but Frost kept getting in her way before she could get very far with him. Of course, she was doing the same thing to her rival, so it was like a three-person tango among them. Other than exchanging a few brief kisses with him, nothing much else had happened for either girl, and they took out their frustrations over this on each other. Both of them found it cathartic.

It just wasn't fair, Minami grumbled in her thoughts. It was extremely aggravating that Frost already had the favor of Hikaru-kun's mother. Why was she the one being treated like the unwanted outsider and not the Chinese girl? She was his childhood friend and knew him better than any other girl could, and also what was best for him. She had worked tirelessly over the years to make him a better human being, and she could give him all the love and passion that a boy could ever want. And with her recent mastery of cosmetic sorcery, she would retain her youthful beauty for decades. What could Robot Girl, that emotionless, soft-spoken shell of a woman, give him? She barely even smiled.

The whole thing made her so angry; especially now that her fiancé's typical male perversions were starting to show again. She was tempted to hit Gosunkugi when they did, like the other morning outside the bathroom when he had 'accidentally' (or so he had claimed while giving out a stuttering apology) fallen in such a way as to end up lying on top of Frost with his hand groping her breast, or on Friday evening when he had opened the door to the bath and seen the Chinese sorceress totally naked as she arose from the tub. On both occasions, instead of hitting him, Minami had gnashed her teeth and managed to withhold her righteous fury at him.

He had experienced numerous such accidents with her over the past few years, since they both hit puberty, and she had corrected him with an appropriate level of violence. She wasn't sure how much of his current clumsiness with Frost was an act or reality. Her fear was that he was backsliding into being a typical male pervert, or, even worse, a womanizer, right before her eyes, now that she was no longer keeping him firmly on the path of righteousness with her slaps and punches.

Minami was seriously considering going back to hitting him whenever she saw him doing anything perverted to ease her stress levels, but only when such impulses were not being directed at her. Now that they were engaged, it would be quite all right with her if he groped her or saw her naked, she mused. After all, he was a teenaged boy with the frothing urges inherent to all of his gender and needed a healthy outlet for them, so maybe she should use those masculine impulses of his to her advantage. Perhaps she would even try arranging for some minor 'accidents' that would give him opportunities to grope her instead of Frost. Engaged couples were expected to be intimate with each other, right? She secretly feared that her tireless campaign at controlling his male idiocy ever since they both hit puberty might have driven him towards satisfying his needs with an easier target, namely a certain Chinese sorceress of unknown morals.

Currently, she took out her frustrations with her fiancé on Frost, winning the resulting brawls with the other girl about half the time. She had never suspected the existence of such atavistic drives within herself before, but then she had also never had any female rivals for Gosunkugi's attention before. She really didn't like the idea of sharing him with any other girl, especially a pale-skinned freak like Robot Girl, who had never expressed any interest in boys before. Why did she have to pick him?

No matter. She was not going to lose to the sorceress, and she found it unexpectedly satisfying to fight with her newfound rival and win. The first time she had beaten the other girl into submission had been like an epiphany. She wondered if this was what it felt like for the martial artist jock-type girls when they faced off against each other.

Thankfully, Yohko Mano, her friend and one of the best of that type of girl on campus, other than Nabiki Tendo and Ukyo Kuonji (who was a cross-dressing weirdo in Minami's view), was going to help her improve her fighting skills. Even if she increased her combat abilities just a bit, she felt sure it would put her ahead of Frost, tipping the scales firmly into her favor. Maybe then, after losing regularly to her for a while, the albino sorceress would take the hint and finally go away, leaving Gosunkugi with the girl who loved him the most and only had his best interests at heart.

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She liked watching him while he slept.

Kyosuke Kasuga laid there in Yohko Mano's bed, his mouth open a bit as he snored lightly, a sheet covering his lower body. Beside him, Yohko was on her side with her portion of the sheet pulled up to cover her breasts, her head propped up by one bent arm, just watching him. There was something fascinating to her about how his chest slowly rose and fell, the small twitches his face made and the occasional movements of his fingers as he slumbered. Even after several hours of sleep, a satisfied languor still filled her body as she recalled with supreme contentment the passionate conclusion of their date last night.

She was now a woman, she mused, laying her hand gently on Kyosuke's chest, feeling his heart beating steadily. Love for him filled her soul, and tears of joy welled up in her eyes. After all of her many spectacular failures at relationships with boys, she had finally found someone special, someone who could not only survive the dangers she had to deal with as a Devil Hunter but also keep his sanity intact from the horrors her enemies were able to inflict upon the human mind.

Idly, she wondered if anyone would be able to tell she and Kyosuke were no longer virgins. If Nabiki noticed, it might cause her best friend more stress over her relationship with Ranma, since Nabiki could be kind of competitive lately and might look on it as some kind of a challenge, and Yohko really didn't want that. She also didn't want to become known as one of _those_ girls, the ones other girls gossiped about with disdain for being overly free with boys, like she had heard some of them talking about her new friend, Minami. Her mother had also gotten that sort of a reputation as a teenager, and she knew there were girls at the Academy who viewed her the same way, since she had been with several other boys before Kyosuke. But none of those relationships had ever reached this point due to them becoming possessed, their sanity blasted into dust by seeing something "Man Was Not Meant To Know", dead, or, one time, all three.

Nibbling her lower lip, she was suddenly worried that Kyosuke might act macho and brag about what had happened to the other boys in school. But then she thought about it and realized she was being very untrusting of her boyfriend. Besides, other than Ranma and Gosunkugi, Kyosuke wasn't really that close of a friend with any other boys at school, and she doubted he would say anything to either one of them. He had earned her trust over the past few months, and he was gradually winning over her grandmother with his kindness, which was something none of her other boyfriends had ever done. Of course, all of them had ended up insane, possessed or dead before ever meeting her.

Perhaps because she was getting to like Kyosuke, her grandmother had left her alone this weekend to attend a conference in Hong Kong and hinted that he could visit, so Yohko had invited him over last night and made him dinner. The meal had turned out so-so in her view, cooking not being one of her better skills, but he had eaten what she had made for him and even asked for seconds. After eating, they had started watching a movie on the couch, but before too long it was forgotten. Holding hands had led to kissing and then... other things. While neither of them had planned it, the moment had just felt right to take their relationship to the next level.

So they had.

Their first attempt had been fumbling, slightly painful for her and a rather embarrassingly unskilled effort on both their parts, more sweaty exercise than anything else. It was hardly the stuff of fantasies like it was portrayed in romantic stories or movies. Even so, Kyosuke had been gentle and loving with her, treating her like the most precious thing in the world. She felt safe in his arms, and she trusted him.

The second time was better.

By their third and fourth time, it was a _lot_ better.

When he woke up, she would see if he could be coaxed into doing it with her again. She did not imagine it would be a difficult task, she mused with a grin. Luckily, his mother was away on assignment for the next few days, so nobody would miss him at home if he spent the morning here with her. Maybe they wouldn't even get out of bed until she had to get ready to leave.

She would prefer to spend all day with him, but she had promised to help Minami improve her fighting abilities today. The other girl had been a bit evasive about the details as to why she needed to be able to fight better, other than to say she had some hussy to contend with over Gosunkugi and wanted to drive away from him, a Chinese girl named Frost. That sort of thing seemed to be going around, since Nabiki was also dealing with a similar problem.

Kyosuke rolled over to face her, still asleep, and his arm fell across her body at her hip. He snuggled up against her bosom in his sleep, and she sighed happily. She was grateful that Kyosuke was all hers, with no rivals for her to have to contend with. She laid her head back down on her pillow and just enjoyed his nearness, her hand softly caressing him.

She drifted back off to sleep as she watched him slumbering.

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Ranma stared up at the ceiling of his room as the sun rose outside, his hands behind his head, feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep. All of his injuries were gone, his body healing even faster than it ever had before. Considering how fiercely he and Shampoo had fought each other Friday night, he was grateful for that. He felt ready to train with Lee-sensei today, to begin preparing himself for what now seemed inevitable in his life. He needed to grow stronger. The physical challenges he faced kept getting harder, and he had to be better able to face them.

Images of the girls in his life floated across his mind's eye as he looked upwards at the stark white ceiling. When he defeated Shampoo in their upcoming match, he would be engaged to four different girls, each engagement he now knew had been engineered by the fake Genma. Their faces he knew very well through the memories he had gained from those other worlds, but the personalities driving this timeline's versions of them were very different, sometimes radically so. None of them was exactly as he expected them to be from his acquired memories, and the sometimes stark differences he had seen perplexed him sometimes.

There was also the added issue of the powerful physical attraction he felt towards them all, and also towards some of the other girls he had met over the past few months, such as Utena Tenjou and Sakura Kasugano. He strongly suspected the involvement of Project Phoenix was affecting him in this with his three fiancées, but that just didn't seem possible with Shampoo. She was from a very remote corner of the Empire and not a citizen. Maybe he was simply genuinely attracted to her. That was a comforting thought: that his feelings towards her were not being generated by some sort of induced biological imperative from the Eucharist symbiote in his body, but were instead being caused by normal factors of attraction between a boy and a girl.

After all, she was really beautiful, he mused for a moment, smiling.

Out of all the girls, the one most like her analogs was Ukyo, and likely why he felt so much more at ease with her when compared to the others, enjoying her bokukko (masculine) manner of speech, which was how he talked as well when he was in female form. They had settled pretty quickly into a very solid friendship, and he felt comfortable with her. In another world, the one where he had been an astronaut, friendship had blossomed into love and then eventually marriage, and that version of him was even going to be a father. He smiled ruefully at the thought of having a child with Ukyo. His mother would certainly approve of him being a father though, sooner rather than later.

Spending time with Ukyo as 'Ranko' had been a lot of fun too, letting him begin exploring being a girl, not that he was trying really hard to be feminine. He hoped she would not be too mad at him when she finally learned he was not really her cousin, but he could not tell her about his curse without revealing Yumi's secret as well. He would have to talk to the cursed woman about this when things got a bit quieter.

With Kodachi, the changes were a definite improvement. While he knew she had a warrior side to her and was able to fight at a high level, the personality she displayed towards him was more gentle and demure. She carried herself like a highborn lady of elegance and sophistication and possessed great intelligence as well. The computer code she had written for use with the resonator was very sophisticated, and she also shared his interests in the sciences and other more academic matters. Her personality was infinitely better than the manic and casually vicious insanities displayed by her analogs, and he was extremely grateful he didn't have to deal with such an unbalanced mind and a sadistic personality in his own life.

It had also felt very nice, stimulating actually, to hold her and dance with her, to feel her nubile body moving rhythmically with his to the music. He suddenly recalled with guilt the time in her bedroom not too long ago, wrestling her down to the floor, not knowing it was her, and he felt guilty at the arousal generated by that memory. This world's Kodachi was not the Black Rose, that maniacal girl infatuated by his analog to an unhealthy degree. That version of the Kuno girl would have likely loved wrestling on the floor with that other world's Ranma, and probably would have been very sexually aroused by the act. No, the shy, rather sweet girl he was engaged to was a demure lady born of wealth and social privilege, nothing like the mentally ill mockeries of her on those other worlds, and he was very grateful for that.

Nabiki was somewhere in between, sort of like her analogs but also a bit different. While she was definitely attractive with a well-formed figure, she also possessed a highly-insightful intelligence he greatly respected. While he didn't approve of her many unsavory activities on campus, in the process of regaining control of her organization, she had closed down the most troubling endeavors she had been involved in and seemed to be making an effort to be less of a selfish opportunist than the analogs he had seen. The main problem he had remaining with her was that she still wanted to be the one in charge of their relationship, ordering him around like some kind of a follower or sidekick.

Well, Ranma Saotome was no girl's sidekick, he mused. Not in this world, at least.

However, the fact that she was so strong and was such a challenge to him for the right to call himself the heir to the Anything-Goes School had a strange appeal. She had forced him to get better by presenting him with an unanticipated rival to compare himself to. And while he didn't like it and loathed admitting it to himself, there was a certain appeal to being with a self-confident and take charge woman like her. She was certainly better than he was at looking at the practical issues of life and planning for them.

Maybe that was why Shampoo attracted him so much. This version of her had not been content to stay in her home village and live out her life there. Instead, she had left and battled her way through literally scores of foes to reach where she was, and now she was within sight of becoming a Citizen of the Empire. She had accomplished this through the strength of her body and her incredible martial arts talent. She was a girl worthy of great respect for her achievements.

And she was really beautiful, he reiterated in his mind, as if he could actually forget that about her.

Shampoo was still very much an unknown in many ways. She was not quite as playful or innocent as the analog of her that had pursued a version of himself from China, or the one that another analog of his had married. He had sensed a greater complexity to her personality from their conversation yesterday at breakfast, one reminding him of her analog that was cursed to turn male and was dealing with that. This Shampoo had a more tempered maturity in her manner than the other analogs of her with which he was familiar, likely brought about due to whatever events she had gone through to reach Tokyo's Battledome, some of them probably unpleasant. She had unknown depths of thoughts and feelings within her, and he found within himself a sincere desire to explore those depths and come to know her much better.

That surprised him a bit, and he suspected it was the influence of Ranko's memories within him, driving him to look at all the girls he knew as more than just cute faces and shapely, attractive bodies. Could he be falling in love with some of them? That rather unexpected thought shocked him, and he backed away from it hastily like it was a flame that would burn him.

No, he was not in love. His feelings for the girls were just the result of youthful hormones at work within him, nothing more. Besides, he didn't know any of them well enough yet to fall in love. It wouldn't make any logical sense. He needed more time getting to know them before he could take that step. Yes, he just needed more time.

When he thought about it, he had similar feelings of attraction towards Utena. She was another confident, competent, amiable sort of girl, and he would be lying to himself if he denied liking her. He knew he did, and he was fairly certain she liked him back. But he was also positive she was another subject of Project Phoenix, which made his feelings a bit suspect to him.

Even so, their date had been a lot of fun, at least up until the point when Mikado had attacked him after getting him half-drunk on spiked punch. She had looked so enticing to him in her dress that night too, his mind recalling the sight of her cleavage, her long, coltish legs, her athletic, bared back and her shapely derriere. He hastily backed away from that memory; feeling embarrassed at focusing on her physical charms like that, his body responding to his thoughts with potency. He struggled to tamp down his unexpected arousal, moving his thoughts on to the next girl and attempting to regain his composure.

Ryoko was another young woman he could admit he found interesting, and not just for her athletic and shapely figure. However, he was extremely leery of ever admitting it. He knew his mother wanted him to marry the daughter of her long-time friend. The fake Genma's actions had derailed that, but it was possible the issue would return to face him again. He suspected the Masaki girl liked him, but if he showed her any serious interest, it was possible there would be a wedding between them before the summer was out. His mother seemed quite adamant on him getting married and having children.

As long as he was considering girls he wasn't engaged to, he ruminated about Akane. Variants of her existed in many of his analogs lives, and all of the ones he had seen were fighters of some skill. In tangents he had visited where she was also present, they almost seemed destined to argue or fight with each other. Even his own life wasn't immune to this. When they had first met months ago in this timeline, he wasn't the martial artist he was now, so she had beaten him up and generally treated him with contempt for many weeks.

The accidental download of his analog's combat skills had changed all that, transforming her disdain for him seemingly instantly into desire after the match they had together that day. Their relationship had suddenly been inverted when it was over. Now she wanted to be his girlfriend, determinedly so. After he had gotten cursed and met her in that form, he discovered she also wanted to be friends with his female aspect as well, showing him that she did have a kind side behind the tough front she had always projected before. Since she didn't know they were the same person, he wondered what her reaction would be if she were to learn the truth. The way his luck had been running lately, she might even like him more instead of being repelled by him being able to turn into a girl.

Would that be so horrible?

The question arose unbidden in his mind, and he wasn't sure where it came from. He suddenly realized, somewhat fretfully, that there was a part of him that liked Akane (only a little, he amended very hastily) despite the revulsion he had once held towards her, a part that wanted a chance to explore a relationship with her. She had been so nasty to him in those early weeks at the Imperial Academy, but was she really nothing more than this spiteful, horrid thug he had built this mental doppelganger of within his mind?

The honest answer to that was that he wasn't sure anymore, when he looked at the additional insights he had gained in more recent weeks of who she was. He had seen a much different side of her when they met at the skating rink, of a flesh and blood girl who liked going skating and was actually kind of fun to spend time with, not the horrid monster he had built up in his mind that only existed to torment him and reveled in inflicting violence on others. Unlike other versions of her that his martial artist analogs were engaged to, she was proud to be a warrior and felt no need to worry about more traditional female activities like cooking or cleaning. And the way she had looked at him at the skating rink, clearly pleased to see him, made him feel confused.

Another aspect of Akane had been revealed to him at the park when he had met her as Ranko, and he had seen the friendship the Tendo girl had with Sakura. It just didn't fit the mental image he had held of her for so long, seeing the easy camaraderie they showed, or the way she had smiled. And when she had offered 'Ranko' friendship and clearly meant it, it had been simply astonishing to see her being so open and nice.

He sat up suddenly in his bed, shocked to realize that this version of Akane might not really be much different from Shampoo in certain ways. She had even told him so to his face soon after their fight, clumsily but sincerely, that she wanted to be with a strong man. He had been too upset to listen or even try to understand what she had been trying to tell him. The undeniable truth he now had to face was that she wasn't really a monster. She had developed strong feelings for him after he had defeated her. How was that different from Shampoo? She had told him she liked him in a rather direct fashion, and he had run away from her, not wanting to deal with it.

Shortly after that, she had transferred to Furinkan, and he hadn't seen her again for weeks, not until that day in the skating rink. He had demonstrated for her that martial arts could be used on skates, and she had been thrilled and happy to fight at his side. Remembering her smile and excitement, realizing how much she loved the martial arts, he found himself smiling as well. The fight at the rink had been fun for both of them.

That was also the day he had been introduced to this world's version of Sakura Kasugano, Akane's friend, who was a strong fighter, possibly even more capable than Nabiki. It was difficult for him to tell. If he had still been in the same condition he was before his plunge into the vat of Jusenkyo water (if that's what it was), he wasn't sure if he would have been able to beat her as easily as he had the other day. After the fight, Sakura had held hands with him in his Ranko form and honestly offered her friendship to the girl who had just defeated her roundly.

Lastly, there were his nascent friendships with Mai Shiranui and Madoka Ayukawa. While they weren't romantic relationships, it had felt nice to make friends with them. Madoka had helped him out a lot to prepare for the dance at Ohtori. And Mai seemed like such a nice girl. She was cute too, with her glasses on.

When he considered all the girls he knew, he found himself wishing once again that he had a few more male friends. Kyosuke was pretty much the only one he had right now at the Academy, and while Yumi was okay to spend time with when she was in her cursed form, she wasn't really a guy. It would be good to have one or two more friends who were male, but it seemed like every other boy his own age he met and might deem a peer just wanted to beat him up. All the other boys in his class left him alone. He knew he was far ahead of them academically and could outperform any of them physically, so maybe he intimidated them all. If it wasn't for Kyosuke, he'd probably be feeling totally ostracized by those of his own gender.

Oddly, for a few brief moments he found himself regretting his initial treatment of Ryoga when they had first met, letting himself fall into patterns established on other worlds instead of trying a different approach. But then Ranma realized that was the Hibiki boy's fault, not his. This version of Ryoga had started it, he decided. He was just as much of an overly-aggressive, muscle-bound oaf as his analogs were. He was hardly any sort of intellectual powerhouse that Ranma could deem a peer.

The pigtailed boy knew that his analogs, while they were wily sorts and often outsmarted opponents instead of merely outfighting them, were hardly the greatest of thinkers themselves in his view. If they could outwit their versions of the dimwitted Hibiki boy by using simple disguises and childish tricks, then dealing with his own timeline's version of Ryoga should be simplicity itself for someone of his greater intellect. It wouldn't even be a fair fight, he mused.

Thinking about the other boy further, Ranma still didn't like it that Ryoga was a childhood friend with Ukyo and had now become friends with Ryoko and also Nabiki as well. And he was certain the other boy had to be the one pretending to be Kodachi's pet pig, and that was incredibly annoying. It felt to him like Ryoga kept invading his territory and pushing at him, daring him to strike back.

How could he even imagine being friends with a guy like Ryoga Hibiki? What could they talk about? Other than their mutual interest in martial arts, they really had nothing else in common. Ranma suddenly snickered mentally at the thought of how hapless the Hibiki boy would be if they ever engaged in any sort of intellectual contest together, like a game of Go. And he could never forget the other boy was responsible for his girl curse, the one who knocked him into the vat at the warehouse and robbed him of his manhood. His mind made up on the issue, Ranma moved on.

Even though other boys probably envied him his problems with women, how was he possibly going to deal with all these girls in his life? At least two analogs had experienced plenty of trouble in their lives from trying to settle into a relationship with just one girl. But he was legally engaged to three, highly likely to soon be four, and the laws of the Empire allowed him to marry them all. And what about the girls he wasn't engaged to? He still wanted to spend time with them, like Utena. Could he do that without Nabiki or one of his other fiancées taking a swing at him? And aside from that, was he even ready for marriage? Despite his intelligence, he was still only a teenager.

His musings were interrupted by a sudden knock on his door. He got up from his bed and opened it up. He was startled to see who was there, dressed casually in a T-shirt, shorts, ankle-high socks and gym shoes.

"Sh-Shampoo," he said, surprised to see her. Then he suddenly felt like an idiot, realizing he was staring at her and had stammered her name out in shock. After all, she only lived one floor away from him. Why was it a surprise to see her? "Good morning."

"Ranma free for breakfast?" she asked, smiling. "Great-grandmother giving Shampoo training all day today, so not free for long."

"Uh, sure." He looked in the hall. "Just the two of us?"

"Running Deer busy with manager today," the Amazon said with a smile, moving a little closer, enjoying the pleasant feelings he was igniting within her. "Ranma take Shampoo on date, yes? Have nice breakfast with Shampoo?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great." He saw her smile get brighter.

While she waited for him at the doorway, he slipped on his shoes and pocketed his key. The two of them then walked to the elevator together. As they did so, Shampoo slipped her arm around his and kept walking at his side, looking happy.

"Ranma happy to see Shampoo?" she asked him, pressing the button to call the elevator.

"It was a nice surprise," he said, patting her hand on his arm.

"Great-Grandmother plan special training for Shampoo this week." Her tone was casual, like discussing the weather.

"Uh, should you be telling me this?"

"No worries. Since Ranma use Joketsuzoku technique, Great-Grandmother prepare Shampoo to counter. Is Ranma one-trick pony?"

He frowned. "No, I have more in my arsenal I can show you the next time we fight."

"Good. Shampoo want strong husband." She pressed up against his side, holding his arm tight. "When Ranma fight Shampoo, no hold back, okay?"

He nodded, swallowing once in nervousness at her nearness, feeling her breast pressing against his arm, and she looked happy. The elevator dinged when it arrived, and they walked in together. The doors closed slowly behind them, the elevator dropped one level and then stopped once again.

The doors opened to reveal Ryu Kumon and Shenhua standing there dressed in casual outfits. The two couples gawked at each other briefly and then Shenhua stepped forward boldly, starving after spending the night with Ryu in his room. Her hold on the other boy pulled him in after her, and he walked in with apparent reluctance.

"Oh, Shampoo spend last night with new boyfriend?" Shenhua asked with a smirk as the elevator doors closed. She was annoyed when she felt Ryu tense up next to her. "You two do sexy stuff to each other?"

The elevator began its slow descent. Ranma felt Shampoo tighten up her grip on his arm and heard her softly grumbling several shockingly coarse words in Mandarin and a strange language he was not familiar with. He was amazed to hear her talking that crudely, swearing under her breath like a dockworker.

"W-we didn't do anything like that," the pigtailed boy said after a bit, looking at Shenhua. He wasn't sure what else to say in reply.

Ryu glared at him dangerously. "You'd better not have."

"Shut up, you." Ranma was getting tired of Ryu's attitude towards him, as if he had done something horribly offensive to the other boy when they had never even met each other before yesterday. The two couples broke apart at that point, the two boys facing off against each other as the two girls stepped closer together. Glares were exchanged and hands closed into fists.

"You don't tell me to shut up, Saotome," growled Ryu. "Don't act so high and mighty that you think you can just order people around." He gave Ranma a contemptuous look. "Keep talking like that and I'll rip your head off."

"Oh, is too, too bad." Shenhua turned her attention fully to Shampoo, still smirking. "I hear from Mina that you is frigid bitch, afraid of men. I feel sorry for Ranma. He fight so hard to win you, and what he get for his trouble?"

"Shut up," murmured the Amazon, tensing up even more.

"Just try something, Kumon." Ranma glared more fiercely at the other boy. He ached to attack, barely able to hold himself back. The advice from Lee-sensei, to pick his battles more carefully, was far from his thoughts now. There was something about the other boy that rubbed him the wrong way, much like how Mikado Sanzenin and Touga Kiryuu annoyed him on an instinctual level.

"Ryu end up with better girl," Shenhua said with a sly grin. "I show him great time last night. We go long, long time. It feel so good."

"Shut. Up." Shampoo spoke a little louder this time, blushing now.

"I'm not scared of you, Saotome." Ryu stepped closer to Ranma, their chests nearly bumping together.

"Maybe you should be." Ranma intensified his glare at Ryu.

"New boyfriend know about Hong Kong?" Shenhua asked the Amazon very suddenly, leaning in and speaking more softly, so that only Shampoo could hear. "That poor, poor girl. Maybe you kill him in fight too, if he push you too hard?"

"SHUT UP!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened in the lobby, and a couple stepped out, the two of them arm in arm with each other. Behind them, the battered forms of Ryu and Shenhua laid there on the floor. The pair headed to the cafeteria without a single backwards glance, both of them preoccupied with their thoughts.

"That could have gone better," Ryu groaned as the elevator doors closed. "You okay, Shenhua?"

"How you think I am?" The Taiwanese girl grumbled. She muttered under her breath, "I hate that Chinese bitch." Thoughts of gutting Shampoo occupied her mind for several moments. She now understood why Mina Li hated the other girl so much, and she agreed with the sentiments. The uppity Chinese girl needed to die, as painfully as possible. She had never disliked another girl on such an instinctual level before, and now that dislike had evolved into intense hatred after getting beaten up like this.

The doors opened and a Japanese woman in a blue kimono stepped into the elevator calmly. She eyed the two youths as they helped each other up off the floor. With a slight smile, she pushed the button for one of the upper levels.

"You two need to get stronger, it seems," Bernkastel mused aloud. "I can't imagine you want to let those two get away with humiliating you like this."

"What?" Ryu looked at the woman in puzzlement along with Shenhua. He started dusting himself off. "Who are you? Why do you care?"

Instead of answering, the woman tossed him a roughly-bound book. The covers were blank and discolored by large swathes of long-dried blood smeared across them. Ryu caught it by reflex and then leafed through it in curiosity, Shenhua standing right at his side. The pages detailed a collection of martial arts techniques. Seeing what lay within the pages, Ryu grew excited, quickly realizing how lethal they could be. They seemed to call out to him, like it was his destiny to learn them.

"Master this, the Yamasenken, and you'll become a fighter that others shall respect and even fear," said the woman with a wicked smile, glancing once at Shenhua. "The girl too, if she wants to." They reached the floor she had selected, and the doors opened. "With these new abilities, you'll have the strength to face those two." She then stepped out regally, and the doors closed behind her.

Ryu jabbed his thumb on a button on the elevator control panel, and the doors opened. He was shocked to see that the woman had vanished in the interim. He felt Shenhua lean against him from behind as he looked out into the corridor, her hands laying gently on his shoulders as her full breasts pressed warmly into his back.

"What you thinking?" she asked, her breath gusting past his ear. "We get revenge?"

"Shampoo is not to be seriously hurt," Ryu stated, standing up straight and looking at the book he held, smiling at the thought of standing triumphant over Ranma and taking the Amazon from him by force. He was certain the other boy would not be able to counter the attacks of the Yamasenken. They looked lethally powerful. "Other than that, I'm in."

Shenhua gave him a gentle kiss and nibble on the ear. The techniques appeared to be difficult ones to master, likely taking many weeks to do so when working from a written work instead of having a living master to teach them. But in the time it took to ready themselves for their revenge against the other couple, she felt confident she could turn his heart completely to her and completely extinguish his feelings for the Amazon. She would not lose him to any other woman, and she would fight to her last breath to keep him.

She smiled at the thought of killing Shampoo in an appropriately brutal fashion and then Ranma afterwards. To her, the Chinese girl deserved it after what she had just done, and the pigtailed boy could join her in oblivion. She and Ryu would give them a blood-soaked, pain-filled death, sealing their own relationship together in the process. She mused happily about having the Kumon boy's love all to herself as she continued to nuzzle Ryu's ear and neck, pressing herself against him from behind.

As they descended to the lobby once again, he turned to her and began kissing deeply with her, pretending it was Shampoo in his arms. Shenhua sighed softly with pleasure and responded eagerly to his kisses, both of them ignoring the pains in their bodies for the moment, enjoying their momentary closeness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the way to the cafeteria, Shampoo suddenly pulled Ranma into a secluded alcove. They moved back out of sight of the main corridor.

"Sham-?"

He was unable to finish his question before she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him close and pressed her lips tightly against his. Ranma was shocked at this, but then memories of his analogs kissing other versions of the Amazon swirled up in his mind. Instead of resisting and shoving her away as some of them would have done reflexively, once he was over his initial shock he gradually put his arms around her and began kissing her back, holding her gently as his hands lightly gripped the back of her T-shirt.

Shampoo had only intended a brief kiss and then to explain to Ranma that she wasn't like Shenhua had taunted, that she hated or feared men. Unexpectedly, the kiss with him brought up Ensign Shan's memories of being with that other Ranma, the memories coming unbidden to her mind when the pigtailed boy put his arms around her. She ran her hands up and down his back, enjoying the pleasurably arousing sensations of kissing with him, her fingers occasionally gripping his shirt. One hand tugged playfully on his pigtail as their kiss deepened further, their tongues beginning to gently wrestle, the two of them embracing each other warmly. Their kissing quickly became much more passionate and open-mouthed, and their breathing was interspersed with soft sighs and groans.

Several minutes passed. Then Shampoo reluctantly broke off from the kiss, pushing herself back from him gently, realizing that if they continued like this for much longer, she would not be able to keep her promise to her Great-Grandmother. She was trembling a little, her libido demanding satisfaction she could not yet give it.

"R-Ranma," she said softly, gazing into his eyes. She felt a sense of almost rapturous wonder come over her as an image of that other Ranma that Ensign Shan had known was overlaid on the boy in front of her. Her heartbeat was rapid, fluttering in her chest like a bird. She had never felt this way about a boy before. Was this love?

The pigtailed scholar was a bit overwhelmed as well by the sensations and emotions she had ignited within him by the kissing, almost overcome with desire for her. None of the other girls he knew had ever kissed him like that, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Memories of his analog who was married to a version of Shampoo occupied his mind for several moments and of being intimate with her. During the kiss, he had totally forgotten about all the other girls he knew, his heart yearning only for the Amazon.

"Sh-Shampoo promise more for after fight, okay? N-no think Shampoo hate or fear men, okay?" She freed herself from his grasp, needing to step back even further from him, her voice husky with desire. Her feelings towards him were unexpectedly intense, and her mind kept summoning up images of Ensign Shan entwined passionately with that other Ranma, the two of them moving together in an intimate fashion, each of them striving to help their partner reach the Clouds and the Rain. Her cheeks became bright red.

"What?" he blurted out. "O-of course not. Is that what got you so mad in the elevator?" Ranma was confused by her questions, his mind still a bit enthralled by their kiss. He began blushing brightly as well when he realized he was having trouble standing up straight, immediately trying hard to hide the reason why but also not be obvious about what he was doing. Thinking back while in his present state of mind, he could not exactly remember who threw the first punch. The melee had caught all four of them up in it in a flash, the two couples fighting each other savagely within the enclosed space.

Without thought, he had quickly moved to defend Shampoo's flank, and she had done the same for him, both of them throwing punches and kicks into each other's opponent when there was an opportunity, working together in tandem. Ryu and Shenhua had gone down quickly as a result of their impromptu teamwork. It had felt so natural to work with the Amazon in a fighting array like that, and he briefly wondered if he and Nabiki would be able to achieve with each other that same instinctive level of coordination.

"That good." Shampoo straightened her clothing a bit, still blushing, fighting down fantasies of hauling Ranma back to her room, tossing him on to her bed and slaking her libidinous desires for him for the next day or two. It was easier said than done, and she could not recall any other boy ever making her feel this way. While Ryu had aroused her interest, the feelings Ranma awakened within her were even more primal and powerful.

She also did not want to bring up the Taiwanese girl's comment about Hong Kong's Arena and what had happened there. She would tell him someday, when the time was right and things were calmer. When her outfit was finally straightened, she said to him, "We go have nice breakfast now, okay?"

Ranma nodded, and they left the alcove together.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Perfume held the newspaper in front of her as she sat in her seat on the train, now speeding across the Japanese countryside. It certainly was a much more comfortable experience to her than trains in her native China were, at least those that catered to locals there, not the cars that only Japanese citizens were allowed to use. The ride was very smooth and air-conditioned in those, as it was on the train she was currently riding. When she was done reading, she folded it and set it down across her lap, smoothing her features of all signs of irritation. Across from her, Mousse snoozed in a nap. She frowned briefly at the sight of the idiot, another boy hopelessly enamored by her rival.

She understood the situation with Shampoo much better now, and what the Seer had told her. Her rival's fight with the Saotome boy had been the crux point leading to events the blind prophet had warned her about, and now those events were cascading forth like falling dominoes. If Shampoo then lost to the boy in their rematch, the next domino would fall, bringing her rival one step closer to eternal fame in the annals of Joketsuzoku history. If Shampoo was then able to win the Emperor's Tournament in a few months, then the women of the tribe would become full citizens of the Empire, securing the other girl's legacy for all time. As the Seer had said, her name would never be forgotten. Shampoo would become a legend.

Perfume found herself on the horns of a horrible dilemma. If she took down her adversary, then the Joketsuzoku would remain vassals of the Empire and treated no differently than any other people in China. But if she waited and let things play out along the path the Seer had told her of, Shampoo's story would become eternal. As the other girl's most fervent rival, it angered her greatly to be put in this position, but there was one possible way out she could see.

She had to deal with Ranma Saotome first, and soon.

Her plan was simple: to enter the Battledome in Tokyo where he was now being held, find him and then challenge him to a fight. If she defeated him, which she felt reasonably certain she would, she would then disable him. She wasn't planning to do anything permanent, just giving him a serious enough injury to prevent him from facing Shampoo at the appointed time, thus losing by default and preventing that domino from falling. But if she was unable to beat him easily, then she would reluctantly have to kill him. After all, obstacles were for killing.

The boy's death could have the added benefit of arousing her rival's rage. An infuriated Shampoo would make more mistakes and be even easier to defeat by a cooler-headed opponent. Then her rival would die, ending the infectious corruption by outsider men she would otherwise bring back to their people.

The Joketsuzoku would still lose their opportunity to be citizens this year, but there was always next year. And with Shampoo out of the way, she was certain her skills would allow her to ascend to the Battledome before the next Emperor's Tournament and then perhaps the Emperor would allow her the honor of freeing the Joketsuzoku at that time. After all, she too had a Japanese boy as her fiancé. Admittedly, it was a pretty long-shot gamble. But it was better for the Joketsuzoku to remain pure to their ideals of female superiority and be ignored by the Empire until its inevitable fall than to be corrupted by following Shampoo's perverse example, flaunting their bodies for money and male attention and performing like some kind of carnival act. That was not the true way of their tribe.

To follow Shampoo's path would lead the Joketsuzoku to becoming debased shadows of their former selves, ending up being little better than the common whores Perfume had seen plying their trade on the streets of Roanapur. No, the women of their tribe could not cheapen themselves like that, like Shampoo had willingly done to herself. Her rival might as well be selling herself on a street corner now like any other whore, and it deeply saddened Perfume to see how far from the proper way a Joketsuzoku woman should behave that Shampoo had strayed. Killing her rival had become the moral thing to do, practically an act of mercy, like putting down a rabid animal before it could infect others.

Perfume was certain, if she chose to enter the life of an Arena fighter herself, she would do it the correct way, as a true Joketsuzoku warrior would. She would do it without ever flaunting her beauty for the tawdry amusement of bestial males and prostituting herself like Shampoo had. No, she would simply defeat her foes one by one, methodically and skillfully, until she finally won the Emperor's Tournament at the end.

However, if she somehow lost to Ranma, then Perfume realized she would have other issues to face. One would be that there would then be two men in her life who had defeated her. This had happened sometimes to Joketsuzoku in the past, but it was a rare occurrence. Controlling two strong males would be difficult as men tended to be aggressive towards each other, especially over a woman. Their primitive, brutish minds, basted constantly by male hormones, simply made them that way. They could not help it and Perfume pitied them for it.

Another problem would involve her relationship with Shampoo. If Ranma defeated her before she could bestow a Kiss of Marriage upon Ryoga, then she and Shampoo would both be his brides. Fortunately, killing Shampoo would still be a viable alternative at that point, but she was uncertain she would be able to control Ranma once the deed was done. The other way out of that would be if Ryoga defeated or killed the pigtailed boy. Either option would nullify Ranma's claim upon her.

Truthfully, she felt quite content with her current Airen and did not desire another, and she was looking forward to finding him again and bestowing the Kiss of Marriage upon his lips. He was a very handsome boy, physically powerful and ruggedly built, and she was certain he would have adequate amounts of endurance to satisfy her needs as a woman. Just thinking about claiming him made Perfume feel strangely giddy inside, something she had never imagined feeling over one of those she had been raised to see as the inferior gender. No other boy had ever provoked within her such interest before. Even her ploys at seducing Mousse away from Shampoo years ago had been done due to her rivalry with the other girl, not out of any particular interest in him.

Fortunately, far from being a stupid brute like so many males were prone to being, Ryoga's skill at Go spoke very well of his intellectual abilities in her view. She looked forward to having him as her husband, and she idly wondered how difficult he would be to convince to let her lead the family they would make together. She sincerely hoped he could be persuaded by gentler means to obey her will.

There were special herbal concoctions commonly known to women of the tribe she could give him, as well as scrolls detailing pressure points and special sexual techniques the women of her family had passed down for centuries she could study and use, to bend him gently into obeying her without resistance. But, if those gentler methods failed, she would reluctantly summon her mother and other female relatives to brutally beat him into submission and tame him by force. Her own father was happy now to obey her mother after receiving such treatment at her relatives' hands many years ago. Ryoga would be happy too; at least once he understood his proper place as the husband of a Joketsuzoku woman and learned to mind his manners around those of the superior gender.

She would see to his happiness and be the mother of his offspring, she mused with a smile. Contemplating the children she would have with him, she even considered names for them. To have three girls was felt to be a very auspicious number for a family among the Joketsuzoku, a holdover from ancient times. She found herself looking forward to having a few daughters of her own to raise and teach to be proper Joketsuzoku, once her business with Shampoo reached its conclusion and she was able to retrieve Ryoga and take him back home with her to warm her bed and father children upon her.

Gazing out at the countryside, Perfume felt certain that she was doing the right thing. Someday the tribe would praise her for saving them from the false path that Shampoo would have led them down to their ultimate destruction. Her clear sense of purpose invigorated her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You may take a break now, Frost," said Cologne, seated on a rock as she watched the pale-skinned girl puffing and sweating her way through the combat drills she had been assigned. She noted the position of the sun in the sky, wondering what was keeping Shampoo. It had already been a few hours since dawn.

The Chinese sorceress promptly collapsed where she had stood. She gasped for air, sweat streaming down her face. She was dressed in light but sturdy clothing for her practice, now dampened like her hair with perspiration from the June humidity. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on regaining control of her ragged breathing.

Frost reminded herself that she was doing this for Gosunkugi's sake, to prove her fitness to be his wife by dealing with the threat to their future happiness. It was clear to her that she must deal forcefully with the troublesome Minami, who kept getting in her way and making an obstacle of herself, despite Frost's initial magnanimous willingness to not oppose the other girl's somewhat questionable claim upon him. She had tried to be nice and allow Minami's claim, but now it was going to be a fight to the finish between them. Well, Minami had picked a battle with the wrong girl. When a woman of the Joketsuzoku tribe set her sights on a man, other women should just get out of the way if they knew what was good for them.

She didn't like it one bit that her Airen was clearly aware of the other girl's obvious endowments, and she had been annoyed to catch him staring at Minami's chest and derriere more than once. It deeply irritated her, one of many new emotions she was unfamiliar at having to process, all being brought about by her relationship with Gosunkugi. She did understand he was a teenaged male and probably couldn't help himself, especially since the redheaded bimbo kept dressing in such a provocative manner with her wardrobe choices now that the weather was getting warmer. Short pants and low-cut, midriff-baring shirts and blouses were her usual choices. Frost strongly suspected the influence of Minami's new mentor, Ayaka Kisaragi, a woman of reputedly low morals herself, or so she had heard.

It was probably only a matter of time before the tawdry redhead in glasses seduced her Airen, she mused bitterly. Frost wanted to gift him with her virginity (and to be the one to claim his), so she had headed off a few such attempts the other girl had already made. Not at all surprisingly, Minami had blocked hers. To try and counter the Ghost Sweeper's outfits (and also deal with the warmer weather herself), the Chinese sorceress had taken to wearing cheongsam-style dresses with very short skirts to better show off her legs, which she had recalled hearing some boys at the Institute saying were shapely. Pleasingly, she had caught her Airen staring at her several times in her new wardrobe. That gave her hope he would choose her first and not the shrewish Minami.

The young Ghost Sweeper had proven to be a menace in the kitchen within days of her moving in, so Frost had requested of Gosunkugi's mother that she no longer be allowed to help with the cooking, purely out of self-defense. She shuddered briefly at the memory of Minami's ghastly culinary crime against nature, and she knew she would never be able to eat rice pudding again. Food should not move of its own volition, let alone attack with such ferocity. While she had been trained to be able to stare down nameless eldritch horrors that could blast a man's sanity to dust without flinching, true horror had come over her by what had faced them in the kitchen that night, and the smell had been nauseating beyond belief. She had been proud to see her Airen firing attack spells into it, destroying the unholy creation with purifying blasts of magefire.

One extra benefit of now being the only one helping with the cooking had been scoring even more points with Gosunkugi's mother. That was important, since she wanted to have a good relationship with her future mother-in-law. Things seemed to be going quite well in that regard. The woman had seemed to like her from the first moment they met.

There were a few signs that fortune might be working in her favor in other ways. The other morning, while she had been dressed only in a bathing robe and slippers and heading from the bathroom to get dressed for the day, her Airen had stumbled against her and fallen on top of her, and his hand landed squarely on her breast. She had never had a boy grab her there before, and the sensations had been... intriguing. And on Friday night, she had just finished a nice bath when he came in without knocking, but she knew it was not his fault since she had forgotten to hang the sign saying it was in use. Both times had then resulted in him making a stuttering apology and running away, which had puzzled her as she had not been upset with him, merely surprised.

After his departures both times, she became aware of Minami's glowering presence, first glaring at him then at her. That had explained much. She had confronted the Ghost Sweeper over the matter after the second such incident, but it had just provoked a brawl. The other girl had lost, and Frost had been pleased at her victory.

Minami was rather amusingly easy to provoke, Frost had soon discovered. For someone who normally held such a tight rein on her own emotions as the Chinese sorceress usually did, it felt unexpectedly cathartic to engage in physical violence, and a part of her secretly enjoyed her clashes with Minami. She suspected it was a remnant of her childhood among the Joketsuzoku, or maybe something bred into her genes from her warrior ancestresses.

Since she was not able to use her magic to crush the arrogant girl in glasses right now, she knew she would have to drive her despised rival away from her Airen by physical force, and that knowledge gave her the endurance to carry on with her training. After all, the other girl couldn't possibly love him as much as she did, and she was sure things would be better once Minami was gone. Then she and Gosunkugi could get married and begin having beautiful children together. She became briefly lost in her thoughts, imagining how much more pleasant things would be for her and Gosunkugi in that wonderful future together.

"Great-Grandmother, I here!" suddenly was heard Shampoo's voice, the girl coming over the hill at a run. She came to a stop, not winded at all after the full-speed sprint from the subway station two kilometers away.

Frost looked up from where she was seated on the ground, envying the other girl her fitness. She felt like she wanted to pass out, having been at it for a couple of hours. Shampoo looked at her in curiosity. Neither had been aware that the other would be there.

"Great-Granddaughter, this is Frost, a girl from our village who has been staying in Japan for many years," said Cologne, introducing the sorceress. "I don't know if you remember each other. Frost, this is Shampoo, the eldest daughter of my eldest granddaughter."

Frost stood with difficulty, her muscles complaining from being unused to so much strenuous activity. She bowed to the other girl. "It is an honor to meet you, Shampoo. You've grown strong, and you honor your ancestresses with your strength."

"Is honor for Shampoo, too," Shampoo said with a bow of her own. "Is nice to see another villager." She turned to Cologne, looking puzzled. "Is Frost my sparring partner?"

The Chinese sorceress blanched at that question. Cologne had not known that the girl could even get any paler until she saw that. Frost went as white as the finest porcelain for several moments.

"Oh no, Shampoo," said the elderly Amazon with a chuckle. "I am merely helping Frost improve with the basics. She has herself a rival, you see. Fortunately, the other girl is not much of a fighter from what I am told. Dealing with her and driving her off should be a fairly simple matter."

"Oh, Frost have man to love?" Shampoo smiled at the other girl.

Frost blushed and mumbled something. She looked down at the ground.

"He's apparently a young wizard who defeated her in an arcane duel," said Cologne, standing up. "The other one interested in him is another spellcaster. She is a Ghost Sweeper, a girl who fights evil spirits. To avoid collateral damage, the two have been dealing with each other on a more physical basis."

Shampoo nodded in sympathetic understanding and came over to Frost, placing her hands on the other girl's shoulders. Startled, the sorceress looked up at the taller girl. She saw Shampoo looking seriously at her.

"Shampoo have similar problem," said the young Amazon. "Have rival to man she like. Maybe we help each other?" She gave Frost a smile.

"I would be honored to work with you, Shampoo." The sorceress smiled back faintly, grateful to meet someone her own age that seemed to understand what she was going through, especially someone from her home village.

"Well, now that that's settled, you go back to your practice, Frost," said Cologne with a smile, earning a dismayed look in return before the sorceress began struggling through her training again. "I will return in a few minutes to check on you. Come, Great-Granddaughter, walk with me."

As Frost began her exercises again, Shampoo followed Cologne as they went over a different hill. "Where we go, Great-Grandmother?"

"As your suitor used an advanced Joketsuzoku technique, it shows it is time I began passing along my more advanced lore to you, starting with the very same technique he used." Cologne paused next to a campfire she had built.

"You mean-?" Shampoo held her breath, her eyes widening.

"Yes, I shall now instruct you in the Amaguriken, Great-Granddaughter." Cologne flicked a few sparks from her pipe into the unlit campfire, and the small stack of wood promptly burst into flames. "We shall see how my prospective son-in-law does in a battle with you after we negate his speed advantage. It should prove instructive to us both if he is truly worthy of you. In the next few days, I plan to interrogate him on how he came to know it." The old woman smiled reassuringly at Shampoo's concerned look. "Don't worry. I promise to be gentle, if he keeps a civil tongue in his mouth when speaking to me."

Relieved to hear that, Shampoo turned to look at the flames, her gaze solemn. To have advanced Joketsuzoku techniques added to her arsenal would all but assure her win at the Emperor's Tournament. She would demonstrate to the entire world the strength of her people, winning citizenship for all the women of her village and great honor for her family. She nodded suddenly and looked at Cologne very earnestly, an unyielding determination now burning in her gaze. She had never before failed to learn anything her great-grandmother had taught her, and she was not about to start now. "Shampoo ready."

"Excellent." Cologne picked up a bag of sweet chestnuts from a small pile of supplies. "Let us begin."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While standing in the men's locker room near one of the lower sublevel training areas in the Mobius Institute, Hikaru Gosunkugi thumbed a small button on his wrist, and the loose fabric of his outfit quickly snugged tightly to his thin frame. Its blue and white material clung to him like a second skin. He involuntarily shivered at the sensations it caused as it hugged tightly to areas he personally felt clothing should not cling, now fully understanding why Minami had always complained about wearing hers whenever she had to have her magic ability tested each month. He knew the skintight outfit was designed to allow special instrumentation built into it to read his body's ability to convert ambient mana into magical effects, but it felt indecent to have on.

Unbidden, the thought of what Minami or Frost might look like wearing the female version came to his mind, the thin material clinging to every curve of their nubile bodies-

Wait. What was he doing?

He hastily shook his head to clear it. He had to be more focused, or his imminent combat training was going to hurt a lot more. He could not let himself get distracted by thoughts of Frost and Minami.

Sighing, Gosunkugi once again regretted offending whatever spirit or god he had disturbed to be put into this situation. All he had wanted was to worship the beautiful and fierce Akane Tendo from afar and also protect her from the attentions of Ranma Saotome. Now he was engaged to two powerful young sorceresses (who also despised each other), he had new abilities he had never expected to have, and his entire life had been turned totally upside down as a result of these events. It was like being trapped inside a harem comedy story.

Why was this happening to him?

The worst part about it was that he had nobody his own age he could even talk to about this. Who would understand what it was like to wake up with new abilities one day and then also have to deal with being engaged against your will to girls who fought with each other over you?

He had considered speaking about his problems to his senpai, Kyosuke. They were sort of friends, but he was worried it would come across as whining.

It was times like these that he missed his father most and wished he was still around. But the man had been declared dead by the Empire a long time ago, lost on a mission to find an ancient artifact, something called the Nanban Mirror. His father had gone into a remote part of China looking for it and was never seen again. It had been so many years that he had trouble even remembering what the man looked like, the face in old pictures becoming more of a stranger each day.

Sighing once again, Gosunkugi opened the door to the hallway and walked to the training room. Maybe blasting a few robots would help him burn off some of his stress. If that didn't help, then he would stop at his favorite manga store on the way home and see what was new this week. He hoped he could find something fun to read, to take his mind off his life for a while.

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"Just what are you doing?" Lee asked Ranma-chan, watching his young companion peeking around yet another corner. It was taking them forever to leave the Arena complex.

"I'm keeping an eye out for hostiles, Lee-sensei," said the pigtailed girl. "In the brief time I've been here, I managed to upset a couple of people. I don't want to run into them." While she was worried about Mina Li, she mainly wanted to avoid a fight with Shampoo. She hoped she could smooth things over with the Amazon before there was bloodshed between them. She didn't know why the other girl was so mad about missing out on some cheesecake.

"Well, stop it. You're acting paranoid and we're wasting valuable training time." He grabbed the girl by the back of her collar and hauled her along with him.

The pair marched to the door leading out of the complex. Lee presented his ID to the bored-looking guard. The man glanced at it and then handed it back. He held out his hand to Ranma-chan. "ID?"

She smiled cutely and handed the guard her ID, now showing her picture and associated information for 'Ranko Kuonji' instead of Ranma Saotome.

"Ok, you can go," said the guard, handing back the ID card. Ranma-chan and Lee strolled out of the complex.

"So, where are we going?" asked the pigtailed girl when they were outside. "I thought we were going to train in the Arena's facilities."

"Too many eyes watching there," replied Lee. "I'm going to train you somewhere else."

Ranma-chan nodded. She wondered if anyone would notice she was gone.

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"What do you mean, you can't find that boy?" asked the Arena Director in a fury. "He can't have left the facility! His picture is posted at every guard post at the exits! What, did he turn invisible and walk out?"

"Sorry, sir," said the hapless guard.

"What about Lee? Where is he?" The Arena Director felt pain radiating from his chest, spikes of agony from his injured ribs and bruised internal organs. He was getting too excited, and he knew he needed to calm down. It was still too early to take another pill to quell his suffering.

"We show him leaving a little while ago," the man replied, sweating a little. He presented a still photo showing Lee following Ranma-chan out. "He didn't take the boy with him. We're certain of that."

Waving the man away to leave, the Arena Director collapsed heavily into his desk chair, glaring at the color photo for a moment before angrily tossing it into the trashcan. He had been hoping to record Lee training the boy, but the famed Dragon had left and his young disciple was nowhere to be found. The stress was aggravating the pains of his injuries.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Can we stop now? I'm dying!"

Yohko glanced over at Asuka, continuing to jog in place to keep her heart rate up, feeling extremely happy and energized this afternoon. She was looking forward to seeing Kyosuke again tonight for some more intimacy before her grandmother got back tomorrow. He had given her his vow that he would be back by nightfall for dinner and picking up where they had left off. His earnest expression had been so cute.

"You're not dying," Yohko said with a sudden frown, her good mood dimming a little. "We've only been at it for a couple of hours."

The young Ghost Sweeper shook her head, feeling like her lungs were burning up from all the running and calisthenics she had been asked to do. She collapsed to her hands and knees on the grass. She was dressed in her Academy PE clothes, her shirt damp with sweat and clinging to her body in the humidity. "Sure," she puffed. "This... is just... hard."

"You asked me to help you improve," Yohko reminded her. "Did you think this was going to be easy? Nabiki and I train hard every day to be as good as we are."

Thinking about Nabiki, she found herself worried about her friend again. The Tendo girl had been almost frothing with rage when she had called her on the phone Friday night after Ranma's incident at the Battledome, even worse than how she had been over the Tenjou girl. Truthfully, Yohko could understand Nabiki feeling threatened by the young Arena fighter. Shampoo was famous and glamorous, a superstar and one of the hottest commodities to come out of China since Jun Fan Lee. What girl wouldn't feel threatened to have the boy she liked around someone like that?

"Yeah, but I'm... just a beginner." Minami wiped sweat from her face.

"Well, this is how it is when you're starting out." Yohko frowned down at the other girl. "We're building up your body and your endurance for fighting. Come on. You want to be able to beat this Frost girl, don't you?"

Minami nodded, sweat dripping from her body. "I do." Her enmity against the Chinese sorceress had enabled her to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Every step brought her closer to her goal of driving her nemesis away and finally having the boy she loved all to herself once again.

"Get up then," said Yohko, pausing her running for a moment to place a pair of fingers on her neck and looking at her watch, checking her pulse. "We're going to do three more kilometers and then go grab a bath and some soak time in a hot tub."

"Three more?" Minami wailed.

When Yohko looked at her unrelentingly, she got up with a grumble. The other girl started jogging off, and the Ghost Sweeper puffed along after her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gosunkugi raised his arm in front of him and murmured a quick phrase, and a bluish ball of magefire formed in his hand. Scorch marks covered the walls and the current robot he was fighting with, which was armed with a wand. Sweat ran down his face from his efforts.

"Training cycle complete," said a computer-generated female voice.

Letting his shield spell and ball of magefire dissipate, Gosunkugi sat heavily on the ground. He wiped at the sweat dripping down his face. Across the chamber, the surviving training robot slowly sank into the floor. Several others had been too damaged by accumulated damage to keep attacking him.

"You did very well, Gos," said his new mentor, Tsubame Ozuno, when he came into the room, clapping slowly and lightly. The man stopped a few feet away. "Your score went up almost ten millimerlins from last time. How do you feel?"

The ability of an intelligent being to convert ambient mana into actual magical effects was measured by the Mobius Institute in thousandths of a Merlin, the name coming from the fabled sorcerer of Arthurian legend. The value of a Merlin had been set many years ago based on readings taken of different supernatural entities and humans who could wield magic and extrapolated from that. It was the magical community's unit of ability measurement, much like how Ohms, Joules or Newtons were used by the sciences. Frost herself had a score of just over nine hundred and twenty millimerlins and Minami was almost nine hundred millimerlins herself, which meant the pair possessed very powerful potential as sorceresses.

For comparison's sake, Gosunkugi's score had previously been fifty-two, but it was now a little over nine hundred with the latest increase. It had fluctuated quite a lot since they started measuring him, and it had even reached well over a full Merlin in value for several minutes during the initial testing. It was uncertain what it would eventually stabilize at, but it had the Institute buzzing to think there might be a cadet of such power potential suddenly appearing amongst their ranks from such a surprising source as him.

"I'm tired," Gosunkugi replied with a groan, falling to lie on his back. He knew his recent boost in power had the higher-ups at the Institute intrigued and wanting to study him, hence his new mentor, an agent of the Institute who specialized in the same sort of Hermetic magic that Gosunkugi now possessed. They had been unable to determine exactly what could have caused it, but the current view was that it was some sort of a spontaneous breakout. That had meant tests and more tests. And also combat training to teach him how to use his magic.

"Ah, are your two fiancées keeping you busy at night?" Tsubame said with a grin.

"What? No!" Gosunkugi blinked. "It's not like that at all."

Tsubame frowned. "You're treating Frost well? And the Minami girl?"

"Of course, sir," Gosunkugi said with a nod. He knew from experience that Minami would slap or punch him, if he ever dared treat her at all unkindly. There was a pause.

"Are they getting along with each other yet?"

"No, sir." Gosunkugi closed his eyes. "They're still arguing and fighting."

"A shame," said Tsubame regretfully. "Well, they'll have to get used to each other eventually, given your situation, being engaged to both of them. They're both intelligent young women and two of the best young sorceresses at the Institute, so we're all expecting you to take good care of them." He eyed the sullen teenager and then sighed. "Go take a shower and head on home, Gos. We're done with training you for today."

"Yes, sir." The recently-minted mage stood up and headed dejectedly out the door and walked down the quiet corridors towards the locker rooms. His shoulders ached from the combat training he had been doing all weekend, and he had never realized how much endurance a mage needed in their arms and shoulders to cast spells during a prolonged fight. No wonder Minami's punches always hurt so much.

Behind him, Tsubame considered Gosunkugi's situation. There were some elements of the Mobius Institute's community that were concerned over how a magical cipher like Gosunkugi could have experienced such a radical increase in potential power. While spontaneous breakouts were not unheard of, they were extremely rare and usually involved contact with some supernatural cause. Unfortunately, there was also a greater chance of insanity eventually arising in such cases.

Frost's presence in the boy's life had eased many such concerns. If the boy did go insane and his powers became a danger to the Empire, they felt certain that Frost would do her duty to the Emperor and either contain Gosunkugi until he could be placed into the Institute's vaults, or kill him, should that become necessary. With Minami's aid, the two girls should have more than enough power at their disposal to be able to deal with him, even if he exceeded a full Merlin in mana conversion ability. The inhibitor collars they wore were secretly programmed to unlock if he used too much magic in their presence.

Unaware of such concerns about him, Gosunkugi made his way to the locker rooms and pondered his situation at home. He had now been living with Frost for about a week and Minami had moved in several days ago. His mother had panicked that first day when the Ghost Sweeper and the Chinese sorceress first confronted each other and had called the Institute to do something about their spellcasting abilities before they blew up the neighborhood. Both girls were now fitted with slender collars that prevented them from using very much magic, but he had been told they could be unlocked if their full powers were needed.

However, their mutual enmity had not stopped. Both still glared at each other lethally at times. However, without being able to use their magic to settle their differences, they got into savage brawls with each other instead. They would then use magic to heal afterwards. Oddly, if one of them was too injured to heal themselves, the other would cast the healing spell. It was an unspoken accord they had formed.

Gosunkugi knew firsthand that Minami had a somewhat violent temper, but, before Frost appeared, she only ever seemed to show it to him. Ever since they were little kids, she would slap or punch him whenever he did something that displeased her, acting like it was her job to supervise him. He would sometimes argue with her about this, and some cadets at the Institute had even teased them as being like an old married couple. Such comments infuriated Minami and made him feel embarrassed.

The past few years she had hit him less often, seeming to focus her efforts more on correcting anything he did which she saw as him being a pervert, like if he stumbled and ended up with his face planted in her bosom, falling down in front of her and seeing her panties by accident, or his hand coming to rest on her derriere while he struggled to keep his balance. Puberty had seemed to make him even clumsier, with his arms and legs growing much faster than his ability to control them. Since they spent so much time together, she had borne the brunt of his clumsiness. In return, he had been brutalized by slaps and punches, accompanied by her accusing him of perversion in an angry voice.

Secretly, he had long admired her fiery approach to life, perhaps why he had been so attracted to Akane Tendo's fierceness, but he had known Minami so long she was kind of like a sister to him. He had never been aware she liked him as something other than a close friend until the night she had presented herself as his new fiancée. Now that he was mindful of her interest in him, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about her. She confused and frightened him now, especially with her living in such close proximity to him.

He just didn't know how he should act around Minami anymore. Now that they were living together, he was even more aware of her femaleness, since she wore rather skimpy outfits around the apartment because of the warmer weather. She claimed to wear them for her comfort, but they really tended to draw his eyes to dangerous zones on her. Lately, he couldn't seem to stop himself from staring sometimes when he saw her cleavage or how nice she looked from behind if she bent over to pick something up while wearing short pants. She had always been kind of plumply cute before, but lately she had changed. Now she was... sexy.

Then there was Frost. She was a far quieter girl than Minami, who could be quite brash and loud, and the Chinese sorceress possessed a solemn intensity to her that contrasted with the young Ghost Sweeper's more boisterous approach to life. She never raised her voice and rarely smiled, but Gosunkugi did not believe she was some kind of emotionless robot like Minami would frequently taunt. He felt Frost was kind of like him, uncomfortable when dealing with other people and not very graceful socially.

She also wore outfits that drew his eyes, especially to her legs and derriere. Seeing her working in the kitchen, wearing one of her short, cheongsam-style dresses and an apron, kept attracting his gaze to look at her. She was really cute with nice legs, he had soon realized. And while she had a bustline that was more modest than Minami's, she was at least as gifted as Akane Tendo in that regard.

As the days passed, the less resistant he was getting to having her as his fiancée. He wasn't sure why, but she was the one now bearing the brunt of his clumsiness. He had tripped and fallen on top of her the other morning, his hand landing squarely on her breast. While she was modestly endowed, she was still a pleasant handful, and he remembered staring down into her widened eyes, uncertain what to do, his brain frozen. Maybe he had been expecting an immediate slap, something he was sure Minami would have done in such a situation, since she used to always hit him if he ever touched her there or on her derriere.

He had been very reluctant to remove his hand, finding himself doing something with Frost that he had sometimes fantasized about doing with Minami but had never found the courage to risk her wrath and try. Then, after a few moments, some preternatural sense of self-preservation had made him aware of the young Ghost Sweeper's menacing presence looming nearby. He had managed to stutter out an apology to Frost and made his escape before the redhead could do more than snarl imprecations at him.

At least the Chinese sorceress was less frightening than Minami in that regard, and last night he had been so exhausted from school that week and his new training regimen that he had let Frost snuggle up against him during the night, no longer having the energy to avoid her. It had actually been very nice, feeling her nubile form lying so close to him. He had been tempted to touch her, awakening during the night to find her lying there dressed in white silk pajamas. But he had glanced over to see a dozing Minami in the room and restrained himself, fearful of arousing her wrath if she opened her eyes and saw him doing anything untoward with Frost.

Individually, they both intimidated him. Together, the two young women terrified him to the bottom of his soul, but he also felt attracted to them too. It was like a perverse form of torture to have them around, so close to him. The way they dealt with each other was part of what kept him from trying anything with either of them. He was afraid if he ever favored either one, there would be bloodshed, maybe his own blood being spilled as a result.

Girls were scary, just so scary. Even after so many years of being around Minami, he had never realized before how terrifying and alien they were.

Since training had not eased his stress enough, he decided to spend some of his weekly allowance on a new manga. He hoped that there was something good at the store on his way home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hearing a bird chirping close by, the sound awakening him, Ryoga slowly opened his eyes and then blinked several times. An unfamiliar ceiling was above him. He gazed up at it, puzzled.

Where am I?

The last thing he remembered was feeling several darts thud into his body and then nothing. Now he was lying on a futon in a strange place. Somewhere nearby, he suddenly heard a girl's voice giving a kiai yell.

Surging up to a sitting position, he glanced around frantically. With a sigh of relief, he saw his pack and umbrella resting in a corner of the room. Glancing down at himself, he discovered he was dressed in clean clothes from his pack.

Wait. Someone changed my clothes?

After standing up, he walked to the window, looking out on a yard with a koi pond. He realized he was in someone's house instead of some detention facility. More of his clothing hung on the lines outside, freshly washed and now drying.

Someone did my laundry? What's going on?

Hearing more kiai yells and the unmistakable sounds of someone training in the martial arts, Ryoga decided to investigate. He shouldered his pack and briefly wondered where his shoes were before shrugging. He could just buy another pair, if he needed to. Jumping out the window and landing easily on the ground, he made his way over to the small dojo attached to the house. He saw a familiar girl inside it, throwing punches and kicks into a heavy leather bag.

"Oh, you're awake," said Akane coolly, seeing him standing in the doorway. She ran a hand through her hair and flicked sweat from her fingertips. The heavy bag she had been pummeling leaked driblets of sand from a few spots. "Before he left last night, Daddy told me you were going to be staying with us for a while, Hibiki-san." While polite, she didn't sound pleased.

"I am?" Ryoga looked at her in amazement.

Akane gazed at him neutrally, her head cocked slightly to one side. "I guess nobody told you?" She turned and went back to throwing punches and kicks into the bag. "Anyway, don't try leaving the grounds."

"Why not?" Ryoga set his backpack down in the doorway and came in to inspect the dojo. When he passed near Akane, both of them felt a faint tingling sensation, an enhanced awareness of each other's presence. He sidled away from her quickly, embarrassed at feeling attracted to a girl he barely even knew, ashamed once again at his fickleness. His mother had always told him that a man should stay faithful to one woman, like his father had been faithful to her before-

-No, he wouldn't think about that. He didn't want to think about that.

Suddenly irritated at his presence, remembering her last encounter with him and his annoying refusal to fight with her, Akane glowered at Ryoga for several long moments before speaking again. "The peaceforcers who brought you here are assigned to keep a watch over you while you settle in and make sure you stay put, so don't try running off." She stalked away over to the middle of the dojo and began doing some stretching exercises, troubled at her unwanted feelings of attraction towards him and concerned about Ranma.

Her face hardened for a moment at the thought of his name. She knew he was all right, but not much else other than that he was preparing for his rematch against Shampoo. The notion of him and the Chinese girl being together troubled her. While she was a card-carrying member of Shampoo's official booster club, and had been a hardcore fan ever since her debut in Hong Kong, she didn't like the idea of Ranma being with her, being so close to her. Having her own sister stab her in the back and get engaged to him had been bad enough, but to have the girl she idolized as a role model with the boy she wanted to be with was simply agonizing for her.

"I'm a prisoner?" asked Ryoga, surprised. "But I didn't do anything!"

Distracted from her musings, Akane shrugged and turned to face him, ignoring his question. Her hands closed into fists. "Since you're here, maybe we can have a little sparring match? You're probably not as good as Ranma, so I'll go easy on you."

"What did you say?" Ryoga asked, unsure he had heard her correctly.

"I thought we might do some sparring, since you're staying here now." She put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me you're still stuck on that macho load you were spouting the last time I saw you about not fighting girls?"

"No, not that part!" he shouted. "Did I hear you right? Do you know Ranma Saotome?"

Blinking at the question, Akane frowned thoughtfully at the mention of the Saotome boy's name, wondering how Ryoga knew him. "Well, sure. He's the best martial artist in the area. He's also the only guy who's ever beaten me in a fight." She smiled at that. "So, are you up for a match against me now?"

Ryoga was startled at her sudden smile. She's cute, he realized. Then he shook his head, irritated with himself once again at his betrayal of his feelings for Ukyo. Why was he so fickle? Why?

"Uh, I don't know," he said, feeling reluctant. But he also wondered why he was being so resistant. After all, he had been fighting with Ukyo since they were both little kids, admittedly while not knowing she was really a girl (and still felt quite foolish over that), and his time traveling with Ryoko had shown him that a girl could hit hard and take a punch as well as any guy. "Just sparring?"

"I'll go easy on you," Akane teased, her expression going more serious again. She took up a ready stance.

Ryoga frowned and popped his knuckles. Maybe a little workout would help clear his head, he mused. "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself."

Without any further preamble, he launched into an attack, testing Akane's defenses. She responded ably, the intensive training she had undergone over the past several weeks with Sakura having improved her abilities greatly. For the first couple of minutes, she just evaded and blocked, staying defensive as she observed Ryoga's timing and read his patterns of movement like her mother had once taught her to do. At the end of that, she then began launching attacks of her own, testing his defenses.

Seeing she was much better than he initially suspected, possibly even near Ukyo or Ryoko in ability, Ryoga backed off and studied her as she started to attack back, not wanting to let himself get suckered into a trap. The Kuonji girl was a master at that, letting him think he was winning before she did something unexpected that left him wide open. He decided to pace himself and let her wear herself out.

Several minutes passed, and Akane and Ryoga fell into a rhythm with each other. Both of them began smiling wolfishly as they started going at each other harder and harder. Ryoga quickly realized that Akane fought very much like Ryoko did, coming at him straight on instead of dancing around him like Ukyo preferred to do. She was strong for a girl too. Before either of them realized it, their sparring match became even more intense and heated with each passing moment.

He's really good, Akane thought happily as she blocked and attacked, feeling excited at fighting with him. Her fist scored hard against his jawline during one exchange of blows, her shoulder fully behind it, and she was astonished when he simply shrugged it off instead of dropping unconscious like other boys had that she had struck so, although she could tell he had felt it. His snap kick a few moments later impacted against her blocking arms, and she slid back along the dojo floor. After she came to a skidding stop, the two of them eyed each other with greater respect.

"You're not a bad fighter, Akane Tendo," said Ryoga during the pause, moving his jaw slightly. He reevaluated his initial estimates of her upwards. While she was slower than Ukyo, she was also stronger than the Kuonji girl. When compared to Ryoko, it was the opposite, with Akane a bit weaker than the Masaki girl but somewhat faster. He gave her a more serious look, realizing he could treat her like any other capable opponent, even if she was a girl. "I'm going to win though."

His boastful attitude irritated Akane, and she came leaping at him, aiming a kick at his chest. "We'll see about that!"

Three minutes later, a bruised Akane was flat on her back on the floor, and a somewhat less battered Ryoga had his fist cocked back and ready to strike and finish her off. Both of them gazed at each other for several long moments and then Akane broke the silence. "You beat me," she said softly.

"Uh, I guess I did," Ryoga replied. He quickly got up from kneeling over her and then offered her a hand to help her up, not really looking at her. "That was, uh, fun." When she stood up, he put his other hand behind his head and then chuckled somewhat nervously.

When Akane didn't immediately let go of his hand and gave him a warm smile, he immediately froze up like a statue. "Yes, it was a lot of fun, Ryoga-kun," she said sincerely and then stood back and let go of him. Unconsciously, she put her hands behind her back and held them together, a coquettish pose that accentuated her physique. "I think we got off on the wrong foot last time. Maybe we could be friends?"

Having been watching in hiding from outside, Nabiki nodded and chose that moment to make her appearance. Before he left on some mysterious errand last night, the false Soun had asked her to watch over Ryoga. With their housekeeper Kyoko out on another date with her handsome new boyfriend after hanging up the laundry, it was up to her as the older sister to play chaperone. She saw Akane frown at the sight of her.

"Welcoming our new guest, sis?" said Nabiki with a smirk.

"N-Nabiki," Ryoga said in shock, hopping back from Akane as if she was radioactive. "Wh-what a n-nice surprise it is, uh, seeing you."

"I live here, Hibiki-kun." Nabiki continued to smile slyly at him.

Akane narrowed her gaze at her older sister. First she stole Ranma, and now she's flirting with Ryoga too? Despite having a wonderful fiancé, Nabiki had lately become more flirtatious with boys. She had even gone on a date with someone like Touga Kiryuu, who was admittedly handsome, she reluctantly had to admit. Even so, it disgusted Akane to see her sister be so friendly with other boys, as if she didn't really care about Ranma. She would never be so unfaithful after she won Ranma back from her sister.

Her hands clenched tightly into fists at her sides, her nails almost puncturing her skin. When she realized that, she quickly relaxed them back open as she observed Nabiki chatting with Ryoga. Now was not the time to fight with her sister, not with the Hibiki boy around. She didn't want him to get the wrong impression about her. Then she felt confused, wondering why she even cared what Ryoga thought about her. After all, Ranma had already won her heart.

"I'm going to go take a bath," she announced. She then stalked off.

After watching her sister leave, Nabiki said, "Hibiki-kun, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Anything!" he blurted out. "Uh, I mean, I'll be happy to do whatever I can for you." He blushed and looked shyly at the ground.

"You might have noticed that Akane's a little fixated on a boy named Ranma Saotome."

"I noticed," he growled out. He then wondered why he suddenly felt so jealous and forced himself to calm down. "Uh, I mean, really?"

Nabiki smirked again. "Well, I was hoping you could spend some time with my sister. I can tell she likes you." She patted Ryoga on the shoulder with one hand. Being near him like this, she felt a pleasant tingling surge along her nerves and was more aware of the broadness of his shoulders and how handsome his face was, and it was somewhat of a struggle to ignore the distractions they caused her to concentrate on the matter at hand. It appeared she had the problem of Akane dealt with by giving her a new boy to focus on. Now she could work on countering Shampoo's unexpected presence in her life, greatly complicating her efforts at dealing with Ranma. "Can I count on you, Hibiki-kun? I'll be ever so grateful."

"G-grateful?" He found himself staring at her face, struggling to keep his gaze from dipping down to look at her chest like he was some kind of lecher. The green, Chinese-style blouse she wore accentuated her figure rather nicely, and he ached to glance lower but knew it was not the gentlemanly thing to do.

"Yes, very grateful," Nabiki said softly. She leaned closer to Ryoga and whispered softly into his ear, "Can I count on you, Hibiki-kun?"

"O-of course." Ryoga's voice was soft as he felt the warmth of her breath on his skin, smelled the delicate perfume Nabiki was wearing and felt a powerful thrill running along his nerves. "Y-you can count on me, N-Nabiki. A-always."

"Great!" she said with a smile, standing back. "I just know that we're all going to be very good friends."

"Y-yeah." Ryoga felt like the vertebrae of his neck were going to fracture from the stress of keeping his gaze away from her chest.

Nabiki noticed his tension and decided to give him a break. She turned around, feeling flattered by his obvious interest in her and wondering why it couldn't be this easy with her fiancé. She knew Ranma was very attracted to her too, but he managed to hide it better than Ryoga did.

It was nice being around boys that either didn't know her family's (or her own) reputation, or didn't find them to be intimidating, like Ranma and now Ryoga. And also Touga Kiryuu, she added with a thoughtful look, recalling how enjoyable her repartee with the young nobleman was. She sauntered out, putting a little extra sway of her hips into each step. At the doorway, she suddenly turned around, and Ryoga's eyes snapped back up to her face instantly.

"Oh, Hibiki-kun," she said sweetly, pretending she hadn't noticed but secretly pleased that he had been looking. "When Akane's done in the bathroom, feel free to use it yourself. After all, this is your home now while you're going to be attending the Imperial Academy. You're our guest."

"Okay." Ryoga smiled at her. He felt extremely happy to be here now, her words washing over him without leaving much impact at first. Then he paused a moment when they sank into his awareness.

Wait. I'm going to attend the Imperial Academy? Since when?

Then he smiled. That meant he would be able to see Ukyo again, since they would be going to the same school, maybe even being in the same classroom. He hoped she accepted his apology for the misunderstanding that had occurred between them. After all, he had only tried to kill her because he thought she was really a boy.

He paused, considering how that sounded. Perhaps it might not be such an easy thing to smooth over. He would give the matter some thought and try to come up with a better way to put it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Her eyes widening in shock, Yumi read the letter she held in her hand a second time. When she was done, she gripped it more tightly, feeling the paper crumpling in her hand. A mixture of amusement and anger was in her gaze.

"Why those annoying old bastards," she muttered, shaking her head.

"What was that, Aunt Yumi?" asked Ukyo, putting away some supplies during the lull in activity for the restaurant. The two of them were the only ones present.

Before answering, the older woman went over to lock the door and flip over the closed sign. She laid down a letter and a second document on one of the tables. "You'd better come over here and read these, Ukyo."

Puzzled, the girl came over and read the letter written to her from her great-grandfather. When she reached a certain point, her eyes went very wide. She read the passage a second time more slowly.

"What?" she muttered. She forced herself to continue reading onward.

Yumi idly counted seconds, watching her niece and waiting for the expected reaction.

"What?" Ukyo cried out more wrathfully. She snatched up the second document and began reading it intently. Almost a minute passed.

"WHAT?" Her fury was so great, she began glowing. She glared at her aunt as if looking for someone to attack with a savage rage. She was already dealing with stress from Ranma's current predicament with Shampoo, and now this?

Yumi held up her hands in front of her. "Hey, don't take it out on me. For whatever it might be worth, I'm really sorry you've been put into this position."

"ARGH!" Ukyo threw down the papers and stormed off, grabbing up her spatula and slinging it over her shoulder. "I'm going to go train on the roof for a while!"

"I hope you know what you're doing, you senile old man," Yumi muttered to the empty restaurant. She gathered up the papers and stuffed them into the envelope and then went to flip the sign back again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yusaku Godai sat a bit uneasily in Ayaka Kisaragi's apartment, grateful for the cool breeze being provided by the air conditioning as he tried watching a movie with her. A glass of iced tea rested on the table in front of him, condensation dripping down its sides. The redheaded Institute agent was leaning up against him as they sat together.

They were both dressed casually for the warmer weather, but Ayaka's outfit kept drawing his attention away from the television. Her summer dress was displaying an eye-attracting amount of cleavage and much of her thighs, and he kept finding himself looking away from the screen and at her instead. He dipped his gaze downward again.

"See anything you like?" Ayaka teased gently. She had been noticing him looking at her chest now and again, secretly pleased at his attention. After her previous failures in seducing him, she had decided to set the stage more carefully in her favor this time. That was why there was no alcohol around. She wanted to keep her wits about her and be ready to pounce.

"Ah, sorry!" he blurted out, snatching up his iced tea and taking a deep drink to cover himself. "Your dress is nice."

Ayaka smiled at him as she met his gaze. His shyness was compelling to her for some reason. He was just so very different from the type of men she usually dated. "Godai-kun, would you like to kiss me?"

He coughed as iced tea almost went down the wrong way. "K-kiss?"

"Well, this movie's kind of dull, so I thought we might spend our time together another way." She smiled warmly at him, turning herself to face him more fully. Seeing the uncertain look on his face, her smile faded. She suddenly felt worried that she was being too forward and looked down, surprised to feel herself so apprehensive that she was going to scare him off. "Sorry. We've been out on a few dates. I just thought you might like to kiss me by now."

Inwardly, Godai was uncertain. While he was very attracted to Ayaka, there was also Kasumi to consider. But they were just friends, not a dating couple like he was with Ayaka. He felt confused, and the redhead was so warm and inviting, drawing him in like a moth to a flame. He was afraid of being burned by her but also enticed by her sensuous warmth as well.

"O-okay," he finally said nervously. He closed his eyes and turned to face her, slowly leaning down, intending just a brief, gentle touching together of lips. He didn't want to appear to be too eager and come across as being needy.

Seeing her prey finally coming within reach, Ayaka grinned and put her hands softly on either side of Godai's head. She moved the last portion of the distance separating them and then gently pressed her slightly parted lips against his. Unexpectedly, she felt herself sigh into the kiss, and that surprised her a little. She mused that it was probably because it had been a while since her last boyfriend and her body just missed experiencing such tender intimacy with a man.

She should not read any more into it than that, like she loved him or something. No, she was just attracted to Godai and feeling lonely. That was all it was.

Godai felt her lips touch firmly against his and then tipped his head slightly to one side when their noses bumped. Inside, he felt happy. It had been a long time since his last girlfriend. A brief image of Kasumi came to his mind again, but it was banished almost immediately by Ayaka's nearness and the passions he felt roused by their kiss.

The two of them wrapped their arms around each other and slowly slid to lie down on the floor, kissing more deeply as minutes began passing. After a while, their hands began roaming on each other's bodies. In the background, unnoticed by the pair, the movie continued to play.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"If I may say so, you have a most lovely home, Hibiki-san."

Soun Tendo raised the cup of tea he held in his hands to his lips and sipped at it as he looked around. In truth, the house was immaculate and almost gleamed with cleanliness. Over in one corner, he saw the family shrine, its doors closed right now.

Across the table from him, Shizuko Hibiki, Ryoga's mother, smiled at him and gave him a polite bow. "Thank you for saying so, Tendo-san."

"I'm grateful to you for seeing me on such short notice."

"It is no bother. The house is quiet without Ryoga around." She sipped her tea and looked a little sad. "How is my son?"

"Oh, he's doing well," Soun answered. "He's a guest at my house."

"I'm relieved that he has a place to stay in Tokyo. He's all that I have left of my husband, and I worry about him being away from me so long. He's never gone so far away from home before." She sipped her tea again, sitting tall and straight in her kimono, her hair worn long in a single ponytail hanging over one of her shoulders. She was the very personification of the idealized Japanese woman.

"Your husband?" Soun asked. He had read through the family's file on the flight last night, but the matter of how and where Ryoga's father had died was redacted. "I know he was in the military."

"Yes." She sipped her tea before speaking again. "He was an honorable warrior fighting bravely in the service of the Emperor. After I was informed of his death, I was told by some of his friends on an unofficial basis that he perished on some top secret mission down in Antarctica. I was told..." She paused and tears filled her eyes, her voice losing its strength for a few moments. "I was told he died a hero, that the efforts of him and his fellow soldiers prevented something terrible from happening to the world."

Soun almost dropped his cup due to his own upwelling emotions, setting it down in trembling hands. "I see." He bowed to her and struggled to calm himself. "You have my sincerest condolences on your great loss, Hibiki-san." There was a pause. "I believe my wife was on that same mission. She... died... also." Tears welled up in his eyes, but he managed to avoid breaking down.

Shizuko bowed back to him respectfully. "You are most kind, Tendo-san. I am sorrowed to hear of your loss as well." She sniffled slightly. "The years may pass, but the loss grows easier only gradually." She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief and then picked up her teacup. "Ryoga took the matter very hard when he was told the news. It has been difficult, raising a boy without a father."

"I understand what you mean," Soun said softly, looking down at his tea, striving to maintain some level of poise. "I have three daughters myself. It has been... arduous raising them without their mother." He then shook his head to clear it. "Perhaps we can help each other in some small fashion. As our families are already joined in loss, perhaps this will give us both a measure of joy." He set down an engagement contract on the table. "If you accept this agreement, we can join together our two families, and I promise I will treat Ryoga as if he was my own son."

Shizuko gasped and blushed. This was so sudden! She wasn't sure what to say. Through eyes suddenly tear-filled again, she gazed down at the contract. Yes, she recognized the kanji for the Hibiki and Tendo family names on it, but the rest was blurry. She looked up at Soun and saw his earnest face, that he sincerely did want this. She felt her heart seem to melt within her.

"I-I accept," she said softly and then bowed to him. "I am honored."

Within minutes, it was done, and both of them had placed their marks on the contract. Shizuko bowed deeply to Soun again. Six years a widow, enduring the loneliness, she had given up hope of having a husband again. And now this stranger, one who knew a similar sort of loss himself, had come to assuage her lonesomeness, offering her the chance to be an honorable wife again and to take care of a household.

"I would like to visit my son," she said calmly, bowing to him again.

"Of course," Soun replied immediately. "I can arrange for you to come back with me tonight, if you'd like. We should be there by tomorrow."

"I shall pack some things then." Gracefully, she unfolded herself from kneeling and stood up, every movement elegant and sure. Inside her chest, Shizuko's heart thumped nervously. She would have to be very careful to avoid getting lost outside the safety of her village and its aids for those of Hibiki blood. To visit a large city like Tokyo was frightening but thrilling as well, and she looked forward to having an adventure.

Perhaps this would prove in the end to be good for her as well as for Ryoga. She hoped he was making friends. Up until the time he had last left their home, his only real friend had been the Kuonji boy he always talked about, Ukyo.

Soun relaxed and sipped his tea, pleased that things had gone so well with Ryoga's mother. The engagement contract rested safely in his pocket now, promising Akane to Ryoga. Everything was working out even more flawlessly than he had planned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hinako Ninomiya opened the door to her apartment to answer the bell, thinking it might be one of her neighbors, and she was surprised to see Kasumi standing there. The woman gave her a brief bow.

"Ono-san?" Hinako asked, quickly regaining her composure. "What brings you here?"

"I thought you and I might talk, woman to woman." Kasumi gave her a neutral look, her face betraying nothing. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Hinako stepped aside and let the younger woman enter. In her mind, wheels were turning, wondering at Kasumi's sudden appearance. She suspected she knew the answer, but she did not want to reveal her hand just yet. She closed the door and followed. "What did you wish to talk about?"

Settling herself at the main table into a kneeling position, Kasumi removed from her purse several photographs and set them down. "I'd like to discuss my husband and his affair with you, if you don't mind."

"I see." Hinako came over to the table and kneeled across from Kasumi. She picked up one of the pictures and nodded when she saw the subject matter. She met the other woman's gaze. "You are indeed your father's daughter." She suddenly stood back up, causing Kasumi to start ever so slightly, anticipating violence. "I'll make tea." Hinako went into the kitchen, coming back after putting the kettle on to heat and kneeling down. Both women regarded each other warily.

"Do you love him?" Kasumi's eyes were steady.

Hinako nodded. "It was an unexpected thing."

"This puts up both in a difficult position, you realize."

"I make no apologies." Hinako's gaze was solemn. "What are your intentions in coming here?"

"For now, simply to confront you with your actions and see for myself what manner of woman could sleep with another woman's husband," said Kasumi calmly. "And not merely another woman, but your own subordinate. You shame the honor of the Security Directorate by your actions."

Hinako's gaze narrowed. "Have a care, Ono-san. Don't overwhelm my patience. I am still your superior."

"In rank only, Ninomiya-san," said Kasumi politely. "From where I'm sitting, you are nothing but an adulteress, a thief stealing from more honorable women than yourself." She raised an eyebrow slightly, her voice remaining calm and collected. "Perhaps I am not the only woman you have dishonored in such a manner during your life, adulteress."

The teakettle began whistling in the kitchen. There was the sudden sound of a fierce commotion in the main room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ginseng paused, remaining a pace from the battered body of her latest opponent, the muscular man standing there with a stunned look on his face, weaving in place. She considered her handiwork, pleased that he had not been able to touch her even once during their match. Her foe was a hot commodity from the American Prefectures, and she had been expecting more of a challenge. But he turned out to be a lecherous braggart who had undressed her with his eyes at their introduction before the match, so she had enjoyed taking him apart a piece at a time.

The crowd was quiet, collectively holding its breath after seeing what she had just done to her foe and waiting expectantly for the conclusion of the fight. With a sudden, explosive burst of strength, she grabbed his head with both hands and drove her knee up into his face, breaking his nose and causing a tooth to spurt upwards from his mouth. He fell to the ground immediately when she let go, lying there motionless.

All at once, the crowd went wild, chanting her name from the stands. She waved at them and gave a little bounce in her step as she exited the concrete slab they had been fighting on. She grabbed a clean towel from the stack just outside the exit and wiped sweat from her forehead and neck.

"You're a challenging woman to find, Miss Tseng," came a male voice speaking somewhat accented Mandarin. She uncovered her eyes and saw a middle-aged Caucasian man standing there. He had a cigarette hanging from one side of his mouth, now mostly gone, pulling it out momentarily to talk before replacing it between his lips. "But I figured I'd eventually find you at one of these."

"And you are?" She wiped some sweat from under her armpits and then tossed the used towel into a bin. She eyed the stranger neutrally.

"My name's Shane Caxton, but most people just call me Shane. I'm here to scout you for Hong Kong's Arena for my employer, Jun Fan Lee." He took one last drag on his cigarette and then dropped it to land at his feet, grinding it out under his shoe. "Do you speak Japanese?"

"I do," she replied in slightly accented Japanese. She began walking to the dressing rooms. "We can talk and grab some food after I take a shower."

Shane nodded. "Not a problem. After what I saw back there, I think you're everything your rep said." He looked at her calmly. "I've been around the Arena for a while, and I've seen a lot of fakes and poseurs. I think you're the real deal. I want to work with you, and I promise on behalf of Lee-san that we'll take good care of you in Hong Kong."

Ginseng considered him for a moment, the same expression on her face as when she studied her last opponent. She met his gaze. "Tell you what, Caxton-san. I'll be one of your boss' fighters, okay?" She patted his cheek, her smile hidden by the cloth mask still covering her lower face.

"You won't regret this, Tseng-san," he told her. "We're going to make you a star."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kasumi grunted as Hinako slammed her back against the wall, but she held her grip on the other woman's carotid artery. An elbow caught her low in the ribs, and she struggled to ignore the pain, realizing she was going to have some colorful bruises for a few days. Finally, the other woman slumped unconscious in her grip. As Kasumi regained her breath, wincing at several injuries, she heard the tea kettle still whistling in the kitchen.

"That could have gone better," she mused softly, disentangling herself from the other woman. Keeping a wary eye on Hinako, she withdrew from her purse a syringe filled with a pale yellow fluid. She held it up to the light and tapped out a few air bubbles before ejecting a little fluid from the end of the needle. She swabbed a spot on Hinako's skin and then injected the full contents of the syringe into her.

While the other woman remained unconscious, Kasumi went into the kitchen to turn off the teakettle and then tidied up the mess made during their fight. Luckily, nothing had been broken that she could see, making her task that much easier. At the end, she hauled the other woman's unconscious body into a solid chair and shackled her to it with a pair of handcuffs, just in case.

Picking up her purse again, Kasumi removed an item used frequently by the Mobius Institute. She pulled out a special pair of dark glasses and set them aside next to the small metal cylinder after making sure the cylinder was off. She hummed slightly as she worked, getting everything ready for the interrogation.

Twenty minutes later, Hinako's awareness swam back into wakefulness. She saw Kasumi Ono seated at the table, drinking tea. "Wh-wha?" she managed to get out. There was a gag of some kind strapped to her face, allowing her to speak but muffling any screams.

"Welcome back, Ninomiya-san," said Kasumi pleasantly. "We're going to have a little chat, just the two of us. Before you woke up, I gave you something to make you a bit more forthcoming this time."

Hinako realized vaguely that this had to be a dream of some kind, to see Kasumi there. She chuckled, wondering if there was still a small sliver of conscience within her to feel guilty. She hadn't thought so until now.

"Okay," she said lazily. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, other than my husband, tell me all about the men you've been involved with sexually, starting with my husband and going backwards." Kasumi sipped her tea and turned on the recorder at her elbow. She then listened as Hinako began to speak of her past conquests. When she got to one name, Kasumi paid very special attention to the details.

At the end of the sordid recitation of liaisons, the earliest ones not making much sense as the other woman was becoming more incoherent in her speech due to the drug in her system, Kasumi knew her time was up. She quickly cleaned up after herself, taking care to dry and place back in the cupboard one cup. The other cup was left in the drying rack. She then carefully wiped down all places she had touched as a bemused Hinako watched. At the end, she put everything away in her purse and put on the dark glasses before picking up the metal rod. She adjusted the time on the device to cover the last couple of hours and held it up.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ninomiya-san," Kasumi said pleasantly. "You've been most informative. Please look here." As the other woman did so, Kasumi pressed a button and a bright flash of light went off, erasing Hinako's memories of the last two hours. Her face immediately went slack-jawed. "Thank you for your cooperation, Ninomiya-san. You've just experienced a pleasant dream about spending time with one of your friends."

After helping the stunned woman to lie down on the couch, she gathered up all of her things and left. When Kasumi reached her car parked down the block, she sat for a moment and let herself relax. She examined herself in the mirror, pleased that her face was unmarked. Her injuries ached, and she was glad that she had been training harder since losing to Nabiki. Her fight with Hinako had been too close, and she had gotten lucky. She had to work harder, perhaps start training with Nabiki, to improve herself even more. Mother would not have approved of such a sloppy performance in a battle.

She was unused to doing fieldwork like this, but it had been thrilling. Perhaps after she was done with her plans for divorcing her betraying husband and dealing with her man-stealing supervisor, she would consider the occasional field assignment. She was glad at how well she had remembered her training after all the time she had spent away from her career. She knew her father would have been very proud of her performance, if she ever dared to tell him.

After starting the car, she headed home, her expression thoughtful.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki was training in the dojo when a familiar person appeared in the doorway.

"Kiryuu-kun," she said with surprise. She paused in her workout. "What brings you here?"

"I had some business in the area, but I thought I'd surprise you with a visit, Nabiki Tendo." He smiled warmly at her, the afternoon sunlight making his flowing red hair seem like it was made of flame. His suit was immaculate. "You haven't been returning my calls since our date. I was concerned if you were all right."

"Sorry," Nabiki said sincerely. "Things have been kind of crazy around here."

"Well, you can make it up to me by having dinner with me tonight." He came closer, his eyes locked with hers. "What do you say?"

Nabiki paused. She really didn't have any plans for the night other than brooding about Ranma and Shampoo. Yohko had called her that morning to cancel plans with her, wanting to spend time with her boyfriend tonight. She smiled.

"I accept."

"Excellent," said Touga with a smile. "I'll be back in an hour to pick you up for dinner." He came over and took her hand, gazing into her eyes. Nabiki felt a thrill run through her at his frank regard of her. "I promise you a wonderful evening."

Lost in his eyes for a moment, Nabiki was startled when Touga suddenly took her into his arms and kissed her. Surprise passed quickly into amazement at the pleasant sensations that swept over her. Her will to resist suddenly abandoned her, and she gave herself into the kiss and enjoyed it.

In a corner of her mind, she analyzed the situation. This was only fair, right? Ranma had let himself be kissed by Shampoo right in front of her, right? If a handsome boy like Touga wanted to kiss her, she was entitled to it.

Besides, Touga's kiss felt so good. She idly wondered if kissing with Ranma would feel as wonderful.

Touga released her and stepped back. "Until then, Nabiki Tendo."

It took her a moment for her brain to reengage. She quickly composed herself, standing tall, unwilling to let him see how much he had affected her. "Until then, Kiryuu-kun."

She watched him stride out, confidence pouring from him in his every step. She found herself smiling. This evening would be just the thing to take her mind off of a certain troublesome Chinese girl and a rather annoyingly independent-minded pigtailed scholar. Maybe she would be the one to kiss Touga later in the evening when they said goodnight.

She would show Ranma Saotome that Nabiki Tendo was doing just fine without him. She drove one last punch into the leather bag next to her and then went into the house to bathe and get ready for her date.

From her window, Akane frowned down at the sight of Nabiki leaving the dojo. The Kiryuu boy had just left with a contented look on his face.

What was her sister thinking? Hadn't she learned anything from dealing with the likes of Tatewaki Kuno? Noblemen, especially the ones their age, were nothing but trouble. They looked at women like trophies they could collect, bedding girls to put another notch on their bedposts to brag about to their inbred, licentious friends.

None of them was as fine a specimen of masculinity as Ranma Saotome. He was a paragon in comparison, a true man among men.

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Tired, Ranma-chan walked into the elevator in the lobby and pressed the number for her room's floor, right before a sneeze suddenly exploded from her. She absently rubbed her nose.

While training with Lee had not left her aching, she still felt a bone-deep weariness upon her. All she wanted to do was have a shower and go to sleep. Fortunately, she had already had a good dinner with her master.

When the door opened on her floor, she found herself facing Mina Li, the Korean girl dressed to go out for the evening. Mina narrowed her gaze and eyed her coldly. Neither of them moved.

"Either get out or move back," Mina said in cool tones. "You're blocking the door."

Hastily, Ranma-chan sidled past Mina, keeping a wary gaze on the other girl. When she was at the midpoint, Mina's hand suddenly lashed out and grabbed the pigtailed girl's throat. She succeeded due to Ranma-chan's exhaustion dulling her reflexes. Mina's hand took a tight grip, almost choking her.

"I don't know who you are, or where you came from, bitch," Mina said softly. "But if I wasn't wearing such an expensive dress right now, I'd be breaking a few of your bones right now. I owe you a severe beating, and Mina Li always settles the score. Consider yourself warned." There was a pause and then Mina leaned in. "And if you should find yourself around my boyfriend, a rather handsome Chinese boy named Tarou, I suggest you don't ever speak with him. If you do, I'll shatter a few of your ribs and maybe break your pelvis. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes," Ranma-chan said levelly, meeting the Korean girl's gaze, feeling her temper rousing. She felt the boost lurking in the depths of her brain, demanding to be let loose to rend and slay. She held it back.

"Good," said Mina grimly. "I'm glad we had this little chat. Be glad you're still alive to enjoy the the rest of your evening." She then threw Ranma-chan out into the hallway and got into the elevator. She did not spare a further glance at the pigtailed girl as she pulled out a compact and began to check her makeup.

Grumbling, Ranma-chan hopped back up to her feet and headed to her room. As she did so, she checked the device Lee had given her, one which blanked out security monitoring devices like cameras. It was apparently working quite nicely.

When she got to the room, she slipped off her shoes, pulled off her shirt and tossed it on the floor and began tugging her pants off as she made her way to the shower. Naked except for boxers, Ranma-chan looked at herself in the mirror. She frowned.

"Why don't I just walk away from this? If I fight and win, I'll end up being with Shampoo on this world too. But I can just walk away."

Then she remembered the kiss with Shampoo and the feelings they had aroused, but there was more to it than that. It had felt right to be fighting at Shampoo's side earlier. To just have her around felt right.

No, she could not simply walk away.

Then, after the rematch, she would introduce Shampoo to her mother and wait for her real father to finish building the beacon. She would then save her father and Nabiki's father, finally putting right what had gone wrong so many weeks ago and sending the two fakes back where they belonged. She would fix all of this and prove herself to be a man.

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To be continued...


	31. Mirror Images

*** Interstice Zone

Bernkastel gazed around at the dark orange field surrounding her, one filled with a myriad of silvery crystals lying on the soft, loam-like surface that she stood upon. She bent down and picked one up at random, casually turning it around in her hands. An image of a smiling Ranma Saotome appeared in one of its irregularly-shaped facets, caught in a frozen moment of time, dressed in a familiar, red, Chinese-style tunic. Turning it a bit revealed within another facet a frowning Akane Tendo in a yellow sundress, a smirking Nabiki in the next and then others, each one appearing as if suspended in clear amber.

She casually picked up another crystal in her free hand. This irregular piece of quartz-like material showed a much different version of Ranma in one of its facets, his face contorted into a rictus of tormented madness and splattered with blood. Shampoo's face appeared in the next facet, staring upwards sightlessly, sprawled out dead in a pool of gore. An image of Ukyo Kuonji, rivulets of crimson fluid running down the sides of her face, her right hand stretched towards the viewer as if in pleading, filled the next. Other facets contained even more such sad images.

It amazed her how this one boy managed to appear in so many alternative timelines. She could pick up any crystal at random, and he would likely be there. Not in all of them, but far more often than would be expected of any one person. Often he was a hero, sometimes he was a villain and occasionally he was an unimportant nobody. But he was practically ubiquitous. She knelt and set both crystals back down upon the ground and then stood back up straight. She idly smoothed the cloth of her pale blue kimono.

Surrounding her in an infinite mosaic were even more crystals. Slowly floating down from the pale orange sky came additional ones, each of them forming after a timeline split occurred after some critical event, each one a window to a different world. It was a 'farm' of sorts that she tended, a vast menagerie of timelines she could enter and exit at will. The people shown within the crystals were trapped inside the boundaries of Time, unlike her. They were her playthings, to be manipulated, used or even just merely observed for her own amusement.

She removed a crystal concealed within her obi and studied it solemnly, seeing the Shogun of the Dark within one of its irregular facets. His frozen image stared off to one side coldly, unaware of her regard. She hated him utterly for spoiling her fun, for seeking to destroy all of her many wonderful playgrounds and replace them with his own designs, attempting to imprint himself as the source of all reality. He had unwittingly forced her to play against him, an action she had done cautiously to avoid revealing herself to him and making the conflict more difficult for her, and their many games had gradually became ever more intricate.

Turning to another facet, she beheld Ranma Saotome in the scenario she was currently involved with, the boy dressed in the blue uniform of an Imperial Academy science cadet. She had tossed the dice with him against the Shogun's latest iteration, but she feared she was reaching the limits of what she could do to load them in her favor. If she interfered much more, she was concerned she would step across the unseen boundary upon her abilities that prevented her from taking too direct a hand in orchestrating things, allowing the Shogun to escape her yet again. She ached inside to finally finish him off and prevent him from jumping back again and creating yet another timeline tangent, starting their game anew. She had grown tired of playing against him and wanted to move on to other games.

She currently had her hands full with eliminating all of the remaining 'echoes' of the Shogun, versions of him in the alternative timelines branching off from the initial one caused by each of his temporal leaps backward. Every time he returned to his starting point, it necessitated her having to prune away a myriad of such echoes, like she was doing on the current iteration of their conflict. Fortunately, those she could eliminate without fear of causing even further splits, her powers able to prevent such an occurrence. It was only when the final one remained that he somehow moved beyond her grasp. To defeat that one and finally end this seemingly never-ending contest between them required an agent within that branch of Time to deal with the Shogun while she exerted the fullness of her powers from outside. That would prevent another split from occurring, as it had previously before she finally gained an understanding of her limitations, one timeline forming where her enemy lived and a second one where he died at her hand.

However, she feared this iteration of their conflict might be evolving beyond her control and permanently changing the parameters of the game. Ranma's creation of the resonator device had been initiated by a partial superscription of memories from another scenario, one long since concluded with the Shogun's defeat there, forcing him to leap back and restart his schemes. And now, after countless restarts and the many resulting worlds that were created between the efforts of both her and the Shogun to influence things, this transmission had allowed her to subtly introduce elements of other iterations of history against her foe within the context of the present scenario.

She had altered numerous events in order to acquire that superscription of memories for this scenario, using her powers to interfere with the boy's existence and his experiments. The resonator had enabled her to graft additional elements of her choosing from numerous other timelines into this one, turning a genius-level but combatively unimpressive young man of scholarly ambitions into a honed weapon that could better serve her needs. Ranma turned out to be so much better than she had hoped for in this regard, this version of him showing a previously unsuspected ability to be heroic when he chose to save the youngest Tendo's life from her otherwise fated death at the hands of the Kashuoh boy's minions. Perhaps his willingness to help a girl who had tormented him for weeks should have been her first clue that Ranma was becoming far more of a hero than she had planned for, still possessed of flaws though he was.

To be honest, before the changes caused in him by his experiments, the boy had been self-interested and somewhat cowardly, having been raised to stay away from physical conflicts by his father, a man who had his own reasons to avoid violence. Then again, Nabiki had been a rather horridly cold-blooded young woman before her own changes. Bernkastel realized that her error had been to focus on what she could do in order to improve Nabiki, to mold her into becoming a hero in this scenario, not realizing that this version of Ranma had so much hidden potential to be heroic as well. The fundamental changes in him had even attracted the attention of the Tenjou girl, another young hero in the making, and that was another unexpected bonus. Her original plan had been to use Ranma's altered nature to initiate changes in Nabiki and incite the Kuonji girl to want to remain in Tokyo, to use one of them as her focal point to channel events down the course she was charting. Everything had worked almost perfectly up to that point.

Then something completely unforeseen happened, but perhaps it should not have been so surprising to her. The clues had already been laid out, but she had not put them together ahead of time. The fight in the warehouse had been anticipated to only involve either Nabiki or Ukyo, causing one of them to be cursed and becoming the nexus of events as had happened on other worlds, but Ranma had taken their place due to the unanticipated interference of his quantum-jumping female analog, Ranko.

When the critical crux point came, Ranma was the one right at the center of it, inadvertently pushed there by Ranko. Now the boy had a gender-changing Jusenkyo curse to go along with having her memories within him, the combination instilling within him a perspective on his magical affliction that was perhaps unique out of all the versions of him she had seen, being able to function with equal comfort mentally and physically as either male or female, to have either state feel normal to him. While his self-image still saw itself as 'Ranma' all the time, the 'Ranko' aspect of his personality became more pronounced when he was in female form, subtly shifting those views to that of a girl, as if linked to the curse, eliminating the fear and self-loathing other versions of the boy with this magical affliction experienced and leaving 'her' comfortable as female.

Other alterations done to him by that vat of modified Jusenkyo water had enabled him to defeat Shampoo, which would have been just beyond his reach before. His televised battle with the Amazon had initiated far-reaching changes within the scenario, one such outcome being to draw in Perfume and Mousse. In turn, Perfume's actions had then resulted in an alteration of how Ryoga would participate in upcoming events, and she wondered if the Seer's prophetic warnings given to the pink-haired Chinese girl had been done with this particular outcome in mind. Experience had taught her a long time ago that the Seer was not her enemy, but he and his counterparts in other timelines were complicating factors her plans had to allow for, an annoyingly enigmatic third party influencing the shape of history in addition to her and the Shogun.

On balance, Bernkastel was pleased with the new developments and the unanticipated direction things were going, choosing to allow this situation to continue developing rather than abandoning it and making her preparations for the next world. While there were still ways she could forcibly terminate this scenario before the Shogun attempted apotheosis once again, compelling him to leap back and start anew, she was grimly determined to make this one the last world, to finally achieve endgame against her ancient foe.

The unexpected developments with Ranma were entertaining and novel, giving her an impetus to push them even further along and see where they led, so long as they did not negatively affect using the boy and his peers as her pawns. Her gifting Ryu Kumon and his lethal Taiwanese girlfriend with scrolls stolen from another world that detailed the Yamasenken techniques was an improvisation, an indulgence of her sense of drama. Dealing with the Kumon boy should compel Ranma to seek out Genma's aid to counter the Yamasenken, becoming even stronger, and perhaps also Nabiki or Shampoo would increase in ability as well.

However, something strange was germinating within the scenario, and it caused her some concerns. Her original, carefully-chosen additions seemed to have invited other unexpected alterations to occur, and numerous people from different timelines were beginning to interact in unpredictable ways. Past scenarios she no longer cared about were now comingling with the present one and with each other. Other worlds the boy had touched with the resonator had also begun to drift into new paths, like ripples spreading out on a previously still pond when a pebble was dropped at the center of it.

The Kuno girl's appearance had been one such unplanned addition to her schemes, coming to this world from a nearby tangent where the Shogun's echo there had already been eliminated. In that alternate version of history, Japan's vast empire had quickly begun to implode soon after that echo was killed. Her foe had apparently created a contingency plan that activated immediately after his death, apparently one intended to vindictively punish that timeline for failing to provide him with his apotheosis, and a nuclear apocalypse was soon to occur there. As the Kuno girl's altered character was a clear improvement to the version of her that had been previously present in the current scenario, she chose to leave the matter alone.

The revisions in Kodachi's personality had affected how her brother and others associated with her would interact with Ranma and the others, potentially quite significant alterations as events proceeded. What was happening with the Sanzenin boy and the delightfully twisted Saginomiya girl were direct outgrowths of this. They were not even supposed to be part of the scenario she had originally envisioned, but now they were active antagonists within it, intent on honing their fighting abilities for use against Ranma and Kodachi.

Hikaru Gosunkugi was another oddity to her. The boy was a bystander on most worlds, or sometimes a lackey to the likes of Tatewaki Kuno or others seeking a minion. The time-traveling spirit of Simon Magus had changed that in this tangent, the wizard questing vainly to rewrite his place in history and save himself from his recorded death in the past. He did so by possessing others throughout the ages in search of a means to alter his fate. He had intended to steal the boy's body and life, taking it over for himself as his latest ploy. It was possible he would have even evaded her attention due to her concerns with other, far more important characters in this drama, if it wasn't for the wizard's chance encounter with a certain Chinese sorceress, the girl's path crossing his that night.

The opportunity for adding additional drama to the scenario had simply been too delightful to pass up, which was unfortunate for Simon Magus. Even as she forcibly expelled the arrogant sorcerer from the boy's body, she had ripped away from him his magical abilities and knowledge before casting the unfortunate Simon away to fulfill his fated death in the past. She then grafted those purloined abilities and knowledge into the boy's mind. While the spells and glamours that Gosunkugi had then been able to cast on the warehouse were a relatively minor improvement upon her prior plans for the conflict that took place there, his budding love triangle currently developing with his two teenaged female cohorts promised to be both potentially useful and quite entertaining to watch play out.

Switching Professor Saotome's personality with a less honorable version of him originating on another tangent had been part of her plan all along, one of its central components. Creating the various engagements that now complicated the boy's life was the anticipated outcome, and Genma had performed exactly as expected. However, he had also shown some surprising initiative, like bringing the other Soun over to this world as well as setting into motion events that brought Shampoo into direct contact with Ranma. The two men demonstrated a quite remarkable ability to cause trouble for their offspring, believing their actions to be for their children's own good. Since she had no care for that other tangent once these two transitions had occurred, she had ceased observing it after tidying up a loose end or two out of habit, focusing her efforts back to pruning away the remaining echoes of the Shogun and refining adjustments to the present scenario where she still could.

That had proven to be a mistake, but she was uncertain how serious it was. While seeking to return his real father home, Ranma had attracted the attention of warships from the Solnoid Matriarchy and the Musk Dynasty, two mighty empires locked in a ferocious struggle to the death with each other. Both ships detected his resonator signal and managed to send agents to seek out its source and report back. Shampoo's personality had been unexpectedly altered as a result, infusing the memories of a young Matriarchy officer into the far less complicated personality of the Joketsuzoku girl native to this timeline, creating a new gestalt that was far more educated and thoughtful but much less easily predictable as a result.

Herb, in his new incarnation as Ginseng, was the other unanticipated engram immigrant. After dealing with the initial self-loathing and identity confusion brought on by having a female form on this timeline, the former Musk nobleman was now settling into this tangent quite well in this new identity and gender role. She still appeared exceptionally intent on finding Ranma, but now she wanted to become a part of his life here, a revision to her previous motivation to find him and return them both to the Musk Dynasty. While initially it was a rather puzzling thing to witness, the girl's willingness to wear a rather revealing fighting outfit that displayed her female assets so blatantly, doing so with an almost masculine level of aggressiveness and body language, suggested an odd fusion of male and female characteristics had occurred within the person now known as Ginseng.

In scanning back through events, the incident of the bullet creasing her skull had apparently altered the direction of Herb's still forming identity gestalt, causing a paradigm shift within it from male to female to occur. A fortunate side-effect of this was that her feelings towards Ranma had evidently transformed from familial love to something more romantic in nature, turning the pigtailed scholar into someone viewed now as being her ideal mate instead of as her beloved adopted brother. Assuming Ginseng truly did retain Herb's more aggressively masculine determinations within her female persona, which all signs seemed to indicate she did, it should prove to be entertaining when the Musk girl began interacting with Ranma and the others around him.

Helping Herb to acquire her new identity as the Arena contender Ginseng (aka Jin Tseng) had actually been an entertaining diversion for her to indulge herself in. The original Jin Tseng had been a rather villainous young woman with a ruthless and somewhat bloodthirsty disposition, a promising candidate for Shadowlaw that would have eventually ended up opposing Ranma and the others, so her sudden demise and replacement by Herb was actually an improvement to the scenario in Bernkastel's view. Since the 'revised' Ginseng was an even more powerful fighter than her predecessor, she should be very helpful to the Saotome boy, assuming he was wise enough to accept her aid and enlist her to his cause. While she had become even more attractive to Shadowlaw's overseers as a potential enlistee due to her heightened abilities in combat, conflict with that group should serve to strengthen the boy and his companions. Ginseng's intentions for Ranma should also act as an additional spur to Nabiki and the other girls to achieve even greater levels of ability before the curtain rose on the final act.

With the recent abduction of Professor Saotome and Director Tendo from that other timeline and their being conveyed to the homeworld of the Solnoid Matriarchy, this scenario was now at risk of becoming further entwined with the decades-old genocidal conflict still raging between the Musk Dynasty and the Solnoids. Many scores of worlds were already either directly or indirectly involved in that savage war, making for a snarled region of timelines impinging upon each other. It was perhaps ironic that events would circle back to there, since Ranma's version of the resonator had its birth amidst the Musk-Solnoid War, a legacy unwittingly bestowed upon him from a now dead analog of his there.

Bernkastel mused briefly upon that war, one she had initiated to deal with a long ago iteration of the Shogun. The citizens of the Solnoid Matriarchy had once been rather idealistic explorers, until one of their vessels had erred in its navigation across timelines and fallen into Musk hands. This event had not been chance. She had engineered it.

After torturing the crew for information and carefully examining the ship, the Musk Dynasty was able to reverse-engineer the technology to traverse the boundaries between worlds and began their glorious reign of conquest, quickly bringing them into conflict with the Solnoids. It had been a novel strategy on her part, one she was still quite proud of, and it had worked out very well. After enduring decades of savage warfare against the Musk, the Solnoids had evolved from the peaceful idealists they had once been into truly ferocious warriors capable of barbaric acts of astonishing violence, their former naiveté lost amidst their struggle for survival against such a cruel and unrelenting foe.

Through their refinement in the crucible of warfare, the Solnoid women became mighty weapons to unleash upon that past version of the Shogun. Her ancient foe had become preoccupied with working the ritual meant to achieve his apotheosis and had been utterly confident of his imminent victory, having unified that timeline and numerous surrounding ones under the flag and jackboots of Musk rule and eliminating all visible threats to his ascension. This arrogant illusion was rudely shattered when, by using a hidden pathway she provided them through an agent of hers, over three dozen heavily-armed Solnoid vessels snuck past the Dynasty's defensive lines to rain death and destruction upon him and his crony, the pompous Dragon Emperor who led the Musk Dynasty as the Shogun's figurehead. They poured countless megatons of firepower into that effort to destroy the two, but the Shogun survived. Facing his imminent death just as he was on the verge of victory, her enemy had been forced to travel back once again to preserve his life, abandoning everything he had accumulated over several millennia and starting over anew in the past, the ashen taste of failure still fresh on his tongue.

Despite her disappointment at failing to eliminate him, it had been a rather satisfying crushing of her foe's ambitions. She had left that region of worlds behind her to sort itself out, no longer concerned by the war and relegating it in her thoughts to the realm of successful gambits she had enjoyed. After all, of what matter to her was that conflict now? It involved only two hundred or so different Earths, while countless millions of worlds that had never heard of either side remained to be played with. She was confident the war would eventually burn itself out, the two sides having achieved a rough deadlock with each other, both of them unable to divert resources in sufficient quantities to expand their holdings quickly enough to overwhelm their enemy while also striving to fend off their nemesis at the same time. A long and grinding battle of attrition had been taking place over the past few years as the two adversaries slowly wore each other down, expending themselves against each other in their struggle to the death together.

Now that the Musk-Solnoid conflict was suddenly impinging itself across such a vast cross-temporal distance into the current scenario, she would have to revisit it and see if there was something she could do with those abandoned game boards to improve the status of her current game. She would study them a bit for now, involving herself only if necessary to achieve a better result in the current scenario. While she possessed sufficient power to return Professor Saotome and Director Tendo back home immediately, that would involve taking too direct a hand in things in her view, so she needed to abstain from that.

The dice were still tumbling and success was within sight. But so many game boards were now in play simultaneously, including scenarios that had not received her attention for a long while. Even she could not police them all with as much delicacy as she had done with Ranko's interference. Her abilities were not infinite, so she had to conserve her power and use it only where it would be most effective. Ranko had been a relatively localized problem, a symptom of a much larger issue at work, one quite easily contained with selective memory alterations once the girl had been returned to her home tangent. While killing her and vaporizing the remains would have produced nearly the same result, Bernkastel preferred to avoid wasting pieces that might still be useful to her in the future.

The present scenario had begun evolving on its own now towards some unknown conclusion, and it was working like a kind of gravitational singularity, drawing in additional elements from other worlds into this one. So far she had resisted the urge to take a look forwards towards its end. By doing so, she would hinder her ability to use the remaining uncertainty of developing events to her advantage. Each change she made to alter something she had observed happening ran the risk of hardening the timeline against any additional interference on her part, and that became more likely when critical temporal event points were involved. The Shogun's upcoming apotheosis attempt was one such moment.

As a time traveler capable of moving between a multitude of worlds and able to traverse eternity to any moment she cared to, she felt severely frustrated at having to wait for events to sufficiently ripen before being able to act, but the alternative was worse. She would not lose this chance to finally rid herself of the Shogun's threat to her. Then she could go back to peacefully playing with her many beautiful worlds, freed of any challengers to her continued existence.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth +0.003, +0.001 – The world of Scholar Kodachi (Baseline cluster)

Earth +3.002, -3.002 – The world of Actor Ranma (Co-Prosperity cluster)

Earth +3.184, -3.223 – The world of Slave Shampoo (Unification cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

Earth +6.123, +5.298 - The world of Solnoid Prime (Matriarchy cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. Frost and Minami continue developing their relationships with Gosunkugi and each other. Kyosuke and Yohko take their connection to the next level. Ranma and Shampoo make some enemies and share a kiss. Shampoo begins her training in the Amaguriken. Ryoga arrives at the Tendo household and makes friends with Akane after a sparring match, not knowing that Perfume pursues him. Ukyo receives a shocking letter from her great-grandfather. Ayaka and Godai exchange deep kisses and advance their relationship another step. Meanwhile, Soun meets with Ryoga's mother and an engagement agreement is signed, promising him to Akane. Ginseng (Herb) acquires a manager and prepares for the move to Hong Kong's Arena, bringing her closer to Ranma. Kasumi and Hinako have a violent confrontation over Hinako's affair with Tofu. Touga Kiryuu visits Nabiki. Finally, Ranma-chan is confronted by Mina Li, showing herself to be an enemy of the cursed boy.

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Chapter 31 – Mirror Images

I am but a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge

to make you like me, to push you out of the light.

- Rene Belloq: Raiders of the Lost Ark

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*** Earth +6.444, +5.611

"Genma, what are you doing?" Nodoka cried out, held back by a pair of nearly identical catgirl liliths. Tall, blonde and athletic, their dark green paramilitary uniforms bore the symbol of Clan Saotome on their wide lapels. "I can give you a son! We can have other children! Don't kill her!"

"I'm not going to kill her," said Genma coldly, looking back briefly at Nodoka in irritation as he held a crying infant in his arms. "I'm giving her a great gift and taking away her inherent weakness, as a devoted father should always help their offspring become better. Let other, weaker fathers choose to raise daughters. My firstborn child, the firstborn of Clan Saotome, shall not be female." He then plunged the baby into a basin of water in front of him for several moments. When he lifted the small body back up in his hands, the baby girl had become a baby boy, the infant at first shivering from the cold water and then beginning to bawl again, very loudly.

The two uniformed liliths continued holding Nodoka tightly by her arms and shoulders as her will to resist suddenly collapsed. She sagged in their grip upon her, but they did not relax their holds. As she watched the scene before her in horror, Genma pulled out a ladle (borrowed for this occasion) and then dipped it into the water in the basin. After pulling it back out, he poured water liberally from it over the infant, who sneezed once and then began to cry once more.

"Your name shall be Ranma, my son," he said with fatherly affection to the crying baby, smiling. "I will devote my life to making you the finest warrior that the world has ever seen, and I will purge from you every last trace of female weakness." He handed the infant to another lilith, this one smaller than the others and dressed in white robes, which took the baby tenderly and began to comfort him as she carried him away to care for him in the nursery.

Genma approached Nodoka and lifted her chin with one hand. "This was the result of my sin. My love for you corrupted me, weakened me and allowed this to happen. It is the gods punishing me." His gaze grew even more pitiless as he continued gripping her chin. "Ranma will surely become a man among men without your presence to weaken him like you did me. I must purge myself of this sin, so I can forge our son into the greatest warrior the world will ever know. He must be nothing less than magnificent, merciless and unyielding."

"Genma, what are you-? Urk!" Nodoka's eyes grew wide as her husband's hands moved to lock tightly around her throat, his expression remaining cold. She tried to resist but was still held fast in the iron grips of the two liliths, who grinned slightly as she choked and gasped, her dying struggles failing to free her. When it was finally over, she was carried away by the pair to be disposed of as Genma had ordered, and he calmly watched them leave.

"I will raise our son well, Nodoka," he said softly to her departing corpse. He then turned to face the observer. "Make sure you save the recording of this. Seeing it when he is old enough will help the boy understand his place in the world, and the sacrifices that I have made on his behalf. It will make him stronger."

Centurion Ranma Saotome watched as the video came to an abrupt end. His gaze was as cold and pitiless as his sire's had been in those final images as he reached out and shut off the monitor. It was not the first time he had viewed this recording, and it would not be his last. His father had given it to him when he turned eleven years old as one of his birthday gifts, saying that seeing it would teach him a valuable lesson, that only the strong deserved to survive.

While sitting in the chair at his desk, he looked down at his hands. His, he reiterated in his mind. He was male, not female. The girl he might have become was long gone, replaced by him through the power of the Holy Waters. He was a loyal soldier of the Musk Dynasty, heir to the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts founded long ago by Great Master Happosai, and someday he would inherit Clan Saotome and all of its vast holdings.

Closing his hands tightly into fists, Ranma regarded them. They were not the weak ones of a female but hard and callused ones fit for a killer, someone who had survived many bloody and brutal battles. Many of those had been fought for his own purposes while still more were done in service to the greater glory of the Musk Dynasty. Fighting was his meat and victory was his drink, and he enjoyed them both with the savage gusto a true scion of the Musk Dynasty should, as his father had raised him to do.

He was Ranma Saotome, the only one truly worthy of that name. During his sire's tutelage, he had overcome countless horrific trials and numerous hardships to become the man among men he now was. Enemies fell before his might, hewn down by his preeminent fighting skills. Women yearned to be his, recognizing his virility and burgeoning physical might. He was now on the cusp of manhood, a future filled with even greater glory lying spread out before him, ready to be seized.

His father, cruel and harsh as he was in his teaching methods, had worked tirelessly to forge him into the man he was today. Although he would someday kill his sire in a lingering and exquisitely painful fashion as a reward for the tortures Genma had inflicted upon him, he was still grateful to him. He had no desire to be anything other than what he was, nor could he even imagine ever wanting to be different. He knew that his sire had rescued him from a life as some man's plaything and property, the fate of all women living within the Dynasty. A brief shiver of atavistic horror ran through him at the thought of that, of what might have been.

Ranma mused that the day of bloody reckoning between father and son was drawing ever nearer. Someday he would end Genma's life and seize Clan Saotome for himself. He looked forward to his father's inevitable end. It would be the completion of his journey into manhood, to finally be able to chart his own course into the future, capturing the reins of his life and making them his. Despite his youth, there had already been many memorable milestones in his life, each one adding to his strength and forging him into the man he was today.

At age six, the Nekoken training had been one of the most important milestones in his life, a crucible of terror and pain that almost broke him, but he had triumphed over that challenge. He had emerged from it purified, arising from that charnel pit reborn, having passed through madness to a new state of awareness and mental clarity. That training had purged from him the last of his emotional frailties, ending his childhood with vicious brutality, and he had never cried since.

Thoughts of his analogs came to his mind. He mentally sneered at them, pondering them going about their daily lives in blissful ignorance of their blessed state, enjoying the priceless gift of being born male, never having suffered anything to make them truly worthy of the honor, only receiving it as an accident of chance from an uncaring universe. Even those of them who fancied themselves as warriors and had gone through a few meager trials of their own could not truly understand the scope of what he had gone through, what it meant to him to be male.

Manhood was the pearl without price, a lesson taught quite harshly within the borders of the many worlds already conquered by the Musk Dynasty. The Solnoid Matriarchy heretically denied this divine truth, proposing instead that females were the superior gender. Someday they would understand their error, after their foolish pride was finally crushed beneath the power of the Musk's unyielding military might.

On that glorious day, every Solnoid woman would be forced to bow down before the proven strength of men and confess her inherent inferiority. Each of them would then become brood mares, birthing the Dynasty's future generations that would go on to conquer ever more worlds. Those that refused this chance at redemption would die horribly, their slow, torturous deaths used as examples to any other women who might still wish to resist. The Solnoid men, sad and pitiful creatures that they were in Musk eyes, were only fit to be used as slave labor, working in the mines, farms and factories that fed the Dynasty's vast war machine.

Ranma hated his analogs bitterly, but those within the clutches of the Solnoid women received even more bile in his thoughts, viewing them all as even more pathetic shadows than others. Some of them might even be female, but he had never encountered a female analog to his knowledge and sometimes wondered what she would look like. Within the zone of control the Musk Dynasty ruled, every analog he had was male. Thoughts of his many other selves awoke again a familiar ache deep inside him, an unquenchable desire to prove his strength against theirs.

A few of the analogs he had fought so far in his life had managed to give him a decent amount of challenge, but they had all fallen before him at the end of their fierce struggles together. The sensation of their hot blood splashing upon his skin and the sounds of their bones breaking as he hammered powerful blows into their bodies were glorious memories. To hear their final, dying breaths inspired something akin to a religious ecstasy within him. Slaying his analogs always gave him a feeling of cathartic, savage glee.

The search for the one that would finally take him to the limits of his abilities would go on. Someday he would know with absolute certainty he was truly supreme, the superior man. But, until he found that other self, it would be an entertaining journey spent ending the lives of those contemptible reflections of him, all of whom undeservedly wore his face.

After all, he was Ranma Saotome, the only one truly worthy of the name.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tribune Genma Saotome, recently elevated to that lofty rank in the Musk Dynasty's still unstable power structure, ate his breakfast with solemn purpose. The marvelous flavors of the food in front of him made little impression on him due to his other concerns. He ate quietly, focusing himself inward.

His only companions were Ana and Uni, a statuesque pair of liliths he had acquired many years ago who served him loyally and acted as his bodyguards. Being around them made his son a little twitchy, so they had proven to be an excellent preventative measure against Ranma making a move against him. He knew the boy intended to kill him when the time was right, but he preferred to delay that day of reckoning until he felt his heir was truly ready to rule Clan Saotome.

These were turbulent days within the Dynasty. The sudden loss of the Dragon Emperor and the Shogun of the Dark, obliterated in a surprise Matriarchy attack while they performed some sort of bizarre ritual in China, had left the political situation in a very precarious state. To safeguard stability, the Imperial Tribunal had seized the opportunity and assumed complete control of the government and its bureaucracy, portraying their actions to the public as a necessity. They decreed that they were merely assuming a stewardship role in order to maintain order while the many self-proclaimed heirs to the throne winnowed down their ranks.

A great deal of blood had been spilled since that day nearly a year ago. The timing of the Dragon Emperor's death could not have come at a worse point. In an apparently insane attempt to foment a civil war, captured individuals later identified as agents sworn to the Shogun of the Dark's service had decimated the ranks of the official heirs only hours after the death of the Emperor had been reported, assassinating all of them and anyone who happened to be with them at the time. The speediness and efficiency of the action suggested a vast conspiracy was at work, and more sleeper agents of the Shogun were still being rooted out to be captured or killed. Interrogations of those captured were still ongoing, but disturbingly little had been learned from them so far. Analogs of the Shogun were being sought after by the Ministry of State Security, but so far none had been found within the Musk Dynasty, which some considered to be a curious thing. Those without at least a single analog were rare.

Full-scale civil war had fortunately been avoided through the draconian efforts of the Tribunal's sinister collection of agents working with those employed by State Security. After the assassinations of the heirs, even before the last body had finished cooling, numerous analogs of His Imperial Majesty and their sons had then pressed their claims to assume control. While there was no historical precedent to look to for dealing with such a calamity, someone needed to claim the Jade Throne and the Mandate of Heaven that went with it. Inter-marriages over the past few decades between various analogs populating the core worlds of the Dynasty had muddied the waters of inheritance, precipitating the succession crisis.

Finally, after months of intensive fighting and countless deaths, Herb, the eldest son of one of the fallen Dragon Emperor's deceased analogs, a boy whose mother was a distant female cousin of the former Dragon Emperor, had recently emerged as the one strong enough to assume the Jade Throne. Prior to his crowning, to prove to the Imperial Tribunal his fitness to claim the Mandate of Heaven and lead the Musk Dynasty on to future glory, Herb had first slain all other contenders for the throne in single combat and then went on to kill every last one of his own analogs found within the borders of the Dynasty for good measure, eliminating them all save for one.

That last remaining potential challenger to now-Emperor Herb's rule had departed months before the succession crisis, taking a ship and crew on a vainglorious quest to find his adopted brother, Sage, claiming that his sibling's engrams were trapped in an analog on some far distant tangent. That quantum doppelganger of Emperor Herb had never been seen or heard from again within the Dynasty's borders. While the youth was presumed dead, he had been declared outlaw by His Imperial Majesty, just in case, to be executed on sight should he ever return and seek to claim the throne.

During the interregnum between occupants seated upon the Jade Throne, the members of the Imperial Tribunal realized they preferred guiding the ship of state themselves, including prosecuting the war against the defiantly heretical women of the Solnoid Matriarchy. In order to keep His Imperial Majesty preoccupied and away from taking a more direct hand in things, many of the most beautiful, unmarried daughters of the various noble families were offered up to him, creating the largest harem in Dynastic history. It was presented to the young emperor as a precaution against having another succession crisis, and that it was His Imperial Majesty's duty to sire several male offspring as soon as possible. It was an audacious scheme, but it had worked well so far. Emperor Herb had not even left his private chambers in well over two months.

The fortunes of the Saotomes had risen greatly by this point, and Genma had worked tirelessly to exploit every last scrap of opportunity he had come across during the political tumult. Wedding his son to the eldest daughter of Soun Tendo had been one of many of his successful schemes. Kasumi was the personification of the idealized Japanese woman, a pillar of feminine grace and loveliness who would always act in the best interests of her husband, just as she had been brought up to be. She soothed Ranma by her mere presence and strengthened his mental stability, and his occasional rages had dwindled off in frequency and finally ceased altogether because of her.

Whenever the boy was home, Kasumi would be there for him, always giving him one of her endearing smiles. She cooked tasty meals for him and gave her body to him freely to satiate his lusts, satisfying the two most primal hungers given by the gods to men. When he brought home two attractive prizes won in battles fought upon other worlds, it was Kasumi who had taken charge of their indoctrination as his consorts, ensuring that each girl would understand her new role and learn to embrace the proper place of a woman within the Musk Dynasty. Both times she had done her duty to her young husband without a single word of protest.

Ukyo had proven to be an eager pupil for Kasumi. On the world she came from, the Kuonji girl had been sold to a geisha-run teahouse by her impoverished family at a very young age. She had been trained by them to obey and be charming. Whenever asked, she performed the tea ceremony flawlessly, and she was always demurely feminine. In many ways, she rivaled Kasumi in that particular aspect, in being a pristine example of traditional Japanese womanhood.

What was not discussed outside the household was that she was far more than she appeared to be. The teahouse where Ranma had discovered her had been a cover for much darker activities than serving tea. It was actually a training ground for kunoichi, every one of them a deadly assassin and preternaturally-trained in the martial arts. Fortunately, Ukyo had held no love for any of her teachers or peers there. When Ranma encountered the girl, she fell in love with him and came back with him willingly.

Ever since then, she had proven her great worth on several occasions, quietly eliminating those opposed to the interests of Clan Saotome with an astonishing level of skill. She had also demonstrated herself to be a peer-level combatant to Ranma, providing him with a capable sparring partner whenever he felt the urge to do so. And on one particularly memorable occasion, when quieter methods had not been practical, she had broken into the target's demesne, overcome a small legion of guards on her own and then beaten that target to death in the final conflict without using a single weapon. As the target in question had been a fighter of some repute, it was a further demonstration of just how lethally useful Ukyo was, in addition to being able to brew a truly delectable cup of tea.

Perfume, a Joketsuzoku that Ranma had claimed from a world near the Solnoid Matriarchy's border zone during a raid, was a different story. She was a young woman almost brimming with barbaric passions and savage independence, and she had required stern measures to bring her to heel. A highly-trained and powerful warrior with a bloodthirsty edge to her, she was mostly inured to any pains of punishment inflicted upon her due to some Joketsuzoku special technique she had learned. As a result, it had taken some time for Ranma and Kasumi to finally tame her, and even now she was only a semi-trusted member of the household.

According to Ranma's after-action report to his superiors, the girl had been encountered accompanied by a lavender-haired beauty named Shampoo, the pair in the midst of escaping from their village when his squad had found them. When Perfume had been interrogated later, it was learned that she and Shampoo had been imprisoned for murdering a matriarch of their village. They were awaiting execution when Musk forces had attacked and razed the place as an example to others in the region. In the ensuing brutal conflict, Ranma had been forced to kill the other girl before subduing Perfume, dragging the young Amazon back to the Musk Dynasty in chains as a consolation prize.

Genma had noted that his son enjoyed engaging in full-contact sparring with the girl, and the two of them had a sadomasochistic quality to their rather dysfunctional relationship. Violence constantly lurked below the surface between them, but there was also a powerful physical attraction they held towards each other. More often than not, a brutal sparring match between them would transform into a far more intimate sort of struggle.

When he was done with his meal, Genma got up from his chair, dabbing briefly at his face with a cloth napkin and then letting the household liliths clear off the table. With his two blonde bodyguards in tow, he walked to the gardens to continue his musings. The slightly sweet smell of the cherry blossoms in late bloom tickled at his nose.

He felt regretful that his ally and fellow student of Great Master Happosai, Legate Soun Tendo, had perished last week, expiring suddenly under suspicious circumstances, suggesting a successful assassination plot had been carried out against him. It was most unfortunate. There were so many schemes they had been planning to implement together to further their mutual interests. It was uncertain at this time just who might have done it, but the main suspect was Soun's former mistress, Akemi Roppongi. By all accounts, she had not taken her fall from his favor well at all, being replaced by the far more sensuous Hinako Ninomiya.

Genma paused in his musings over Soun at the thought of Hinako. The woman was a young courtesan they had encountered together while at a court function celebrating the elevation of Emperor Herb to the throne, and she had proven herself to be a most captivating female, witty as well as supremely sensuous and beautiful. Now that Soun was no longer an issue in the matter, he realized he should pay her a visit in the near future and offer his patronage. He smiled lustily at the thought of her exquisite physique and the many ways she could repay him with it in exchange for his benefaction.

If she served him well enough, he might offer her the opportunity to become his official consort. After all, the beauty and desirability of the woman a man possessed affected his status among his peers, and Hinako Ninomiya was a magnificent woman indeed. Having her on his arm at social functions would arouse both envy and respect at his being able to own the favors of such a statuesque beauty.

In addition to freeing up access to the Ninomiya woman without causing conflict between him and his friend, another upside to Soun's death had been the elimination of any conflicting loyalties that might remain on Kasumi's part. With her father and mother both dead and Clan Tendo already beginning to teeter and fall apart under the mismanagement of Soun's only son, her fate was growing more tightly linked to that of the Saotomes and its sole heir, Ranma. After mourning her father for the requisite amount of time with the proper amount of grief shown, she had then regained her former equanimity and gone back to her duties in the household. She had clearly been raised well.

Genma mused that the same could not be said for Soun's heir, Kaneda Tendo, a boy a year older than Ranma who had long born the stigma of having almost all of his analogs within the Musk's borders be female. Even though there was no scientific reason to view it so, it was seen by many among the Musk as an ill-favored thing to have. Kaneda was a brooding, hostile youth as a result of this, occasionally getting into needless fights to prove his manhood and other such foolish endeavors.

However, his most frequent sin was dissipating himself, engaging in liaisons with a certain young courtesan he knew instead of forming his own proper harem as Ranma was doing and building a lasting legacy for himself. By all accounts, the girl was quite beautiful, and she had been only recently introduced to the boy during a social gathering by her mentor, Hinako Ninomiya. However, their liaisons were considered unseemly by some because the girl was a female analog of Kaneda's, a rather sordid perversion that far too many Musk men decadently indulged in and Genma personally did not approve of, finding the notion to be repulsive. The Tendo boy was clearly heading for a bad end.

Although he had been friends with Soun, Kaneda had long been Ranma's adversary, and the two boys had nursed a bitter rivalry with each other for many years, ever since they were young children. They would get into some truly vicious fights with each other, sometimes over the smallest things. And yet somehow they had managed to avoid permanently maiming or killing each other. To this day, Genma wasn't sure if it was sheer blind luck or both of them holding back just enough to avoid any serious bloodshed and igniting a war of retribution between their two Clans, one that would likely have destroyed them both.

It didn't matter anymore to Genma. Soun's son had provided Ranma with a capable foe up to this point, and Ranma's rivalry with him had helped hone his abilities to a very fine edge. But his son was now growing in skill beyond Kaneda's ability to keep up, and it was perhaps time to finally end their petty feud and allow his heir to focus on the future of Clan Saotome. As the heir of a recently-elevated tribune, he had a promising future ahead of him in the Dynasty's political structure. The risk of a self-destructive piece of trash like Kaneda Tendo possibly getting lucky someday and killing him in some senseless brawl was now too great to allow. It was a shame to destroy his friend's legacy, but Kaneda was already doing quite well at that himself. Soun's heir needed to die quickly in order to preserve as much of Clan Tendo's resources as possible. Then their assets and business holdings would find far better management as part of the Saotomes' growing affluence.

He had considered presenting it as a test of Ranma's manhood. Comments such as those were always able to provoke the boy into an astonishing level of brutality and sheer viciousness. Aroused so, Genma was sure Ranma would finally kill the other boy.

The only concern in following through with such a plan would be Kasumi's reaction. To be married to the man who killed her brother could arouse dissension from her, damaging a valued asset. Having Ranma carry out the dark deed would thus not be the optimal solution.

However, having Ukyo do it would be. Genma nodded at that thought. The Kuonji girl had not eliminated anyone for him in a while, and she had never liked the Tendo boy and his lecherous regard towards her anyway. He would request her to terminate Kaneda in his sleep in order to avoid provoking a needless fight. After all, why take unnecessary chances?

The matter decided, Genma moved on to other considerations. Ranma was growing up physically fit and strong, and that was good. Instructing him in how to deal with the political challenges he would face in his future was the next step. He had already proven himself to be a capable leader in combat, earning the rank of centurion despite his youth and inexperience through his own merits and a properly ruthless attitude in battle. But politics would be a much more subtle battlefield to contend with and would require a far defter hand to navigate its many potential minefields than the boy currently had.

He took his ease in a shady spot of the garden. The sound of cicadas sounded from the greenery around him. His female bodyguards stood near him with almost quivering alertness, ready to defend him as he relaxed.

The boy had responded well to the experimental treatment that he and Soun had plundered years ago from another tangent and given to their heirs in secret. The symbiote that now thrived within Ranma's body had greatly increased his strength and speed, raising them to an almost inhuman level. Once Kaneda was gone, the Saotome heir would take his proper place as the forerunner of a new breed of humanity within the Dynasty, a veritable superman capable of seizing whatever he wished or inflicting a properly savage vengeance on anyone who dared offend him. Although it was treasonous to even think it, perhaps the boy could someday be installed upon the Jade Throne as a future Dragon Emperor.

Genma had to admit that the fugue state his son could enter into when sufficiently angered was an even more powerful weapon in Ranma's arsenal than even the Nekoken. To see how the boy had used it to destroy opponents had been both breathtaking and glorious. Combined with his training in the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts, no one his age had been able to stand against Ranma and even most adults would be foolish to try. Oh, Great Master Happosai could still toss him around with only moderate difficulty, but Genma had not dared to spar with his son since he was thirteen.

He smiled coldly. It had been educational to introduce Ranma to one of his analogs within the Musk Dynasty after he had learned the truth of his origins, another student of the Anything-Goes School on his home tangent and reputedly a capable warrior of note. While the match had been somewhat challenging for Ranma at first, the other boy had gradually found himself outstripped in physical ability. And then his son, apparently grown frustrated at the prolonged duration of the contest, had finally killed his analog in mere seconds once he had entered his fugue state, the 'boost' as Soun had called it.

The boy was twelve years old at the time.

Genma could still remember it so vividly. Ranma's hands had still been dripping with his analog's blood as that other Genma had rushed to aid his fallen child, and it was like a light had gone on within his son even as he coolly observed the corpse of his doppelganger. After that, Ranma had thrown himself even more heavily into his training. Other deaths had later followed, each one attributable to his son's growing abilities.

However, after those few initial wins, Ranma's brutal reputation had quickly spread amongst the Musk worlds and matches dwindled away to nothing. That had forced the boy to keep aware of any new conquests in the offing. Eventually he had joined the military to hunt down more analogs of himself as well as find other challenging opponents that he could test his abilities against.

Genma could not be prouder. Everything he had done for Ranma had been to craft his son into the perfect warrior, thrusting the boy into the forge again and again to purify his will, to cleanse him of every last emotional imperfection. Finally, all of his years of dedication, the many personal sacrifices and patient efforts were paying off. Ranma was maturing into a man among men, and someday he would emerge to take his place as a legendary hero of the Musk Dynasty, perhaps even its ruler.

After all, who could possibly stand against him? Genma felt a supreme certainty deep within his soul that his son's destiny was to overcome all. And that conviction filled him with fatherly satisfaction that he had done what was right for his offspring, preparing Ranma to fulfill his role in whatever was to come.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +4.612, +4.509

Nodoka sipped her tea and eyed Cologne's wrinkled face. The matriarch had appeared at her door shortly after Ranma and Shampoo had left for school, introducing herself. After initial pleasantries were over, the two had settled down to have tea together and discuss the situation with Shampoo and the destruction of the Joketsuzoku's village.

She had been tempted to let Shampoo stay home and continue grieving for her people, but it had been several days already. People might think Nodoka harsh for refusing, but she truly felt it was better to have the girl out among the living rather than for her to hide away and persist in mourning the dead. Fortunately, Ranma had agreed with her.

The girl's grief was understandable, and the world was still on the edge of panic over the immense devastation that had recently occurred, waiting to see if more meteors would fall. The news organizations had finally settled on calling the meteor strike in China by the rather sensationalized name of "Second Impact" in their reports, taking the designation from certain scientific papers that discussed the theorized massive meteor collision billions of years ago that created the Moon. The name quickly stuck.

Weather patterns around the globe had been altered to varying degrees as a result of Second Impact, and there were even reports of increased storm activity in the China Sea, possibly even typhoons forming. Over the intervening days since the meteor strike, Japan had begun getting far more rain than was normal for this time of year, with no end in sight, which Nodoka was sure would not be pleasant for the two cursed teens living with her now. There were also unconfirmed reports on the news that lawlessness was breaking out in parts of mainland China as warehouses and stores were looted of food and other necessities by the panicked populace, something the Chinese government was rather strenuously denying, stating that order was being maintained in all regions. Combined with the immense relief needs arising in towns near the impact crater and dislocated populations fleeing the affected area, there were fears that China could be getting pushed to the breaking point.

The JSDF and the United States were on alert right now, watching to see what the Chinese would do next. The Russians were being exceptionally wary as well now about their southern neighbors. Offers of aid from other countries had not yet been accepted by China's government, and rumors were flying on reasons why there was any reluctance.

Despite all that was going on in other parts of the world, her main concern was still the mystery of Genma's disappearance. Where was her husband? He and Soun were both gone, vanished without a trace and without a single word of goodbye. Ranma was concerned too, although he was feigning disinterest in his father's continuing absence. He had respected her wishes and refrained from taking a leave of absence from school and conducting a search. Shampoo's emotional state was currently distracting him for the moment from his father's disappearance.

"You have a lovely home, Saotome-san," said Cologne with sincerity, interrupting Nodoka's musings, setting down her teacup and bowing to the other woman. "I am grateful that my great-granddaughter has obtained refuge here with you."

"She is a charming girl, and quite strong of spirit to have dealt so well with everything she has had to face so far in her life." Nodoka replied calmly. "I know this is a difficult time for her."

"Yes." Cologne gazed down at her half-empty teacup. "It is a difficult time for many people." There was silence between them for a brief time.

Nodoka studied the elderly woman for several moments before speaking again. "If I may ask, how are you doing during this time, Matriarch Cologne? Do you need a place to stay?"

"Thank you for your concern, but I have already obtained lodgings in the area, Saotome-san. I've actually been living here for a while, spending my time observing Shampoo from a distance. I am comfortable where I am living now." She picked up her tea and sipped from it delicately.

"Are you aware of any other survivors from your village?" Nodoka asked gently.

"Not with any certainty." The answer seemed to hang in the air. "I believe that Shampoo and I might be the last of our people." Grief rose within her once again at the thought of that, but she forced it back down. She had to remain strong and not give in to sorrow, maintaining the cynical mask she had worn for so many years. Sorrow would have to wait until a future time when she was alone and could indulge herself in such things. For now, she had to focus on gathering and preserving what was left of the Joketsuzoku.

While she was aware of Mousse's presence in the area, living with the insane Kuno girl, the blind fool was a mere male and not really worth considering in her calculations. Perfume was another likely survivor, the girl having headed out on her hunt for Shampoo many weeks ago. It was possible she was even lurking in the area, but she had made no attempts at contact. If she was indeed alive, there was an increased chance of survival for their people's genetic heritage as well as their lore.

It was a rather distasteful notion to consider such a thing, being a breach of the very same law that her great-granddaughter had already been deemed in violation of, but these were very desperate times. While Shampoo's curse prevented her from having a child herself, perhaps it offered an opportunity to combine the Joketsuzoku's two remaining bloodlines and a path to rebuilding as a nation. That is, assuming she could get both girls to cooperate, an uncertain prospect at best, even at the behest of a matriarch and being done to pull their people back from the very brink of oblivion.

Nodoka sipped at her tea, uncertain what to say as the elderly woman ruminated.

"Do not be concerned for me, Saotome-san," said Cologne suddenly, her gaze rising. "I am old. My sole remaining purpose now is to see Shampoo and any other survivors remain well. She and I had a falling out over her curse, so I don't feel it is good for her that I intrude upon her new life here, not until she feels ready to see me."

"And when will that be?" Nodoka eyed the elderly woman.

"Someday soon, I hope." Finished with her tea, Cologne stood. "I should go now. There are other matters I must attend to."

Nodoka stood up. "Should I tell Shampoo you were here?"

"You may." Holding her staff, she ambled slowly to the door. "Tell her that I am well." There was an awkward pause. "And tell her that I love her and always have." There was another uneasy silence and then Cologne continued her way out the door, pausing just outside to turn around. "I will check in with you from time to time, to see how things are going. Just let me know at one of my visits, if Shampoo wishes to speak with me."

Nodoka nodded. "I will. Farewell, Matriarch Cologne."

"Farewell, Nodoka Saotome." Cologne then pogoed off and leaped away, disappearing quickly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +3.002, -3.002

Bored with waiting, Ranma studied his surroundings once again. He was sitting in a comfortable chair in an expensively-furnished office, dressed in a nice suit. Seated on the other side of the desk in an ergonomic leather chair was his agent, Soun Tendo, currently yelling at someone on the phone.

"And I'm telling you to take your offer and shove it!" He gave Ranma an aggrieved look and then went back to shouting. "I said no!" There was another pause. "Stop telling me to be reasonable here, Sanzenin! If you want to see one more frame of my client on film, you're going to have to do a hell of a lot better than five percent of the net on his next contract! I've seen your studio screw over too many people with that arrangement! Because you're being such a lowlife, we want six of the gross instead of the five I asked for before, or else we walk!" He then slammed the phone down.

Ranma's last film, "Big Trouble in Nekonron, China" had finally been bumped from the marquee by newer movie offerings, after earning an impressive pile of yen over a record-breaking numbers of weeks. He had only received a flat amount up front of five hundred million yen, but he had received an additional billion yen as a bonus later due to its incredible success at the box office. His agent and manager, Soun Tendo, had been very busy for the past several weeks conducting the negotiations with his current film production company for a new contract, his first having expired with this last film.

"How're they taking it?" he asked, wondering what Shampoo was up to while he was out of the house. She'd mentioned something about doing some clothes shopping with her friends. He hoped she bought some sexy outfits for their upcoming trip to Hawaii. He briefly fantasized about her in a bikini and other revealing outfits.

Soun shook his head and promptly lit up a cigarette. "I swear, Ranma, producers are assholes and greedy bastards, every last one of them. But luckily, I've got an ace in the hole. That slimy Sanzenin doesn't know I've got him by the balls yet. If he doesn't pony up the cash, I've got a couple of sweet deals lined up with other studios to prove we mean business. And that indie film we've been talking about will show people you can do far more than action and comedy roles."

There was a staccato rap on the door.

"Ah, there's opportunity knocking now." Soun got out of his seat as he stubbed out his cigarette and straightened his tie. He nodded at the boy. "Just let me do most of the talking, but feel free to chime in if you think you need to, Ranma."

The door opened and Hinako Ninomiya came in, dressed in an expensive, tailored outfit that showed off her impressive physique very nicely. Ranma found himself aroused by the mere sight of her. "Soun-kun," she purred. "It's been ages. How's the family?" The two exchanged brief bows and then she kissed his cheek.

Ranma blinked, seeing the sensuous girl coming in right behind Hinako, Kodachi Kuno. She wore an eye-catchingly short and tight black skirt that only reached down a few inches on her thighs, dark green stockings that started a little below there, and ankle-length, black leather boots, all of it calling attention to her athletic legs, shapely hips and derriere. Her dark green silk blouse showed off her upper torso's female assets in a teasing, translucent fashion, as if daring a man to stare at them. Despite her current outfit, she was the kind of girl who could wear a floor-length gown and still manage to look completely naked.

Her hair fell down her back in a smooth, lustrous ponytail, tied with a dark green ribbon that matched her blouse and stockings. A slightly mocking smile was on her lips as if permanently affixed there. She gave him a look with eyes that were clearly sizing him up.

"Hello," Ranma said, offering a sly smile at the girl, regretting for several agonizing moments that he was married and couldn't... shouldn't play with such a dangerous beauty. But, oh, how he found himself aching to. She radiated a sultry sort of splendor that called out to him and made him imagine a sensual riff of saxophone music had been playing ever since her entrance. She responded to his greeting by coming over and sauntering around him, her expression solemn and judging, her lips pursed slightly in thought.

"You're not as tall as I thought you'd be," Kodachi finally remarked to him after several moments, sounding disappointed. She then commented to Hinako, "How do you expect me to work with someone like him? He's just too short to be my leading man. I have my career as a serious actress to think of, you know." She then flounced down into a chair and crossed her shapely legs, giving him a momentary glimpse of her green panties, looking at him with disdain very apparent in her gaze.

"Uh." Ranma was surprised. He was used to girls practically throwing themselves at him, even after he was married, which didn't please Shampoo very much. Still, to be dismissed like that by such a sultry beauty intrigued him even more. He had always relished a challenging conquest, feeling himself ache again inside to bed this girl, imagining those shapely legs wrapped around him as they did naughty things to each other.

Kodachi rolled her eyes. "Great. I've been here a couple of minutes and all he's uttered is a single word and a grunt like an animal. Hinako, what are you doing to me? This guy clearly can't do serious roles with dramatic dialog. He should stick to being a monosyllabic tough guy and doing his comedy shticks."

A frown adorned Ranma's face at her continuing, casual dismissal of his abilities as an actor. It was annoying, but it was also inflaming his desires for her even brighter than before. He looked at Soun.

"Why don't I take the young lady to lunch? She and I can talk in a more casual environment." He turned back to face Kodachi. "Would that be all right with you, Kuno-san?"

Soun smiled and looked at Hinako. "I think that sounds like a fine idea. What do you think?"

"I agree," Hinako said, nodding. "You two kids go grab some lunch and get better acquainted. We'll talk business here."

"I haven't agreed to anything," Kodachi protested, one eyebrow raised.

Ranma gave her another sly smile. "Are you afraid to be alone with me, Kuno-san?"

She harrumphed, but her eyes flickered with a modicum of interest. She stood up gracefully and tugged briefly at her short skirt to straighten it. "All right, Saotome-san, I'll give you two hours to impress me. You'd better make every minute count. I'm a girl who doesn't impress easily."

After the two youths left, Hinako sat down across the desk from Soun and removed a cigarette from her purse, looking at him. "So, what do you think of her, Soun-kun?"

"She's certainly a charmer, I'll grant you that." He reached across the desk and lit her cigarette with a gold lighter taken from his pocket. He watched her puff delicately on it. "She certainly has a high opinion of herself too."

"Well, after already winning an Oscar for best actress at her age, she can afford to be, I suppose," Hinako replied. "At least that horrible mother of hers is finally out of the picture. She hung herself after she was put behind bars for embezzling all that money." She shook her head. "Stealing from her daughter, what a horrible bitch she was. The girl doesn't even miss her, and I'm glad I don't have to deal with the woman anymore. Her father is much more sensible and stable." She took another puff of her cigarette and smiled coquettishly. "He asked me to marry him."

"The poor, love-struck fool," said Soun with a smirk. "Or could it be that you love him back, Hinako-chan?"

"He's actually been quite a gentleman towards me, unlike some men I know." She arched an eyebrow at him, her tone teasing.

"Hey, I always paid for dinner and the room when we were dating," Soun protested mildly. He paused a moment and studied her, his expression suddenly becoming more serious. "I never really thanked you for pulling me back from the brink after my wife died, did I?" He sighed. "I was such a mess after her accident. I almost lost everything. You saved my career and my family."

"Oh, Soun-kun." She smiled at him. "That's what friends are for." She paused as well. "You know, you can still call me anytime for that sort of thing, or even just to talk, if you're ever feeling lonely."

"Maybe I will." He pulled out a cigarette for himself and regarded her with curiosity. "So, what did you tell him?"

"That I'm still thinking over his offer," she replied, taking another drag of her cigarette, letting the smoke emerge from her nose as she exhaled, dragon-like. She looked at him directly. "I might be waiting for someone else to make me a better offer."

He looked startled. "You never admitted being interested before."

"A woman can change her mind." She crossed her long legs and rested a hand on one knee. "It's been a couple of years. I'm older and wiser now."

His gaze dropped briefly to regard her legs before returning his gaze back to her face, briefly pausing at the sight of the full swell of her bosom artfully displayed by her tailored outfit. "Perhaps we could talk this over later, someplace with better ambiance?"

"I'd like that." She smiled at him warmly; her eyes alight with a bit of amusement.

"So, did you bring the new script you were telling me about?" Soun lit up the cigarette he had been absently holding for the last few moments as he suddenly changed the subject. "The boy's been excited about doing something different from his last few roles."

"Right here," she replied, unbothered by the redirection of their conversation, pulling it out of her purse and dropping the modest sheaf of typewritten papers on his desk.

"When They Cry: Abducted By Demons" was its title.

Soun glanced down at it and smirked. The story was a compelling mixture of murder mystery, horror and psychological thriller, all tied together with a supernatural twist. It was a fantastically creepy tale, one that was already a bestselling novel, and there was word a new sequel would soon be released. The author had written it under a pen name, claiming to have based the entire story on journals that were recovered from the site of a dead village, one where over two thousand people perished in some sort of volcanic gas eruption several years ago. There were many conspiracy theorists who thought there was more to the tale than the official one, and the author had crafted a fascinating, fictionalized recreation of some of the people who once lived there and their final weeks alive.

Being in such a controversial film would shake up the boy's career and prove to his detractors that he could do far more than action-adventure heroism or comedy farce. He just had to get along with his prospective co-star, the girl who owned the rights to the script and had options for the film rights on all future stories written by the author, but Soun had great faith in the boy's abilities there. In addition to his fantastic martial arts skills, Ranma had an amazing talent at getting along with women and inciting them to love him.

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*** Earth +0.003, +0.001

"You know, you only have yourself to blame for this," said Nabiki as she examined her face in the mirror, dressed in the blood-spattered uniform of a Security Directorate officer. She frowned at the livid bruise she saw on one of her cheeks and the numerous splashes of dark crimson staining her uniform jacket. "I tried to be reasonable with you, Hinako-sensei. I really, really did. You just wouldn't listen."

Turning around, she looked down with regret at the uniformed body of Security Director Hinako Ninomiya as its eyes stared blankly, the woman's neck twisted to one side at an unnatural angle, a trickle of blood still oozing from her mouth. She had been very badly beaten before her death, with numerous bruises showing as well as dried blood spattered darkly on her clothes. Several other men and women, all of them dressed in the dark uniforms of the Security Directorate and laying dead in the room in various distorted postures. They were the former Director's former bodyguards.

"I mean, why would you ever question my loyalty to you? After I killed my very own father to gain your favor all those months ago, that was just mean. You taught me so much, and I would have done anything for you." Nabiki picked up the dead woman's abandoned purse and began rooting through it. "And then trying to kill me?" She frowned more deeply. "That was just stupid."

She pulled out a compact and began applying some makeup to cover up the bruise on her face. After all, a girl should always try to look her best. Her face brightened suddenly into a smile at the results.

"It really was fortunate for me when I snuck into Ranma's lab months ago and tried out his little device," she said as she checked the purse for some lipstick. "If I hadn't, I'd probably be the one lying there instead of you, but I've always been a pretty lucky girl. If you can call me anything, I'm a survivor."

Not liking the color she found, thinking it too garish, she checked the belongings of the other dead female agents. "You're lucky that other version of me isn't here. She was well on her way to a bad ending, and I'm sure she went out in a blaze of glory from what I witnessed of her situation while I was spending some time in her skin. That girl was messed up in her wiring. Something went really wrong in her head a long time ago. Fortunately, I'm much saner."

She grinned when she found a lipstick color she liked, taking it from the broken body of one young woman by the door even as she continued her monologue. "But she sure knew how to kick ass. After ten years on a training trip from hell with that world's Genma Saotome, nobody could put her down, not that any of her enemies were left in any condition to try it more than once." She began applying the color from the lipstick carefully, not wanting to overdo it and look like a whore or something. "Combining her skills with what was done to me by Project Phoenix made for one mean bitch, but I don't really have to tell that to you, now do I?" She paused briefly as if waiting for a reply and then shrugged her shoulders and continued.

"I know you were upset after I killed Ranma, but what could I do?" She put the lipstick away into a pocket when she was done. "If he had found another world where one of his analogs had gone on the training trip instead of one of mine, he would have been a danger to me, and I just couldn't have that. How was I supposed to know that the mousy little Kuno girl would jump to another world like that and leave behind a virus destroying the resonator's software? That just wasn't my fault."

She barely restrained herself from snarling at the thought of Kodachi Kuno outmaneuvering her, a rage suddenly filling her. The pathetic weakling had managed to get away during the confusion after Ranma's murder, somehow mustering up enough courage to carry out her impromptu escape plan, leaving behind a mindless shell that later died. It simply infuriated Nabiki to have been outfoxed by the other girl. She had been planning to steal the resonator and hide it during the turmoil after Ranma's death, keeping it safe in case she needed an emergency exit.

The Kuno girl's abrupt departure had left a huge mess behind her, and Director Hinako had been looking for answers and someone to blame for it for weeks. Despite her best efforts at redirecting the investigation away from her, sacrificing allies like the Gosunkugi boy and even the ever-faithful pair, Yuka and Sayuri, Nabiki had failed to find a good enough scapegoat to satisfy her mentor's suspicions. The result of this was the rather violent parting of ways with Director Hinako that had just concluded. Fortunately, long before the brutal confrontation had finally occurred, she had managed to hide an ace up her sleeve.

Her eyes brightened when she heard a groan from one of the fallen bodies, Kyosuke Kasuga, her boyfriend, a relationship that had arisen soon after she had consoled him after the horrific death of Yohko Mano at the hands of a conjured demon months ago. While she had initially only done it as practice in seducing men and as a means of enlisting him as an ally to her cause, he had since fallen deeply in love with her. Although she did not feel the same way towards him, she did like having such an attentive and loyal boyfriend around, especially someone with esper powers willing to do her bidding.

Eventually, a few months ago, she had submitted herself to his fumbling advances, letting him think he was the one actually in control of the encounter. Hinako had been instructing her on some of the finer points of seducing men, and she had been practicing her lessons diligently upon Kyosuke. When she felt the time was right between them, she had "closed the deal" with him, giving her virginity to him and claiming his in return, feeling certain it would cement his loyalty to her.

One night, while watching a movie at his house, holding hands had led to passionate kissing and then far more erotic things. He had responded quite eagerly to her apparent acquiescence to his advances, even as she was subtly urging him on, and the resulting encounter with him had been both educational and physically gratifying. Although their first effort had been clumsy, slightly painful for her and a rather embarrassingly unskilled effort on both their parts, subsequent endeavors that night had gotten progressively better.

Since then, she had used him to satisfy her burgeoning desires every few days. While their intimate encounters were hardly the stuff of fantasies like it was portrayed in romantic stories or movies, she had enjoyed herself a great deal and been extremely pleased to discover how eager he became to stay in her good graces. She considered it a sincere compliment on her desirability as a woman.

She mused that it was a very good thing she had encouraged him to fall in love with her. It was quite likely she would have died without his aid, his telekinesis holding Hinako back from striking at a critical point during their struggle with each other, letting her get in the fatal blow that ended their fight instead. He had been shot in the back by one of the bodyguards and knocked out moments later, and she had not been able to check on him at the time, being busy with fighting for her life with several of the remaining bodyguards at once. She hurried over to his side and knelt down next to him, her expression swiftly shifting to form an appropriate mask of apprehension.

"Kyosuke-kun," she said softly, projecting the proper amount of concern for him in her voice and countenance as she studied his injuries. "I can't believe you're alive. I thought you were dead." She could tell after a brief examination that his wounds were very grave, but he had somehow regained consciousness. She lifted him up and hugged him rather gingerly, not wanting to hurt him further, getting even more blood on her clothing.

"I can't believe... I'm alive either," Kyosuke croaked. He felt one side of his face pressed up against her bosom as she cradled him in her arms and inwardly exulted at the experience, distracting him from the agony in his lower torso. "I thought... you were going to die. I'm glad... you're all right." He reached a hand up to caress her breast as he snuggled his face closer, feeling comforted by her caring and grateful that she was apparently uninjured. He knew she had her flaws, but he was certain she wasn't nearly as bad as people always said she was. Feeling her arms around him, he felt sure she really loved him after all.

Nabiki let him fondle her, inwardly smirking. Boys were remarkably easy to deal with even in such serious situations, if you were willing to put up with some perversion. He was clearly dying and had sacrificed himself to save her life, so she felt it was a small price to let him touch her there. The sensations were actually rather nice and inspired surprisingly powerful sexual urges within her, likely the result of surviving such an intense situation.

However, that would have to wait until she was out of her current predicament. Then she planned to find the first good-looking young man she could and have her way with him until he begged her to stop, and maybe not even then. Her mental smirk then transformed into a more lecherous grin at the thought of indulging her body's needs. She hoped her chosen target would have enough endurance to satiate her desires. Kyosuke had always tried valiantly to satisfy her, but his endurance was never sufficient enough.

While she considered herself in all honesty to be a heartless girl, her time using Ranma's resonator had shown her that other versions of her were just as bad. That was oddly comforting to her. The only one who had been worse in her eyes was the Jusenkyo-cursed martial artist version of herself she had briefly inhabited, who had killed Akane for trying to warn Ranma about her analog, shoving her in front of a bus. That one was really screwed up in the head, she mused.

The thought of Akane suddenly made her feel odd for a moment. Her little sister had died a few months ago on this world, her corpse discovered in an alleyway only a few blocks from their home. She had been beaten pretty badly before her death, one of her arms was broken and she had apparently been killed by a knife wound to her chest. The culprits were never found by the authorities.

They never would be, Nabiki grimly mused, letting no sign of this show on her face. She had made sure of that, tracking down each one of her sister's killers and ending their lives as painfully as she could. Her improved fighting abilities had made their executions almost laughably easy, and she had been able to take her time and really savor it.

She supposed she should feel sad about Akane's death, but she didn't, not really. Kasumi's death troubled her more only due to the questions raised by her murder. All the authorities knew was that her sister had apparently been brutally beaten to death by a person who could not exist. A still image of Kasumi's killer's face had been taken from the video recording of her death. It was later identified as that of a woman, an Arena fighter of some fame many years ago: Colt Remington. But, somehow, she had not aged a day since then. How was that possible? And why had she murdered Kasumi?

They both suddenly heard the distant wails of warning sirens sound once again. The attack coming from Europe was almost here, and the missiles would soon be falling. She had to leave.

"Kyosuke-kun," Nabiki said softly. "I think it's time you pulled out an esper trick to deal with this. We've got to get out of here."

"Yeah, I think you're right." With her help, he rose slowly to his feet. There was something he could do, a power he had only used once in his life before by accident and almost didn't make it back without his grandfather's help. It might not work now, but the only alternative was to wait to die. "We're going out that window."

"What?" Nabiki snapped out, surprised. "Why?"

"I think I can take us away from here, but it might not work." He looked at her steadily. "I can jump us to another world, maybe a better one." He cast his gaze around them, remembering how horrible people like the ones piled around them had started murdering espers in their homes and in their beds, including his mother and grandfather, blaming them for the Empire's fall, looking for any scapegoat they could find. "However, we need to literally jump from a high place."

"Terrific," she muttered. "All right. Let's do it."

He smiled encouragingly, a trickle of blood leaking from his mouth. She deserved to live, the only person he valued left in the world. He loved her, and he would do his best to save her life one final time.

For a moment, he found himself mourning the death of Yohko Mano. Her gruesome demise had opened the door to his relationship with Nabiki. If she had lived, maybe things could have been different.

"Here we go," he said in a croaking voice, blasting the window open with a powerful burst of telekinetic force, the effort causing him to feel something tear in his chest. He coughed up some blood as Nabiki held him up and then they stepped out into space and fell. He focused his will to send her away to another world, desperation allowing him to reach far deeper inside himself, using more of the Power than he ever could before. She had to survive.

Nabiki's form flickered and vanished midway down. Kyosuke had only a moment to feel contentment before he lost consciousness and died from the strain of his efforts combined with his fatal injuries. The girl he loved would survive. That was all that had mattered to him.

His body slammed into the pavement several stories down.

A brief time later, a flash of actinic light ignited the sky as the first nuclear warhead went off, one of several targeted at Tokyo.

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*** Earth +6.444, +5.611

Two versions of Nabiki suddenly found themselves face to face with each other. One girl, her uniform blood-spattered and disheveled as she stood there on unsteady legs, faced a second Nabiki dressed in a silken robe, having just emerged from the bath and preparing for a relaxing afternoon at home. The two stared at each other for a single moment.

The robed girl felt icy terror run through her at the sudden appearance of her twin out of thin air. Had the Matriarchy's High Command somehow discovered her duplicity against them? Had they sent another spy to replace her at this post? She had been posing for many months as a courtesan after disposing of her vacuous analog here, feeding her superiors information gleaned from her close relationships with the powerful men she was now involved with. What had gone unreported was that she was growing enormously wealthy from their many gifts of money and jewelry to her, enough to someday soon escape the war and retire in luxury on some distant tangent that had never heard of either the Musk or the Solnoids.

Reacting faster than the robed girl, Nabiki leaped forward and kicked her doppelganger in the face, stunning her and preventing any scream before it could be uttered. She completed the move by landing behind her and grabbing her arm, twisting the limb up painfully behind her doppelganger's back in an arm lock and then wrestling the other girl down to her knees, eliciting a reflexive grunt of pain. She quickly realized her twin was well-muscled underneath her shapely curves, built like a dancer or martial artist, a fairly close match to her own frame. The two froze for a moment in brief tableau while Nabiki assessed her options and the other girl struggled to regain her senses and fight back. A decision was reached in mere moments, faster than the kneeling girl could get her body to respond.

"Better you than me," Nabiki said softly to her twin before she could protest. In a sudden maneuver, she grabbed her doppelganger by the jaw and the back of her skull and twisted her head sharply to one side with all of her strength. A harsh, wet, snapping sound occurred and then the young Matriarchy spy convulsed once before she expired. Nabiki eased her twin's dead body the remaining distance to the floor and listened for any signs of awareness of her attack upon the other girl. None were heard.

Finally able to pause to catch her breath, she felt her adrenaline surge finally fading. Kyosuke wasn't present, and she wasn't sure what to make of that. She stood up and looked around.

Perhaps it was something familiar in the room, some random sight or smell, but all of a sudden a buried hoard of memories surfaced within her mind. Nabiki chuckled at the abrupt profusion of knowledge that unexpectedly opened up within her, a final gift of her time spent playing around with Ranma's resonator device and viewing her other lives. It was a good thing she had attacked first. If she was where she believed she was, then her dead doppelganger was a cold-blooded killer, a ruthless girl capable of swift and deadly action in order to carry out her mission. She wondered very briefly what her dreams would be like tonight. Perhaps she would be visited by the ghost of another self, one much more like herself than the last one.

Going to a certain place in the room, she confirmed where she was when a small panel opened to her seeking touch, the mechanism unlocking upon the recognition of her fingerprint and opening to reveal a hidden cache that contained a few personal effects and various miniaturized pieces of espionage equipment. Among those articles was a small, nondescript apparatus that would allow minute data storage devices no larger than an aspirin tablet to be sent and received from the Solnoid Matriarchy when the paraequipotential flux between timeline tangents aligned just so, an event that took place irregularly. A small indicator on the device showed that several more days remained before the next window would occur.

Another piece of equipment found was a Solnoid-designed quantum tunneling device, pre-programmed to scan for any of the Matriarchy's signal beacons when activated but also designed to remain inert if an unauthorized person attempted to use it. Since it would only work if the paraequipotential flux was aligned properly, that necessitated planning ahead to use it, but it could also open a portal to a random world with a much shorter wait time if necessary. She very carefully replaced everything except for her doppelganger's personal journal, recorded on a small video unit. It would hopefully fill in the gap in her knowledge, since her memories of the other girl's life cut off a few months ago.

A quick check of the small house revealed that she was alone with the corpse, her twin apparently living alone. She returned to the bedroom and contemplated the body. She had to get rid of it quickly before it began to smell, but luckily she had available to her a remarkably tidy option. She would not even need to leave the house.

After rolling up her twin's corpse tightly in an old blanket, Nabiki slung the body over her shoulder and carried it down to the basement region. There she uncovered a large panel leading to the home's waste disposal unit, essentially a high-tech furnace that would eliminate any trace that her doppelganger had ever existed. It would be a tight fit getting it all within, but the task was doable without cutting the body into smaller pieces, which she would prefer to avoid. It was ironic, since her predecessor in this role had used this very same unit to dispose of the original courtesan as well, taking over her life after remotely downloading her memories to achieve a perfect knowledge of it, stepping into the other girl's place many months ago.

Those memories were now Nabiki's as well, obtained with those of the Matriarchy spy. The courtesan version of her had been a self-serving, somewhat vacuous vixen of a girl, but women living in the Musk Dynasty frequently used their beauty and sexuality as a weapon, one of the few they were allowed by the men here, seemingly every single one of them a dogmatic misogynist. Even so, she realized she could have done far worse in a choice for a new life, and it would be a good test of her abilities at manipulation and seduction to survive here for a while. But if things got too tight, she would bolt and run to another tangent, taking the other girl's hidden stash of gold and jewels with her as a stake to start fresh. But for now, she would take some time to rest and recover while she planned out her next steps.

Once the corpse was finally dealt with, along with disposing of her blood-stained uniform with it, she went upstairs to bathe and clean up any lingering evidence of foul play. Her twin had just taken a bath, so it was likely she wasn't expected anywhere soon. Nabiki took her time, enjoying the use of the expensive soaps and shampoos she found there, letting all of the dirt and blood upon her body sluice down the drain.

When the bath was over, she felt reborn. Her old life had been washed away, its many sins discarded with the aid of fire and water. She felt confident that any karmic price to be paid for her choices had been left behind on that dying world. She was free.

Smirking, she suddenly realized that part of that freedom meant she could no longer even call herself a Tendo now. Her family name was her final connection to her old existence, and she discarded it without regret. The version of her native to this tangent, the hollow girl whose life the Matriarchy spy had appropriated for her own mission for a time, had grown up with only her mother's name to call her own.

She was Nabiki Nakakami now.

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*** Earth +3.002, -3.002

"You certainly have impressed me, Saotome-san. You've stirred this innocent girl's soul with both your charming words and bold actions."

Ranma gazed up at the ceiling as Kodachi ran her hand across his chest and then slowly down lower on his body as they both cooled off and caught their breaths from their recent activities. A quivering of guilt ran through him at what he had just done, but it was quickly drowned out by other sensations she was arousing within him by her actions. He rolled over and looked at her, idly noting the disheveled condition of the hotel room they were in, their clothing and the bed's sheets flung about to lie strewn upon the floor.

He raised an eyebrow as he studied her naked body lying next to his, recalling what had just happened. "Innocent girl?"

She chuckled, somehow making it sound erotic. "Why, Ranma-kun. Just you asking that question makes me feel so wicked." She met his gaze. "I think we both know how much you wanted me. I could see it in your eyes when I first walked in the door. I may have dangled out a little bit of bait, but you were the one who bit hard on the hook." She lifted one leg and caressed it slowly down along his flank. "Besides, our liaison was quite pleasurable for me too. You've certainly lived up to your reputation as a ladies man." She smiled at him coquettishly as her hand caressed his stomach.

"Oh?" He eyed her, suddenly feeling uncertain again.

"Don't worry, Ranma-kun. I don't plan to make any trouble for you or make any selfish claims upon you. This is just for fun, a one-time thing, to see how much chemistry we have together. But if you want an encore performance with me, I suppose something could be arranged. I'll leave you my card with my private number." She continued her actions with her hands, reaching down lower again, caressing him teasingly with her fingertips as she leaned forward and began necking with him, sighing into their open-mouthed kisses. "Call me anytime you want another encore," she murmured, followed by a soft moan.

"So, I guess this means I meet your standards for a leading man after all, Kodachi-chan?" he whispered at the end of a kiss, releasing a deep groan as he felt himself responding with great virility to her gentle ministrations. He caressed his hand down her side and then back up her front, stroking her skin and marveling at its silken smoothness while recalling how incredibly limber she was. He absently recalled that she was a trained gymnast.

"I suppose you'll do for the role of Keiichi Maebara," she said with a sigh and soft groan, enjoying his touches upon her.

"And what role did you have in mind for yourself?" He then gasped at one of her more aggressive caresses, his arousal heightening with every moment as her hands continued their explorations upon his body.

"The character of Rena Ryugu appeals to me," she said after several moments spent enjoying what he was doing to her and then opening her eyes slightly, grinning with playful wickedness. "I like the idea of playing such a troubled, unstable, violent girl. It will be an amusing change of pace to act so chillingly insane after my last role as such a pristinely good girl."

"I've heard Ryoko Masaki and her twin sister might be available after they finish shooting that television pilot they're working on. I could see them playing Mion and Shion Sonozaki." At his mention of them, he then tried hard not to think further about the sexy Masaki twins, but it was surprisingly difficult for him, even with the pleasurable things Kodachi was distracting him with. He stifled a groan at the thought of the pair. The twins possessed very shapely and athletic physiques, and he had long held a fantasy about bedding them together.

Kodachi rolled on top of him and smiled lustily, her fingers caressing down his ribcage, feeling his body shudder in response to her delicate touches. "That sounds like an excellent idea, Ranma-kun," she murmured, a bit breathless now. "I'll mention your suggestion to Hinako." She lowered her face to his and kissed with him once again, their tongues wrestling gently for several minutes before she pulled back and looked down at him. "So, are you ready for another bout yet? Some extended creative collaboration together? You certainly feel ready to me."

Ranma nodded eagerly, hoping that Shampoo never found out about this. She had shown herself to be quite a jealous wife with a violent temper many weeks ago, accusing him of saying another girl's name during climax when they had made love together. He had been certain at the time that he would never do such a thing because he had never done it with any other girl before her.

However, a thought had implanted itself into his head as he recovered from that savage beating. Maybe he really had been thinking about another girl while he was being intimate with Shampoo. He could not really remember that period of time, likely being half-asleep. After all, he had never tried to stay faithful to one woman for so long. Perhaps it was a sign of some kind.

Ever since that day, he had been almost constantly fighting down his desires for other girls he saw, contemplating the most beautiful ones with longing and growing less resistant to the idea of straying. The proven risk of his wife's fearsome wrath only seemed to add to the thrill of it, and he had to confess that he missed the chase, the seduction and the final conquest of new girls. When Kodachi had walked into the office earlier, he just could not seem to resist his urges anymore.

While he loved Shampoo dearly, he realized he would have to keep this a secret from her. She just wouldn't be able to understand that he was a young man with certain needs that one woman could not possibly satisfy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +3.184, -3.223

A gasp of air was forced from Ranma's lungs in a cough as Shampoo's fist caught him squarely in the diaphragm, the pain stunning him for a moment and opening up his defenses. Taking merciless advantage of his condition, she grabbed his head and drove her knee into his face, her strike stunning him again. He staggered a step, his body uncertain whether to fall forwards or backwards. She swiftly sprang upwards above him as he stumbled forward, struggling to keep from falling to his knees, and then the heel of her foot came driving down solidly into his back between his shoulder blades in an axe kick, slamming him into the ground as she finished him off.

"Ouch," murmured Ryu Kumon, reflexively wincing at the sight of his best friend's dust-rising impact into the ground after being brutalized like that by his beautiful, live-in sparring partner. Next to him in the Saotome's backyard, Ukyo Kuonji sat at her ease, dressed in a blue gi, sipping a cold soda. Behind them, the quiet figure of Mina Li knelt demurely, watching the match with great interest. The Korean girl was dressed in a casual kimono Ryu's mother had bought for her.

"Do you think he tried something again?" Ukyo whispered to him, leaning over and casually touching his arm to get his attention.

"Knowing Ranma as I do, I suspect so." Ryu took a sip of his own soda, relaxing as he watched the other boy struggling slowly back to his feet. Shampoo stood a short distance away, annoyance prevalent in her gaze, but a hint of something else there as well. He shifted his regard back to Ukyo. "It must be torture to him, to be so close to a beauty like her every day and not be able to have her. I'm glad I don't have his problem." He grinned lecherously at the memories of his liaisons with Mina, enjoying the Korean girl's plentiful charms as often as he could ever since his mother had acquired her for him.

"Boys," the girl next to him murmured with a frown, knowing what he was likely thinking about from the perverted look suddenly appearing on his face, feeling angry at him and a little sorry for Mina. "You all think with what's down there between your legs. You don't understand that this is difficult for her too." When her companion just looked blankly back at her, she growled a little at his male idiocy. "Look, dummy, she likes him. She doesn't enjoy hurting him." There was a pause as she sipped her drink. "Well, except when he's being a pervert with her, but then he deserves it."

Ryu raised an eyebrow. Ukyo nodded at him and stood up.

"Looks like we're up, Ryu-kun," she said, stretching her arms out in front of her, her fingers interlaced together, causing the tendons in her hands to pop. "Ready to get beat by a girl again?"

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to act a little less gloating," he said with a glower at her. "You're only a few matches up on me."

"Whatever you say, Ryu-kun," she replied with mocking sweetness in her tones, patting him on the cheek, purposely leaning forward to give him a tantalizing glimpse of cleavage beneath her gi top. Looking forward to the beating she planned to give the lecherous boy, she sauntered past Shampoo, currently busy with helping Ranma back to his place at the sidelines to recover. The two girls nodded respectfully to each other, Ukyo acknowledging her as an equal despite Shampoo's much lower social standing, having grown to esteem her as a warrior.

"Have a good match, Kumon-san," said Mina without meaning it. She watched as he stood up and then turned to her. Seeing him smile, she smiled back only because it was expected of her. Deep inside, she was looking forward to seeing Ukyo pound the Kumon boy into the dirt again.

"No worries," he said confidently, taking a moment to admire the Korean girl's beauty, the clean lines of her face and her long hair that fell in a lustrous mane to just below her shoulders. He was so grateful to his mother at picking this sexy girl for him. "Uk-chan's being far too cocky. Time to teach her that she's not as tough as she thinks she is." With that, he strolled out to face off against Ukyo.

After depositing Ranma at the sidelines to rest and recover, Shampoo stalked over and settled herself down right next to Mina in a kneeling position, appearing relaxed but ready. The Korean girl glanced at her, deeply admiring the Amazon's great ability to fight, wondering what it would be like to be able to have such strength at her command, to be able to walk with such confidence and be respected as the other girl was by others for her skills, even though she was a slave like herself. Shampoo could even refuse Ranma's advances, further increasing her envy. She desperately wanted to be able to tell Ryu "no" sometimes.

The pair watched as Ukyo and Ryu began sparring fiercely, the two fighters giving it their all against each other. As the girls took their ease in the shade, they watched the fierce conflict escalate as Ukyo began to quickly gain the upper hand, the Kuonji girl clearly intent on inflicting some pain. Nodoka came out and knelt down next to the young Amazon, somewhat disdainfully ignoring the quiet Korean girl on the other side of Shampoo who had gone back to watching the match with a slight smile.

"How is he doing today, Shampoo?" asked the older woman calmly, as if discussing the weather, glancing briefly at her son lying in a crumpled heap. "I saw he came pretty close to beating you yesterday."

"Almost, but Ranma get distracted... again," murmured the Joketsuzoku girl with a sigh. She shook her head and looked somewhat regretfully at him. One of her kicks had gone high, exposing her panties to his gaze, and that was the end of him. "Shampoo know Ranma not really weak, but still have big problem with sexy distraction."

It was actually a bit frustrating to her, now that she had gotten to know him somewhat better over the past many weeks. She had observed him when he was fighting against other boys, fierce and capable fighters such as his newest nemesis, the pink-haired kendoist, Utemaro Tenjou. He was able to beat them all without too much trouble, displaying an astonishing level of ability. But against her and the Tendo girls, especially with the two younger ones who played on his one glaring flaw when it came to fighting with women, he became distracted by displays of their femininity. An exhibition of cleavage or an unveiled view of panties utterly disabled his combat abilities, a weapon the two younger Tendo girls in particular rather gleefully used in their arsenal against him. It was like he was a helpless thrall to his desires and teenaged male hormones, such displays destroying his ability to fight with his normal effectiveness.

"Well, since Ranma has some time off coming up when his summer break starts at the Academy, why don't the two of you get out of the city for a while?" Nodoka suggested. "I have some distant relatives you could stay with in the countryside for a week or two and enjoy the local scenery, just the two of you. The fresh air would do you both good."

Secretly, Nodoka hoped that the change of scenery would allow Ranma to finally beat Shampoo and win the Joketsuzoku girl as a bride. She had come to know the Amazon a bit better over the past weeks, and she felt certain the girl would make him an excellent wife despite her currently low social standing. It was not unheard of in the Empire for a female slave to attain their freedom through marriage to an Imperial citizen. And if he was finally able to indulge his desires and exorcise his male urges with the aid of the Chinese girl, she was sure that would free her son to be the warrior Genma had trained him to be, able to deal with any opponent equally, regardless of their gender.

The way he was now, crippled by his sexual desires when fighting with girls, she feared her son falling prey to some less than honorable woman who would severely harm him. The two Tendo girls, while they were two of his most dedicated rivals and unhesitatingly preyed upon his weakness with females in their tactics against him, had never seriously injured him during a fight. She actually suspected the pair harbored far gentler feelings for him than they displayed in public, despite the ugly vitriol Soun and Genma held for each other. On separate occasions recently, she had seen each of the Tendo girls lurking near the house, observing Shampoo and Ranma talking together. The fierce looks she saw on their faces could have only been described as green-eyed jealousy. Nabiki had glared at the Amazon as if trying to burn a hole through her with her eyes, and Akane had gripped a steel fencepost next to her with both hands as if throttling it, tightly enough to crumple it like an empty soda can.

Shampoo's lips formed into a moue as she considered the matter. It was not as if she could really refuse the offer. Nodoka had gone out of her way, ever since Ranma purchased the Joketsuzoku girl at auction, to make her feel more like part of the family instead of something he owned. That kindness was greatly appreciated. It would also be nice to get away from the city and breathe some cleaner air for a while.

"Where we go?"

"Oh, it's a charming little village, quite rustic and peaceful. My cousin and her family moved there from the city several years ago when her husband obtained a management position at the fusion plant there. I remember hearing her son married one of the local girls a couple of years ago, and they have a child now."

"Sound like nice place." Shampoo smiled at Nodoka's description. She pictured a place like her home village in her head. "What is village called?"

"Hinamizawa," Nodoka replied with a smile. "As I recall, they have a local summer festival of some kind coming up soon." She gracefully stood up and smiled. "I'll go and make the arrangements. We'll also need to buy you a nice yukata to wear to their festival. I'm sure Ranma will enjoy seeing you in it." And out of it after he's defeated you, she mused with a motherly beam.

Shampoo nodded and smiled back. She found herself looking forward to the idea of a trip out of the city.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth +6.123, +5.298

Genma and Soun stared out the large plate glass window in awe at a portion of the huge spaceport surrounding them, located in Hokkaido, Japan. As they watched, they heard the distant, rumbling roar of a departing vessel lifting off, a cargo carrier headed for one of the lunar facilities. Standing behind them were Kimiko and Nodoka, the latter looking at them in amusement.

"If you think this is impressive, you should see the shipyards built on Mars," said Nodoka proudly with a smile, coming over to stand next to Genma. "They're constructing the first interstellar vessel there, the Britannia, but work is going very slowly because of the war efforts and its need for resources. In the next few years, High Command hopes to be able to send out colonies to nearby stars."

"Really?" said Genma, looking at her, his eyes shining with wonder. He put his arm around her shoulders and turned back to look outwards at the bustling activity, forgetting for a moment he was now with a different Nodoka as she moved closer and snuggled up against him. He was amazed at the sheer amount of traffic moving through the place. The economy of the Matriarchy seemed to be humming along pretty well.

Seeing her friend enjoying such familiarity with her newfound husband while she remained alone, Kimiko tightened her grip on the strap of the small duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She narrowed her gaze at Soun wrathfully and glared intently at him from behind, wondering why he was so annoyingly obstinate about refusing to fight her. Could he fear her abilities as a warrior? That did not seem right, based on what she knew of him. Tendons cracked softly in her fingers as they formed an even tighter fist holding on to the strap.

Turning around, the object of her ire started to ask her a question about the spaceport and then froze immediately at the fearsome fury displayed in her fiery gaze. Soun swallowed, feeling suddenly timid, an impression he was more used to inflicting upon others than experiencing himself. "Uh, Nakakami-san?"

"What?" Kimiko snapped out, her fierce gaze quickly overpowering his.

"N-nothing." Soun turned back around quickly, feeling a cold sweat breaking out on his flesh.

"I always thought the launch facilities at Kagoshima or Woomera were impressive," said Genma with a grin, unaware of the exchange that had just occurred. "This puts them both to shame."

"We should hurry, or we're going to miss our train," said Kimiko with forced mildness through slightly gritted teeth.

Genma suddenly realized he had been holding Nodoka rather closely, and he stepped away with an embarrassed chuckle, unexpectedly reluctant to break physical contact with her. His mind suddenly conjured up erotic imagery of her trim physique, distracting him even further. "Uh, yes, Nakakami-san. You're quite right, of course."

"My analog on this world owns a nice hotel and other sorts of ventures not too far from here," said Nodoka, picking up her duffel and taking hold of him by the arm, feeling his muscles twitch slightly at her touch. She could tell from his looks and the other subtle signs he was giving off that his need for her was building. She was intrigued that his willpower was strong enough to hold him back from giving in to his desires for her. Most males succumbed much more easily to the demands aroused by the herbal concoction he had consumed the other night. To withstand it showed he was a strong-willed individual in addition to being a powerful fighter, an oddly fascinating combination to her.

Well, no matter, she mused. His need for her would gradually continue to build until she was all he could think of, driven by his rising hormonal levels caused by the glandular alterations done to him by the herbal concoction she had given him after his victory over her. Now that they had been intimate together, a subtle, chemical bond existed between them. While he could be with other women and avoid her for a time, only her body's pheromones would be able to fully satisfy his body's incessantly growing cravings, ensuring his loyalty to her. It had worked very well for a great many generations of women within the Joketsuzoku Order in order to control their chosen men.

"She's quite a successful entrepreneur, doing a lot of business with military types coming dirtside on shore leave, as well as the Fleet Training Academy near the port." Nodoka commented as they headed for the trains.

The group made their way slowly through the mostly female crowd in the terminal, the two women taking the lead without comment, pushing and shoving their way past other women in uniform. The two men trailed along more quietly in their wake. Soun felt female hands groping his behind numerous times as he made his way through the thick crowd with Genma, but he grimly ignored it.

The train was more of the same, aggravating him even further until he wanted to lash out at someone physically or even just unleash his Demon's Head attack. The car they were in was filled almost entirely with women. Many of the ones he saw were tough-looking sorts in uniform who gave him unfriendly glares if he met their gaze. To make matters worse, Kimiko stomped on his foot once when she noticed him looking at an attractive Japanese woman wearing a blue kimono who seemed to be following them. He remembered seeing her before in the train station, something about her regard rousing his instincts to sound loud warning klaxons. Kimiko then turned away immediately with a harrumph when he quickly brought his attention back to her. Meanwhile, the mysterious woman in the blue kimono somehow vanished within the crowd in the subway car while his attention was distracted, and he did not see her again for the remainder of their journey.

Soun growled softly at the Solnoid warrior's mercurial nature, his hands closing into fists, irritated by her poor treatment of him and briefly tempted to take out his ire with his situation upon her. She possessed his dead wife's sometimes quite volatile personality to a high degree, one of the things Akane had inherited from Kimiko, and the woman's mannerisms kept reminding him of his wife so much it was eerie. He was sure Genma was having similar issues, but the redhead was far friendlier to him. He had to forcibly jog his memory once again that this was not actually his Kimiko returned to life but a physical duplicate of her originating from an alternate branch of history.

Perhaps Saotome-kun would agree to have a full-contact sparring match with him after they arrived at their destination, he mused darkly. He knew it would be a stress reliever for him to expend his energies in some mock combat. However, if he wasn't interested, perhaps he would ask the irritating Solnoid woman wearing his dead wife's face if she would spar with him instead. She carried herself with the bearing of a highly-capable martial artist, but he dreaded losing his temper and turning it into a real battle between them. Should he win, his victory would cause even more complications for his current situation.

It didn't help matters that he felt so strongly attracted to her. His awareness of the alluring lines of her face and how excellently her trim physique filled out her rather tight-fitting uniform was arousing within him feelings he had thought long dead and buried. In all the years since his wife died, he had never been intimate with any other woman, refusing to allow another into his heart to take her place. It was this unyielding barrier that had served to keep his sensuous rival at the Security Directorate, Hinako Ninomiya, at a comfortable distance from him.

However, those emotional defenses had never been prepared to deal with a doppelganger of Kimiko and the myriad little mannerisms this version of her shared with his deceased wife. His love for her had never truly died. Instead he had hermetically sealed it away in a box, allowing him to continue functioning as a human being instead of retreating from the world like his analog had. Seeing the life of this other Soun Tendo, a man whose body he now inhabited, how utterly devastated he had been inside at the loss of his wife and failing to master his sorrow as a man should have, made his emotional state disturbingly vulnerable.

To then come face to face with a living duplicate of Kimiko, a vibrant albeit irritating woman, tempted him so much despite her inherent attitude of female superiority. The box containing his love had been shattered to flinders after spending some time with her, and he was still struggling with the aftermath, fearing to open himself up to future emotional pain by becoming involved with the Solnoid soldier. It was like getting a second chance to have his wife back in his life, but one he hesitated at reaching out to claim. If he let this woman into his life, would he be able to survive losing another Kimiko? Was she worth the risk? And how would his daughters react to her?

Nodoka spent their journey on the train alternating between looking at Kimiko with some concern and observing Genma, discovering how much she just enjoyed looking at him. She found herself idly musing about how handsome he was and looking forward to their next bout of intimacy together. She hoped it would not be too much longer of a wait for him to seek her out, recalling their last time together with smug glee. He had been trained well as a lover, one who knew all of her likes during coitus by that other Nodoka, feeling an odd twinge of jealousy strike her at the thought of her analog on that distant version of history.

She realized she was actually yearning to give herself emotionally to him, a somewhat surprising thing for her given her romantic history with men, previously treating them all as disposable toys only kept around long enough to gratify her sexual needs. Up until this point in her life, she had been content to enjoy such brief, passionate affairs, satiating her needs for coitus with comfort males during shore leave, sometimes in threesomes with Kimiko if they were both in the mood or (as was more often the case) low on funds. The idea of sharing an emotional intimacy with a male was a new and exciting concept, and it amazed her that she desired so strongly to have such a relationship with this particular man.

Turning back to regard her friend, she could not recall ever seeing the other woman looking so out of sorts and on edge. The two of them had been through many shared experiences together, going back to their first meeting as teenagers. A ferociously brutal fistfight had been their initial introduction to each other, one of many such encounters they had engaged in with each other in those early days, but, somehow, all those bareknuckle fights eventually led them to becoming very close friends and even comrades who could trust each other with their lives. They both still enjoyed the occasional cathartic brawl with each other, loving the fierce thrills of battle with a capable foe.

It was a rather subtle thing, perhaps something that only someone who knew Kimiko as well as Nodoka did would be able to pick up on, but it was clear to her that her friend had developed feelings of some kind towards Soun, likely simple lust or maybe something more. She noted her friend frequently glancing at him whenever he wasn't looking at her and then blushing, acting like a simpering, little schoolgirl instead of the battle-tested, self-confident woman she normally was. However, it had been a while since their last shore leave, so it was possible that Kimiko was just feeling sexually pent-up and looking for an outlet for her passions, and Soun Tendo had happened to catch her fancy. It was probably just a fleeting thing, nothing as serious as what Nodoka knew she felt for her new husband.

A little while later, the group finally emerged from the subway to find themselves on a street facing a number of small hotels, restaurants, bars and casinos. The sun was long past the high point of the day, but the heat lingered. It was humid as well. Soun was immediately reminded of the Roppongi region of Tokyo back home mixed with a bit of Las Vegas. It had a rather tawdry sort of feel to it in the daylight, with a lot of unlit neon lights in slightly rusty brackets and worn paint that appeared a bit faded in the sun.

"My analog runs a pretty swanky establishment around here, but I've never been in this area in the daytime," said Nodoka, looking around a bit for something familiar.

"Well, what's the name of the place?" asked Genma, studying the many buildings on the street. Luckily, the signs were in familiar kanji as well as the strange script of Solnoid, reminding him that he should take some time to study this new language, linguistics being one of his hobbies. He felt a rivulet of sweat start to run down his face from the heat and humidity.

"The Heavenly Pleasures Inn," said Soun suddenly.

"Now how could you possibly know that?" asked Kimiko in astonishment.

"Because I just saw a boy that looked exactly like Saotome-kun's son Ranma going into the place." Soun pointed. "Over there."

Genma blinked. "Really?" He looked at the establishment in question, adjusting his glasses. It reminded him of one of the more tasteful love hotels back home, with the additions of a casino, restaurant and bar on the ground floor. The hotel portion rose high above the street, towering over them by many stories, and it was quite easily one of the largest buildings around.

A number of women in uniform were on the streets around them, many of them quite young. He was startled to see two girls that looked almost exactly like Ukyo Kuonji suddenly stroll past him while they chatted with each other amiably about their plans for the rest of the day, both excited to be on break from classes before exams, the two differing in appearance from the one he knew by their hairstyles and clothing. One spoke with a Kansai accent and the other had more of a Hokkaido manner of speech. Both Ukyos were dressed in the same kind of school uniform, patches on their right shoulders that were very similar to the ones Kimiko and Nodoka had on their uniforms. He shook his head, realizing he should get used to such sights in the future, visiting a culture where inter-universal travel and commerce was considered to be both normal and commonplace.

"Come on then," said Nodoka with a grin. "Let's go check in." They crossed the street, dodging a couple of slow-moving cars.

Upon opening the doors to the hotel lobby, the heat and humidity that existed outside was immediately blasted away, replaced by chilly air blowing in their faces. Inside, fine tiles, rugs and tasteful décor dominated the scene surrounding them. Looking around, Genma whistled tunelessly, a bit impressed. It all looked very expensive and upscale, not as gaudy or gauche as he had been expecting.

The male desk clerk gave them a professional smile, paying somewhat more attention to Nodoka and Genma, recognizing them immediately though he knew immediately the woman was not his employer. "Welcome to the Heavenly Pleasures Inn. How may I help you?"

"Yes," said Nodoka, stepping forward and presenting her military ID card. "I'm Lt. Nodoka Kamiya. I have a reservation for a couple of suites."

"Of course, Kamiya-san," he said professionally. He ran her ID card and then smiled. "I've located your reservation in the system. The owner placed a notation in your file. She's been very busy dealing with other matters lately, but she has extended to you an invitation for you and the rest of your party to join her and her family for dinner this week while you're staying here, if that would be convenient."

Nodoka smiled and nodded. "Please let her know we accept."

"I shall do so," said the man, giving her another professional smile. "You have your usual line of credit established at the casino, if you wish to use it during your stay this time. Since you are arriving with male companions, I take it you and Lt. Nakakami won't have need of any of our stable of comfort males for use during your stay this time?"

"Uh, no," Nodoka replied with a grin. "Not this time. We're covered."

Genma and Soun looked at each other, both of them silently mouthing "comfort males?"

Standing to one side, Kimiko blushed and felt irritated at Nodoka openly discussing such a matter where the two men could hear, trying to keep her eyes off of Soun. She had spoken with her friend about this before they left the ship, admitting to the other woman that she hoped a change of scenery might allow her a better chance to induce him to fight with her. He had seemed to be getting riled up over something during their journey here, occasionally eyeing her with a warrior's spirit glimmering within his gaze, making him seem even more attractive to her. Win or lose, she needed to know if he was the one meant for her. If he was, she had brought with her a supply of Victory Spice to dose his drink with to celebrate his conquest of her, binding them together just as securely as Nodoka had already bound her new husband to her.

Unfortunately, it had been a while since she had last been intimate with a man, and she realized that lack was making her far edgier than normal. A good fight would at least offer her some catharsis for her raging hormones, even if she won. And even if he wasn't able to defeat her, she might still offer Soun a night with her as a consolation prize that should also hopefully quell her surprisingly intense desires for him, assuming both of them were left in sufficient physical condition to be able to perform in bed after their battle together.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, bro, come check out who just arrived downstairs in the lobby."

Ranma had just returned to the penthouse apartment he shared with his parents and sister, located on the top floor of the Heavenly Pleasures Inn. His hair was worn short and styled nicely, and he was dressed casually in a pair of dark gray shorts and a Hawaiian shirt bought on the family's recent vacation there, his skin tanned from days spent swimming at the beach and lounging around the pool at the resort. His left foot pushed the front door closed with a soft clunk behind him, his eyes still perusing the male fashion magazine he had recently purchased.

He had been a bit preoccupied with wondering how he would look in the white summer-weight suit shown in one picture when she called out to him. The bag he held in his right hand carried other magazines of interest to him as well as copies of the latest issues of his favorite manga titles. He glanced over at his sister when he heard her voice and then redirected his course towards her location instead of his bedroom.

The black-haired girl, Ranko, was currently lounging a bit indolently on the couch in the main room, dressed in snug, cutoff shorts and a light pink blouse. Her legs were bent, her feet resting on the edge of the table in front of her, and her laptop sat on her bare thighs. Her shoulder-length tresses were worn braided into their usual pigtail. He smiled at the sight of her, her body still looking nicely tanned from their recent vacation, remembering the selection of bikinis she had worn during their trip, a different one each day.

As he strolled over to her, he admired her shapely figure as he was wont to do. He knew it was not a brotherly sort of thing for him to look at her in such a way, but theirs was not an ordinary familial relationship. While they were legally siblings now, they actually originated from two different worlds, both of them orphaned when the ravages of war devastated their original homes along the border zone the Solnoids shared with the Musk.

Their adoptive mother, unable to have any children herself due to a childhood ailment, had been contacted by the Solnoid government's social services in the aftermath of the savage attacks by the Musk that had cost the two adolescents their original parents. Offered a chance to adopt Ranko, their mother had ended up adopting him as well when she saw him at the orphanage and learned he too was a child of another one of her analogs. So, at the age of ten, the two of them became brother and sister. Most people just assumed they were born to their mother as twins, and neither of them ever made any attempts to dissuade anyone of this belief, even their closest friends and schoolmates.

To provide a proper male role model in their household, Genma Saotome, their adopted mother's favorite among the stable of men she maintained on the premises for the use of female guests, became her husband and took her name. He and Ranma actually became fairly close over the years since the two children were adopted. Ranko, coming from a world where men were far fewer in number than women, was intrigued by the idea of a woman marrying a man and keeping him all to herself.

After their adoption, a certain period of adjustment for them both had followed, especially after discovering they were analogs of each other, even being born on the same day. As each of them was used to being an only child and not having to deal with a sibling, arguments and fights had occurred regularly for a while before they learned to cooperate better with each other. The time they spent together eventually caused them to evolve into the outwardly familial relationship they displayed in public with each other, the duo taking on the roles of brother and sister with practiced ease.

Ranko was currently enjoying a break from going through the books of their shared venture, the two of them being equal partners in a junior version of the famed Heavenly Pleasures Inn's Host Club, one of several thriving businesses their mother owned and operated. They had come up with the idea during one of their late-night talks together, discussing ways they could make some extra money without taking too much time away from their schoolwork to work a regular job. Since Ranma was already pretty popular with the girls in the neighborhood and at school, she had mused aloud that there should be a way they could monetize his masculine charms. The two of them had then stared at each other, grins appearing simultaneously, realizing that their mother already ran such a business they could use as a model. Their version of the Host Club was thus born, providing companionship, flirting and pampering to teenaged girls willing to pay for it.

They started up their operation after first gaining their mother's permission, and she had clearly been proud of their entrepreneurial spirit, even giving them a little seed money to get started. Instead of offering their services to lonely adult women in the city like their mother did, theirs catered only to a younger clientele, one comprised almost exclusively of the cadets from the Fleet Training Academy in town. Girls who were interested in spending an evening with a charming young man who would cater to their desires and pamper them began to flock to them. Ranko handled the business end of things, and Ranma took care of satisfying the clientele requesting their services.

Most of the time, his clients simply desired a charming companion to spend time with, going out on dates with them, flirting and otherwise pampering them with male attention. Eventually, girls began requesting him to participate in much more intimate activities with them. As word of his abilities in this area became more widely known, requests for such extra 'service' increased.

Providing quality romantic encounters for the young ladies had proven to be a lucrative operation right from the beginning. However, Ranma had very quickly discovered he was unable to satisfy the unexpectedly strong demand from the many girls desiring their amenities all on his own once word of their business began to spread among the cadets. This had necessitated them recruiting several of the handsomest boys from their school over the course of the past year since they opened up, with Ranko personally vetting their abilities to be charming on one or two dates before they were hired on as associates.

While both of them had occasionally dated others their age in the past, they eventually realized a couple of years ago that they preferred each other's company. They never revealed anything in public to indicate they were in any sort of a romantic relationship with each other, not sure how their classmates or adoptive parents would react, so instead they just quietly went out together and did dating sorts of activities with each other. The Hawaii trip had been pretty typical of this, with them spending their days together at the beach or at the resort's pool and going out to restaurants and nightclubs during the nights.

Because of this, Ranma had felt some twinges of jealousy at seeing Ranko going out with the boys they were considering as recruits for new associates. It had been an eye-opening revelation for him, that perhaps he had been developing more feelings for her than he ever suspected. He knew she was far more blasé about his spending time with other girls as part of their business, as she came from a version of Earth where the women had outnumbered the men by four to one, apparently due to some ancient genetic mutation, and men had drifted from partner to partner like a bee among flowers. The first time she had gone out with a prospective recruit was the absolute worst experience for him, even though her date that time was with one of his best friends, a boy named Ryoga Hibiki.

It had surprised him a little to feel that way, since he and Ryoga were pretty good friends and had been for several years now. He had gotten used to helping the other boy find his way around, such as to school and then back home to the apartment over the shop his parents owned, one that sold an amazing and eclectic collection of curios from around Japan that they found during their travels. As Ryoga was frequently left alone due to his parents sharing his difficulties with direction, he often spent time with him and Ranko, and Ranma knew he had a little crush on her.

Their date must have gone pretty well, since Ryoga had been rather annoyingly happy afterwards, and he later became their operation's first associate. He proved to be quite popular with a number of the cadets, and he eventually developed a small cadre of regular clients, boosting his self-esteem in the process and transforming him into a confident and suave young man with girls. Ranma had actually been expecting some sort of spectacular failure to occur, but apparently the Hibiki boy was far more appealing to girls than he had thought. He suspected that his sister liked Ryoga a bit more than she had ever previously admitted, but his foolishly saying so within earshot of her had earned him a rather painful headlock at her hands, one held long enough to cause him to pass out. She had later berated him for being a stupid, jealous fool before telling him that the only thing she had done with Ryoga was to give him a kiss at the end of their date.

His own entry into adult relationships had actually been due to another of their circle of friends, Akane Tendo, who was currently finishing up her studies at the Fleet Academy and was soon to graduate and leave on her training flight with the rank of ensign. Her family had moved here a few years ago from another tangent that had recently been admitted to the Matriarchy and opened up a restaurant. "Kimiko's Cuisine" was still being run by Akane's mother, and it did a moderately thriving business several blocks away. Her older sister, Nabiki, was a part of the Matriarchy's intelligence services and had been offworld doing some kind of secret spy work for a number of months now. Their father took care of the household and spent time with Genma, the two of them becoming friends a few years ago.

Akane loved her mother's cakes and other such sweets, so she used to be a little bit plumper before entering the Academy, since she never quite seemed to get enough exercise to offset the calories she consumed. But she was a very cute girl. While he had always thought so, even when they were children, it became far more apparent to him after puberty hit and caused him to recognize her in an entirely new fashion when her figure began filling out in intriguing ways to him. She was currently one of his more regular clients, and she always enjoyed spending time with him.

A day before his fourteenth birthday, she had also been the one he shared his very first adult kiss with. It had occurred on a dare by her, happening in her room after they had been studying together for an upcoming exam. Their noses had bumped together and then his breath had tickled her face, eventually causing her to giggle at him at the end of the kiss.

That had actually been the event that led to him and Ranko becoming closer than just brother and sister. He had gone to her afterwards and bemoaned his poor kissing performance with Akane. Ranko had shaken her head, punched him in the shoulder and then offered to practice with him to help him get better. While her tone of voice had been casual, she had been blushing a bit at the time.

That first practice session with Ranko had been both educational and enjoyable for them both, although they had felt too embarrassed to talk about it for a while, each of them surprised at just how much they had enjoyed it. An unexpected outcome of that experience with 'making out' had been to remove an unspoken barrier previously existing between them. As time passed, they began experimenting more with each other, gradually learning about what felt good to do with someone of the opposite gender.

Much of their time together was spent kissing, often doing that for hours at a time, but they eventually progressed to other, more intimate activities. They didn't ever consider themselves to be a dating couple then and knew in the back of their minds they were doing things that siblings or opposite gender analogs shouldn't do together, but they were both enjoying it too much to stop. Their relationship with each other quietly evolved, becoming something more like two very close friends who happened to be of opposite genders and were curious about intimacy, gently exploring this adult realm together with someone they trusted. Both of them shied away from thinking it could be a romantic relationship, finding the notion of being in love with an opposite sex analog to be narcissistic.

Sometime after Ranko got her required contraception implant, the two of them were kissing and cuddling in her room while their parents were away on a trip for a few days. She got a bit overly aggressive with him, taking things farther than they had ever gone before, part of an experiment they had conducted together due to what they were studying in school at the time. Her all-female class on human biology had been discussing how powerful the human sex drive was that week. The teacher, a scarred veteran from her time spent fighting against the Musk, had taken a few minutes to warn the girls in Ranko's class to beware when around boys, to not be fooled by how mild-mannered males within the Matriarchy were brought up to be. She proceeded to give a misandrist impression that all males were really lust-driven beasts, cloaking their true nature until it was too late for some poor, unfortunate girl.

Ranko had teased him about it as they walked back home together. He had protested that he wasn't some kind of beast and would never be like that with a girl. Then he dared her to try and turn him into one, not believing there was some predatory creature of lust lurking within him.

That day they ended up finally crossing the last boundary between them, engaging in something that neither of them had planned and seemed unable to stop, both far more aroused by each other than they had ever been before. They had talked about it afterwards, when their passions were finally spent, and Ranma had felt very shy about discussing it, feeling embarrassed at what they had done. Ranko had smirked at him, greatly amused by his post-coital demureness. Their talk was a fairly open and honest discussion about their shared experience together and what it had felt like for each of them. Both of them had eventually admitted wanting to do it again, and they spent the next several weeks doing so whenever they had an opportunity, considering it practice for future relationships. During that time, they gradually started spending more time together, and eventually the two of them fell into a romantic sort of relationship without ever intending to.

Like most other boys his age, Ranma had heard the stories about what girls raised outside the Matriarchy's borders were like, that they were not as assertive as his female peers, especially his sister or the cadets he spent most of his time with. Admittedly, his relationships with those in the latter group were not as deep as what he had formed with Ranko. He was well aware that many of them were stronger than he was due to their Academy combat training and upbringing in Solnoid society, with its fervent emphasis on all females being physically fit, but that was okay with him. He liked being around girls who could protect him if they encountered one of the local delinquents while on a date with him, since there were a few all-female gangs of hoodlums in the neighborhood that frequently terrorized the boys in the area.

Other than what he learned of their horrific deeds and utterly warped psychology in school, all he knew about the men of the Musk Dynasty were stories told to him by his mother's analog, "Auntie Nodoka" as she was known to him and Ranko. It was a bit horrifying for him to think about, that somewhere among the Musk might be one or more analogs of his, brought up amidst their pathologies. Probably brutish misogynists like the rest of the barbarians, he mused with a mental sniff. He was grateful to live as a member of Solnoid society and its more refined views on gender roles, to have women be in charge instead of what went on in the Musk's perverse culture.

Returning his thoughts to more immediate concerns as he sat down next to Ranko, it was looking like they needed to expand their ranks again. He was considering asking Tatewaki Kuno to join this time. He was a good-looking boy a year ahead of him in school who really liked to read classical poetry. He came from a poorer family that could probably use the extra money, but Tatewaki was rather shy and might have trouble becoming a proper host, let alone acting as a comfort male if any girl asked for that level of service. His younger sister, a rather intense and very studious girl, was soon to graduate from the Academy with honors. She occasionally requested him, claiming he was an excellent stress reliever before an exam, and she was one of the girls who requested his 'extra' services.

"So, what's so interesting, sis?" he asked, seeing Ranko had tapped into the security camera feed and was looking at the lobby. He smiled when he saw who had arrived. "Hey, it's Auntie Nodoka."

She turned her head and smiled at him. "Even better, she brought her friend Kimiko with her. But check this out." She shifted to another camera, this one showing Genma and Soun standing there. "They brought these two with them as well."

"Hey, that's an analog of Pop," said Ranma with surprise, looking at Genma. "And that's Akane's father."

Ranko nodded. "Yeah, they are. Maybe while they're here, we could play a little matchmaking with them." She grinned impishly and then paused, noticing the time. "Hey, don't you have an appointment to spend the evening with that pink-haired, Chinese girl, Ensign Peh Fum?"

"Yeah," Ranma admitted, looking at the clock. "I need to wash up and get ready. She sounded really upset on the phone. Maybe something went wrong on her training cruise."

"I bet you were hoping it was going to be that other one, Shan Pu," Ranko teased him. "She seemed really happy with you when she left that morning, the way she was clinging to you at the door and giving you that last kiss. You really left an impression on her, bro. She was practically glowing with happiness when she left."

"Jealous, sis?" Ranma grinned at her. He was rewarded to see her blush, frown and then grab a pillow before swinging it at him. It hit him squarely in the face.

"I'm not jealous," Ranko stated flatly, her cheeks still reddened. "I know you get asked to sleep with some of the girls we provide for. That sort of thing is how we make a lot of our money." She paused for a few moments, collecting herself. "From what I've heard, you treat them all well, especially your little harem of favorites, like Akane, Kodachi, and the two Kuonji girls."

"Aw, sis," said Ranma with a frown. "Don't call them that. It's not a harem. They just prefer to spend time with me instead of one of the other guys. They don't mean that much to me."

"I just-" She paused and looked down at the laptop. "Just promise me you won't fall in love with one of them. You're getting to know girls who come from some pretty wealthy and politically well-connected families, like that Shan Pu chick. Her mother is a famous general. One of them may offer Mom a really good dowry for your hand in marriage." There was a long pause. "I-I love you, bro. I don't want to lose you."

He studied her face, noting unshed tears slowly welling up in her eyes. Without a word, he pulled the laptop from her grasp and set it behind him. He reached a hand under her chin and gently turned her to meet his gaze.

"Hey," he said softly. "I love you too, sis, far more than I care about any of them." He gave her a gentle peck on the lips. "Nobody will ever take me away from you."

"You really mean it?" She gazed into his eyes. "Your love is mine?"

"Yeah," he said softly, dropping his gaze demurely. "It's yours until the end of time."

They kissed, long and deeply, wrapping their arms around each other as they sank down together onto the couch, finding comfort together.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

General Ko Em gazed at the two women in front of her, her expression thoughtful.

"Thank you, Captain," she said in Solnoid. "Your report has been very thorough." There was a pause. "You're sure of these findings?"

Captain Saeko Nogami, standing at rigid attention next to Commander Kazue Nattori, nodded. "We double and triple-checked before coming to see you, Ma'am. We believe your daughter is alive. At least an engram copy of her is."

The general let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding.

"When I heard about the fate of the Huntress, it was one of the worst things imaginable for me," Ko Em admitted. "Thank you for bringing me this better news."

"You're welcome, Ma'am." Captain Nogami bowed respectfully to the other woman, a gesture echoed by Commander Nattori. When she stood back up straight, she asked, "What are your orders?"

"For now, we will wait and learn more from the two males you brought back, discovering as much as we possibly can find out about them. We need a much better understanding of this 'Empire of Japan' where they are from, the point where their world's history diverged from ours, and what resistance their Empire might offer us should the decision be made to attack and conquer them instead of trading with them. They appear to be a far more egalitarian culture in their dealings between the genders than the enemy is, so my personal feeling is that it is more likely they could become a trading partner, possibly even a useful ally for us against the Musk. You have the pair under constant surveillance, I trust?"

"Yes, and two of our finest soldiers are overseeing them, General," said Commander Nattori. "They have orders to stay with the two males constantly." She smirked. "Lt. Kamiya seemed quite eager to obey that order in regards to Professor Saotome."

"Indeed. And what of Lt. Nakakami and this Soun Tendo person? Do you anticipate either of our soldiers becoming compromised by our visitors? They could be wily sorts. It would not be the first time that one of ours chose love of a male over duty."

Captain Nogami smirked this time. "The commander and I feel confident in saying that it is far more likely that those two will compromise the males instead of the other way around. Lt. Kamiya has already fed Professor Saotome a dose of the Order's Victory Spice after his defeat of her. It might possibly only be a matter of time before Soun Tendo is delivered to the same fate as his friend. He carried himself very well, clearly a capable martial artist as far as I am able to tell, and I believe he has a better than even chance of standing victorious, even against one as highly-skilled and strong as Lt. Nakakami is."

"That is excellent news, Captain. The matriarchs of the Joketsuzoku Order will be extremely interested in learning of a world capable of producing two men of sufficient caliber to defeat two of their finest warriors." The general turned to face the Kara's captain. "Your soldiers are to continue standing guard around the beacon, maintaining regular shifts around the clock until further notice. If the professor's son does indeed come to rescue him, the boy is to be captured using minimal force and then brought to High Command immediately. Do you understand me, Captain? I want him in good health and preferably not ill-favored towards us. With his technology and willing assistance, we can finally tip this war into our favor, bypassing the Musk's resonator jammers and creating legions of fifth columnists among their populace. The war with the feral males could finally be over."

"Of course, General," Captain Nogami replied. "It shall be done as you command." She raised her right hand to her left breast, and the commander at her side did so as well.

"For the Matriarchy," they intoned.

General Ko Em nodded. "You are dismissed."

Later, after the two women departed, Bernkastel was briefly seen amidst the shadows, having been listening in secret to the entire conversation between the general and her subordinates. Her expression was thoughtful as she considered the plans she had heard.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To be continued...


	32. The Price Of Victory

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-11.33280 Years)

Beyond the walls of the Ministry of Science, a lone figure dressed in casual clothing sat at one of the cafés near the massive structure. A steaming cup of tea sat before him. The vapors carried a pleasant aroma to his nostrils.

"You picked a rather pleasant spot to have a meeting," said the small, wizened figure of Director Sakuranbo, leader of the famed and feared Mobius Institute. Dressed in a grey business suit, he casually removed his sunglasses and set them on the table. Two extremely severe-looking bodyguards wearing identical sunglasses to the Director's remained a respectful distance away from the pair, but they appeared ready to commit mayhem on anyone arousing his ire at a moment's notice. "I may not return to the office after this," he joked, his tones as dry as sun-bleached bone.

The Seer turned the milky-white orbs of his eyes to the Director of the Mobius Institute and smiled. It was an unsettling image. "The day draws closer that you will retire from your position," he commented mildly.

"That day can't come soon enough," the elderly man snorted mirthlessly, recalling the paperwork he still had waiting for him on his desk for his review. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a thick envelope. He set it on the table near the cup of tea the Seer had sitting in front of him. "Your latest information proved to be pivotal again."

The blind man nodded and paused before placing his hand down on the envelope. Through his Sight, he continuously observed the people around them who monitored the other man's movements, some originating from the Security Directorate and others who answered to groups like Shadowlaw or even the distant Ottoman Empire. There were numerous pathways that would allow him to avoid their clutching grasp when his meeting with Director Sakuranbo was over. He took in all of their possible future actions regarding him, along with his Sight's prophetic revelation of the contents of the envelope when he eventually opened it.

"You've given me a bonus this time." He placed his hand down on the envelope, packed thick with yen notes. "While I am honored at your generosity, the amounts you've previously given me have been quite sufficient. You do not need to add anything extra to my payments." He took the envelope and placed it within a coat pocket. In truth, he did not even need the money, as being able to observe the future provided ample opportunities to acquire such a triviality as money with little effort, but taking it eased the other man's concerns about his motives. This minor action extinguished several troublingly dangerous branching pathways to the future in the process.

"Your lack of greed is humbling," Director Sakuranbo said solemnly with a nod. "Others possessing your information could ask for more princely sums in payment for sharing it." He smiled thinly when the very pretty waitress in the short skirt and thigh-high socks timidly approached them and set a cup of steaming hot tea in front of him. The savory aroma wafted up to his nostrils. He had always loved a good cup of tea, and this café was one of the better ones in the area. He resolutely kept his gaze away from following her shapely derriere and legs as she departed from them, his attention remaining firmly focused on the cup of freshly-brewed tea instead, relaxing only when she was out of sight.

The Seer picked up his teacup when his companion did, and they both sipped. They enjoyed a few moments of silence together. He then turned his blind gaze to the other man.

"Your control of your desires is strong," he remarked casually.

"You're about the only one left in this world who could comment on that," Director Sakuranbo said mildly. "I was a much different man then, in many ways, as you well know."

"Yes, you were." There was a pause as the Seer sipped his tea again and then set the cup down. "You could have followed a different path. You were given that option."

"After a fashion, I suppose I was," the elderly man said grimly. "But after you and the kimonoed witch did your 'Christmas Carol' treatment to me, showing me what I would have become unless I changed my life's course, I was left with little choice but to agree to your offer."

He paused.

"However, with that said, I have very few regrets about the path I've followed since that day. I gained a family, honor, colleagues, a small army of underlings who obey my every command, the respect of two successive Emperors and a niece who adores me." His gaze turned a bit inward.

"The price I paid, no longer being able to indulge my baser desires and petty whims whenever the urge struck me, I suppose losing that was a relatively small thing in comparison." He took a sip of his tea, the flavor savory on his tongue. "It would certainly shock those that knew me then, but I don't really miss being that man anymore. I'm sure no one else ever really missed him either."

"Sakura has grown to be a very promising young priestess." The Seer sipped some more tea, changing the subject before the other man became morose. "She'll be graduating from the Institute soon with high honors, correct?"

"Yes," Director Sakuranbo replied with pride, smiling. "She shows great promise in her mystical abilities. I just worry a bit about her lack of social skills with boys. After her graduation, I've been considering partnering her with another priestess her age that is far more popular among their male peers. My hope is that being around her will shake Sakura-chan up a little, so the girl can learn to enjoy life much more than she seems to now."

The Seer nodded but did not comment.

After finishing his tea, Director Sakuranbo stood up and then put his sunglasses back on, a bemused look on his face. "Listen to me, rambling on like this with you about my young niece's social life. I sound like some old woman." There was a pause as a grimace briefly crossed his face at that notion. "Feel free to contact me by the usual means the next time you wish to pass along any information to me. Perhaps we can have tea together again sometime."

The Seer nodded and watched the other man and his two bodyguards leave. He opened up his Sight fully for several moments, ignoring the spikes of pain as he beheld the infinite worlds streaming off into the future distance, several disparate timelines linking together in intriguing ways in only a scant few years. The strain on his body from using his abilities in such a way caused droplets of blood to begin dribbling from his nose, a warning that he was in danger of suffering far worse things than the blindness already inflicted upon him. He briefly faced towards the Ministry of Science, nodding once in its general direction before departing on his way, dabbing absently at the drying blood on his upper lip with a silk handkerchief.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-11.32942 Years)

The heart rate monitor gave off a regular beeping sound as Genma sat next to Ranma's bed in a metal chair. His son's fever was climbing again, and the doctors weren't sure if the boy was going to survive the night, due to the Eucharist symbiote's unexpectedly intense struggle with his immune system. He leaned forward and laced his hands together, resting his chin on them as he watched over Ranma solemnly. It was quiet in this section of the Ministry of Science, and he was grateful for that.

He had been so certain that his son's body would accept the symbiote easily after seeing the results of the boy's genetic profile. Ranma had seemed to be a nearly perfect candidate for it, and his DNA markers had pointed towards a successful symbiosis occurring without difficulties. But there must have been something that was missed, some random factor in the boy's genetic code. Looking at his son now as he laid so still, Genma felt his anger build, one directed at himself and at his own arrogance. In danger of losing his only child, his son and heir, the guilt he felt was almost unbearable.

After Nodoka's miscarriage, an event taking place during the first year after they were married, they had decided to wait a while and consult with doctors before trying again to have a child. Their relatives had been very supportive of them during that difficult time, especially his wife's great aunt, a relative of Nodoka's he had never met, Furuderika Kamiya, who had written his wife lengthy letters of support. Nodoka had blamed herself for losing the baby, and, while she had never admitted it to him, he suspected she was deeply worried that her old injuries, souvenirs from all of the brutal fights she had gotten into during her teenaged years, had permanently damaged her internally, preventing her from ever being able to carry a child to term.

Those violent days of misspent youth that occurred before they met were never spoken of between them. Both of them preferred to leave that part of their past buried, preferring to leave all of those old enemies and vendettas behind them. It was simply better that way, and Genma hoped that sort of violence never touched his son's life, assuming he lived through this night.

Fortunately, the doctors had been able to confirm that Nodoka's body was healthy, and her Aunt Furuderika had written several additional letters, even including some rather profound haikus of her own making, commentaries on how to deal with loss and the forgiveness of past sins. They had helped Nodoka heal from the intense emotional trauma of the miscarriage. Genma had been grateful to the woman for her assistance.

A wealthy, extremely reclusive person, Nodoka's aunt had done so much for them, such as deeding a plot of land and a sizable sum of money as a wedding gift to the young couple, the package arriving by courier when they returned from their honeymoon in Hawaii with instructions to use them to build a vacation home away from the city's bustling crowds. Nodoka had spent a number of weeks at the newly-completed house as she took some time to recover her emotional equilibrium, and he had visited as frequently as he could get away from his duties at the Ministry of Science.

One odd directive that Nodoka's aunt had been quite firm on was that they should never, _ever_ drink the local water, only bottled water from other regions of Japan. Genma was never sure why, as he was not aware of any contamination in the area, and nothing could be found in the Ministry of Science's records concerning the village of Hinamizawa when he looked. The warning was likely due to some minor pathogen present in the local water supply. Not wishing to risk dealing with gastrointestinal distress or any other maladies, he and Nodoka had obeyed this instruction without fail, always drinking and cooking only with bottled water whenever they used their vacation house.

During that time, they had been befriended by a few of the families living there, people unused to outsiders coming to their village and unsure what to make of him and Nodoka suddenly owning property there. One family, the Sonozakis, had initially been rather suspicious and sternly disapproving at first, but Nodoka's plight had quickly softened their hearts, especially that of the elderly matriarch of that clan, Oryou. Genma was certain they were all yakuza upon first sight of them but had been too intimidated by the scary old woman's stern-looking bodyguards to inquire about it whenever she and her retinue of heavies had paid a visit to Nodoka to chat and drink tea together.

He learned from some others in the village that Oryou had a daughter named Akane, but he and Nodoka were never able to meet her. She had apparently married a man that the clan matriarch did not approve of, an outsider to the village, causing her to be cut off from inheriting anything, and so she lived in one of the nearby villages with her husband. The couple had a young daughter named Mion that Oryou doted on, a girl who, by every account Genma ever heard of her, was quite a tomboyish little minx that caused all kinds of trouble. If he recalled correctly, she would now be about eleven years old, living with Oryou in the Sonozaki compound, training to take over as the new head of the family someday.

The Furudes had been a bit more open to strangers entering into their village. The young couple running the large shrine had been intrigued to learn the name of Nodoka's great aunt, finding it coincidental that it was so similar to their own family name. The wife was apparently so taken by the sound of Furuderika's name that she eventually named her own daughter Rika when she was born, the girl arriving into the world several weeks after Ranma's own birth.

Genma realized suddenly that they had not visited that house in a few years, staying there only once since Ranma was born, when the boy was still just an infant. The most recent news he had of the place came from one of his colleagues reporting that the village was in the midst of some kind of turmoil lately. It seemed the Empire wanted to build a fusion plant there to help feed Tokyo's eternally growing power needs, which would require diverting a portion of the water from a nearby river to help cool it. A number of villagers were fearful that this would anger their local god, causing the "Curse of Oyashiro-sama" to befall those who defiled the river and the swamp it fed.

From what he had heard, the Empire was working hard on appeasing their superstitious concerns, even bringing in consultants from the Mobius Institute to investigate any possible supernatural elements in the region that might become irritated by construction. So far they had not found much to be concerned about, but both of the espers dispatched there reported an odd sensation, as if some spirit was observing them. Despite its creepiness, the enigmatic presence did not display any sort of malevolence towards them as they went about their investigations. It just seemed to follow them around as if curious, and they noticed it most often when they were poking around the Furude Shrine.

What was proving to be a more fruitful means of pacifying opposition to construction from the locals were the guarantees of employment being made to those in the village, as upwards of two hundred local people could end up working at the facilities once they were completed. The fusion plant was expected to create an economic boom in the region, currently a bit disadvantaged in recent years. As hiring locals simply made the best sense, it was also easing resistance to the project as word spread among the villagers that better economic times were ahead of them. Support for the project was still split though, with some of the families remaining stubbornly opposed to it.

One of the local families was currently entrusted with handling the vacation property's modest caretaking requirements for a fee. As that arrangement with the Ryugus had been put into place and funded by Aunt Furuderika before she suddenly and unexpectedly passed away shortly after Ranma's birth, Genma wasn't even sure how much they were being paid to keep things maintained. This arrangement was being handled by a trust the enigmatic woman had set up, overseen by an attorney who lived in the village.

For her own inexplicable reasons, Aunt Furuderika had also bequeathed to Ranma a stunningly substantial inheritance in her will, a lavish sum currently safeguarded in a special trust for him that was managed by a law firm located in Tokyo. The trust would provide Ranma enough wealth when he came of age that he should likely never need to worry about money at all for his entire life.

Some of Genma's very best thinking had occurred in that house, writing several of the papers he had later published to modest academic acclaim as he began to develop his controversial theories postulating parallel worlds and alternate timelines. There was something about that tranquil village of some two thousand souls, an insular spot of the Empire hidden away from the rest of the world, a peaceful place where nothing much ever seemed to happen, that just seemed to inspire his thoughts on the subject of a multiverse of divergent histories. Although the local breed of cicadas there could get quite loud in summertime with their trilling cries, they did not distract him away overly much from his ponderings on the mathematical intersections of cosmology and ontology.

Ranma had even been conceived in that village, Genma mused with great solemnity while gazing down at his son's small form. After taking a solo trip to Kyoto for several days to visit several temples and shrines to pray for a child and meditate on the sins of her past, Nodoka had later returned to him spiritually refreshed, her emotional strength restored to that of the woman he had married. She had even said a prayer at the temple to Hinamizawa's local god when she came back, just in case it would help. Their reunion the night of her return had been both passionate and jubilant.

Nine months later, Ranma was born, to their great joy. Despite having a detailed scientific knowledge of the biological processes that were involved in reproduction, his son's birth had still seemed like nothing less than a miracle to Genma, wiping away the sorrows of what he and Nodoka had gone through. He was thankful to whatever god or spirit his wife's prayers had appeased, that had given them the blessing of this child.

"Rest, Saotome-hakase," said a mild voice behind him. He started to turn around, but then sleep took him before he could. Falling forward heavily, his head and shoulders came to rest on Ranma's bed.

Bernkastel emerged from the shadows and stood next to the slumbering scientist, gazing down solemnly at Ranma as he sweated and twitched in fever dreams, his small body struggling for life. Her efforts had entered the final preparatory phase, and ensuring the life of the boy she had taken a personal hand in creating was the last remaining adjustment she needed to make to this timeline, each of her changes orchestrating future events into following the scenario she had prepared for this world. This boy's existence was the linchpin to her planned endgame, and he needed to survive until he had completed his part of her grand scheme, to be the means she would use to enable either Nabiki Tendo or Ukyo Kuonji to fulfill their future role as the designated hero and leader of the cast of characters that would someday form around them.

Final victory was almost within her grasp, the thought bringing a smile to her face. After playing this game against her foe so many different times and fashioning so many different gambits to achieve victory against him, she had taken all she had learned and carefully crafted her plan for this final world, covering every variation she had seen enacted on prior ones. She was certain nothing would frustrate her designs this time.

Her strategy was brilliant. She even dared to consider it flawless.

Once she set this final piece on the board and let the scenario begin running, this concluding game would be hers to win.

At long last, the Shogun of the Dark, the enemy king, would finally be eliminated from play, and all the game boards would then belong to her alone.

Her hand flaring with arcane power, the witch loomed over the small boy, a wicked smile appearing upon her face.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. The last chapter showed glimpses of the many alternate possibilities for Ranma Saotome and the people he knows.

On one timeline, Centurion Ranma Saotome, a loyal soldier of the Musk Dynasty, and his father, Tribune Genma Saotome, made their plans for the future and contemplated their pasts. The aftermath of the meteor impact on "Shampoo 1/2"'s Earth continued to play out. Actor-Ranma met the Kodachi Kuno of his world, and there was discussion of his next movie roles. A psychotic, murderous version of Nabiki Tendo, the one that existed on the alternate version of Imperial Earth that Kodachi Kuno used the resonator to flee from, managed to make her escape before the Empire's final destruction there, arriving on the capital world of the Musk Dynasty. She promptly took the life of her counterpart there, another version of Nabiki Tendo she had previously experienced using a resonator device on her original world. On a tangent where the Empire had unified the world under Japanese rule, the Ranma of that world battled with his version of Shampoo, but he failed once again to conquer her. Professor Saotome and Soun Tendo visited Solnoid Prime, accompanied by the Nodoka and Kimiko of that tangent. Ranko and Ranma Kamiya, female and male counterparts to Imperial Earth's Ranma, watched them arrive at their adoptive mother's hotel. At the end, General Ko Em learned of her daughter's fate, that she might remain alive on a far distant tangent.

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Chapter 32 – The Price Of Victory

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Through strength, I gain power.

Through power, I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

- From the "Code of the Sith"

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

In his room on the Saginomiya estate, the man known as Nanashi suddenly opened his eyes, kept closed during his meditations. The household was quiet, his two students finally asleep after an interesting course of events earlier that evening, events following their training session with him. The pair was ripening nicely in their abilities at battle, and he was pleased at the pace of their progress. They were proving to be fine disciples, learning his teachings well.

An almost inaudible sound of rain on cloth could be heard in the garden outside, a noise that was out of place. Focusing, he could discern a familiar presence nearby, one that he would not have been able to sense when he was younger and less experienced at his skills. He remained where he was, seated on the floor, the discomfort caused by the hard wood beneath his folded legs ignored. However, the person outside must have noted the minute changes in his breathing and the energies of his aura, sensing that Nanashi was aware of his presence.

"I am pleased at how much your abilities have improved, boy."

Nanashi scowled at that, considering himself a grown man, not still the callow youth he once was, especially with all that had happened to him before he found himself here at Saginomiya Manor. After all, he was already past his nineteenth birthday, not that he had ever bothered to mention that particular fact to anyone. As he mused on that, the door panel suddenly slid aside very quietly, revealing the menacing form of Shishio Makoto dressed in his guise of Cardinal Synn.

Shishio's dark armorcloth cassock and robes cloaked him in what seemed a moving patch of deeper shadow in the rainy night outside. His full face mask concealed his features, the voice modulator in it rendering his tones a full octave lower than normal while still sounding natural. It was a petty trick of modern Imperial technology the man employed as part of his disguise.

"With respect, I am no longer a boy, or your student." Nanashi stood but otherwise did not move from where he was as the other man stood at the entryway solemnly. There was a long pause, and then he said, more reverently, "Master."

"It is true that I am no longer your teacher, but I am pleased that the unfortunate matter of your exile from Shadowlaw has neither rendered you impolite nor dulled the disciplines I worked so hard to instill within you."

"I suppose it has not." Nanashi observed the other man calmly as Shishio casually inspected the room from where he stood, perhaps checking for listening devices or spyholes, his cloak dripping slightly as rain beaded off the cloth. "Did you wish something of me, sir?"

"I merely wish to confirm something I have heard from my sources in this area, that your mother has visited you recently," said Shishio in a nonchalant fashion, almost as if he was discussing the weather. "How is she? Is she still looking fit?"

"Fit enough, I suppose." Nanashi idly wondered who those sources might be, even as he felt a momentary twinge of discomfort discussing his mother's physical conditioning with this man. Would he next ask him to comment about her appearance? Despite being married and believed by those in Shadowlaw to be deeply in love with each other, Shishio and his Joketsuzoku wife had a perverse quality to their relationship, both of them slaking their passions with others as the mood struck them. "I wasn't aware you cared overly much about her whereabouts or doings."

Shishio turned to face him. "Ordinarily, I would not. It is just a bit odd that she has been here for a while and remained off the grid, not even paying a polite social call on my wife for some tea." There was a pause. "Do you know what she's up to lately?"

"Not really. She only mentioned being in the area and wanting to check up on me, nothing more. Perhaps she has business with someone in Tokyo." Nanashi shrugged.

"I see." Shishio turned to observe the rain falling outside, beyond the edge of the covered area he stood within. "That woman has ever been an enigma, except when it comes to your wellbeing. She has always looked out for you and protected you, ever since the day you were born. Those who knew her in her younger days when she fought in the Battledome would doubtless find this maternal quality of hers quite surprising. Then, she had quite a reputation for brutality and savage viciousness, not nurturing."

Nanashi shrugged again, choosing to ignore the man's comments on his mother's character, well aware of what she was like, having seen her in combat against her enemies many times, how utterly merciless she was to them. "If you wish to find her, the only contact of hers that I'm aware of is a doctor in the local area, a man named Ono Tofu. She's mentioned him once or twice in the past. I think they're friends of sorts."

"I'll keep that name in mind." There was a pause. "Have you spoken with your father?"

"I am exiled-" Nanashi started to say.

"I meant your _real_ father," Shishio interrupted. "Not your adoptive father, the Shogun."

Nanashi frowned, his tones becoming a bit harsher. "I have no _real_ father. You know that. It is for that very reason why I chose the name I did when I was exiled from the only home I had ever known. I am no one, a freak, so I should have no name. I would not even exist, if it weren't for that abhorrent Chinese curse and my mother becoming... enamored with my biological father's cursed form." His right hand twitched once, and he felt the urge to close it into a fist but forbade himself. His childhood hatred for his biological father's abandonment blossomed once again in his heart.

"Do you think your mother would contact your sire?" Shishio was not comfortable being so diplomatic, finding it more natural to forcibly extract any information he needed from others outside his inner circle of associates. But he had always possessed a soft spot for his very best student and could be polite when the mood struck him. "That person is in this area."

Nanashi shrugged again. "I'm not certain, but it is possible." While it was a bit of a shock to learn that his biological father was nearby, he hid his inner turmoil well, his features only betraying a mere flicker of emotion. His mother didn't like talking about his real father, apparently harboring deep-rooted feelings about the matter, so he had stopped asking a long time ago. The Shogun had been father enough for him during his life, seeing to it that he was trained in the martial arts and given all the tools he would need to survive in a harsh and uncaring world.

Even now, even after having to endure the agonies and tremors he had been punished with by the Shogun's pet sorcerer and his exile from Shadowlaw to walk the earth to try and find his place in it, there still remained a bit of lingering gratitude towards the Shogun for having taken an interest in him. His exile was his own fault, he could admit that. Someday he would redeem himself. He remained hopeful of that.

"Your students are doing well?" Shishio asked, suddenly changing the subject again, perhaps sensing his former student's angst despite how well it was concealed. "The Saginomiya girl is an intriguing choice for your first disciple. We've had our eye on that one for some time as a possible recruit, and the Sanzenin whelp as well. They both show great promise, not to mention surprisingly corrupt souls for ones so young."

Nanashi said nothing for several moments, ruminating on that, and then he nodded. "The two of them are making excellent progress in their martial skills. I am considering showing them one or two of the more advanced techniques I know, when I feel they are ready. They are not quite there yet, but the girl is closer of the two. She is intensely driven to improve herself and grow stronger."

"I'd say she's much like your mother in that respect," Shishio noted dryly. He considered the boy's comment, wondering if that similarity could be a reason why his former student had taken such an interest in the beautiful Saginomiya girl, and if Nanashi even realized that might be the cause. He studied the boy for several moments before speaking again. "Have they ever mentioned the name of Ranma Saotome around you?"

The younger man shrugged. "Mikado rants about him on occasion. His enmity towards that one runs very deep." It was almost as fierce as Mikado's obsession with some girl named Ranko, who had apparently done something rather horrible to the boy that Mikado absolutely refused to discuss. Nanashi had his own suspicions about what might be the reason for Mikado's intense loathing due to the boy's recent aversion to exposure to cold water. He was proving quite adept at avoiding the occasional, random splashes that almost seemed to be targeting him.

Nanashi thought about how he had been able to use the boy's intense animosity towards Ranko and Ranma to spur the pampered young nobleman to new vistas of performance, forging the boy into a far more dangerous combatant than he had ever been before. Hatred made for an excellent motivator, something Nanashi knew very well, recalling how his own fury had driven him to grow far mightier under Shishio's tutelage than he might have ever become otherwise. Someday, he would use his hard-won strength to enact his overdue revenge on the blasphemous freak that had fathered him and then abandoned him and his mother.

From conversations with the White Lily, he had come to know that she too possessed a similar sort of obsession, hers the goal of crushing Kodachi Kuno, relentlessly driving her body on through all of the pains and trials of her training. It was rather inspirational to witness as her teacher, the level of focus she had on someday accomplishing that goal and what she would willingly suffer to achieve it. Every day she grew a bit stronger, her body honing into a far more powerful weapon than it had ever been before they met.

He regarded Shishio. "I saw his performance at the Battledome on television, fighting the Joketsuzoku girl, Shan Pu. I suspected that his claim of being the heir to the Anything-Goes School on worldwide television might draw him some attention from Shadowlaw and others, but I actually did not expect you to be one of those taking an interest in him, sir."

"My reasons for inquiring about him should not concern you," Shishio said brusquely. "I want you to continue training your two disciples to challenge Saotome and the Kuno girl. Make them mighty in battle."

"I shall endeavor to do so." Nanashi's tone was bland. He studied the other man, trying to get a read on Shishio through his body language, but he was unable to discern anything of note.

Even when they had been master and student, Shishio was an enigma to him, speaking of the original Shishio Makoto as if he was someone else entirely, even though his cloned brain possessed every last memory from that previous life. Resurrected through an unrepeatable, unholy mixture of science and magic, he was a relic of another time, born in an age when heroes conquered and the Empire expanded more rapidly than it had at any other time in its centuries of history, vanquishing even China's vastness within a scant few decades. Given the rank of general for his stellar performances on countless bloody battlefields, his brilliant strategies and tactics finished off the Empire's enemies in rapid succession.

History recounted him as a hero, reporting his death in battle foiling a rebellion against the Empire that had managed to reach all the way to the imperial throne room, one arising from disaffected elements within Japan's samurai caste. His corpse had been preserved by Imperial Decree in gratitude, held in stasis at the Mobius Institute. While there were lingering whispers that this order had actually originated from the Shogun of the Dark, working his will on the Empire from the shadows, such tales were thought to be heresy. The idea of the Son of Heaven answering to the Shogun of the Dark was blasphemous.

That being said, the official recount of Shishio's death was actually a complete falsehood, concealing that he perished trying to take over the Empire in an attempt to resurrect the fallen Shogunate's power. It was a rebellion he founded and controlled using an assumed identity, not one he opposed. And he almost won. Because he had concealed his real name while putting together his insurrection, it was relatively simple for the government to bury the truth after his death, preserving the myth of his loyal service to the Empire.

His plans had been halted at the very brink of victory by one man, a name preserved in song and story as a great and noble hero: Kenshin Himura. Remembered as the Emperor's Bodyguard, he was considered the greatest swordsman of the prior century. The climax of the savage duel he had been forced to wage against Shishio in defense of the emperor of the time, his foe a man he had once called his friend, took place right at the very foot of the Imperial Throne. Injuries sustained during that prolonged struggle forced Kenshin into a premature retirement, one he quietly spent focused on his wife and children, and it was said that he never once picked up a sword again or passed his techniques along to anyone, sealing them away forever, their power lost to the world.

Over a century later, resurrected into a new life in a body cloned from that preserved corpse, Shishio Makoto became a general again, only this time serving within Shadowlaw's ranks. There, he became a power to be reckoned with, one of an elect few highly-dangerous men and women who obeyed the Shogun of the Dark's will. Among those peers were numerous rivals and enemies who despised him and his only firm ally was the Tigress, his gorgeous Joketsuzoku bride. He spent his days plotting and conspiring, and it was unknown if he was truly loyal to anyone other than the Shogun who had resurrected him, even his loving, extremely deadly wife.

"Take care of yourself, boy."

"I will." Nanashi bowed respectfully, startled from his brief reverie about the other man's history. "Thank you, Master."

A moment later, Shishio was gone, vanished into the night without even a trace of his passage left behind. Nanashi stared at the rain still falling heavily outside for a few minutes and then he slid the door closed and returned to his meditations. He had much to think about.

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Tiger felt her queasiness climax as her belly clenched tightly and vomit exploded from her mouth, her stomach emptying more of its contents into the toilet bowl she stooped next to. When the final, retching spasm was at last done, she gasped and felt relief rushing through her, finally able to catch her breath. She remained kneeling there for several moments, hoping that it was finally over. When she felt somewhat recovered, she stood and flushed the toilet, gazing down anxiously at its contents as they washed away.

What was wrong with her? Was she sick?

Among her physiology's many improvements over normal humans, her body's immune-response system was a supercharged marvel of bioengineering, able to shrug off any disease short of a bioweapon. It should have been easily able to handle any sort of food contamination without causing her any such difficulties like this. Vomiting was thus a new experience for her. Despite the novelty, she didn't care for it at all. When the faint rumbling sounds in her stomach finally began subsiding, she drank some water from the tap in the sink, swishing the first couple of mouthfuls around in her mouth and then spitting them out to rinse the acrid taste of bile from her tongue.

As she drank, she continued to ponder what might be ailing her. She had missed her last menstrual cycle, something that had never happened to her before, not even once since her decanting from the inception tank and entering into her master's service months ago, causing her to worry that something could be wrong with her reproductive systems. If she missed the next one, she would have to consult with the woman who was the primary designer of her morphology for Genom: Dr. Miyoko Tanashi, the closest person to a mother Tiger had in her life. She was certain she could trust Tanashi-sensei to determine the cause of what was wrong with her. After all, she was one of the most preeminent geneticists and experts on replicant physiology in the Empire, having studied at the feet of the legendary Dr. Moreau before coming to work for Genom. She would surely figure out what was amiss and repair the problem.

After the catgirl's thirst was quenched, her belly feeling slightly bloated from all of the water she had swallowed, she shut off the light and emerged into the hallway, already feeling a bit better. Her current condition was just a temporary one, she was certain of that, so she felt justified in keeping this minor issue to herself. She must have eaten something that disagreed with her when she raided the kitchen a little while ago for a snack. Why else would she suddenly be nauseous in the early morning hours?

As she stood there, her attention drifted to the door to her master's room. She was still suffering in exile for her perceived failures in assisting her master in his plans for conquering Nabiki Tendo, still sleeping in her own room rather than sharing his bed like the others. Her ears flattened to her head in sorrow. How long would she have to suffer like this?

On a whim, she entered the master bedchamber, slipping in very quietly, suddenly aching to see her beloved. Her catlike eyes adjusted easily to the gloom, taking in every bit of light available. She approached the bed silently, padding towards it on bare feet.

Her master slumbered there, his mouth slightly agape as he snored. Next to him, Lynx rested on her side, sound asleep, her cat ears twitching slightly in her dreams. She cuddled up against him, her arm lying possessively across his chest. The other catgirl, Panther, was snoring a little more ruggedly on his other side, also cuddled snugly against him.

Tiger's lip curled, studying the pair in distaste, her rivals and nominal teammates. Sharing him with them troubled her, as these Lynx and Panther model prototypes were clearly inferior to her own design, but she was not as bothered by them as by her master's never-ending fascination with the horrid Nabiki Tendo. The two rich idiots he had recently wined and dined at the mansion had no idea they were merely pawns in whatever her master's new scheme was against Ranma Saotome, and they would likely never figure it out until he no longer needed them.

Kinnosuke-sama would never admit it, but after watching the thrilling spectacle of the Saotome boy and that Chinese barbarian girl in the Arena battling each other, they had all sensed he was troubled by what they had witnessed on screen. Tiger frowned at the thought of him ever being unhappy about anything, both of her ears flattening to her skull in response to her mood. The four of them had watched the brutal performance together, each catgirl hooting and cheering loudly each time the Chinese fighter hit Ranma, especially when she got in a really solid strike on him.

Seeing the Saotome boy in action had been perplexing to Tiger. He was now fighting on a higher level than he had been able to only weeks before, when she had been volunteered to assist in training him for his rematch against the Tenjou girl. The young Chinese girl, a champion fighter in her own right, seemed close to his current level of ability, perhaps at a rough parity with him, but his increase in skill was not what disturbed her. The sight of him after all this time, especially during the brief close-up shots taken of his face, had aroused tremors of bizarre feelings within her, conjuring up ghosts of memories that she could not seem to fully recall, each of them fading quickly even as she tried to grasp them and ponder them.

It was puzzling to her how Ranma had achieved such a feat over the short span of a few months it had taken him, going from a non-combatant easily bullied by the likes of Akane Tendo to the warrior he now was. It was dismaying to her even to admit it, but, after seeing him in action, she felt he might even have surpassed Kinnosuke-sama now. She immediately frowned at that observation. It felt like she was somehow betraying her master by even considering such a disturbing notion as that was. Still, maybe having Ranma trounce her beloved master in combat might finally dissuade him from continuing his irksome quest to obtain Nabiki Tendo as his bride.

Why did he even want that miserable human girl, anyway? Tiger's ears went flat to her skull again, and her hands closed tightly into fists, her short nails pressed against her palms. She briefly fantasized about wrapping her fingers around the Tendo girl's throat and squeezing the life from her as she gasped and choked. She also mused how satisfying it would feel to pound Nabiki's face and body into a bloody pulp before finally killing her. While it would most certainly be quite gratifying, she had regretfully realized some time ago that killing her nemesis would not solve the problem.

No, instead of eliminating her predicament through murder, she had to somehow dissuade her beloved master's heart away from him desiring the detestable Tendo girl. She needed him to stop wanting her. Simply killing her nemesis would not end that, and Nabiki Tendo would likely attain an eternal purity as one of the honored dead, her many character flaws whitewashed away once she was gone from this world.

Kinnosuke rolled over to face her, still asleep, and his arm fell to wrap tightly around Lynx's body. He pulled her closer, snuggling up against the catgirl's pulchritude in his sleep like she was a favorite stuffed animal. Lynx began purring softly even while she continued slumbering deeply, looking so happy and contented.

Gazing at the revolting sight, Tiger's emotions suddenly seethed powerfully within her. Her personality governors began straining to maintain control over her as memories started flashing randomly across her mind's eye; arbitrary images conjured up from the hidden nadirs of her brain. From within that brilliant storm, some of these memories seemed to call out to her, demanding to be seen. If they could make a sound, her governors would have begun whining in a high-pitched tone like an overstressed transmission, the subliminal algorithms within her mind struggling to control her thoughts.

Images of Ranma Saotome began flashing up as her breathing became even deeper, interrupted by occasional gasps for air caused by her emotional distress. She suddenly remembered that day she last fought him, the final one of his training time with her. She had been on the verge of killing him in a savage fury, incensed at Ranma for using the boost during their struggle and hurting her. Her powerful grip had tightened upon his throat, her furious gaze boring into his fear-filled eyes.

Those orbs had started to roll back into his head as Ranma began his slip into death at her hands, but then something rather unexpected had happened to him along the way. It was as if he went berserk, but not exactly. His ebbing strength suddenly surged to new heights, and he had swiftly backhanded her away from him as if she was nothing, growling like a cat.

Tiger's head started to pound, her subliminal algorithms straining even harder. She fell to her knees and moaned softly in sudden pain. It felt like her skull was going to explode.

They had fought, if it could be called that, and Ranma had defeated her easily, taking her down like some unruly kitten. She had then felt the fangs he formed in his mouth from his chi pressing down warningly on the flesh of her neck each time she attempted to free herself from his grip upon her frame, his body pressed down on top of hers. It had been frightening how easily she had been overcome by him, something she had never before experienced, not even against her master's fighting skills. This point was where her memories of that day always seemed to fail her before.

Suddenly, there was a sort of 'popping' feeling in her mind, and her mnemonic programming abruptly crashed, a sensation of relief flooding her brain when it occurred. Her subliminal algorithms released their death grip on her memories as its program elements began shredding and tattering into pieces, no longer able to withstand her brain's feverish emotional state. Tiger gasped as her mind reeled with the unprecedented freedom, and the sudden rush of suppressed memories overwhelmed her as they flooded her mind. Her attention turned inward, finally able to recall what had happened next as these buried images engulfed her brain.

Ranma had begun gently licking her neck and the sides of her face after their fight was over, treating her very much like how a male cat would express his dominance and affection towards an unruly female one. The soothing feel of his tongue as it softly groomed her had awakened an unexpected instinct from the feline portion of her genetic code. After an unknown amount of time, she gradually began purring, finding herself relishing the enjoyable sensations.

Gradually, she had relented in her resistance and accepted his dominion over her, ceasing her struggles against him, her emotional state at the time unable to withstand the biological imperatives his actions awoke within her. Turning her head slowly, she began tentatively grooming him back, gently licking his throat and cheeks. She had been rewarded to hear him also begin purring as well, a low, rumbling sound that sounded very pleasant and masculine to her ears.

Her breathing began calming back to normal as her mind processed these previously buried memories. On the bed, the sleeping trio continued their slumbering, unaware of what had just transpired within Tiger. Slowly clambering back to her feet, not remembering exactly when she had collapsed to her knees, she staggered from the room in a dazed state, stumbling down the hallway as her mind continued sorting things out.

Ranma's actions had aroused powerful passions for him, displacing her previous desires for her master. While he had not attempted anything beyond merely grooming her, her ardor, awoken and increasing by the minute due to his actions, had begun demanding release. Her instincts had driven her to attempt to mate with him. In the course of her subsequent actions towards him, they had done so.

Her gorge threatened to rise in her throat at that moment, and she staggered to her bed and threw herself headlong upon it. Her body immediately curled into a loose fetal position as she felt tears begin staining her sheets. Horror filled her.

She and Ranma had copulated with each other, not just once, but several times in a seething fury of animal lust and primitive passions. When it was finally over, her need for him sated and his virility spent, they had then fallen into an exhausted sleep together. She remembered how contented and deeply at peace she had been, lying there cuddled against him as she drifted off to slumber, hearing him purring serenely into one of her ears as he too went to sleep, holding her gently in his arms.

Her mnemonic algorithms, driven offline sometime before their flurry of mating began, must have quietly reasserted themselves sometime during her slumbers. She had awoken early, puzzled to find herself snuggling with Ranma in his bed. Dazed and confused as her mind began reorienting itself, she had fixed him some food, dressed him and then she had gone to take a bath. After her ablutions were done, she had then put on her uniform and returned to Kinnosuke, her mission complete. During the time after her awakening, she had somehow forgotten her passionate encounter with the Saotome boy, her personality governors apparently erasing the torrid memories of them by burying them down in the darkest nadirs of her mind and swiftly suppressing them whenever they tried to arise again.

Tiger was uncertain what she was feeling at this point. With the sudden absence of her subliminal algorithms and their imperatives to guide her thoughts, her mind was unexpectedly cast adrift, exploring an ocean of emotions while left rudderless. More tears suddenly stained her silk sheets, and she felt utterly lost and alone in the face of such a vast unknown.

What was she going to do? Did she still love Kinnosuke Kashuoh?

While she had once known an intense ardor for him only a short time ago, her emotions were now strangely ambivalent. Delving within herself, she could no longer feel anything that she had once felt so strongly for him. Had it only ever been because of her Genom-installed conditioning that she cared about him? Was her heartfelt passion for him nothing but a lie?

How did she feel about Ranma Saotome now?

That unexpected thought seemed to seize her attention and would not let go. Had she fallen in love with Saotome-sama? The shift in her mental mode of address for him went quietly unnoticed for now due to her confused state.

Still lying on her side in a loose fetal position, she began cataloging her memories of the pigtailed scholar. As she did so, familiar feelings of ardor she had once associated with the Kashuoh boy suddenly arose powerfully within her. Surprise briefly replaced those tender feelings of love. Each memory of Ranma she conjured up made her feel very good inside, like seeing a beautiful sunrise or a piece of magnificent artwork for the very first time.

Slowly, her tears ceased as her mind suddenly accepted this astonishing new paradigm. She _loved_ Saotome-sama! Realizing that changed her mood immediately, filling her with one of happiness and wonder instead of utter despair. She rolled over on to her back, gazing up at the ornate ceiling of her room and pondering what this might signify for her.

Could the physical difficulties she had been having be the result of some sort of inner emotional conflict? Perhaps her missing one of her menstrual cycles was simply due to stresses she had been unaware of. Her vomiting could also be explained the same way, her body dealing with her mind's buried turmoil in a physical way. Revisiting her prior notion of seeing Dr. Tanashi for a checkup, she decided to do it as soon as she could for her own peace of mind.

However, if it wasn't stress, another possibility for explaining her condition could be at work, one she had not considered before recalling her passionate tryst with Ranma. She had been intimate with only two young men during her brief existence. While Kinnosuke's anti-fertility implant was soon to expire, it was still functional. When it finally failed, his grandfather's plan had been for him to breed with her and the other two lilith prototypes, since, unlike previous models from Genom; they were designed to be inter-fertile with human males in order to act as replacements for human women.

Thinking about it, she was uncertain if Ranma even had an implant, as he had been on an academic tour outside the Empire for the past several years. In her memories of that passionate encounter with him, she could not recall ever feeling the tiny lump of such an implant under his skin when they had been together. She would need to discuss her concerns with Tanashi-sensei and seek the woman's advice, should her pregnancy be confirmed.

If she was carrying Saotome-sama's child, what would she do? What could she do? Even if she was not expectant, she knew now that remaining with Kinnosuke was out of the question, not and be true to her awakened feelings. However, as a lilith, she was legally his property, the only allowed form of slavery within the Empire. And knowing the Kashuoh boy as she did, he might hurt her, maybe even have her 'retired' if he found out she was pregnant with another man's child, especially if that man was Saotome-sama.

Tiger caressed her flat belly gently, pondering her condition. If there was a child now growing within her womb, as its mother she knew she needed to do everything in her power to protect it. While the thought of having a baby made her feel uncertain and maybe even a little bit frightened, she was also experiencing an unprecedented kind of joy at the thought of a new life growing inside her, one brought into being by her and Saotome-sama.

Several schemes were quickly considered and then discarded in a rapid succession. The only realistic solution to her onerous dilemma would be to somehow have her ownership transferred to the Saotome boy, and as soon as possible. But how could she accomplish this?

An impish smile appeared on her lips as an answer came to her. It was a promising plan, but she needed to work on some of the variables before implementing it. If her scheme worked, she would be safe, becoming Saotome-sama's property instead of having to stay with the moody Kashuoh boy, risking termination of her life at the hands of Genom's security forces or Kinnosuke himself. For a replicant, such an end was colloquially known as retirement. The Empire even maintained agents of the Security Directorate who 'retired' renegade replicants, known as Blade Runners.

There were other concerns, of course. Would Saotome-sama accept her and their child together? And what would his parents think? While liliths were often used by women in the Empire as surrogate mothers to carry their offspring to term to preserve their own figures, they were never able to breed on their own with human men, not until now. She, Lynx and Panther represented a new generation of lilith, female replicants designed to be genetically compatible with human males, intended to replace human females with a more pliable and obedient breed of woman provided by Genom.

Would Saotome-sama's mother be pleased to learn she might soon be a grandmother? How would she feel about the child's mother being a lilith? Would the baby be healthy?

After all, it would be the first of its kind in the world, and there could be problems. Tiger's knowledge in this area was limited, but she knew Genom had crafted her genetics in such a way that she should be able to provide healthy sons for any man she mated with. If all of her reproductive systems worked as they were designed, that meant she was carrying Saotome-sama's heir.

As she pondered the uncertainties of her future, despite her fears and trepidations of what might lay ahead, this infusion of joy inside Tiger refused to fade away. Her love for Saotome-sama was true, she felt very certain of that. Holding fast to that thought, she reviewed every moment of her time spent interacting with him, seeing them all in an entirely new light.

A powerful yearning filled her heart, wanting to be with him again, to tell him that she was carrying their son and see his reaction. She hoped he would be pleased to learn he was going to be a father. She then felt a firm belief blossom in her heart that serving him would be fulfilling for her in a way that her service to Kinnosuke had never been, because she freely chose it. Her love for him arose spontaneously from deep within her instead of being imposed upon her by Genom-made mental conditioning, so these feelings were real.

Standing silently in one corner, her presence cloaked from all mortal senses, the witch Bernkastel pondered the sight of the redheaded catgirl's smile. Aspects of her scheme still remained on track despite the unexpected divergences from plan that had occurred since that day of the warehouse incident. She had high hopes she would win the game yet.

Shimmering, she vanished, leaving Tiger to her musings and plans.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The young noblewoman smiled at Ranma, dressed in his blue Imperial Academy uniform, when he made the bold move of taking her hand in his as they strolled along. Kodachi felt a gentle, wistful sigh escape her lips as she saw the sun setting upon the distant hills, its fading light causing the still waters of the nearby pond to glow with gold. It was a perfect, tranquil moment with the two boys she cared about most.

On her other side walked Miki Kaoru, dressed in his Ohtori Academy uniform, smiling at her as he took her other hand at her unspoken invitation. She felt such a powerful connection to them both. Although Saotome-kun was her beloved fiancé, how could she ever be parted from her childhood friend, Kaoru-kun?

"I thought we had a talk about this sort of thing, Kuno-dono," suddenly interrupted a serious-sounding female voice behind her.

"What?" Kodachi turned, the images of Ranma and Miki vanishing away to nothingness. Standing there behind her was Sukeban-Kodachi, the Black Rose of St. Hebereke Reformatory High School. Kodachi watched as the other girl approached her with a measured tread, clad in the uniform of her school, her hair pulled back into its usual ponytail. As she walked towards Kodachi, the Black Rose casually flipped out her unbreakable ceramic yo-yo to snap nearby tree branches, expertly catching it as it returned to her hand on its line.

"While I still have quite strong feelings for Kaoru-kun, Ranma-sama proved himself worthy to become my husband at the dance at Ohtori, the way he crushed that sleazy Sanzenin scumbag in battle and yet danced so skillfully with me... with us," said the delinquent girl, her facial expression sparkling with aroused passions at the memory. "The Black Rose needs a strong man at her side, but one who also moves so adroitly on the dance floor is a wondrous find indeed."

She paused and assumed a rapturous 'Hearts and Flowers' look as she stood there, a somewhat startling metamorphosis for the delinquent girl's mien, replacing her usual, much harder-edged facial expressions. "I could sense it within him as we danced closely together, his desires for me... for us. The heavens will no doubt resound with our choir-like cries of joy when our beloved Ranma-sama finally takes us and makes us his."

The image of the Saotome boy shimmered into being again. This time he was dressed in one of his Chinese-style shirts and black gi pants, and the delinquent girl sauntered around him slowly, trailing the tips of her index and middle fingers very sultrily along his jawline. She then paused for several moments before his unmoving form, and her expression became far more openly lascivious, her hands sliding slowly down his chest and stomach, lingering briefly at times, clearly savoring the feel of him.

"Ranma-sama will make me his woman," she suddenly purred with absolute certainty as she turned her face upwards, her rapturous, lust-filled gaze studying his face adoringly. She then turned a sidelong glance in Kodachi's direction, a wanton grin now adorning her lips. "I know you and I are both looking forward to making the beast with two backs with him, as the Bard would say in his plays."

Kodachi gulped and blushed, looking down and fidgeting nervously with her hands. "Y-yes," she murmured, unable to deny what was so true.

Still, to be so bold, so brazen in demonstrating her libidinous desires towards a boy was foreign to her. Absently, she removed from a pocket the small gold crucifix her mother had given her a long time ago and began fiddling with it, seeking solace and guidance from contact with the metallic icon, uncertain of herself. Could she ever be so utterly shameless with Saotome-kun in real life? She felt so sinful even just thinking about him the way she was.

What about his own feelings towards her? How would he react to this aspect of her that she had struggled so hard to keep hidden from him? She knew he cared about her, the scholarly noblewoman façade she let him see, displaying only brief flashes of the other selves dwelling within her. But if he knew how fragmented her psyche was, how wicked some parts of its makeup were, he might abandon her.

No, that would never happen, she promised herself. He was coming to love her. He would someday love her as deeply as she already loved him, as so many of her other selves loved him. Still, niggling worries pricked at her. Perhaps he would be utterly repulsed by an encounter with the Black Rose, the lascivious warrior woman that gave her psyche its strength and had bestowed upon her the powerful combat skills she now possessed. The Black Rose was a large component of her disjointed psyche, and lately she had been growing far too restive and unquiet to fully contain any longer.

If she ever manifested that aspect of her psyche to him, showed him the dark warrior she held fettered within her, what would Saotome-kun think of her? So far, only Nabiki Tendo had ever seen that side of her, the Black Rose wholly unleashed, to her detriment.

A sudden smile of pride lit her face, recalling the vicious, exultant feeling she had experienced when she heard the arrogant Tendo girl gasp loudly with pain, even as she felt her fist impacting into Nabiki's ribcage, with almost all of her might behind the blow. She had taken swift advantage of the sudden opening created, laying into her detested foe with a flurry of powerful strikes, eventually knocking the arrogant older girl down to the ground, bruised and bleeding from several minor wounds. She would have finished the stunned Tendo girl off then and there, proving to the obnoxious harridan that she was not Kodachi Kuno's better. Unfortunately, the coach had returned from his errand a minute too soon and interfered, preventing her from unleashing the final strike that would have sent Nabiki into unconsciousness and defeat.

The rigorous training sessions with her mother and the coaches at school had gradually been unlocking the full combat abilities the Black Rose was capable of, toughening her body and re-forging her physique into a more lethal, honed weapon that was more suitable for housing such aptitudes. A champion fighter on her original world, there the delinquent girl dealt regularly with many powerful foes seeking to unseat her from her throne at the top of the pack of ruffian girls she ruled over, but she would not be moved. All who tried, male or female, were brutally and ruthlessly crushed without achieving their ambitions, their broken forms cast down to lie in ruin before her might.

She was a much greater warrior than the others here had seen so far, but the Black Rose's abilities had been hobbled by this body's physical limitations, although it was somewhat stronger than Scholar-Kodachi's had been. Even so hindered, the proud White Lily had already fallen before her skills, and Akane and Nabiki had only temporarily escaped their coming fate. The next time she faced off against the two Tendo cretins in a real fight, she was certain she would be the one to emerge as the clear victor, just as she had every time she fought against the cruel Saginomiya girl.

Then the cross-dressing Kuonji and Tenjou freaks would fall to her might after that, clearing away more of the riffraff that unworthily sought to claim _her_ Saotome-kun. If she had possessed the original Black Rose's body in this world, the contests would already be over. Her rivals would have already slunk away to seek out other, lesser men, leaving her free to claim Saotome-sama for herself.

Unfortunately, that was not the case, but it would not be a problem for very much longer. Although she had spent years crafting her physique to possess a supreme caliber of agility and fitness, fighting required the usage of muscles and limbs in a multitude of ways that were foreign to how she had utilized them to perform gymnastics routines. Her build had also lacked far too much of the physical toughness needed to shrug off damage when hit. While she still had a ways to go before she truly felt satisfied with her fighting abilities, her weaknesses were fading away, her fetters falling from her, and Nabiki Tendo had been the first to glimpse just how dangerous a foe the Black Rose could truly be. It had undoubtedly been a very great surprise to the egotistical girl.

Kodachi suspected her fiancé had been dealing with a similar problem, the combat skills obtained from his martial artist analog restrained by his own body's physical limits. But something peculiar had obviously happened to him recently, a marvelous transformation. It was like the restraints fettering his combat abilities had been suddenly and completely removed, allowing the magnificent warrior locked away within him to be fully unveiled to the world.

He had flourished in his fighting capabilities, and that improvement made him seem even more desirable to her than he had already been. That realization had shocked her a bit, that she would have such a powerful, animalistic response to him. It was as if she subconsciously recognized him as a worthy male, inflaming her with acute urges to become his mate.

Reminded of her other aspect's less inhibited nature by that salacious thought, she recalled with a deeper blush the time when her fiancé had entered into her bedchambers several weeks ago, surprising her during the night while she was in bed. In the dark, that encounter with him had quickly led to a fierce mêlée between them. They had fought with great ferocity, neither combatant knowing who their foe was even as they struggled together savagely in the dimness.

The conclusion of that intense battle had found them wrestling with each other on the floor, their forms entwined together intimately as their bout ended, her body pinned beneath his. She could still recall being pinned down by him. Even after all these weeks, thoughts of that time spent tussling with him on the floor of her bedroom left her feeling rather breathlessly excited and more than a bit flushed.

She yearned to admit to the young scholar how she truly felt about that experience. The aching, licentious cravings he had aroused within her by their struggle together had been almost intoxicating. Pondering it later, she was quite astonished to realize just how stimulated that encounter had left her.

Embarrassingly, she had been filled with a longing to have a torrid sexual romp with him by the end of it, and she was quite disconcerted about that revelation. They had briefly kissed, their lips barely touching, and she had been mere moments away from finally sating her carnal desires for the Saotome boy. But they had been interrupted by her brother's most untimely arrival before she could consummate her relationship with her fiancé.

If such a thing happened between them again, she wondered if she would even try resisting her lustful urges for even a moment. Would she feel the same compulsion, experience again these newly-discovered longings aroused within her by battle with him to yield herself to her fiancé's manly needs? That troubled her. She was a refined lady of noble birth, raised to embody society's rigid expectations of what a teenaged girl born to the aristocracy should be like. It just wasn't proper for her to have desires for such sleazy things, to want to be wrestled down and then ravished, even if it was being done by the young man she desired so much and loved so deeply.

Before, she had always fantasized about any such acts of passion she would be involved in as taking place on a soft, canopied bed with silk sheets. When she finally surrendered her precious virginity to her future husband (as a chaste, proper girl would), the bed would be strewn about with pink or red rose petals. Candles that gave off sweet scents as they flickered merrily would be providing the bedchamber with a romantic ambiance. Those acts of passion between her and her husband would be tender undertakings of true love. He would be kind and gentle with her and respectful of her as a woman.

Whatever would Saotome-kun think of her if he found out she possessed such licentious hungers and yearnings for him? She had never suspected that fighting and wrestling with him would be so arousing for her. Was she really no better, no different than the brutish, loutish Akane Tendo and her bestial, coarse desires for the boy they both wanted?

The thought horrified Kodachi.

Despite the boorish, cruel taunts she had endured from that particular harridan, slanderous accusations that all girls of the Empire's peerage gleefully indulged in lustful, perverted behaviors, Kodachi knew she was not that sort of a girl. She was not some inbred, corrupted, wicked blueblood who hungered for aberrant pleasures to satisfy jaded senses, such as enjoying incestuous trysts with her cousins or brother as the youngest Tendo had hatefully jeered at her weeks ago. While it was true that there were women of high station who did such immoral acts (Asuka Saginomiya, the self-proclaimed White Lily, being one particularly vile slattern who immediately came to Kodachi's mind as a possibility due to her personal knowledge of that other girl's true, wicked nature), the rest were proper young ladies like herself, undeserving of such horrid calumny.

Indeed, if the Tendo girl wanted to behold an example of true villainy, Kodachi was quite certain that few girls could ever approach the sheer iniquity that Asuka Saginomiya merrily indulged in on a regular basis. She was an evil, vindictive shrew. The malignant core of her blackened soul teemed with spite and malice towards others, but her true, baleful nature was kept carefully concealed from teachers and other adults behind her painstakingly-constructed façade of good looks and charming mannerisms. But the ugly truth lurking behind that oh-so-pleasant guise her nemesis wore was that Asuka was someone who enjoyed being a cruel and sadistic tormenter to girls who caught her attention and then decided she didn't like due to evil whims known only to her.

The Kuno girl was certain that was so, having endured far too many of Asuka's persecutions for it to be otherwise. Those acts of bullying and meanness the other girl usually did herself, but this year she had been acting sometimes as if it was some kind of chore she had to perform rather than something she enjoyed. During those bouts of ennui, Asuka would delegate her cruelties to be carried out by her equally vile lieutenants.

One of the girls who acted in Asuka's stead, the callow-seeming Azusa Shiratori, was perhaps the White Lily's most faithful minion. She was much like Asuka in that she too was a sinister villainess hiding behind a beautiful, beguiling appearance. In Azusa's case, she seemed nothing but an ingénue, a gorgeous girl with a visage of childlike innocence. Many foolish young men had been duped by this facade, swelling the ranks of her fan club, but her female victims, never boys, knew Azusa's true nature.

Along with the Shiratori girl, Ayako Mitsui was Asuka's other enforcer, and the third part of the elite clique other girls at Blackhall called 'Triple A' or 'The Triple Threat' (whenever any of them weren't within earshot). The most tomboyish girl of the trio, Ayako had her share of devoted fans among boys at Whitehall who liked that type. Because of her past run-ins with her, it had been something of a shock for Kodachi to see Yohko Mano at the Imperial Academy, never suspecting the Mitsui girl had a twin. She had avoided Yohko as much as she could because of this.

After all the years she had endured being bullied by the Saginomiya girl, a dysfunctional relationship going back to their childhood, her prayers for justice were finally answered when she had received the Black Rose's treasure trove of martial arts skills. Bestowed upon her when Scholar-Kodachi escaped her dying version of the Empire, that serendipitous gift had forged a new Kodachi Kuno, transforming her former, mousy self into a beautiful heroine possessing the ability to strike down that coterie of malicious, wicked girls that had done her so much injustice. It had felt so unbelievably cathartic to finally be able to beat them all up, especially her main nemesis, the malicious White Lily, to return to her tormentors a full measure of the evil they had done to her.

Far from being the White Lily's only victim though, Kodachi knew she must be the favorite, at least as far as she could tell. She knew many other girls who had been bullied, some even beaten up by members of the dreaded trio, a few from less prominent families even injured quite seriously. However, most of those beatings had occurred when Asuka began her rise to power a couple of years ago, a process starting shortly after the death of her mother. The White Lily had been ruthless in crushing all opposition that arose from the leaders of the various martial arts clubs on campus. Ever since then, she ruled Blackhall with an iron fist, albeit one she kept concealed in a frilly, fashionable silk glove, brutally suppressing any dissension against her. Girls came to dread earning her terrifying wrath or even merely catching the White Lily's attention.

Kodachi had heard it whispered by some of her peers that the haughty Asuka also loved playing hurtful, malicious games with the hearts of teenaged boys who foolishly became enamored with her beauty, pitting them against each other for her amusement. Kodachi's brother had once been among them before fortunately regaining his senses. The White Lily was known to treat these male dupes as if they were merely disposable toys for her callous entertainment, and there were other scandalous rumors that more than one such beguiled youth had enjoyed her charms and shared intimacies with her, becoming further ensnared by her fiendish wiles. It would not surprise Kodachi if it were ever to be revealed that her impious arch-nemesis had even enjoyed debauched activities with her relatives.

Based on what she had heard about the Saginomiyas, Asuka's depravity and moral turpitude was a trait that was shared by others in her infamously decadent and corrupt family. It was whispered that the girl's poor mother had been the victim of foul play, allowing the preening woman who was the current Lady Saginomiya to charm her way into the family by seducing the father. Ever since then, that family had become almost legendary for their debaucheries, throwing decadently lavish parties and hosting entertainments to titillate the palates of even some of the most jaded nobles. As feeding dissolute urges was a popular pastime among the nobility, the parties were well-attended.

Thinking about dissipation reminded her of Touga Kiryuu, an exceedingly handsome young man Kodachi had met recently while at the dance at Ohtori, escorting Nabiki Tendo of all people. He was rumored to be a first-rate womanizer, cutting a swath through the hearts of ladies of the peerage, putting him on a par with Mikado Sanzenin. While he might indeed be the narcissistic young reprobate she had heard a few sleazy tales about, Kodachi could admit the Kiryuu boy was gifted with a gorgeous face and a pleasing physique, as well as possessing quite disarmingly charming manners. After meeting him, she understood a bit better how so many girls could have fallen in love with him and given up their virtue to him. Not that she was interested in doing such a thing, of course.

Although still a teenager, he was reputed to be a formidable warrior, a master with a sword or bokken. Her brother had once commented that the Kiryuu boy was a challenging foe for him to face in kendo matches, even a rival in such endeavors. Such an acknowledgement was high praise when coming from Tatewaki.

Kodachi had been wondering at the nature of the relationship Nabiki had with Touga ever since seeing them together at the dance at Ohtori. It was clear they could not be childhood friends, not like how she was with her own date to the dance, Miki Kaoru (which rendered their date absolutely innocent, of course). No, those two moved in far different social circles, so there had to be something more unseemly to their association, especially since Nabiki was reputed to be money-grubbing and Touga was both extremely rich and a notorious womanizer. That said, a strange thing Kodachi had noticed that night was the sort of looks Touga kept giving the Tendo girl, imparting to her the unmistakable impression that his interest in Nabiki went beyond a mere physical desire, which was quite uncharacteristic of what she knew of him.

As he was a friend of Kaoru-kun, Kodachi thought it likely the other boy's sordid reputation was overblown, since she doubted her childhood friend would spend any time with someone who was truly that much of a lecherous womanizer. After all, Kaoru-kun was not at all like that, looking at girls lustfully, regarding them as nothing but potential notches to carve into his bedpost or treating them as conquests he could later brag about to his friends. Such sinfulness was not part of his noble character. As his childhood friend, she could tell.

After all, Kaoru-kun would never do immoral things to her, such as grabbing her against her will, throwing her down upon his bed before he began ripping off her clothing even as she demurely attempted to fend him off, only to find herself helpless before the power of his seething lust for her nubile, young body. Then, once she was stripped naked, his hands would seize her legs, forcing them apart as he loomed over her, his lascivious intentions for her clear from the lustful look in his eyes, and then...

Kodachi coughed primly, suddenly realizing she was becoming distracted by another one of her fantasies, a little embarrassed that she had starred Kaoru-kun in this one instead of Saotome-kun as she usually did. She should not imagine doing such sleazy things with Kaoru-kun. He was her childhood friend, nothing more, no matter how handsome and attractive she found him to be. It was wrong of her to think of him as she had been doing, lusting after him like that. So resolved, she returned her thoughts to the far less pleasant matter of the White Lily, a girl who was probably the foulest, most horrid shrew she ever had the displeasure of knowing.

Calling Kodachi's feelings towards Asuka loathing could only begin to describe how she felt, and she suspected that her bitterness towards the White Lily was mutual, especially after the many beatings she had dealt to her foe before transferring to the Imperial Academy. While it was probably only a matter of time until the Saginomiya girl struck back in an attempt at revenge, Kodachi was not concerned. She was confident that Asuka had even less hope now of winning against her. After the improvements she had already made to her combat abilities, Kodachi felt more than equal to the task of dealing with appropriate harshness towards the White Lily whenever she finally made her move.

Her musings on dealing with the spiteful Asuka reminded the dreaming Kodachi that the Imperial Academy's Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics team's coach had recently approached her, inviting her to join their ranks and begin preparations for the autumn regional events beginning right after summer break ended. She was seriously considering it, especially since her mother had admitted during one of their recent sparring sessions that she was a past champion of the sport in her youth, winning numerous trophies that she had previously kept hidden away in a locked closet. The closet in question was one that Kodachi had never been allowed to see into before she and her mother attained their new understanding of each other as samurai-ko. Becoming part of the team would surely please the Kuno family matriarch, and it would give her a social outlet that let her display both her athletic talents and school spirit in a positive fashion.

It would also give her an opportunity to unseat the haughty Asuka from her throne as the reigning queen of that sport. While it had been very cathartic to pummel the Saginomiya girl unconscious in each of their many fierce duels at Blackhall, utterly crushing her arch-nemesis at her chosen specialty and thwarting her aspirations to win yet another national championship would be something far more satisfying to do. Kodachi looked forward to ripping the coveted title of champion away from the other girl's battered, bruised and bleeding remains. That day promised to be both entertaining and therapeutic, finally completing her transformation from the shy, mousy girl she had once been.

Hopefully, joining the team would also be her means to finally make at least one true friend. Other than Ami Mizuno, who had a brilliant intellect but was painfully shy, and Nanami Jinnai, a very keen-witted but distressingly money-hungry girl (who had discretely sold Kodachi some rather pleasingly risqué snapshots of Ranma at very reasonable prices), no others in her class ever spoke to her about things outside of school subjects. It had been a rather disheartening situation for her to deal with ever since her arrival at the Imperial Academy.

Oh, some of the boys in her class had tried chatting with her when she first transferred, but she had quickly been able to discern they were only interested in her as some kind of conquest or trophy. Their gazes had betrayed their lecherous intentions for her when they inevitably dropped to study her figure. One particularly uncouth science cadet even went so far as to rudely ask her for her measurements!

No other boy had dared try to repeat that particular entreaty after she brutally beat senseless the perverted requestor. The unspoken warning was clearly received by the others who saw the trampled state of his battered carcass when she was finally done with thrashing the loathsome pervert with her bare hands. Ever since then, none of the boys in her class would even meet her gaze, cringing guiltily if her eyes ever fell upon them.

Other than Mikado Sanzenin (a slimy, sleazy molester of innocent young girls who she utterly abhorred for his unrelenting lechery and wanted nothing whatsoever to do with), the boys at Whitehall had been far too intimidated by her brother's prowess as a warrior to ever dare try speaking to her with such lewd intent. Even so, she had caught their lecherous gazes directed towards her physique whenever she was dressed in her gymnastics leotard during the few co-ed events held between Blackhall and Whitehall, distressing her by never seeming to rise above her neck. Clearly her male peers at both schools were unable to think of her as a person, differing from how Saotome-kun and Kaoru-kun treated her.

Both of those boys were far more gallant in their manners towards her, especially Kaoru-kun, but he had been raised as a nobleman. Such upsetting experiences in her life had left her with a poor impression of males her age in general and had contributed to her shyness with boys. But they had also served to intensify her tender feelings towards the two young men who had won her favor through their innate decency and how respectfully they acted towards her whenever they were around her. Both of them were honorable young men she knew she could trust.

Because she cared so deeply about both boys, her secret wish was that Kaoru-kun and Saotome-kun could become friends someday. However, she wasn't sure if such a thing was possible, judging by the fierce glares she had occasionally caught them giving each other whenever they thought she wasn't observing them, displaying jealousy towards each other. Fortunately, they were both thoughtful young men, neither of them prone to getting into pointless fights just to prove their manhood like so many other swaggering males did, so perhaps her friendship with both of them would someday lead them into becoming comrades with each other as well.

As far as the girls in her class went, they maintained a standoffish, distant posture and had done so ever since her arrival, just as the students at Blackhall had done. While she was not an unfriendly person and had never done anything to offend anyone at either school that she was aware of, Kodachi knew others, especially girls, found the shape of her eyes both intimidating and menacing. It was a distressing feature she had unluckily inherited from her mother, a woman who quite enjoyed having people dread meeting her fearsome gaze and even wore her makeup in such a way as to even further accentuate her 'dragon lady' visage.

Inheriting this maleficent-seeming aspect of her mother's famed beauty along with the rest of the package, Kodachi had tried her best for years with makeup and hairstyles to downplay and distract away from this fearsome facial feature of hers. She sincerely hoped that joining the Academy's team and supporting her future teammates' efforts would improve her prospects for finding true female camaraderie at school. She wanted to show others that she would be a good friend despite her troublingly villainous looks.

While she had been subtly encouraging Ami for a while now, making slow but steady progress towards a friendship with her, the pigtailed hoyden that the Mizuno girl had brought to their class a few weeks ago was another possibility she was considering making an overture to. There was just something tantalizingly familiar about the redhead, a sort of déjà vu concerning her. Ranko's visage conjured up disjointed memory flashes that enticed her, revealing they had a connection of some kind with each other on other worlds, and that it had something to do with martial arts rhythmic gymnastics.

One such glimpse had shown the other girl clad in a pink gymnastics leotard and holding out a baton with a long ribbon, twirling it easily. Her motions demonstrated skill in the style, and her smile had been very confident. P-chan had been present too in other images.

Since that encounter, Kodachi had done research on Ranko Kuonji in the Empire's official database, exploring what was publicly available about her as well as gaining a better understanding of her relationship with the cross-dressing ruffian who foully lurked within Saotome-kun's classroom. Fortunately, the two cousins did not appear to be at all close with each other. Ranko's mother owned a popular local eatery that served okonomiyaki (a pedestrian repast that Kodachi had never eaten but was curious to try someday), and she had raised both Ranko and her older brother by herself ever since they were born. There was no father present in the family or even listed on the birth records for either sibling, a rather scandalous thing to Kodachi's refined sensibilities.

Based on the evidence of those birth records, the mother was apparently a licentious sort of woman, failing to resist her lusts for men when she was younger and save her virtue for a proper marriage. That could also explain why she lived so far away from the rest of her family, perhaps demonstrating that they disapproved of her highly-immoral lifestyle choices. It would also explain why Ranko looked somewhat different from her handsome older brother, since they likely did not even share the same father due to their mother's sinful proclivities. Since the Kuonji siblings had grown up estranged from the rest of their clan, possibly because of their mother's promiscuity, Ranko and Ukyo were strangers to each other.

After learning this, Kodachi actually felt sorry for the girl, having to deal with a shameless jezebel of a mother like that. Lacking a good role model for how to be a proper, virtuous woman would also explain why Ranko had such atrocious table etiquette, acting more like some uncouth teenaged boy instead of how a well-mannered young lady should comport herself in public. Perhaps, if they did indeed become friends, as an act of charity to the unrefined girl, she would take Ranko under her wing and teach her how to properly walk and to talk, to transform her into a far more genteel young lady.

If the redhead learned how to behave herself like a well-mannered young woman should, perhaps the two of them could even attend some of the parties and social functions the nobility often threw. Kaoru-kun and Saotome-kun could even accompany them as their escorts, assuming Ranko had not inherited her mother's licentiousness towards men. If they did end up becoming friends, she hoped the redhead proved to be far more in control of herself than her mother seemed to be around males.

It distressed the Kuno girl to admit to herself how very petty she had been at the time of her first encounter with Ranko. She had been quite unfairly jealous of the redhead, seeing her so eagerly embraced by the girls in their class as a heroine for boldly standing up to Nabiki and trouncing her, the very same girls that treated her so coolly. Such a base response was utterly beneath the dignity of a daughter of the noble House of Kuno towards someone who was innocent of any sort of wrongdoing. Ranko had neither done her any direct harm nor given her any insult, and it shamed her to have felt the way she had about the other girl. She believed she needed to make up for it.

Perhaps that was why, since beginning her research, she had grown so unexpectedly hopeful that Ranko might welcome becoming friends with her, although Kodachi wasn't exactly sure why a comradeship with this particular girl was so attractive a concept. Maybe it was because the thought of having a close female friend who was another skilled warrior was enticing, someone she could stand shoulder to shoulder with during times of trouble and also share intimate, girlish secrets with when life was calmer. That combination of traits appealed to Kodachi greatly.

The stark truth of the matter was that she desperately wanted a close comrade, a girl who felt no obligations to be her friend and could thus truly be one, preferably someone who shared her interests in martial arts and learning. Konatsu Kurenai, while she was a good and faithful servant who tried her best to satisfy that need, never quite reached the mark, lacking something that Kodachi could not quite put her finger on to name. She truly hoped Ranko would be the one to finally fill this aching void she suffered in her life. While befriending the uncouth, fatherless girl carried its own obvious risks of betrayal, she felt it was far more likely the redhead would prove herself a valuable ally, countering any treacheries that the duplicitous Nabiki Tendo might attempt. After being beaten unconscious by Ranko, no doubt she was already on the older girl's list of sworn enemies anyway.

That being said, offering an alliance with Nabiki also remained part of her plans, utilizing the young gangster girl as her cat's-paw against other looming threats in order to avoid having to sully her own hands with such squalid tasks, although it was very appealing to fight them herself. With the Tendo girl's brutish aid, she hoped to hold at bay other young women who sought after Saotome-kun, such as the mannish, ill-mannered Tenjou wench that stubbornly refused to go away and leave him alone. But she could not trust her prospective ally too far without taking proper precautions, as that could leave her vulnerable to a knife driven into her back.

Hopefully that was only a figurative risk instead of a literal one, but one could never be too careful with someone who had earned the fearsome sobriquet "The Iron Bitch" at a place like the Imperial Academy. After all, its many gray-uniformed security cadets, some of whom bordered on being outright villains, maintained a Darwinian mentality towards each other, with trust a scarce commodity. Kodachi knew she was taking a risk in establishing better relationships with two security cadets at the same time, but she believed the potential rewards to be gained were greater, such as improving her strategic position to better protect her fiancé from the many unworthy harridans who pursued him and sought to win the love his noble heart contained.

As troublesome as the problem of these other girls was, she had also come to realize she had some vexing personal demons of her own to struggle with when it came to resolving things with her fiancé, and having a close friend to unburden herself to might help her with them. She had to remain so watchful of herself whenever she was around him it was growing very stressful for her. Until the day he finally claimed her as his woman, allowing her the catharsis that intimate act would yield, she needed to persist in her inner labors at restraining her lustful desires for him, no matter how powerfully they welled up within her at times.

Bitterness tinged her thoughts, knowing her social station bound her rigidly in her pursuit of him, that she had to be so frustratingly coy about her feelings. Her less honorable rivals pursuing his affections were certainly not nearly as inhibited by such polite niceties. And more of them seemed to be appearing as time went on, increasing her levels of frustration.

The most recent name added to that slowly growing list of contemptible girls chasing after her fiancé was the Chinese barbarian named Shampoo, a backwoods-born, martial arts wunderkind who spoke a tortured form of Japanese in disgustingly-cute tones. Even more irritating, the young philistine was possessed of alluring feminine pulchritude layered upon a powerful physique, making her more of a threat in that area than even Nabiki was. Ever since Ranma's battle with the savage beauty, the boys in Kodachi's class had been eagerly discussing the different aspects of Shampoo's charms with such fervor that the girls in their class had grown to be extremely disgusted with them.

Kodachi was among them, being even more repulsed by the boys in her class than she had ever been before. Were all of them helpless thralls to their lusts for girls? Was Saotome-kun the only truly decent boy in their entire school?

Just the mere thought of the uncivilized Chinese strumpet filled the Kuno girl with a simmering fury. Ever since the night of her fiancé's imprisonment in the Battledome to prepare for his rematch, Kodachi had been vividly imagining the wicked things Shampoo was likely doing to seduce the pigtailed scholar from the path of righteousness. Her mind kept conjuring up a series of lurid scenes, each one of the Chinese girl performing immoral, salacious acts with him, things that no polite young woman should ever do except with her fiancé or her husband, but especially not with a young man they had only just recently met.

"Don't worry," sounded another female voice, and Kodachi turned around, seeing the form of Scholar-Kodachi materializing nearby, carrying her favorite book of romantic poetry from the Kuno family's library. "That little barbarian trollop won't keep us from achieving our blissful, destined union with Saotome-kun." Her expression turned wistful as cherry blossoms suddenly floated past her, her gaze assuming the same sort of rapturous 'Hearts and Flowers' look that the Black Rose had recently shown when thinking about Ranma.

Off to one side, where she had been relaxing against a tree and musing her own thoughts, Sukeban-Kodachi snorted contemptuously and made a fist with her right hand, the joints and tendons popping and cracking in a very intimidating way. "Yeah, that foreigner bitch better not try anything with Ranma-sama, or I'll rip both her tits off and then break all of her limbs for good measure. And he'd also better not be screwing that overbuilt bimbo either, not if he knows what's good for him."

She frowned darkly, her face twisting into a truly fearsome scowl at the thought of Shampoo with Ranma. "Now that this secret engagement farce is over with, we really ought to lay down the law to him and put an end to his messing around with other girls, like that Tenjou harpy and this Chinese philistine he's found. What's next? He starts spending time with that little cow, Akane Tendo?" She snorted derisively at that last notion and then growled, "We're the only woman he should ever need or want."

She dropped an arm around Kodachi's shoulders, her expression suddenly becoming sly. "Hey, Kuno-dono, what are your thoughts about Miki-kun since the dance? If Ranma-sama refuses to quit messing around with these other bitches swarming around him like dogs in heat, I'm thinking we should show him just how it feels. We should keep spending time with Miki-kun and let him take us out on more dates, I mean. I really miss kissing with a boy and getting touched, ya know? This girl's got some serious needs building up, and they aren't being taken care of right now by our fickle fiancé. Miki-kun could help. I'm aching here."

"N-needs?" Kodachi murmured shyly, an image appearing near them of the Black Rose and the Miki Kaoru of her world. The couple was locked together in a passionate, intimate embrace while seated upon a couch, exchanging deep, open-mouthed kisses with each other, their tongues wrestling. Both her eyebrows shot up, aghast at the sight of his hand groping around within the partly-unbuttoned jacket of the Black Rose's St. Hebereke school uniform, gently fondling her through her blouse as they kissed. She gaped at the sight, unmoving. Soft groans and sighs could be heard from the pair, a duet of unleashed carnal passions.

Licking suddenly dry lips, she felt an odd compulsion to agree with the other girl after seeing this immoral scene. Despite its sinfulness, a vision laden with torrid desires, it just looked so enticing, kissing fervently with Kaoru-kun and exchanging such tender, intimate touches with him. She swallowed nervously, feeling her face blushing bright red, ashamed at how sorely tempted she was by the notion of being so familiar with her childhood friend.

"B-but I'm engaged to Saotome-kun," she murmured weakly. "I shouldn't. I-I mean I just c-couldn't. And Kaoru-kun's my childhood friend. I just can't do something like that with him. It would be so immoral, so scandalous... so naughty. And what would Kaoru-kun think of me wanting to be so familiar with him? It j-just wouldn't be proper to k-kiss and t-touch another boy when I'm engaged."

She licked her dry lips again, her gaze remaining intent on the erotic doings of the images of the Black Rose and the Kaoru boy. He'd slipped off her jacket and was now gently massaging one of her breasts while he nibbled and licked her neck and collarbone area. Her duplicate was now moaning with even more passion, clearly enjoying what was happening to her, and her hand slid scandalously low on Kaoru-kun's body and began fondling him there. Kodachi's blush grew brighter, her eyes widening even more, but she still could not seem to avert her gaze.

"Proper?" snorted Sukeban-Kodachi. "It's a little too late for that attitude, Kuno-dono. You already went out on a date with him, didn't you? And you saw the looks he was giving you when you were at Ohtori, wearing that slinky dress." The juvenile delinquent struck a sultry pose. "And what red-blooded stud wouldn't want your body? It's a hot package with everything that a guy could ever want to play with, especially having a gymnast's flexibility, if you know what I mean."

She winked saucily. "Besides, Miki-kun's not a little boy anymore, and you're certainly not a little girl. You're a woman, he's a man, and he's a pretty hunky one at that."

The Black Rose then paused, suddenly looking more serious. "But if it makes it any easier on you, Kuno-dono, I'm just talking about making out with Miki-kun, just to tide us over for a while until we can finally get down and dirty with Ranma-sama." The delinquent girl grinned even more salaciously than before, thinking about all the naughty things she planned to do when she finally got her hands on the Saotome boy.

"I guess she has a point," interjected Scholar-Kodachi thoughtfully. "And I like Miki-kun, too. He's a handsome, well-mannered, nice boy, and in both our lives he was our very best friend years ago. I'm positive he won't take advantage of you or hurt you, not like other boys would." Her quiet moue after stating that last thought reflected her frustrations with young men her age, except for a precious few like Ranma and Miki that didn't seem to be thralls to the perverted demands of their male lusts.

She approached, intending to merely glance at the simmering hot scene, but the sight of the couple making out with such intense fervor quickly captivated the scholar girl. She swallowed nervously, suddenly finding herself unable to pull her gaze away from all the fondling, groping and osculating going on between the two heated adolescents. The carnal activities, as well as the soft sighs and groans the duo kept making, were distracting and undeniably fascinating to her.

Her potential opposition momentarily preoccupied by the sexy scene just as she had planned, the Black Rose turned and grinned at Kodachi. "I think Geek Girl agrees. I'm sure Miki-kun wouldn't mind spending some more time with us."

She then paused and frowned thoughtfully. "But don't get me wrong. I'm just talking about make-out sessions with him, nothing more serious. We won't let him get past second base." She paused and suddenly grinned. "Maybe we'll take him to third occasionally, but only if he's been a really good boy and needs some relief. The first time we go for the home run will only be with Ranma-sama." That last part was stated quite emphatically.

"You need to face facts, Kuno-dono, and Miki-kun will be a big help to you here. While I share your dislike with using a childhood friend like him this way, you really need a boy showing interest in you to keep our dear fiancé fired up with a credible threat of some serious competition and keep his attention more focused on defending his claim to you. He's developed this infuriating talent for attracting other girls to play around with, like that Tenjou bitch or this Shampoo savage. Well, two can play at that game. And when the Black Rose plays, she plays to win, whether it's a street fight or affairs of the heart."

"Do boys like that?" Scholar-Kodachi murmured, not really listening to the delinquent's monologue. Her focus was fixated on the scene before her, watching the lusty performance with rapt attention. She swallowed again, and a thin line of drool escaped one side of her mouth along with twin trickles of scarlet dribbling from both nostrils, fascinated as she intently studied what was happening between the couple. The pair was still quite fervently enjoying the so-called 'second base' of such intimate activities, a description that didn't even exist in this world, having never invented baseball.

Sukeban-Kodachi shook her head, murmuring something about repressed, socially-retarded, sex-starved nerd girls before turning her gaze back to Kodachi, who was also staring at the intimate scene with apparent interest. "You know you want to be more like me, Kuno-dono," she softly whispered in more seductive tones next to the other girl's ear. "You want to feel my power, my strength and my confidence filling you. The Black Rose takes what she wants, and she crushes anyone who gets in her way, like that man-stealing, barbarian bitch, Shampoo."

"I-I-" Kodachi whispered, turning to gaze at the Black Rose, clearly tempted.

Sukeban-Kodachi smiled. "It'll be okay," she purred. "It's time to stop hiding me from Ranma-sama. The stress is exhausting you. I love him too. I won't hurt him or drive him away, I promise."

Kodachi could not seem to resist as the delinquent girl drew her in for a gentle embrace, stroking her hair with one hand.

"Just let me out again, Kuno-dono," seductively whispered the Black Rose. "You won't regret it." She held the other girl warmly, beginning to nuzzle at her neck. She murmured softly into Kodachi's ear, "Just let me have control. Admit it. You want it." There was a pause. "And maybe you could even do some more wrestling with Ranma-sama, if you let me have the driver's seat. This Miki-kun might like playing with you that way too. Mine certainly did."

A distance away from them, Scholar-Kodachi suddenly snapped out of her trance and gazed at the pair, sensing something was greatly amiss. She knew she could never be as forthright with her feelings towards the young scholar as the brazen Black Rose could manage to do so much more easily, but was that wrong? Would the thuggish delinquent girl be more successful with her far more shameless attitude and scandalous methods?

She narrowed her eyes, a suspicious look simmering within her gaze. She just didn't trust this Neanderthal woman. Despite her aping of more aristocratic manners, the Black Rose was really little better than the likes of the loutish Akane Tendo, the vile Asuka Saginomiya, or the thuggish delinquent girl trash that infested the nearby reformatory school known as St. Hebereke. She would treat Saotome-kun like a piece of meat to satisfy her sordid lusts. How could someone so crude and brutal think she could win the love of a thoughtful, gentle-hearted boy like him? And her plans for using sweet, innocent Kaoru-kun were simply horrid, leading the poor boy on and tainting the purity of their childhood friendship by enticing him into engaging in sordid acts of lust together.

The scholar girl was certain there was a reason she had entered this particular world, that it wasn't just some random happening that the resonator brought her here during her escape. Meeting Ranma again as she had, and the events subsequent to that fateful first encounter, felt too much like providence working in her favor this time. It was a second chance for her to correct her past mistakes with him, to put right what had once gone so horribly wrong and erase her sins. She had faith she would someday be with him after fleeing from the dreadful ending of their relationship on her original world, if she did what she felt was right.

He would not die this time, not if she had anything to say about it.

However, there was also another consideration she had, a practical but also selfish desire. Scholar-Kodachi was certain this other version of her needed Ranma Saotome in her life to keep herself sane, that Miki Kaoru, while a wonderful boy, was too weak for shouldering the burden of dealing with a girl suffering from Multiple-Personality Disorder. Without the Saotome boy's love, understanding and emotional strength to bulwark this Kodachi's mind and help sustain her patchwork psyche into a semblance of order, she feared the young noblewoman would become lost amidst the clamor of voices trapped within her, each one a different version of her brought here with Scholar-Kodachi during her escape from a dying Empire. During her transit to this life these personalities had somehow become disjointed from each other, shattering apart, enabling the Black Rose and others to become more individually distinct within their shared mind as more time went on since the upload into this body.

The young scholar could hear the whispers of these other selves arising from the stygian depths of Kodachi's subconscious. It was a chaotic mélange of thoughts and emotions that was only kept in check, held at bay and prevented from ripping apart the noblewoman's mind by her and the Black Rose, the two most dominant personalities that had arisen from within the grand collective present within her. Distracted by a sudden cacophony of these other voices rising up and requiring her attention to tamp down and pacify, her awareness was briefly drawn away from the conversation going on between Kodachi and the Black Rose.

That was when it happened. Almost imperceptibly, Kodachi, the core personality, finally nodded in agreement to Sukeban-Kodachi's Faustian offer. Their shared psyche immediately began transforming, the many different personalities remixing into a new matrix. The Black Rose triumphantly seized the dominant role in this new configuration while Scholar-Kodachi was distracted, forcing that other personality down into submission with the others before she fully realized what had just happened, only able to give off a faint wail of despair before she was driven down and submerged with the rest.

A victorious Black Rose suddenly began to laugh, a joyously maniacal sound that seemed to fill the world.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kodachi gasped and blinked her eyes open, awakening to find herself in her bed, the early morning sun beginning to peek into her room, feeling dazed and confused. The empty silk pillow where P-chan slept on her bed sat near her, and she studied it for a moment, missing her precious, absent pet. She knew he liked to wander, and while he could be away from her side for a day or two, he always returned to her. Konatsu-chan saw to that.

After arising from her bed and languidly stretching a bit, Kodachi put on her silk robe over her nightgown and went to sit at her dressing table, taking out one of her many fine combs and beginning her usual morning ablutions by combing out her silky hair with a hundred strokes. The familiar activity was soothing, calming her agitation. When she was finally done with her task, she set down the comb and contemplated her reflection solemnly for several moments.

She looked puzzled at first, as if seeing the face in the mirror for the first time. Then an impish smile slowly blossomed. After pulling out some clean cloths and a bottle of facial cleanser from a drawer, she began to carefully scrub her skin. Once she was done with that, she began putting on her makeup, taking care to get the look she wanted just right. She pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and secured it with a red ribbon from a drawer.

Finished, Kodachi smiled mischievously again, admiring her new mien in the mirror, turning her visage slowly from side to side as she regarded it critically. It was a very definite change from how she had appeared before, no longer vainly attempting to soften the menacing appearance of her eyes. She then leaned forward on her vanity table and studied her reflection more closely, the face within it now displaying a much stronger likeness to her mother's dangerous beauty than it had ever been allowed to before. Her gaze remained level and steady as her fingers rested laced together beneath her chin. Then a soft chuckle began bubbling up from her throat, gradually building in power until it finally exploded from her mouth.

"OH HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

Her long-repressed passions surged free of restraint. The bitchy mirth, nearly identical to her mother's boisterous laugh, was unleashed. When her bout of hilarity finally ceased, she slowly leaned backwards in her chair and languidly stretched once more, hearing her vertebrae gently popping, taking in and releasing several slow, cleansing breaths. Her silk lounging robe strained across the swell of her breasts and the sleek, well-defined musculature of her shoulders with each inhalation. She gave out a lingering sigh at the end, reveling in the pleasant sensations as her muscles relaxed from their long stretch, her every move sensuous and sultry, almost catlike.

Kodachi smiled. The Black Rose was once again ascendant behind her eyes, casting aside that insipid good girl guise she had been forcing herself to maintain for so long. Dimly, she sensed her other selves tempering and coloring her personality as its new matrix finished stabilizing now that she was awake. On a subliminal level, she was aware that she was not truly the Black Rose, not as she had been on that girl's original world, a delinquent who reveled in brutal acts of violence and embracing sensual passions. But the balance had shifted into her favor over that of the sad-faced scholar version of herself, that mousy personality removed from control but still present as a significant portion of her reformatted psyche, smoothing the shape of it and providing a much more 'sane' Black Rose than other worlds knew.

She could hear her other selves in the back of her mind, a chorus of voices raised, asking numerous questions and stating their concerns. She quashed them back down into quiescence through sheer strength of will as her revised personality finished reconfiguring itself. So many of them were contemptible losers in her view, so few of them willing to embrace their passions in a healthy way, especially that other version of herself and her tiresome, plaintive mewling for the fickle Saotome boy's love. It was obvious to the Black Rose that Ranma-sama needed a girl possessed of a more self-confident attitude to claim him and show him the ardor that Kodachi Kuno was capable of offering a boy. And there was also dear, sweet Miki-kun to consider, a pleasant, handsome option to occupy some of her free time with until her fiancé eventually came to his senses about accepting her as his future First Wife.

Laughter erupted from Kodachi's throat again, the sound bubbling up from deep within, a sharp burst of maniacal mirth resounding within the walls of her bedchamber. When it was finished, she felt invigorated and eager to get on with her day as she gracefully rose up from her vanity table. She promptly went into her closets and selected one of her many tailored blue uniforms, even as Konatsu Kurenai and two other young maidservants came in to assist her with anything she might need help with this morning, their gazes showing uncertainty as they tried to make sense of her sudden and unexpected metamorphosis in personality.

She smiled amiably at the trio, all of them teenaged kunoichi working for the family who did double duty in this fashion, each sworn with additional binding oaths of fealty to her service in addition to those they had sworn to the Kunos. While they were peasants and normally beneath the notice of a woman of her highborn stature, even a girl as highly favored in the household as Konatsu-chan was, she was very fond of them all. She did not wish to keep them longer than she had to, as they also had to get ready for school after they assisted her.

It was almost time for her scheduled appearance to eat breakfast with her family and then depart for school in one of the family limousines, and she didn't wish to be late. She would speak with Nabiki Tendo and present her offer of alliance before classes began. Then, after the end of the school day, she planned to seek out the redheaded Kuonji girl at her mother's restaurant to do the same. For the latter meeting, she was considering having Konatsu-chan accompany her for a bit of support, in case a certain cross-dressing ruffian was there, so she wouldn't have to sully her own hands with thrashing that gender-confused, backwoods peasant today. That brutal beating would come soon enough.

Observing the Kuno girl was Bernkastel, quietly scrutinizing the scene. The girl's change in personality was intriguing, and it brought her more in line with numerous other versions of her. She wasn't sure what had caused this alteration to happen to Kodachi, but she suspected that the Saotome boy's recent antics were somehow responsible. If not, then perhaps some other power was influencing the girl to become more like the Kodachis of other worlds.

The girl and her multiple personalities represented a wild card in this scenario. While she promised to keep things lively and fun for the Saotome boy and the middle Tendo daughter, there was a danger she could spin events out of control. She would need to be watched carefully and managed delicately. With that, she then quietly vanished to monitor other developments in the current scenario.

As the three girls removed Kodachi's robe and negligee before assisting her to dress for the day, the Kuno girl's gaze drifted back over to the spot where P-chan normally slept on her bed. Where could her little pig be? Where was her precious P-chan?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"ENGAGED?"

Shizuko Hibiki blinked uncertainly at the very wide-eyed looks she was receiving from the others seated around the breakfast table. Feeling a little unsure after seeing such dismayed reactions, she covered herself by sipping her tea, pondering how to respond and needing a few moments to think. The two girls seemed to be taking things a bit worse than she had feared they would, and she had so wanted to start developing a positive relationship with them as their new stepmother. Her hope was that their two broken families, each wounded by the loss of one parent, might be healed by this marriage between her and Soun.

She feared what her son could be thinking, his face looking so pale and shocked. Did he think she was betraying his father by her considering marriage to another man? While it had been six years of loneliness for her, she knew it had been worse for Ryoga. His grandfather had tried to fill the void, but he wasn't often very around. He frequently traveled beyond the boundaries of their village attending to various tasks, the main one as a vigilant watchman against the resurgence of the dreaded Goju.

Ryoga needed a stable father figure in his life, a man capable of guiding him in the oftentimes difficult transition from boyhood to young manhood. Sometimes Shizuko feared she had coddled him too much after the death of her husband, but he was her only child, her most precious possession. She was hopeful that Soun Tendo would be a good stepfather to her little boy, providing him with the discipline a boy needed but not be too stern with him. She would certainly strive with all her might to be a good stepmother to these two girls who had been far too long without a mother and their married, older sister, if they would only let her try.

In a state of severe shock, Ryoga sat there as motionless as a statue, his breakfast forgotten in front of him. His chopsticks had fallen from suddenly numb fingers to land clattering on the table after he heard the news. He could only manage to stare at his mother in a state of stunned disbelief as he processed it. His previous happiness at seeing her after such a long time being away from his home had swiftly vanished, and his thoughts raced.

His mother was going to remarry? His stepfather was going to be Soun Tendo? The Tendo girls were going to be his stepsisters?

Compounding his shock over this most recent upheaval in his life was that he still had no idea what he should say to apologize to Ukyo concerning their last duel and the things he had yelled at her, not to mention the ugly hatred that had festered within him while he hunted her down. Despite the perplexing revelation of her being a girl, deep down he had come to realize she was his best friend, a friendship he feared he may have destroyed. He was still coming to grips with his attraction to her, and he remained uncomfortable in thinking about Ukyo 'that' way, like she was one of those bikini-clad girls in the lurid magazines his grandfather had bought him for his last birthday. He was also annoyed with himself over being so completely deceived by her male disguise for all of these years. If he had known all along she was a girl, he would have treated her differently, of course.

Like you did with Ryoko Masaki, Akane Tendo, or that pink-haired Chinese girl? The question niggled at him from his conscience.

During their travels together weeks ago, Ryoko had quite forcefully instructed him that he should always treat her as an equal in a fight. Anytime he ever held himself back out of a sense of chivalry, she had brutally laid him out on the ground unconscious. Of course, she could still beat him when he was trying his best, but it took her quite a bit longer. She was the only girl he had ever met who could match him in raw strength and durability, and not even one of his cousins was able to do that. Despite her physical might, she was not at all bulky, her body quite shapely with eye-catching assets, which combined nicely with how unique her hair color was to make her a very attractive girl.

Akane was tough and tenacious in a fight, and he was drawn to her like he was to Ukyo. Whenever the Tendo girl was around him, he felt this pleasant tingling ignite within his nerves, like tiny coruscations of desire inside of him, something only a few other girls had ever caused him to experience, Ukyo being the first. And after the conclusion of his first sparring match with Akane, after he had defeated her, she had started acting really nice to him. It was very unlike how disinterested she had been during their first, brief encounter.

The change in her attitude towards him magnified her attractiveness. He had been aching for the past couple of days to tell Akane how cute she was whenever she smiled, but his shyness restrained him. It always did around girls. Well, except for Ukyo, but he had grown up believing she was really a boy. His body had apparently known the truth, but his mind had never caught on until Nabiki intervened.

Now that Akane was going to be his stepsister, he was even more confused about how he should treat her. As a sibling, he knew he needed to protect her, but he was also attracted to her. Frustration gnawed at him.

Nabiki was going to be his stepsister too, he suddenly realized. She had been pretty busy over the weekend, so they hadn't talked much. If he apologized to Ukyo and managed to get back into her good graces, maybe she could help him figure out what to do about his feelings for Akane and Nabiki.

Then again, he quickly realized that was probably a very bad idea. He was not only still being fickle in his feelings towards Ukyo, he was being stupid. Having to deal with the enigmas of all the girls he now had in his life was playing havoc with his thoughts. Dealing with his studies or playing Go was far easier. He wished he was friends with a girl that understood how guys felt and thought, a girl other than Ukyo that is, someone to help him make sense of how he should act around all these pretty young women.

Yeah, Ryoga, he mentally chastised himself. Do you really think you're ever going to find a girl who understood guys that well and would help you? She doesn't exist.

As for that crazy Chinese girl, their duel had been cut short when he was tranquilized and taken into custody by two peaceforcers, so he wasn't sure what had happened to her. Since she was on the far side of Japan now, at least she was one less girl he had to worry about. She had been really cute, but far too quick to engage in violence for his tastes.

Speaking of the two peaceforcers, they were still around, stationed outside the Tendo compound in their car, monitoring him, trading off their guard duties with some officers from the local precinct. They sometimes even came into the house to check on him, making sure he was staying put and being a good boy. Now that they didn't have to chase after him any longer, the one named Natsumi was calming down a bit, and she didn't seem as surly and mean as he had previously thought she was. Her partner, Miyuki, was actually pretty nice too.

That left one last girl for his consideration, the redhead he still held a grudge against: Ranko Kuonji. To his dismay, he now knew she was Ukyo's cousin. Akane had told him a bit about her over the weekend, gushing about how strong a fighter she was and a brand new friend of hers. His anguish only seemed to grow as he learned more about his gorgeous female nemesis. It was just his luck she would be a Kuonji. She was certainly tricky enough to be a kunoichi.

Since she was Ukyo's cousin, pounding her into mulch for dunking him into that vat of Jusenkyo water and cursing him to turn into a panda would probably not go over well with his childhood friend. Even more frustrating, his future stepsister considered Ranko a buddy, so that was yet another reason he would have to restrain himself from sending the little vixen to the hospital. It angered him that she had taken such shameless advantage of her beautiful body and his naiveté with girls, flaunting her breasts at him during their fight to gain an advantage over him.

Akane had told him she met Ranko at a gathering of the local martial artist types, so perhaps he still had one option remaining to him to obtain some measure of revenge. While he would not be able to seriously harm the girl in a fight, not and maintain good relations with Ukyo and Akane, at least he could still challenge her and work off some of his frustrations that way with her. Hopefully that would ease his anguish a bit over his curse. How could Ranko have done such a horrible thing to him? What had he ever done to her to deserve being cursed to turn into another form?

How was he ever going to explain his curse to his mother? He was only half a man now. Nobody could really understand how he felt about that. Thanks to that miserable Ranko Kuonji, cold water now turned him into something you only saw in a zoo in Tokyo, not walking around freely on the streets.

He was eternally grateful to Nabiki Tendo for turning him back into a human and explaining the mechanics of the curse to him. She was such a good friend to him. He would do anything for her.

Once he took his revenge on the redhead, Ranma Saotome was next on his list. Luckily, Ranma was a boy, so there wouldn't be any girls he could try hiding behind like Ranko unfortunately could, not and keep calling himself a man. It infuriated Ryoga how the rotten wretch was two-timing poor Ukyo _and_ kind-hearted Nabiki, treating the bounty of having such wonderful girls as them liking him so callously, and such ingratitude was an unforgivable offense to the Hibiki boy. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Ranma even had several more girls he was stringing along on the side, or so he had heard from Akane. The arrogant, womanizing jerk needed to be brought to justice and punished, and Ryoga Hibiki knew he was just the man to rebuke the other boy for his perfidies towards such beautiful, loving girls.

Soun was absent from this scene, having an early appointment to be at the Mobius Institute. As they had arrived late last night due to travel delays, those in the household were already asleep, so Soun had told Shizuko to just use her best judgment in the morning about what to tell the others when they asked why she was there. Unfortunately, he was still unaware that she had totally misunderstood who the engagement contract specified. An honest sort, after greeting her son and giving him a long hug, she had decided to avoid any prevarication and just told the three teenagers everything she knew, that she was engaged to marry Soun Tendo.

"Let me get this straight," Nabiki began, feeling like a headache was coming on. "You and my father are going to be... married?" She was already struggling to deal with Shampoo's unwanted appearance in her life, dreading how the Amazon's interference would further complicate her already challenging relationship with Ranma, and now this farce was happening in her own home courtesy of the false Soun. She was growing to despise the man who had hijacked her father's life, as well as the fake Genma who was ultimately responsible for this travesty.

What was the idiot thinking, getting engaged to Ryoga's widowed mother? While it would make her own plans for using the pliable Hibiki boy far easier having him as her stepbrother, it just didn't make any sense to Nabiki when looked at from her fake father's point of view. Just what purpose could it serve for him to do something like this?

As the phony Soun apparently still retained her real father's memories and skills, since he had miraculously managed to pass himself off for some time now as a high-ranking intelligence officer in the very heart of a place as notoriously paranoid about infiltration as the Security Directorate was, perhaps there was some far deeper gambit being played out here, one that she wasn't seeing yet. Frankly, that possibility greatly irritated her, but since her real father was a master at such gamesmanship, it was an option that she needed to consider. It was feasible that the counterfeit Soun would not eventually be unveiled as the same tearful idiot he was in that other world, the one that Ranma had told her about. It was thus dangerous for her to assume he was still that foolish and weak man, and her real father had taught her to never underestimate an opponent.

Hopefully, if the man had somehow managed to retain enough of her real father amidst the exchange of personalities the fake Genma had induced, then things might not go as horribly awry as she dreaded they would when he underwent his mandatory telepathic loyalty scan at the Mobius Institute. Ryoga's mother had blithely shared with them that the fake Soun was already on his way there before revealing the almost-equally disturbing reason for her presence. The long-dreaded day of reckoning was upon them.

If things went badly during the test, and they had espers strip-mine his brain about what had happened, they might all end up locked away in some very deep, very dark hole, or dead. The trial and conviction for high treason against the Empire could happen very swiftly over what had transpired with Soun Tendo. Nabiki could vividly imagine that the happy overseer of such an utterly depressing scenario would have to be Hinako Ninomiya. Eliminating Soun Tendo would clear the last obstacle from her path, allowing her to ascend to head up the Security Directorate, not to mention leaving her free to pursue whatever nefarious schemes she had regarding Ranma.

The worst part in all of this for Nabiki was that she felt so horribly alone right now in dealing with it. Normally, her sisters were allies she could depend on in such times of emergency, but Akane remained blissfully unaware that there was anything wrong with their father. She was apparently still consumed by thoughts of revenge, blaming her older sister for 'stealing' Ranma away from her, a boy Akane was never really in an actual relationship with outside of something that was vaguely sadomasochistic. Then again, even at the best of times, the youngest Tendo sister had her blind spots.

What was more surprising to Nabiki was that Kasumi was not picking up on anything being amiss either, and the eldest Tendo sister seemed strangely preoccupied with some other matters lately. Nabiki had no idea what those concerns could be, since her older sister led a life she had long envied, being married to a handsome, successful doctor and living in a nice house in a posh neighborhood. But she just felt in her gut that Kasumi must be dealing with something serious, since she was acting much like she had after their mother had died, like she was emotionally grappling for a lifeline that would allow her to escape from a desperate situation. But what could be so wrong?

While telling her sisters the truth might help, it could also make everything much worse. She was uncertain how Akane might react. Ever since the two of them were young children, her sister had been oddly fascinated by the supernatural, originating with her claim that she once saw a ghost, a lady dressed in a blue kimono that had appeared at her bedside and told her fanciful stories about some boy she could not remember the name of. This supposed sighting had apparently taken place many years ago at the Science Ministry, when she and Akane had gone there with their mother to get inoculations of some kind. All Nabiki remembered of the incident was suffering a serious allergic reaction to her shot and being feverishly ill for a few days before she was able to recover.

While spirits and monsters were definitely known to exist, something that would be impossible for Nabiki to deny since she was best friends with a Devil Hunter, she still had her doubts that Akane had really seen anything. After all, what were the odds of a ghost appearing in the middle of the Science Ministry? It was far more likely that Akane had been delirious too, maybe due to having a milder allergic reaction to the inoculations they had received. Another possibility could be that the kimonoed lady Akane claimed she saw was actually a real person, but her younger self had just misremembered the encounter and imbued it with supernatural properties.

If she was told the truth, Akane might think her sister was possessed or something, a reaction which would surely blow up nastily in Nabiki's face. Alternately, she may believe it was some sort of devious trick, a ploy by her sister to keep her away from Ranma by making her think _he_ was possessed. What Kasumi might think was anybody's guess, but her older sister was not acting normally lately. Because of these reasons, Nabiki felt it was just best to continue keeping her sisters in the dark about the resonator.

Ranma, due to his own ongoing troubles dealing with the fake Genma and his shenanigans, was about the only one she could really talk to about her concerns regarding the false Soun, and she really missed having him around. When he became a prisoner in the Battledome during their first real date together, a sickening feeling had come over her, a sense that she might never see him again, surprising her a bit. She wasn't sure how he had become so important to her.

In the many weeks they had been dealing with each other, they had been almost constantly at odds, struggling for dominance. While she did enjoy elements of their conflict, it still felt unnatural to her for him to be so capable, to not let her be the one to solve the problems that kept springing up around them. The situation with Shampoo was typical for how things had been working, with Ranma at the heart of it dealing with things instead of her.

Such happenings only seemed to deepen her feelings that he was her rival, that the world was wrong somehow and needed her to correct it. She kept believing that she had to forcibly put Ranma back into what she saw as his proper role and let her take charge of things from now on. Despite what he had so arrogantly claimed on television, _she_ was the true heir to the Anything-Goes School, not him.

What surprised her at times was that her other feelings for him had begun to grow deeper as well. If he would only let her take the lead, things like this mess with Shampoo wouldn't be happening. After all, going to the Arena had been his idea, one example of what would probably keep occurring if he continued being the one in charge of their relationship.

Having no one else around she felt she could talk to, she had even considered confiding in Kodachi, the only other person familiar with the resonator and its effects. But then the two of them had gotten into their vicious, ugly fight with each other, a brutal slugfest ignited by their mutual frustrations over the situation with Ranma and Shampoo. While it had ended inconclusively, Nabiki now realized she had been grossly underestimating the other girl's combat abilities and should start treating Kodachi as a far more dangerous opponent from now on. The option of talking with the Kuno girl concerning Genma and Soun had been closed off after their scuffle, forcing Nabiki to wait for Ranma to be freed, although his return would likely mean Shampoo entered their lives.

Unlike the world of her analog, another iteration of history where that version of her had gone on the decade-long training trip from Hell with Genma instead of Ranma, the situation was much different here. For one thing, this Shampoo clearly viewed her as a rival to be beaten into submission, nothing else. Frankly, that feeling was mutual for Nabiki. Just being around the Chinese girl made her feel edgy, much like how she felt around Utena and several other girls she had encountered over the past few months. Some, like Ryoko Masaki, were merely annoyances, not arousing within her the same gut-level reactions.

Come to think of it, maybe she should look up Ryoko for a fight, since the other girl lived nearby in some temple. It had been several days since their last tussle together, and she could use the catharsis that a good brawl with a strong opponent would give her. Fighting with the teal-haired delinquent girl was probably just the medicine she needed to help alleviate her stress for a while.

Her date with Touga had already been driven from her mind by the sudden announcement of the engagement and her concerns over the false Soun. Fortunately, the Kiryuu boy's efforts during the weekend had provided her with some much-needed stress relief after her frustrating encounter with Shampoo and worrying about Ranma. He was proving himself to be a good friend, and it was really nice to have someone that rich willing to spend so much money on her. Without that relaxing break, she might have just exploded from sheer frustration this morning after hearing this interloping woman announce her unwelcome news that she was going to be their future stepmother.

She and Touga had enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together at an exclusive restaurant. The meal was followed up by several hours of dancing at an uptown nightclub, some of it pleasantly intimate and slow, and she had only needed to remove his roaming hand from her derriere three times. In gratitude to him for taking her mind off her concerns over Ranma, Shampoo and the phony Soun, after he brought her home she had allowed him a single, lingering kiss with her at the front gate while standing concealed in the shadows. His hand had drifted down to rest on her behind during their long kiss, but she felt he had earned it by then.

It had felt unexpectedly wonderful to have Touga's arms wrapped tenderly around her and kiss with him like that, but she had also experienced distinct twinges of guilt at doing it with someone other than her fiancé. But then she had quickly reminded herself about Ranma's passionate 'Kiss of Marriage' with Shampoo while he was still laid up in his infirmary bed. Who knew what those two had been up to since then? She strongly suspected the Joketsuzoku girl might already be working her wiles on Ranma, even though the rematch supposedly left things up in the air.

Seated at her usual place at the table, Akane's mind was whirling. Her daddy was marrying another woman, and she was Ryoga's widowed mother. That would make him her stepbrother. She wasn't sure how she felt about all of that right now, her mind still processing so many different things. However, it made her feelings towards him even more confusing, to know he would become part of her family.

Next to her sat Nabiki, but she was pointedly ignoring her sister this morning, something she always did at mealtimes anymore. With Sakura's help, she had been greatly annoyed over the weekend to discover Ranma was engaged to two more girls in addition to Nabiki. After retrieving copies of the three engagement contracts from public records while out shopping with Sakura, the two of them had pored over them for hours at the other girl's house. They had discovered an almost unnoticeable clause common to them all that allowed someone else to be substituted for one of the two named parties, if they defeated that person in a duel. It was a legacy piece of boilerplate legalese in such contracts, a remnant from earlier times that was never used anymore.

However, while it had not been invoked in recent memory, it was still valid law in the Empire. Akane had quickly realized she could use it to engage herself to Ranma, becoming his fiancé after she trounced Nabiki. The problem she faced was that she could not yet beat Sakura in a duel, so her sister likely still remained out of reach. It was frustrating, but it was also driving her to become even better than she had ever been before. Once she mastered the Cherry Blossom Fist technique that Sakura was teaching her and was able to achieve a rough parity with her friend's skills in a fight, and then she would challenge Nabiki, the winner getting Ranma.

After that, she planned to challenge each of the other fiancées in turn. By legally substituting herself for them on their contracts after each victory, their numbers would dwindle. If all went well, eventually it would just be her and possibly Shampoo as Ranma's fiancées, assuming his rematch upheld his engagement to the Amazon. Since the Joketsuzoku girl's claim arose from the treaty of surrender between her tribe and the Empire instead of regular contract law, she could not terminate Shampoo's right to marry Ranma by simply beating her in a duel.

Fortunately, she did not have to fear provoking the Chinese girl into challenging her and extinguishing her claim should the Amazon win. That option only existed for citizens of the Empire, and Shampoo would only be one if she somehow won the upcoming Emperor's Tournament. The way things were currently, the two of them would have to share Ranma. They would then have to marry Ranma at the same time due to the First Wife being able to unilaterally terminate other engagements. Since she was still a huge fan of Shampoo and her Arena career despite what had happened a few days ago, Akane could accept that.

The biggest risk in invoking this clause was that she would then have to keep defending her claim to be Ranma's fiancée until they could get married, but that was fine. She loved a good fight, and she was much better now than she had ever been before. Once she was his First Wife, she could then utilize her right as such to extinguish all the other engagements. But until that happened, the law allowed that formerly defeated fiancées would be able to come back after a certain amount of time and demand a rematch in order to regain their status by beating her. There was also a chance that she might not be able to defeat Ukyo and Kodachi, even after her intensive training.

Once she started this ball rolling, it would be impossible to stop. Pandora's Box would be opened and three positions as Ranma's fiancées would be available to whichever girls were the strongest claimants for them, but she was willing to take that risk for Ranma's sake. They were meant to be together, she just knew it. She was positive she loved him more than any of those other girls did. True love would win the day in the end, no matter how hard and rocky the road might be for her to walk. She just knew it.

Although he wasn't part of the family, as a temporary boarder in the household, Lt. Yusako Godai had been quietly enjoying his breakfast and going over the day's lesson plan when the engagement was announced. He was a little tired, having spent most of the weekend drinking, playing and just having fun with Ayaka Kisaragi, not getting any work done as he usually did on weekends. He wondered how Ayaka managed to keep up with her duties as a teacher. She never seemed to do any sort of prep work.

While he knew he should now consider her his girlfriend, the two of them having kissed and cuddled for several hours at her apartment over the weekend, not to mention having been out on several dates, he could not shake an odd feeling of wrongness at that. The third anniversary of Kozue's death had quietly passed a few weeks ago, so perhaps that was the source of his slight unease at getting into a new relationship. Until Ayaka had so dramatically blown into his life, Kozue Nanao was the only other woman he had ever been so intimate with.

It still hurt sometimes, thinking about her, the quiet young woman he had once been engaged to marry. Only weeks before they were supposed to be wed, she had been killed in a car crash. It had occurred after she had finished a late night at her job at the Finance Ministry, and it was raining heavily as she was driving home.

He had devoted himself to his work as a teacher and his duties as a soldier of the Empire after her funeral. While he had the occasional expression of interest from a few women, he was unable to bring himself to consider going out with any of them. His life had slowly fallen into a quiet sort of despair, but he had felt comfortable dwelling in his self-imposed solitude. Then one night he had received that fateful telephone call from Belldandy which had altered the course of his life, introducing him to two amazing young women: Ayaka Kisaragi and Kasumi Ono.

While he was more or less officially dating Ayaka now, there was also Kasumi to consider, and the two of them had been out together on what could be argued as dates too. They were friends, but he could not deny his feelings for her ran deeper than something merely platonic. When she had turned to him for solace, her heart wounded and in need of comfort, confiding in him about the failure of her marriage due to her husband's philandering and neglect, all he had wanted to do was take her into his arms, soothe her hurts and tell her it was going to be all right.

Instead of something so romantic, they had held hands, but that felt nice too. It still troubled him to think about a wonderful young woman like Kasumi having to deal with such a dreadful thing like a betraying husband. She was so gentle and kind. He could not imagine her ever being so disloyal.

They had not spoken for a few days, so he felt he should give her a call and see if she wanted to get together with him this week, maybe for a drink or two and some more talking. The thought of seeing her again made him feel quite happy, surprising him a bit. He went back to eating his breakfast and perusing his lecture notes.

In the kitchen, Kyoko was pondering the engagement revelation as well. With a new woman coming into the household, what would become of her? Her new relationship with Captain Shun Mitaka was only just beginning, but it seemed to be going very well so far. She would have to speak with Shizuko later when they were alone, to see what her plans were for the household's management. She hoped she would be allowed to stay on for a while longer, at least until she had a better sense of where things might go with the handsome Capt. Mitaka.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sleepily, Ranma stumbled to the door of his apartment to answer the insistently ringing bell, absently realizing he must have overslept. It must be Shampoo at the door, awakening him for what had become their recurring breakfast date over the past few days. He would have liked to have had a few more minutes of sleep, and he was envious of the Chinese girl's resilience. Master Lee and the Old Ghoul had been working them both hard. He fastened the ties of his shirt as he made his way to the door.

"I'm coming! Hang on!"

When he opened the door, it was not Shampoo waiting for him. Instead, an attractive Chinese girl about his age he did not recognize stood there. Startled, he just stared at her, blinking a few times, trying to process the unexpected sight. She wore the uniform of St. Hebereke, in his world a reformatory school for wayward young girls now being run by the Church of Christ the Warrior as he recalled. Accessorizing her uniform were leather shoulder holsters she had strapped on, containing a pair of matching handguns. Training replicas, he absently noted, packing a solid punch but non-lethal. She also had on fingerless black gloves.

"Uh, can I help you?" Absently, Ranma felt a now-familiar tingling running along his nerves. A faint perfume tickled his nostrils, but it was one he recognized now and knew what it meant. She was an Eve, a young Newtype like him, and her pheromones were triggering a definite sexual attraction response within him.

If she was feeling the same thing, she gave no sign. The girl's gaze was cool as she looked at him, and she appeared to be sizing him up. She gave a distinct sense of toughness and danger in her manner. "You Ranma Saotome?"

"Uh, yes I am. Who are you?"

"Call me Revy," the girl stated flatly. Her expression remained as hard as forged steel, as if she knew he wasn't worth any of her time.

"You're not making a very good first impression on him, you know," casually remarked another girl in St. Hebereke's uniform as she stepped into view. This one was taller, and she wore glasses. From her accent and look, she seemed to be of Spanish descent, or maybe Italian. It was difficult for him to say, since she spoke Japanese extremely well. Her smile was friendlier, but she also gave off the distinctive impression that she was an extremely dangerous girl.

"Shut the fuck up! I'm doing fine, you four-eyed bitch!"

After shaking her head briefly, the second girl curtsied to him. "I am Roberta, Saotome-san. The two of us are novitiates at St. Hebereke, and we've been asked to come meet you."

"Meet me? By who?"

"That would be me, Ranma Saotome," said the tall, ominous figure that joined the two girls standing outside, dressed in his Church-issued armorcloth cassock and robes, his face concealed behind his full facemask. "I am Cardinal Synn, Saotome-san. It is an honor to meet a skilled young warrior like you have shown yourself to be."

He placed a fatherly hand on both girls' shoulders. "These two young lovelies are a pair of my most promising trainees, readying themselves to become Tetragrammaton Nuns someday." He turned his head to look at Ranma. "May I come in and speak with you briefly? They will stand guard and make sure we are not disturbed."

"Um, all right," Ranma replied, uncertain. He saw Roberta smiling at him when he agreed, light briefly flashing off her glasses as she adjusted them.

"I won't be long," Synn said brusquely to the two girls. "See to it that the two of us are not interrupted. Use whatever means you feel are necessary."

Both girls bowed respectfully. "Yes, sir," they chorused.

After the door closed, leaving the duo standing in the hallway alone, Roberta adjusted her glasses again. "If you're trying to torpedo your chances with him, I have to say you're doing an excellent job of it."

"Fuck you," Revy retorted immediately, wondering once again why the other girl insisted on wearing glasses she didn't even need, the lenses being regular glass. "He didn't seem like all that much. I could beat him in a fight." She laid a hand on the butt of one of her holstered pistols and grinned confidently. "He's just some asshole punk, nothing special to me. What makes you think I'd ever want to screw someone like him?"

"You felt it though, didn't you?" Roberta looked thoughtful. "Even though we were told about it, I never imagined it would be like that with a boy our age. I've been attracted to boys before, but nothing like him. He makes me feel like the cardinal does, kind of tingly."

"Yeah," Revy said, dropping her hand from her weapon. "It wasn't what I expected either." She looked irritated, wanting a cigarette to calm her nerves. "He was something, all right." She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment and decided to change the subject. "Have you ever done it with a guy?"

"What makes you think I haven't?" Roberta retorted. She regarded Revy with a cool look, her gaze hardening behind her glasses.

"Sh'yeah, right." Revy grinned. "Like you'd spread your legs for just any guy. I've seen those trashy romance novels you read, the ones you hide from the nuns. You want some hero to seduce you. Well, I got news for you, bitch. There aren't any real heroes in this shitty world, and, if there were any, that Ranma Saotome punk ain't no fucking hero."

"We should try and learn more about him." Roberta turned her head, causing her glasses to glint menacingly as she changed the subject. "And see what the competition for him is like."

Revy made a derisive sound in her throat. "Like any of those prissy Academy bitches would be any challenge to us. You or I could take any of them apart like a cheap, Russian-made watch." There was a pause. "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we could pay a visit to his school and scope out what the opposition is like. I hear he's got some little fan club we could start with for our reconnaissance. Interested?"

Revy grinned wickedly. "Sounds like a fucking blast. Maybe we could even raise a little hell while we're looking around. Things are just too damn boring lately. I could use some action, and a good fight with someone tough would suit me just fine."

"Yes," said Roberta thoughtfully, grinning back. "Let's raise some hell, Revy. If you like, we could invite Eda along or maybe Chang."

"Fuck no," Revy declared. "The next thing we'd know, Eda'd be bringing her gang of combat cheerleaders with her, and I hate those stuck-up bitches she runs with. They're all delinquents like the rest of us, but they act like they're something special. And as cool and badass as he is in a fight, Chang's too damned uptight. He's totally swallowed the idea of him someday purging the wicked from the world, like he's some kind of holy warrior on a mission from God. No, we don't want to act like some rival gang moving in, just a couple of girls checking out the scenery. If we get to bust some heads, I want to keep things small."

"Well, how about bringing Ryoko along? I hear she's been mixing it up with one of the girls at the Academy."

"I said no, no one else but us this time, Roberta." Revy wished again for a cigarette. "If a fucking miracle happens and the two of us run into something we can't handle by ourselves, then sure, we'll bring the whole damn shitstorm down on their heads. We'll come roaring back with Eda, Chang, Ryoko, that Makoto Kino girl that Ryoko hangs out with and maybe even Eda's entire combat cheerleader squad. We'll make a fucking party of it, and maybe it'll even be worth the crap that Balalaika and Sister Yolanda will do to us afterwards."

Roberta grinned. "Sister Yolanda would blow a gasket, that's for damn sure. She's been trying to reform St. Hebereke's image and make us seem more genteel. We're not a school full of thug girls anymore. A lot of us are nuns in training for the Church now, like you and me."

Revy smirked back. She planted the sole of one foot against the wall and leaned back. She mimicked having a gun in her hand and took aim at the wall across the hall, picturing crosshairs in her mind's eye. She couldn't wait to mix it up with someone at the Imperial Academy now, to see if the rumors were true and there were strong fighters there. Maybe after they clobbered whoever was worth beating up there, they'd move on to try out Furinkan next. The former, local street fighting champion went to school there, having just lost her title to some newcomer.

"Yeah, I hope we run into someone tough. I'd love a good brawl with some arrogant bitch I could cut down to size, like maybe one of those security punks."

Both girls chuckled evilly at the thought, looking forward to their upcoming visit to the Imperial Academy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile, inside Ranma's apartment, Cardinal Synn appropriated one end of the couch in the main room and seated himself gracefully, setting his swords to one side. Unsure what else to do, Ranma sat in one of the chairs, facing him. The two sat quietly for several moments.

"Um, you said you wanted to talk to me about something?" Ranma finally asked. He hoped to finish this before Shampoo arrived. He was getting uncomfortable vibes from the other man, like being in the presence of a dangerous predator.

"Yes, I wanted to begin by congratulating you on your victory against the Joketsuzoku girl, Shan Pu," Synn said solemnly. "It was a memorable fight. I was in the audience and witnessed it. You represent her one and only loss in the Arena, which is a commendable thing for a loyal son of the Empire to have done."

"Thanks." Ranma studied the older man. "Uh, was that all?"

"No." Cardinal Synn observed the boy in front of him, analyzing him via his body language, and he was mildly impressed by what he saw. "I also wished to speak with you about the rematch and how your training was going. It is my understanding that the girl is learning the Amaguriken technique. When you face her next, your speed advantage will be gone."

"I can still take Shampoo," Ranma said with bravado. "I'm still better than she is, especially after some more of Master Lee's training. I'll beat her, even without the advantage of the Amaguriken."

"Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

"I won't lose," Ranma said determinedly.

Memories of his time with this world's Shampoo flashed in his mind. The possibility of her not being in his life after this week kept arousing an unexpected ache within him, one he preferred not examining closely, unsure what it meant about his nascent feelings for the Chinese girl. She wasn't the same as the other versions of her he knew from his downloaded memories, but that didn't matter to him. When he came right down to it, despite the differences in this world's history, she was still Shampoo and he was still Ranma Saotome, in all the ways that really counted.

"I can't lose."

"You want her," said Synn calmly, nodding. "It is understandable, as she is quite an attractive young woman, not to mention very strong and capable. Winning the love of a young heroine like her is a most worthy goal." There was a pause. "I can help you achieve that, if you let me, Ranma Saotome."

Suspicion bloomed within Ranma. "You can? How could you help me? I'm already a student of Jun Fan Lee."

"The Dragon. Yes." Synn stood, taking his swords in his hand as he went to the window, gazing out at the city. "He can indeed train your body and teach you many powerful techniques, but, in this instance, only I can instruct you in something that you and I share, an ability inherent within us both. It is something I can teach you relatively quickly, and I feel it will be the key for you to defeat Shampoo."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, puzzled.

"I speak of the boost, Ranma Saotome." Synn turned to face him. "It has been known by many names down through the ages. In China, they call it the Dragon's Rage. I can teach you how to harness this power and master it in time for your upcoming battle with Shampoo." He stepped closer. "Jun Fan Lee cannot help you here, even as capable a master as he is. Doubtless, he has taught you to suppress your rage and fury, to fight from a calm center."

"Yes, he has." Ranma looked at the older man. "How do you know of the boost?"

"I know because I too am an Adam, Saotome-san. Like you, I am a product of Project Phoenix, only from a generation ago." His mask hid the smile on his face. He could sense the boy's interest in his teachings, the desire to grow stronger.

"I can show you how to wield it and master it as I have," said Shishio coaxingly. "The Dragon's Rage, the boost, requires you to unleash your anger, to wield your passion as a weapon. You see, fury ignites and fuels it."

"Okay, let's say I agree to this training," Ranma said thoughtfully. He pondered what he might say to Master Lee. "What's in it for you?"

"Nothing you should fear," said Synn. "Part of the reason I am doing this is because of an old debt owed to your family. Instructing you would also give me the satisfaction of a teacher passing along to a worthy pupil a powerful technique." There was a pause, and he pondered whether or not he should sweeten his offer.

After all, the boy was a virile young man amorously pursued by several attractive young women. It was likely he was already bedding one or more of them. Shishio decided to try.

"If you are interested in learning this ability, Ranma Saotome, I will offer you a further inducement out of my generosity, as one warrior to another." There was a pause. "Those two girls outside, they could be yours, if you want them."

Ranma blinked. "What, you mean marry them?" His eyes went wide at the thought of two more fiancées complicating his life.

Synn chuckled. It was an eerie, almost sepulchral sound through his mask. He had not expected such a response. The boy was amusing to him.

"No, Saotome-san, I would not impose that upon you, not with those two. You already have more than enough young lovelies seeking to become your bride. No, I merely offer those two to you as companions, a reward to celebrate the end of your upcoming efforts, should you decide to accept my tutelage." He sat down again.

"They are two lonely young Eves that unfortunately lack a suitable Adam their age, and I'm certain they would welcome having some companionship with a strong young man like you. They cannot wed because of their vows of service to the Church, but they can become your friends, possibly more, if you chose to honor them with your company." He studied Ranma, seeing what effect his words might be having.

"Roberta definitely seemed to like you. I have never seen her respond so favorably to a young man before. You should feel highly honored. As for Rebecca, I'm sure she would come around if you made the effort, if you prefer a more challenging sort of young woman. I believe she would be worth the effort."

"I see." Ranma said slowly, troubled by the man's offer. He was unused to the idea of a girl being offered as a tradable commodity, and the part of him that was Ranko didn't approve. "Maybe you could just teach me about the Dragon's Rage, and let me decide later about spending any time with those two girls?"

Perhaps he could become friends with them, he mused. His thoughts shied away from the more prurient notions his adolescent mind conjured up regarding the pair. While they were both physically attractive to him, he agreed with the cardinal that the one named Roberta seemed more approachable. Revy looked like she would prefer to rip out his spleen and show it to him or something.

"Of course, Saotome-san." Synn bowed his head slightly. "I would be honored to become your instructor, even for this brief time." He paused and studied the young scholar. "The passion of Christ gave salvation to the world. What will your passion yield, I wonder?"

For some reason, that statement gave Ranma pause. Where was the path of his life taking him? Was he to be more scholar or warrior? Or would he find the balance to be both?

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Shampoo arrived at Ranma's door a little late that morning, having overslept. Training with Cologne was going well, but it was exhausting. She also had to remember to wear short-sleeves each morning. She had forgotten yesterday, ending up almost lighting herself on fire and ruining one of her favorite blouses for training.

She was eager to have breakfast with him again before they each headed off to do their respective training. A grin lit her face at the thought of spending more time with the pigtailed boy and what they might talk about. This version of Ranma had a very agile mind. Her grin promptly died when she got off the elevator and spotted an unexpected sight waiting right outside the door to Ranma's room.

Two rather tough-looking girls in school uniforms stood watchfully right outside his door. As she drew closer, they soon noticed her and abandoned their leisurely postures. The duo eyed her with deadly gazes, rousing her wariness. The pair of girls gave off dangerous vibes.

"Saotome's busy right now," said Revy gruffly. Casually, she studied the Amazon and decided the other girl might make for an interesting challenge. She kept her hands loose at her sides, ready to draw both of her pistols if Shampoo made a threatening move.

Roberta adjusted her stance slightly and put one hand on her hip. When she did so, Shampoo gave her a brief glance, splitting her attention between the two girls. Fighting against these two at once could be problematic, she noted, if they were anywhere near her own skill level.

Fortunately, the matter resolved itself without violence when Ranma suddenly opened the door to allow Cardinal Synn to leave. The two girls gave her insouciant looks and relaxed from their combative postures. To her annoyance, Shampoo saw the one wearing glasses smile coquettishly at Ranma. She briefly fantasized about kicking the girl through the nearest wall.

"Until later, Saotome-san," said Cardinal Synn. He gathered the two girls up with a nod and headed towards the elevator. As the trio swept past her, Shampoo noticed the two girls giving her evil grins when Ranma could not see them.

Still annoyed, she walked over to join the pigtailed boy as he was locking up his room.

"Who they?" the Amazon asked a bit grumpily, her earlier, pleasant mood having evaporated.

"Oh, he wants to offer me some training." Ranma smiled guilelessly at her. "I'm considering it."

"Why?" Shampoo looked at him suspiciously. "Ranma already have strong master."

The pigtailed boy looked solemnly at her. "I want to win against you, of course. I need to do everything I can to win."

"Ranma should no accept training from dark, scary man," Shampoo stated flatly.

He shrugged. "I'm still deciding." The two of them started walking down the hall towards the elevator.

Shampoo frowned as she strolled at his side. She definitely didn't like those two girls and the scary masked man. They screamed trouble to her.

Why didn't Ranma see that getting involved with any of them was a very bad idea? Was ensuring his win over her that important to him? What price would he pay for victory?

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To be continued...

Help me get Quantum Destinies set up on tvtropes dot com and feel free to add any tropes you've seen in the story.


	33. Hearts Of Darkness

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-17.12329 Years)

Nodoka lay awake in her futon, lying on her side and gazing out the window of her hotel room. Her view overlooked one of the more scenic regions of Kyoto. Tears stained her pillow, and her eyes were puffy from another sustained bout of crying. Adding to her discomfort, her skin had started itching again. She absently scratched at her neck.

A few blocks away, one of the largest Shinto shrines in the city could be seen from where she was, lit up like a beacon of hope against the dark night. It was meant to symbolize that the multitudinous gods of Japan were watching over and protecting the home islands of the Empire. Such a glorious sight would normally be a soothing image for her, but not tonight. Not anymore, because the gods had abandoned her.

For the past several days, she had been spending her time visiting a number of shrines, temples and even once visiting a Christian church in her desperate quest to assuage her troubled spirit and find forgiveness for the sins of her youth. Her dishonorable activities of long ago had finally given rise to a demon that sought to destroy her. It had been working its dark mischief on her for weeks.

Unfortunately, none of these holy places had helped her. She still felt just as lost and miserable as she had been before making her trip here, knowing the demon lurked somewhere around her. Her innocent child's life had already been ended due to her past misdeeds, and she feared her punishment would claim others before it was finally through with her.

Throughout the months following her miscarriage, Genma had tried so hard to support her. He had taken time off from his work, sought out doctors to assist her in healing her wounded soul and otherwise done everything a husband could be expected to do. Even while crushed within the depths of her own despair, she realized he was enduring his own pain at the loss of their child, and so she was even more grateful for his efforts on her behalf.

However, deep down, she doubted that any man truly had the capacity to ever understand this tremendous sense of loss she was burdened with. Her bereavement was caused by the sudden absence of the child she had carried within her own body for a few months and had been looking forward to raising someday. No man could ever really comprehend such a thing, this facet of being a woman. One might as well ask him to flap his arms and fly away to the moon.

Despite that limitation inherent to all those of his gender, she loved Genma for his striving to be there for her, how compassionate he had been towards her in her time of need when this all began. He cared for her so much, and she could recall so clearly seeing his love for her every time he looked at her. But lately those tender gazes only seemed to cause her pain, knowing that she was guilty of dishonoring herself. Whispers in the darkness had told her so each night, and that Genma would be destroyed too as part of her punishment for her sins.

Others had been supportive of her as well, such as her Aunt Furuderika, a reclusive relative she actually knew very little about. There were also the new friends she had made in the quaint, little village of Hinamizawa while she stayed there in the vacation house that she and Genma had built with assistance from her aunt, enjoying a quieter life away from bustling Tokyo while she struggled to recover. They had all been so very kind to her. Even a busy woman like Oryou Sonozaki had taken time out of her schedule to visit with her every few days for tea and pleasant chats, and the two of them had gradually developed a close relationship, one sometimes almost feeling like they were mother and daughter.

However, none of it seemed to do Nodoka any good for long. She wanted to trust them, to open up and tell them what was really going on within her, but she could not seem to bring herself to. She held her pains and fears buried deep down inside, and everyone's concerns only seemed to add to her burden. To ease their worries about her and get them to back off a bit, she had finally begun putting up a pretense of regained wellness, an act she started a few weeks ago.

During that same time, she began fearing that even Genma had finally started to turn his heart away from her, despite his many earlier protestations of undying love. Even if he had, she knew it was not his fault, and nothing he ever said to her during the day had led her to this conclusion. She had only come to believe this was the case when, late at night, she started hearing the demon speaking to her using Genma's voice, telling her quite solemnly in the darkness what it thought of her. She began remaining awake and only feigning sleep for the first few hours each night, waiting for her husband to slumber. Then she would sit up in their shared futon as the darkness loomed around them, listening to the chilling words the demon spoke to her in Genma's voice while he slumbered.

Those words mirrored the dreads she held buried within her heart. She eventually realized that the demon tormenting her must have started to possess her loving husband, likely planning on turning him against her. Suspecting it would eventually use Genma to punish her further, hurt her, maybe even kill her, she knew she had to do something to stop it. Nodoka loved her husband too much to let him be so used, knowing she was the guilty one.

When she had gazed into Genma's eyes on that very last day with him in the airport, about to board her flight for Kyoto, she finally saw it, the demon, taunting her from within his gaze. Her husband's eyes had seemed briefly catlike as unspeakable horror filled her at the sight, and she knew beyond a doubt that the demon intended to destroy them both unless she took drastic action. She had hugged and kissed Genma and then fled for the gate, fervently praying to find a miracle cure in Kyoto with every step.

As she ran, she heard the demon's mocking laughter behind her, although no one else seemed to notice it. That only added to her horror. Once she was seated, she began silently praying, beseeching the gods for help.

Everyone was so worried about her, and she wanted to lay their concerns to rest. It was for this reason she had come to Kyoto, to make this solitary pilgrimage in the hopes of freeing herself from the demon that sought to destroy her and Genma amidst some of the holiest places in all of Japan. Surely walking among the blowing cherry blossoms and visiting the grand temples and shrines would cleanse her soul of the darkness that sought to claim her.

However, over the past days, something had finally become abundantly clear, like it was a revelation sent to her from the heavens in answer to her pleas. Losing the child that she and Genma had been happily looking forward to having was all her fault, and no amount of prayers she offered now would alter that. As her body had been deemed healthy for childbearing by all the doctors, it must only be her spirit that was unworthy of becoming a mother, and she was already beyond redemption. She also finally knew the reason why, one she had suspected after this long nightmare began but never told Genma.

The truth was that she secretly treasured all the violence she had been involved in during her youth as an unruly teenager. When she recalled those glorious days, she remembered them with great fondness, sometimes wondering what had happened to all those foes she had once battled with so fiercely. The only person she still kept in touch with from then was Achika Masaki, who had become her very best friend by the end of their schoolgirl lives.

There were others she had let slip away with her youth, to her everlasting regret. Not friends, far from it, but rivals in combat that were kindred spirits to her own. As she considered the memories of their faces, one such rival stood out more clearly above all others.

If she closed her eyes, Nodoka could still recall her many savage duels with the haughty Kenseiko, arguably her fiercest, bitterest rival. Oh, how the two of them had loathed each other, almost constantly battling and beating each other up over one thing or another. But those brutal struggles with the other girl, as troublesome as they had seemed at the time, were some of her most glorious memories, and she greatly missed having that sort of heart-pumping excitement in her life.

When she thought about the colorless woman she had grown up to be, she sometimes secretly despised herself. But she now knew that her enjoying such brutality had been wrong, causing a dark, lingering stain on her honor. She had been taught in her childhood that a truly honorable warrior never took any enjoyment in violence. Kenshin Himura, her noble ancestor and a mighty warrior, had never reveled in the bloodshed and brutality he had been required to mete out to others in the performance of his duties to the Empire. Knowing her sin now, she felt unworthy to have his blood flowing within her veins.

There was only one thing she could possibly do to cleanse her soul. She would redeem her tainted honor in death. Her dear, sweet husband would be freed of his burden, being married to a flawed wife like her, and she hoped he found a more worthy woman to be the recipient of his love someday. What she had done was truly all for the best. Her demon would have its prize, so it would hopefully leave her beloved Genma alone in peace to live out a long, happy life.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

Earth +4.612, +4.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Ranma 1/2 cluster)

Earth +6.444, +5.611 – The world of Pax Sinica (Musk Dynasty cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself. The previous chapter showed some of the results of actions taken even earlier in the story.

A few more details of Ranma's birth were examined in the prologue. The mysterious Nanashi had a visitor and more of his past was revealed. Tiger finally remembered how things ended between her and Ranma and suspected she might be pregnant with his child, and she made plans for her future. Kodachi looked back at her history with the White Lily and experienced a resurgence of the Black Rose during a dream sequence, altering her personality when she finally awakened. Shizuko Hibiki revealed that she will be joining the Tendos as their new stepmother, prompting introspection on the parts of Ryoga, the two Tendo sisters and the others in the household. Ranma was visited by a sinister figure and a familiar pair of deadly girls, two novitiate nuns of the Church of Christ the Warrior. Cardinal Synn (the disguised Shishio Makoto) made Ranma an offer of training, to teach him mastery of the boost.

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Chapter 33 – Hearts Of Darkness

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against

principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the

darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high

places.

King James Bible

Ephesians 6:12

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-17.12320 Years)

The witch Bernkastel gazed down icily at the dying form of Nodoka Saotome, briefly noting the empty bottle of pills sitting upon the nightstand. Her expression slowly transformed into a terrifyingly menacing scowl as she pondered what she should do now. She had only intended to check and see how the woman's recovery was progressing, instead discovering this sad scene when she appeared.

Nodoka had seemed to her to have finally turned a corner and begun mending emotionally over the past several weeks, so the witch had not maintained a closer watch on things or made any additional efforts on her behalf. Looking at the livid scratches on the woman's neck and wrists, it was clear that she had horribly misjudged things. Sometime after her arrival in Hinamizawa to enjoy the more peaceful clime there, Nodoka must have violated the prohibition 'Aunt Furuderika' had imposed against drinking the local water. Combined with the stresses caused by the woman's lingering depression over her recent miscarriage, this ugly incident had resulted, and now it fell to the witch to clean it up before her whole scheme imploded right before her eyes.

She had come too far to abandon all her preparations for the planned scenario now, so she needed to do something radical to salvage things at this point. To make her gambit work, it was imperative for Ranma Saotome to be born into this world, but for that event to come to pass mandated that a Nodoka Saotome was there to do it. To her dismay, Bernkastel realized she would now have to take an even more direct hand in events in order to ensure Ranma's nativity.

Unfortunately, simply going back and just undoing this event would not repair things sufficiently. Too many other details would have to be researched and adjusted to repair this version of Nodoka sufficiently. Luckily, there was a more straightforward option she could employ to fix things.

Tendrils of light extended from Bernkastel's hands and began examining Nodoka as the already unconscious woman suddenly slipped into cardiac arrest. Several of them sank into Nodoka's skull, beginning to harvest her memories as she convulsed, gasping for air. Bernkastel began muttering unladylike imprecations under her breath as she realized how Nodoka had fooled everyone around her by feigning that she was getting better instead of growing worse. Even as she studied what the other woman had been going through, the witch was worriedly pondering how long it might take her to find a close enough temporal match to enable her to patch this hole in causality that had been created by Nodoka's unforeseen actions.

Plucking out this version of the woman from the timeline and grafting in another was her best option, after the chosen replacement's memories were suitably tailored to fit, of course. It was a brute force approach that would lack any sort of finesse or artistry, but it was the only solution she could see to do that would quickly repair this wretched situation before too many bifurcations of the timeline occurred for her to easily deal with. As each one represented an additional world she would now need to visit and purge the damnable Shogun from, she had to work very fast to repair causality before things cascaded and grew even more complicated than they already were.

She knew more timelines were already appearing as she dithered. Some were even likely attaining permanency instead of being absorbed again by others of stronger probability. She had to hurry.

The witch vanished in a swirl of light.

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*** Earth +0.006, -0.002 (-17.12320 Years)

Nodoka murmured softly in her sleep, enjoying the feel of the strong arm wrapped protectively around her midsection. She snuggled happily against the younger man cuddled up behind her, feeling contented and warm. Outside the window of their shared hotel room was the skyline of Kyoto.

Bernkastel appeared in a swirl of light, gazing at this version of Nodoka Saotome entwined intimately together with the youthful male form of Yumi Kuonji's Jusenkyo-cursed body. She raised one eyebrow at the sight, noting the distinctive scent of pheromones still lingering cloyingly in the room's air. The two had clearly been busy rutting like animals on their shared futon, likely for several hours judging from what she observed.

Gesturing, tendrils of light snaked out towards this Nodoka. The witch felt a sense of relief wash through her when her preliminary probes responded that this analog should fit her needs for a causality patch. Far too much of her subjective time had already passed for her tastes since she had left the dead body of that other Nodoka, attempting to find a suitable replacement brood mare that would eventually become Ranma's mother.

She scanned the sleeping woman's memories. Other than a few relatively minor discrepancies here and there, this one's life had been nearly identical to the Nodoka of the other timeline until shortly into her marriage to Genma. In this world, having missed one of her periods, she thought she was pregnant and had proudly told Genma, but that error was corrected a month later. It had only caused this version of the couple some relatively minor disappointment when the supposed pregnancy turned out to be a false alarm.

Fast forwarding to recent weeks, she saw that this Nodoka had taken a solitary trip to Kyoto to visit relatives while Genma was busy with a symposium, and she had decided to pray at a few of the shrines for a child while she was here. By chance, she had encountered Yumi Kuonji, her old flame from when they were both teenagers, the Jusenkyo-cursed woman apparently spending the day in her male form as she played tourist here. The sight of Yumi-kun had somehow shattered the old memory blocks established during Nodoka's youth, and this version of her had suddenly recalled everything from those days.

Events then followed their natural course. The two were unable to deny their mutual attraction, although Nodoka fought against it pretty hard for a few days, clearly torn because of her love for Genma. After an intimate dinner last night, one this version of Nodoka had believed would be a fond goodbye, it instead led to the two of them winding up in bed together.

Withdrawing her tendrils of light, Bernkastel pondered for a moment, tapping a finger thoughtfully on her chin. She then shimmered and vanished, heading off to double-check on some things.

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*** Earth +0.006, -0.002 (-17.12238 Years)

Yumi-kun gazed at Nodoka with regret. Standing beside him was Cherry, dressed in an expensive suit that looked slightly rumpled, which was actually a common look for him. The pair watched pensively as the Mobius Institute cleaner agent went about her work, the woman holding her hand gently to the unconscious Nodoka's forehead, using her psychic powers to rebuild the blocks on her old, recently-recovered memories as well as adding new ones to bury her newer experiences.

"I'm afraid it's time to go, Kuonji," said Cherry gruffly, a faint tinge of sympathy in his voice as he spoke to the cursed woman. "We have another mission coming up that requires your skills." There was a pause. "Thank you for keeping her occupied until we could get someone out to wipe her memories again." There was another poignant pause when the cursed woman still did not respond. "You know that this is all for the best."

"I know," Yumi-kun whispered resignedly. "Goodbye again, Nodoka-chan." The cursed woman turned away and walked out the door behind Cherry. This was the course of the life she had chosen for herself, and there was no going back now.

Bernkastel watched invisibly and silently from the corner, cloaked from all senses, even those of the esper now working on Nodoka. She frowned darkly at the cursed woman as Yumi-kun left with Cherry.

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*** Earth +0.006, -0.002 (-16.35074 Years)

"Congratulations, Saotome-hakase! It's a boy!"

Genma knelt next to Nodoka, manly tears welling up in his eyes as he gazed at their beautiful child. He had a son! He imagined all the many wonderful days they now had ahead of them, and he looked forward to teaching the boy about the universe and its wonders. In his heart, he vowed to be the very best father he could possibly be for his child, far better than his own abusive, miserable excuse for a father had ever been to him.

Bernkastel watched from the corner, noting the date on the calendar on the wall, her presence in the room cloaked from all senses. A thin, invisible tendril of her powers gently touched the sleeping baby boy. She looked thoughtful and vanished. There was only one other thing to check.

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*** Earth +4.612, +4.509 (-16.35074 Years)

"Congratulations, Saotome-kun! It's a boy!"

Genma gazed down at the baby held in Nodoka's arms, his hand resting on her shoulder. He had a son! As soon as possible, the boy's training in the martial arts would begin. When he was through, Ranma would be the finest fighter in the world, no matter what he had to do to accomplish this. Plans whirled through his mind.

Bernkastel watched from the corner, encouraged to see the date on the wall calendar was a match for the other world. She extracted a tendril of her powers to snake over to touch the sleeping baby boy. After a minute or so, she nodded with satisfaction at what she found and then vanished in a swirl of light.

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*** Earth +0.006, -0.002 (-17.12312 Years)

Gesturing, a wicked smile was upon the witch's face. The sleeping woman shimmered and then was instantly exchanged with the body of that other Nodoka. Bernkastel then shook her head in false sympathy at the cursed woman in the bed, unaware of what had just befallen her. An anonymous tip had already been phoned into the local authorities, and they should be arriving soon.

What a surprise the cursed woman would have on her hands when she woke up next to a corpse and had to deal with the police and a likely murder investigation, but perhaps this could be considered a form of karmic retribution for what Yumi had done in that other future, seducing another man's wife and then abandoning her. It promised to be quite an amusing show, and the witch felt it was well worth the divergence that had just been created. She made a quick mental note to return and observe the resulting fallout of her handiwork when she had a bit more leisure time to enjoy it.

With a shimmer, the witch departed to finish tidying up the last bits of mess she needed to deal with.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000 (-17.12299 Years)

Tendrils of light began withdrawing from Nodoka's sleeping form, and Bernkastel nodded in satisfaction. She would have to verify with some additional jaunts forward in this timeline, but she believed that the causality patch she had just crafted would hold nicely. The replacement Nodoka's memories of recent months had been very carefully revised to more closely approximate the history of the dead one's life, removing the paranoia and hallucinations the other one had suffered. Nothing should seem out of place to her or others when she returned to this world's Genma tomorrow.

She finished up her work by amping up Nodoka's libido somewhat. As the woman was approaching the height of her current fertility cycle, the next phase of the scenario should now play out as originally planned. Ranma Saotome would be born within the next nine months, as scheduled.

Like in countless other worlds, Ranma's father in this one would be Genma Saotome. After seeing as many variants of the boy as she had come across during her travels, perhaps Ranma was even somehow destined to be born to the couple. In her experience, certain events had a kind of inertia that replicated them across alternate timelines, and perhaps this boy's birth was one such pervasive event.

Now all she had remaining to do was to go and eliminate the Shogun from the new variant worlds that had cropped up with sufficient probability in them to attain permanency. She hoped it wouldn't take too long to kill them all. It was such a bother, like crushing cockroaches.

The witch hoped no further surprises occurred like this last one as she vanished.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

A snifter of fine cognac rolling gently in one hand, its faint bouquet wafting up to his nostrils, a silent figure stood gazing down from his penthouse at the blackly beating heart of his kingdom, the city of Roanapur. Throughout its winding streets the inherent corruption of mankind was laid bare. Acts of greed, lust and violence were committed daily upon each other by its inhabitants in one part or another of its regions. Whether such deeds occurred in its filth-stained alleys or behind the closed doors of its wealthiest inhabitants, the miserable pack of animals known as mankind enjoyed its freedom here to revel in its basest nature.

The Shogun of the Dark took a sip from his glass, savoring the subtle flavors on his tongue briefly before swallowing. The endgame was slowly approaching and everything was finally drawing to a close. He could feel it, sense his almost Sisyphean ordeal arriving at its inevitable conclusion. At long last, after countless millennia of frustrated struggling and failed schemes, using and discarding countless worlds ever since he began this epic quest, he was almost to his goal.

Godhood would soon be his. His will to achieve it would not be denied much longer. Nothing would stand in his way this time.

He glanced at the other occupant of the room. "Report."

Standing there displaying the mix of cravenness and sycophancy that his master preferred to see in his servants, the Shogun's majordomo, a man of exceedingly handsome features of European descent, his long, blond hair tied back into a ponytail, took a quiet breath and then began recounting the status of his master's kingdom and the projects he was interested in. He was somewhat new to this position, one occasionally beset with a rather disturbingly high rate of turnover at times, so some amount of caution was understandable on his part as he spoke. With any luck, he would last longer than some of the previous holders of this position had in times past.

The shortest time on record was twenty seconds.

As the man reported, the Shogun only listened with a portion of his total attention. Most of his thoughts were on what remained to be done before his upcoming attempt at apotheosis. However, something he heard caused him to turn away from the window. He swirled the remaining fluid in his glass slightly.

"Repeat what you just said about Herb and the Jusenkyo facility." While his tone was mild, for a moment the majordomo looked like he was about to wet himself at the sudden comment, but he quickly recovered his poise. The Shogun waited impatiently for an answer.

"The facility has been shut down and its personnel relocated to other duties, save for a small contingent of guards maintaining the perimeter around the pools," replied the majordomo smoothly. "This was done after the deaths of Herb and the other two detainees were confirmed, Master. The security team sent out to retrieve them was killed in a firefight with the trio. Herb and the other two are dead."

"I see. Continue your report." With that, the Shogun turned and looked out through the window again. The loss of the Musk trio was a setback, but only a relatively minor one. Even so, it was disconcerting that they had somehow managed to escape from the facility only months before his bid for ascension would occur. However, as variations of this event had sometimes happened on previous iterations of history, he suspected he already knew who the culprit was.

It looked like he would need to summon Shang Tsung and see if the nefarious sorcerer was up to something that could undermine his plans. While he was useful and relatively loyal, like his other minions the man could occasionally be vexing in his pursuit of personal power. The final stage was fast approaching, only months away now, and nothing could be left to chance at this point.

"Leave me."

Bowing obsequiously as he left the room, the other man departed with haste, grateful to still be alive after delivering what turned out to be bad news. He hastily headed off to his chambers, looking forward to enjoying some of the perks of his position, like the two beautiful women waiting there who would surely ease his tensions. As he strode away from his master's chambers, his posture firmed and became more commanding. Servants bowed low to him as he passed and avoided meeting his fearsome gaze.

When he was alone, the Shogun softly muttered a few words. Magical light enveloped him for several moments. When it faded, he appeared as a robed and hooded figure, cloaked from the senses of others. He needed to check on some things.

With a gesture, he vanished.

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*** Heaven 0.000, 0.000

Urd yawned as she waited for a minor bit of code to compile, so she could integrate it into Yggdrasil's processes. She only had a little while remaining before her dinner date with a certain rather serious god she had her eye on, hoping to loosen him up with good food, some warm sake and her beautiful companionship. She was looking forward to their upcoming tryst to provide some distraction from her life.

Things had been so agonizingly quiet and dull lately with Belldandy still on Earth. Antagonizing Skuld just wasn't as much fun without their other sister around to smooth things over again, so a date with a handsome warrior god like Raiden would hopefully relieve her tensions for a while, if she played her cards right with him. He could probably use some tension relief as well, if she was as good a judge of men as she believed she was.

Even Mara had been strangely silent for some time as well, not causing her usual amounts of mischief. Not that Urd particularly cared about the demoness, but it was unusual for her to be so restrained. After she had attacked Belldandy several weeks ago, she had just dropped out of sight completely. She was likely just sulking somewhere and would be back causing trouble again soon enough.

Off to one side from where Urd was lounging somewhat indolently in her chair, the Shogun's cloaked form silently materialized. Ignoring the pale-haired goddess, he calmly strolled over to an unused terminal out of her sight and began accessing the system. Text began scrolling up the screen. As he read, he frowned.

"What are you up to, Yggdrasil?" he muttered.

The Destiny Protocols had seen significant spikes in activity over the past few months, beginning shortly after his last visit. While it was likely nothing for him to be concerned about, the timing of it all was curious. Yggdrasil went through such recalibrations occasionally, using mortal tools as it made adjustments to Midgard's reality paradigm. They had never interfered with his plans on any prior iterations of history, and sometimes they even helped him move his schemes along when he was able to subvert those individuals into serving him.

Vexingly, he could not pull up the list of recent inductees to see who he might draw into Shadowlaw's web, something that happened now and then due to irritating coding snarls in the system. They would eventually clear up, although sometimes that could take a while, and he could waste no more time on this matter. He felt strong temptations to incinerate the recalcitrant terminal surge up within him at his repeated failures to view the list, but he did not act on them.

Once his apotheosis was finally achieved, he planned to scrap the intractable pile of junk and start anew when he was God. That would be a more fitting revenge upon it. After failing one last time at obtaining the information he desired, he finally gave up, frustrated.

As he had disabled Yggdrasil's abilities to be aware of him a long time ago, something he always did immediately after rewinding time, he remained invisible to the awareness of the higher powers of both Heaven and Hell. Let Yggdrasil keep its secrets for now, he had his apotheosis to achieve. He shut down the terminal he was using and then vanished, heading off to check up on other things.

A corner of Urd's screen flashed a notice. Someone had just accessed the system with a root-user login, performing several quick status checks, one of which was an attempt to peruse the Destiny Protocols list. Unfortunately, the list was currently veiled due to a recurring system problem that kept cropping up at random intervals. Urd logged the error and promptly dismissed the notification. She suspected it had been Belldandy using an alternate access code to conceal her identity. It was nice that her sister was still keeping involved while away on her secret mission for Kami-sama.

Maybe she would pop in for a visit and check on Belldandy soon. It might be fun to surprise her and see what she was up to in the mortal realm. Any diversions from her current tedium would be welcome.

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*** Jurai 0.000, 0.000

The Shogun shimmered into being. His face was solemn as he gazed about, studying his surroundings with a profound feeling of satisfaction welling up within him. Ruins lay strewn out around him for countless miles, the lifeless, still radioactive wreckage of the capital city of Jurai. A gleeful smile gradually lit his face at seeing the scorched remnants that were once known as the Royal Trees of Jurai, at one time the source of the ruling family's immense power.

"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" he quoted from an old Earth poem, one that seemed very appropriate here. The Shogun considered his handiwork for several enjoyable moments and then laughed long and loud. Ever since his first time instigating the ruination of Jurai on a long past iteration of history, every time he saw this world in such a fallen state had always felt enormously satisfying to him, and this time was no exception.

Several centuries had passed since he last stood here, shortly after the cataclysmic war that claimed Jurai and rendered it's once lush beauty into its current, lifeless state. The various empires of the universe, tricked through his delicate machinations into fighting each other to the death for dominance, had laid waste to Jurai during those struggles. Its destruction stood amongst the countless other casualties claimed by that unimaginable war as it had raged across the heavens, leaving the few survivors too fatally weakened at the end of it to even enjoy their pyrrhic victory for very long. The dying lights of their civilizations eventually guttered out one by one in the aftermath, the last of them finally fading to nothingness a few centuries ago, leaving him free of their interference to pursue his goals.

Good riddance, he mused.

Only a single remnant of Jurai's former greatness remained: Prince Yosho and his pitiful handful of descendants that were trapped on that ignominious lump of rock called Earth. As for the other, once-great powers, they were even less of a concern to him. Their civilizations were nothing but ashes, and whatever small fragments of their peoples remained alive were far too busy struggling simply to survive to spare any attention for his schemes.

No matter. Their feeble attempts to endure would soon be at an end, and he would put them out of their misery. It would be his final gift to those pitiable survivors when he finally ascended to godhood.

With a twinkle in his eye, the Shogun vanished.

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*** Earth +6.444, +5.611

Nabiki eyed the recumbent form of Kaneda Tendo, slumbering peacefully on the disheveled four-poster bed, and she mused with deep satisfaction on their recent, shared intimacies together. Gazing at the young man's face gave her an odd feeling, almost like looking into a mirror, seeing someone who looked nearly identical to the cursed form of her analog on that other world she had seen through Ranma's resonator device. While this person's hair was shorter, lacking the warrior's braid that the Nabiki of that other world had, his body was pleasingly muscular to her eyes. His frame bore the unmistakable signs that indicated extensive training in the martial arts.

Just looking at him aroused her a bit on several levels. Absently, now that her sexual hungers had been temporarily sated, she found herself wondering what a fight to the death with him might be like, her hands briefly curling into fists, their tendons crackling lightly. That quite unexpected thought intrigued her, and she grew a bit more curious about how good he might be and what it would be like to battle him.

He might prove to be a challenge for her, but she felt confident she would emerge victorious in any such life-and-death struggle with him. After all, her martial artist analog had been able to defeat every foe she had ever battled seriously, and those skills were now hers. Her genetically enhanced physique was another advantage she had over most other people. Combining those two things together with the rigorous training she had undergone over the past year under Hinako's tutelage had rendered her into a supreme warrior, and she doubted any of her analogs, male or female, could overcome her in a fight.

Her guest had arrived at her new home just a couple of hours after she had completed her bathing, following the disposal of the body of her other self and erasing all evidence of the murder using her skills at tradecraft. He had surprised her while she was relaxing with a cup of tea and musing on where her life's next steps should go. She had only just begun a detailed review of the other Nabiki's recorded log entries and familiarizing herself with more recent events in the other girl's life when he had suddenly appeared at her door and entered without even knocking first.

Seeing her apparently waiting for him in the kitchen, freshly bathed and dressed in nothing but a casual kimono, had apparently given the young man an unintended impression of how his rendezvous with her would proceed. He had grinned quite lecherously at the sight of her and then swept her up into a passionate kiss just after she stood up, clearly expecting no resistance to his advances. So startled was she by his unexpected brashness, not even knowing his name though recognizing his face, she had come close to permanently unmanning him, holding off only at the last moment.

It had been a very near thing, restraining her urge to drive her knee up into his groin with every ounce of her considerable lower-body strength. Fortunately for him, his actions had spoken of an intimate familiarity with her, not a random pervert trying to steal a smooch and grope. So she had decided to allow him to continue while she pondered the situation, deciding she could always deal more violently with him later.

The open-mouthed kisses they had exchanged and her unexpectedly intense arousal resulting from them had quickly reminded her of the recent promise made to her libido, of finding a handsome young man and having her way with him to celebrate escaping certain death on the world she had left behind. Since this unknown young man gave every impression of being someone who already knew her analog on an intimate basis, her responses had quickly become far more ardorous, which further inflamed her guest's passions. Strangely, kissing with him felt perverse in a way, almost incestuous, but that feeling of wrongness only seemed to further stimulate her desires for him.

Then he had suddenly forced her up against the wall, pinning her there as his hands had pawed at her body, the two of them kissing long and deeply together, his tongue wrestling insistently with hers. In that moment of shared passion, her concerns had melted away in its flames. She had found herself no longer caring about his similarity to that other Nabiki's cursed form. She had only wanted more of him at that point, more of his touches and more of his kisses.

Things had eventually ended up with the two of them entwined together in bed, acting on their desires for each other with libidinous abandon. While she was no innocent, blushing virgin after all the times she had spent satisfying her needs for such carnal activities with the Kyosuke of her old life, her cravings for such things had been sent into overdrive by the unprecedented torrent of passions that being around this young man wrought within her. And when it had finally happened, intercourse with him was an almost indescribably intense experience, each of them performing together like a choreographed duo, their sweating bodies working with an unconscious synchronicity as they scaled towards a crescendo of pleasure together.

She had quickly lost track of time, unable to think of anything else but satisfying her libidinous hungers for this young man, even as her handsome new lover strove diligently with her to reach the Clouds and the Rain himself. Bliss had overwhelmed her from their sensual efforts, her body riding building waves of erotic ecstasy, each succeeding peak higher in intensity and power as his body had moved against hers. She had felt tension gradually tautening within her like a slowly-drawn bowstring.

Without words being spoken between them, occasionally they would stop their efforts for a time and cool off a bit when he had drawn too close to the precipice, only to start again to climb towards the Clouds and the Rain as soon as his crisis was past. Eventually, when her partner could take no more of this, unable to resist the biological imperatives their union ignited within his body, she had felt his motions become more ragged. Then he had suddenly gasped and shuddered against her. Orgasm had claimed her then too, as if triggered by his, its ecstatic power taking her breath away, a rapturous pleasure electrifying her nerves.

It took many hours of such activities before her new lover's libido was finally spent, and his virility had been a marvelous joy for her to experience. The carnal demands he had made of her were intoxicating, to be needed so strongly by this handsome young man. After only a brief stint within his embrace, she had no longer cared how familiar he looked to her, like the twin brother she never had. When both of them were finally sated, they had slept nestled in each other's arms for many hours.

After awakening, feeling refreshed by their rest, they had consumed some food and drink and then went at it again. She had been amazed at his restored stamina during that brief time when she was a bit more clear-headed, her thoughts freed of the heady cocktail of endorphins and pheromones they generated in each other. Her new lover had proven himself to be both a skilled and virile partner in bed, and she felt a shiver run up her spine at the remembered sensations he had been able to kindle within her body during their torrid tryst together.

Her thoughts abruptly snapped back to the present. Naked, Nabiki padded to the bathroom for a hot shower and a soak in the furo. Food would then be her next need she would have to fulfill. Her stomach growled briefly with privation.

Bathing was a soothing thing that always allowed her to think better. As she let the hot, cleansing spray from the showerhead pound against her shoulders, she pondered what she had learned during her few, brief attempts at pillow talk with the young man. She still did not know his name, something she would have to correct as soon as possible, in order to maintain her guise as his lover and not arouse his suspicions.

That was a dangerous thing for a woman to do here, as misogynistic as this culture was. Fortunately, she had kept him far too preoccupied to think about much else other than what they had been doing together for the past couple of days, and talking with her did not really seem to interest him, only using her body. It was something she suspected had been a common part of the relationship between him and her analog here.

After taking their fill of the glorious pleasures they had been giving each other, he had startled her as they had been drifting off to sleep by muttering the name Ranma Saotome. Hearing that had been shocking enough to pierce through even her spent state at the time. Pillow talk had given her very little more, just that a version of the young scientist apparently existed here. He was a warrior of some note here, and his father was a man of supremely high station in the government.

Intriguing possibilities occurred to her from that knowledge. There had to be a way she could use this to her advantage. The thought excited her.

She would first need to learn more about this version of the Saotome boy and study her target at length from a safe distance before she made any moves on him. When the time was right, she felt certain she could turn him into an asset, one she would then be able to utilize for her own purposes. Perhaps her new acquaintance could be persuaded to share more a bit information about him, if she coaxed him. Extracting such information from him would be an excellent test of the skills Director Ninomiya had instilled in her, not to mention being a pleasurable activity.

Nabiki grinned wickedly at the thought of ensnaring her target, just as she had once seduced another Ranma into giving up his most precious secrets to her, allowing her to experience the wonders to be found through the resonator. The device had granted her powerful martial arts skills, skills strong enough to survive the end of her world. But she also had other abilities available to her, such as her talent at enticing men.

A sensuous giggle burbled up from her throat. Teenaged boys were such amusing toys to play with, so weak-willed and pliable whenever it came to them dealing with an attractive young woman, all helpless thralls to the demands of their frothing hormones. Show an adolescent boy some attention, perhaps even display a glimpse of forbidden flesh to his lustful gaze, and he was putty in a girl's hands. Her Kyosuke had been almost pathetically easy to manipulate.

Weaklings, all of them, she mused with sudden disdain. Her expression became grimly serious as her hair fell forward in front of her eyes, hot water streaming down its lengths. She was better than any boy.

Nabiki was certain this version of Ranma would be no more difficult to deal with than the last one she had successfully enraptured. Capturing the heart of the young centurion would likely not even take her very long. She doubted he would prove to be any kind of a challenge for someone of her intellect and burgeoning abilities at seduction, even if he was a warrior of notable skill. More than likely that meant he was pathetically unschooled at dealing with girls.

She found herself looking forward to meeting him, her smile appearing once again as she raised her gaze, her hair hanging down wetly over her eyes. Her hands closed into fists at her sides, her nails pressing against her palms. The future looked bright.

It was good to be Nabiki Tendo.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hearing the shower running, Kaneda's eyes slowly opened. A languorous feeling of satisfaction ran throughout his being, and he still felt a bit spent despite his sleep. Nabiki had been truly amazing this time, the two of them having their longest and most intense tryst yet. He smiled at the memories of her gasps and animalistic moans sounding in his ears, feeling her nubile body shuddering against him from his efforts. Her trimly muscular, dancer's physique was always a thrilling marvel for him to hold, one he could never seem to get enough of.

Fortunately, savoring his beautiful analog's charms was enough to push away his dark feelings for a time, one of the reasons he kept returning to her embrace. His looks turned more serious at recalling what he now was, what he had been forced to do for the sake of his ambitions. There was no turning back now.

Patricide was an ugly crime in any culture, even among a people who were as ruthless and Darwinian in their attitudes as the Musk had become in their quest for dominance over all others. But for Kaneda, it had simply been an expedient way to move forward with his schemes. No one knew what he had done, and none thought him even capable of such base treachery.

The authorities currently suspected his father's mistress had been the one to do the dark deed, aided by subtle clues Kaneda had carefully left for them to find. He had been cautious, not making it too obvious. Leading the authorities down too easy a path would have aroused their suspicions that they were being duped, so he had given them just enough to steer the fools into following the trail laid down for their witless eyes to see. So far, they had done exactly as he had planned they would.

Now that he was in control of the family's wealth, siphoning it off for his own purposes became simpler since he no longer had to hide his extracurricular activities from his father. No one could know what he was doing with it until the deed was complete, or else they might try and stop him. His father had lacked the vision to comprehend the grandeur of his scheme, so murdering the man had simply been the most expedient way for him to proceed forward. After assuming control of their family's assets, he had accelerated his efforts, liquidating assets and laundering the money through numerous dummy accounts as he pretended to squander it. Once the funds were rendered untraceable, they could then be used to enact his true plan.

Destroying the Solnoids was the fondest dream of many Musk men, and he had come across a means of eliminating them all in one fell swoop. A brilliant renegade scientist he had come into contact with possessed plans for a weapon of terrible might he had invented, needing only sufficient funding to bring it into being. Assuming it worked as advertised, its chaotic forces would dissolve the barrier separating one timeline of the Matriarchy from those around it. The effect would then explosively expand outwards, and the weapon's unleashed energies would repeat the process across a growing wave front, engulfing more and more timelines until it reached its maximum expansion.

What would be the result of this? That entire region of the multiverse would simply implode inwards upon itself, those worlds disintegrating back into the quantum foam. It would be destruction on an unimaginable scale.

At least dozens, perhaps even hundreds of timelines would vanish into that expanding maw of oblivion the weapon would create, gone as if they had never been. Then, as nature abhorred a vacuum, once the weapon's chaotic energies dissipated, the void should then evaporate, the wound to the multiverse healing itself seamlessly. Those worlds within the blast radius as well as their populaces would be irretrievably gone, countless trillions of lives snuffed out in mere minutes.

The Matriarchy would then no longer be a concern, and the Musk could swoop in at their leisure and attack any surviving worlds, slaughtering what few scattered Solnoid forces might remain. Scattered, demoralized, the women would be easy prey for Dynasty troops. Those who managed to survive could then take their proper place as the property of their new Musk masters.

The prototype weapon was nearing completion and would soon be ready for its test, but his search for a vessel that could transport it outside the Dynasty's boundaries into the uncontested regions beyond the control of either the Musk or the Solnoids was proceeding far too slowly. Unfortunately, finding a smuggler of both sufficient skill to evade official patrols and also sufficient trustworthiness to do as he was paid to do was proving to be a more difficult challenge than he had expected. However, Kaneda was certain a solution would eventually be found.

After the test was completed to his satisfaction, likely destroying only a handful of timelines with the prototype, a much larger weapon could then be speedily constructed. That would require using up the remainder of his family's wealth, tossing the dice that his plan would succeed. However, once he presented proof of his deed, he was certain the Dragon Emperor would richly reward him, leaving him wealthier than before. He also expected to receive at the very least one of the open positions on the Tribunal, or perhaps even getting a plum spot on His Imperial Majesty's council of advisors.

People thought him a fool and a wastrel whose only skill was combat on the front lines. Let them. It was a guise he had carefully cultivated for many years, preparing for this day. He would show them all how much more he was capable of when the time was right. Then his enemies would fall before him like scythed wheat as he rose to power.

Once he had received his reward from His Imperial Majesty, his primary target, Ranma Saotome, would fall. The Tendo boy would make certain of that. His younger nemesis had regularly bested him whenever they engaged in one of their many physical contests of martial arts might, humiliating him time and again. But there were other ways to fight, using much subtler methods than brutish strength.

Treachery was a far superior weapon. Planting evidence implicating the Saotomes in the deaths of the Dragon Emperor's heirs should not be too difficult. Genma Saotome had made several enemies that should eagerly accept the accusations and condemn him. Perhaps they might even send Tofu Ono to deal with the father and son.

Destroying that misbegotten family would be a sweet revenge for all that Kaneda had endured ever since his first meeting Ranma when they were young children. When he was finally through with his plans for them, the Saotome name would be nothing but a fading memory in the Dynasty, their once-proud clan blown away like fine ash in the wind. Then the Tendos would take their place in the Dynasty, with Kaneda in charge, of course.

Despite his profound hatred of the other boy, he was considering leaving his younger nemesis alive, magnanimously offering Ranma the chance to live out the rest of his days as an indentured servant. This would happen after the young centurion was properly broken and humbled, and perhaps blinded as well, of course. The Saotome boy's precious harem could easily be sold off to one of the many bordellos in the city, but it was probably safer to just have the girls killed, except for Kasumi, Kaneda's sweet but rather naive older sister. She would be returned to her proper place among the Tendos until he could find her a more suitable husband than Ranma Saotome had ever been.

The Tendo heir placed his hands behind his head and gazed upwards at the ceiling. He contemplated the absent Nabiki, an attractive girl first brought to his attention at a party some time ago, only later learning that she was his analog. While he was well aware there were those who did not approve of his relationship with her, considering such romances with female analogs incestuous and even blasphemous, he did not care. All that mattered to him were the exquisite pleasures they shared together, and how much he yearned for her when they were apart.

A lecherous grin lit his face at the thought of her nubile form naked in the shower. He fantasized about that for several moments. His heart rate sped up and his breathing deepened as he grew more excited.

Perhaps he would join her, he eventually decided. They could start with a shared bath, her soaping his back with that magnificent body of hers. It would be like having a personal bubble girl from one of the local bathhouses attending to him. Then they could have another sensuous romp together.

The thought of such pleasant activities with her further invigorated him. He allowed himself a few more moments to fantasize about Nabiki. His grin grew broader.

When his plans reached fruition, he would take her as his bride. Let his peers wag their tongues about his blasphemous deeds then. He would not care. The future looked bright to him.

It was good to be Kaneda Tendo.

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At that same time, a certain young centurion was awake as well, driven once more from sleep as he sometimes was by a nightmare involving cats ripping at his flesh with their claws and teeth. Ranma sat solemnly in the windowsill of his bedchamber, his nude figure bathed in silvery moonlight. The girl in his bed slept soundly, utterly untroubled by his somber presence. Her keen, highly-trained senses were aware of him on a certain level but did not find him to be a threat to her, allowing her to remain deeply asleep despite his brooding company.

Absently, Ranma turned and studied Ukyo's exposed backside, recalling with fondness her efforts to please him in bed earlier that night. He smiled at the memory of her willing submissiveness to his desires. He could do anything he wanted with her, and she would accept it without any resistance.

While he could only see one of them from this angle, he knew there was a pair of tattoos inscribed with an amazing level of detail upon her lower back. They were located just above her pert derriere, put there by her former masters before he had acquired her. Made of some magical, night-dark ink, they writhed and twisted of their own accord beneath her skin now and then.

He had asked her about them once, and she had been unusually reluctant to talk about them, a rarity for her to resist him so. However, his insistent coaxing of her had eventually led her to reveal that they were tokens of a forbidden order that existed among the ninja clans of her world: the Goju. The tattoos supposedly drew upon the primordial nothingness that preceded existence, something she remained stubbornly evasive about discussing in greater detail despite his best efforts at learning more about it.

Despite his doubts about her tale of any such primeval entity, he could not dispute that the tattoos granted her powers and abilities that rendered her into an even more formidable ninja, among them an arsenal of weapons she could craft from solidified shadow and the ability to vanish into the darkness like smoke. But her powers, while formidable, remained incomplete. He had apparently liberated her before she could receive her final tattoo and complete her training, becoming a vessel of that primal force, what she had told him the non-Goju ninja of her world called the Lying Darkness.

His father had used her now and then to end the lives of his political foes, but the specifics of how she could accomplish her missions still remained a secret that she had only shared with Ranma. She was the blade he kept hidden in plain sight, to be used only when he finally made his move against his father. In the meantime, she served his sire to prove her worth to the household, all part of the Saotome boy's schemes.

Despite the spooky nature of her preternatural abilities, out of all three girls he claimed in his harem, perhaps paradoxically she was the one he felt the most comfortable with. Ukyo, even as exquisitely deadly as she was, allowed him the chance to relax his guard for a time. That made her quite precious to him. He actually trusted her, one of the very few people he did.

However, she was a little boring to him. He knew she ached to please him, like a faithful hound lounging at his feet. Every tiny scrap of affection he showed her only seemed to strengthen his grip upon her soul. He could see it in her wistful gazes at him, the love she held for him, and the animal desires he knew she felt regarding him.

He was certain she would fight and even die for his sake, should he ever ask it of her. Perhaps he would someday. While such a high level of loyalty was gratifying, it did not seem to satisfy his emptiness inside.

All of the girls in his life were too easily predictable to him by now. Maybe that was why he felt unsettled. He needed a new conquest, a new challenge to occupy himself with, like tracking down that very comely redheaded wench who had evaded his patrol weeks ago.

While she had most likely been a Matriarchy spy due to the manner of her getaway via a quantum tunnel, the memory of her unabashed beauty as she had escaped him haunted both his waking moments and his dreams at night ever since. His enhanced abilities at recollection enabled him to evoke the details of her beautiful face and lush physique with great clarity. Closing his eyes, he could almost see her once again standing there before him, the gorgeous girl that got away.

He was unsure why he would feel this way about a mere female, to be so drawn to her. It was puzzling and extremely perplexing to him. So, to distract himself from thoughts of the girl, the young centurion considered instead the other two young women he already possessed.

Kasumi was his confidante and advisor, at least as much as he allowed her to be, coming as she did from the family of his most bitter rival: Kaneda Tendo. For the most part, her nature was sweet and demure, and her face was beatific in its countenance. However, that was simply a pretense she skillfully maintained, keeping her darker urges restrained and concealed. She only allowed herself to satisfy them in locations far away from the public eye, such as her boudoir. There, the two of them had enjoyed various kinds of decadent pleasures together since their marriage, but even such exquisitely depraved activities with her had gradually lost their savor.

The Joketsuzoku outcast, Peh Fum, still aroused his passions more than the other girls, but not as much anymore as she once did. When she had first arrived at the household, still chained and snarling her defiance at her fate, her fiery, unquenched spirit had driven him to forcefully master her anew every time they were together during those first few months he owned her. He had enjoyed those times spent subduing the savage girl, seeing her defiance of his will eventually crushed when he was inevitably victorious over her in their brutal struggles together. Battling the pink-haired barbarian used to be somewhat of a challenge, but he was familiar with all of her fighting tricks now and could vanquish her with relative ease anymore.

Ranma turned his gaze to study the moon, idly recalling that the next generation of warships would soon be rolling off the lunar assembly lines. Those new vessels and their crews would augment existing forces and allow the Musk to finally begin paying the enemy back for their sacrilegious murder of the Dragon Emperor and the ageless advisor to the Dynasty since its founding days: the Shogun of the Dark.

It was still difficult for Ranma to accept that the Shogun was truly gone. The man's immaculate wisdom had guided the Dynasty's ambitions of conquest for thousands of years, going all the way back to their humble origins in an obscure region of China. Through heeding his advice, the village of Joketsuzoku had been the first of many to be vanquished, their proud women taken captive millennia ago and made to bear sons for their Musk masters. The other tribes in the region had then fallen one by one. Each such conquest had left the Musk stronger, their dominion slowly spreading to finally engulf the world. Once the heretical Solnoids and their perverse society were finally dealt with, the Dynasty would go on and claim all of the endless versions of Earth in a glorious campaign of subjugation and bloodshed that could go on forever.

However, with the unexpected loss of the Shogun, that future of the Dynasty had been left suddenly in shambles. While there was now a new Dragon Emperor seated upon the throne, it remained uncertain just what sort of a leader he would be. During the interval between the previous Dragon Emperor's death and the ascension of Emperor Herb, lacking a clear line of succession following the unexpected massacre that had occurred amongst the uppermost ranks of the nobility right after the Dragon Emperor's death, the Tribunal had quickly stepped in to fill the power vacuum before things flew apart. Once they were firmly in control of the machinery of state, a bloody pogrom of Shadowlaw, the Shogun's secret police force, had begun, scapegoating them for the deaths of the heirs to the throne.

Ranma found it impossible to believe that the Shogun and Shadowlaw would ever do what they had been accused of. What would be the point? It made no sense.

Fortunately, he had kept it well hidden since his initiation to their ranks that he was a novitiate of the secretive organization, telling absolutely no one close to him. Ryu Kumon, the last person remaining who had known of Ranma's true allegiances, was killed at the end of the government's relentless pogrom. The other boy had taken to his grave the final link between Ranma and Shadowlaw.

Conveniently, the Kumon boy had died while resisting capture by one of the Tribunal's most sinister agents: Tofu Ono. He was a heartless, sadistic man who always smiled with a discordantly kindly look whenever he was killing someone, and it was said he knew ten thousand different ways to destroy a man using merely his bare hands. Ryu's execution had saved Ranma the trouble of killing the other boy himself to hide his dark secret from the Tribunal's minions.

The Shogun's end and Shadowlaw's obliteration were two very bitter pills for the Saotome boy to swallow, to know that he would be unable to serve his master as he had once sworn to do. Until he could find a means to fulfill those oaths and covenants he had made with Shadowlaw, they would remain an indelible stain on his honor that could never be erased. It was a Musk belief that a man's honor was carried into the afterlife, and, whatever else might be said of the young centurion, Ranma Saotome valued his honor highly.

Noticing Ukyo stirring, he quickly slipped back into bed with her. Being with the girl would distract him from his worries for a time at least. Before she could speak, his lips pressed tightly against hers in a passionate kiss, silencing her murmured query before it could be uttered. Only half-awake, she immediately welcomed his attentions and embraced him warmly.

Ranma was grateful for that. He had no desire to hear her whispered words of concern for his well-being right now, only to feel her lovely body answering to his caresses, to know she belonged to him, body and soul. His other worries could wait. Right now he wanted to use Ukyo to forget about his frustrated oaths to the Shogun and Shadowlaw for a time.

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Standing at the railing of his private chambers, Emperor Herb gazed out solemnly over the sprawling capital city of the Musk Dynasty, the moon illuminating the powerfully-beating heart of his domain. Behind him in a capacious, silk-draped bed, four young women of exquisite beauty slumbered, each girl chosen from a different racial group to satisfy his needs for variety in his playmates. They slept deeply, exhausted from his carnal efforts with them earlier.

Arrayed around the chamber, two heavily-armed and armored guards stood attentively grim at each entrance, twelve men in all, each pointedly ignoring the young lovelies sprawled out upon the bed as they watched for any intruders. Every guard was a muscled brute beneath their armor, bred to kill at their emperor's command. Whenever he felt bored, Herb would pick several of their ranks to fight him in his personal arena, finding six of them at once to be a decent workout.

He sighed with slight melancholy, taking a sip of plum wine from the jeweled goblet in his hand. The drink was enjoyably sweet and cloying upon his tongue, just as his time with the four women from his harem had been sensuously pleasurable. He was certain his advisors would tell him once again he should be content to enjoy such indulgences and luxuries, yet instead he felt restless. Sleep refused to embrace him tonight, so he was drinking in hopes of encouraging it to claim him.

The path to the throne had been arduous and brutal, a triumph of his unyielding will to prevail, and it had been a satisfying victory at the end. The opening had come so unexpectedly and suddenly, like a gift from the gods. After hearing of the sudden deaths of the official heirs, he had quickly seized his opportunity, acting with decisiveness as a true Musk should. Facing down his analogs as well as the other challengers for the throne and killing them with his bare hands had demonstrated his divine right to rule, proving that he possessed both the necessary strength and the ruthlessness needed to command the fractious peoples of the Dynasty.

Now he was the new Dragon Emperor, the supreme ruler of all that he surveyed. Dozens of worlds were his demesne. Their subject populaces existed to serve him, just as they had served all prior rulers of the Dynasty. Vast armies and navies staffed with battle-hardened troops awaited his command to conquer new worlds and destroy their enemies, and the Mandate of Heaven was his.

He had bided his time and recovered his strength after what he had gone through in seizing the throne, allowing himself a leisurely vacation to enjoy some of the fruits of his hard labors. His silk-garbed advisors from the Tribunal foolishly believed they now had him comfortably under their control, like a hawk kept captive in a gilded cage. To keep him contented in his private chambers, they had provided him with bevies of beautiful women brought in from across the Dynasty, copious amounts of sweet wines and banquets of superb cuisine.

Their intent had been glaringly obvious from the beginning. They wanted to lull him into complacency, to render him into becoming their pliant puppet, content with being their figurehead as they ruled the Dynasty through the machinery of state. All of it done in his name, of course.

However, they were quite wrong to think him their creature, like some weak-willed woman like those in his harem. He would soon teach them this fact. The Dynasty was his, as was the Mandate of Heaven. He had earned both by right of conquest, and he would not relinquish either to their pleasant-seeming treachery.

He took another deep drink of his wine, musing on his missing analog. It was a mystery as to what had happened to that other Herb, the only one who might have successfully defeated his claim to rule. The ability of that analog as a warrior had been superb. Having left the Dynasty on his quest for his brother, Sage, his fate remained unknown to this day.

No matter. That other Herb had been declared outlaw by Imperial Writ now. He would be a fool to ever return to the worlds of the Dynasty, only achieving his own death.

The young emperor pondered, sipping his wine. Soon he would begin finishing the work started by their ancestors and finally end this interminable war. The heretical women of the Solnoid Matriarchy, descendants of the Joketsuzoku tribe on their perverted version of Earth, would finally be subjugated and placed into chains, just as their analogs had all been crushed on other worlds now ruled by the Dynasty. As an example to others who might foolishly choose to defy the Musk in the future, he would see to it that the Solnoids' homeworld was burnt to the very bedrock and their seas boiled dry, recording the destruction for posterity.

Once the damnable Amazons were finally out of the way, nothing would stop the Dynasty from claiming the multiverse.

Any who tried to stand against him, he would destroy.

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Lying in shadow, the room lit only by a sliver of moonlight that made its way past the closed curtains, two figures could be seen next to each other on a bed, their bodies covered by a thin sheet. One shape was clearly female, the other male. While both were asleep, that slumber was not sound for one of them.

The woman thrashed around, held in the grip of a nightmare. Her hands clenched tightly at the sheet covering her up to her chest, her fingers crooking like claws as they grasped and tugged at the fabric. Low groans escaped her throat, occasionally interrupted by short, sharp gasps. She twitched at those times, her head jerking sharply to one side or the other.

With a start, Mina Li suddenly awoke and sat up, uncertain where she was for a moment, her nightmare already fading. Her bedmate continued his slumbers in peace, to her immense irritation. His sleep appeared to be untroubled and relaxed. She was tempted to punch him in the throat for that.

Grumbling, she swung her shapely legs out of bed and stood up. Standing there dressed only in a silken pajama top, she stretched and yawned, feeling a bit sore in various places. Tarou, her boyfriend, the young man still sleeping so irritatingly soundly, had won again last night in a heated battle against his latest opponent. This most recent victory of his had maintained his ranking as the best male fighter in their age group (and his record rivaling that of the top fighters in the Arena overall), so they had celebrated together in their usual fashion.

A delicious meal at an expensive restaurant had been followed up by a torrid night of passion between them in her room. As it usually did, the hard fight and his eventual victory had greatly revved up Tarou's libido. While he had been rougher with her last night than she cared for in a sexual partner, not the first time he had done so, she considered it a small price to pay for being involved with him.

While there were aspects of Tarou that could stand improvement, his fighting skills were not among them. Seeing him do battle against other young men secretly thrilled her, watching how he so skillfully and powerfully dominated his opponents and brutalized them once he gained the upper hand in a match, similar to how she treated her own foes. Although she would never tell him outright and inflate Tarou's opinion of himself even more than it already was, it gratified her ego to be his girlfriend, to know that the strongest boy fighting in the Arena was hers. She felt it gave her additional status in the eyes of the other girls to add to her own stellar ranking as a contender.

Even though he philandered with an annoying frequency, only the newest arrivals ever made the mistake of accepting his romantic attentions. It was a well-known fact that she dealt very harshly with any girls who caught Tarou's interest. Many of the more recent fatalities on her Arena record, those committed since her arrival in the Battledome, were girls who had only been guilty of accepting Tarou's notice. The rest were those who had simply earned the Korean girl's ire for one reason or another, both male and female.

Despite his flaws as a boyfriend (and, if asked, Mina could list a great many of them), so long as he maintained his high standing in the Battledome, she would continue to reward him with her company and give him free rein to enjoy her bountiful feminine charms. All that mattered to her was how his status enhanced hers. Nothing else about him really interested her, and his inflated ego occasionally grated on her nerves.

She certainly wasn't with him for his lovemaking skills, despite what Tarou might think, she mused with a sardonic look as she completed her brief stretch. Those were passable at best, even requiring her to fake enjoyment sometimes. Fortunately, his stamina mostly made up for what he lacked in talent.

While he frequently strayed, he compounded his sins against her by insulting her intelligence, attempting to soothe her wrath by lamely proclaiming in private how much he loved her and that his most recent fling meant nothing to him, such declarations always seeming to occur whenever they were being intimate together. Fortunately for Tarou's continued existence, Mina was under absolutely no illusions that her relationship with him was one built on love. She knew his attentions would be distracted as soon as another curvaceous female ambled past his view.

As for her, the capacity for that emotion had been seared out of her heart long ago. In her opinion, love made people weak and foolish. She felt nothing but withering contempt for those brainless girls who deceived themselves into thinking any man could ever care about them beyond what they could do for him in the bedroom. In her experience, it just wasn't true.

Perhaps that was why the presence of Ranma Saotome annoyed her so much, an aggravation that had been gradually building ever since his recent arrival in their little community of combatants. He wasn't like the other young men in the Battledome that she was used to, rough, violent sorts accustomed to its brutal lifestyle. However, he also wasn't like any of the soft, flabby Japanese men she knew in the world outside the Arena, wealthy sorts who paid her exorbitant amounts of money to enjoy her feminine charms.

Ranma wasn't even much like Ryu Kumon, the other Japanese boy recently arrived here. During lunch yesterday, Shenhua had been sharing with Mina an edited account about how well things were going with her new boyfriend, and their conversation had given the Korean girl some new insight into how Ryu's mind worked. The Japanese boy was apparently a bit more ruthless than she had ever suspected. He also deeply loathed the Saotome boy for some reason, something that went beyond their recent meetings.

Much less pleasing to Shenhua had been the fact that she could tell Ryu still held strong feelings for Shampoo, although he was not crass enough to ever openly admit it to her. Even after the two of them had been beaten up by Ranma and the Chinese girl in an altercation with the couple the other day, he had still forbidden Shenhua from harming the Amazon seriously. And on several occasions, she had even caught him eyeing Shampoo whenever the other girl came within his view. These things infuriated the Taiwanese fighter, her already-existing animosity towards the young Joketsuzoku soaring to new heights each time she caught him.

On that, Mina could relate quite well. Tarou had been not-so-secretly lusting after Shampoo ever since her triumphant debut here at the Battledome. It was one of the many annoyances she would someday punish the young Amazon for having committed, likely fatally.

Returning her musings back to Ranma, the pigtailed boy remained an enigma and perplexed her. He could fight inordinately well, on a par with the very best warriors in the Arena, a fact proven by his ability to stand against someone as indomitable as Shampoo and defeat her. However, he also treated all the women he interacted with respectfully, something extremely rare among both Arena men and the lecherous male fans of the sport. He looked girls in their faces instead of dropping his gaze as most males did and generally acted towards them like they were people, not merely fleshly objects that he would gratify his lusts with should he ever be given the slightest chance.

What frustrated Mina about this chivalrous attitude he had was how he had responded to her overtures towards him. Over the past few days, she had made him cozy offers to spend some time with her in a private setting, managing to catch him alone in the hallways a few times. However, her flirtations with him always ended in failure. Even when she was standing in ways that she knew best displayed her magnificent figure to his gaze as she spoke to him, she had still been rebuffed. The pigtailed boy had even looked decidedly uncomfortable at her advances before he had managed to escape her.

His second such refusal and escape in as many days finally earned him her ire. Who did he think he was? Did he consider himself to be too good for her? No man refused an offer of companionship from Mina Li! His repeated refusals made her want to break his neck.

Adding to her vast displeasure over her failures at seducing him away from Shampoo, the Korean girl had overheard some of the younger female fighters discussing Ranma last night, expressing their envy at the Amazon's good fortune in finding such a remarkable young man. Recalling their comments made Mina's guts churn again with resentment towards the Chinese girl. As Shampoo was well respected by most of the other young female fighters for her skills, no one else had made a play for the pigtailed boy yet, but that might not last much longer.

She wondered if Ranma would confess to Shampoo about her advances towards him, but there were no signs that he had, not that Mina was very concerned about dealing with an irate Amazon. As strong as her nemesis was, Mina knew she had gained greatly in strength since their first encounter, pushing her body further every week. Their next battle would not be as one-sided as their last one had been.

The boys were even less charitable in their conversations together, a great many of them seething with bitterness over Ranma being with the Amazon. It was quite revealing to Mina how many of them utterly despised the pigtailed martial artist and wished him harm, a sign of just how insufferably popular Shampoo was with the male contingent of the Battledome's combatants. Beating her had apparently been a fond fantasy for many young men. Those of their ranks that the Amazon had previously fought and defeated seemed to lust after her the strongest, especially those that Shampoo had trounced more than once.

Most of the girls in the Battledome were resigned to the fact that the Amazon was popular with the boys, but the two most obviously covetous of her, Ryu Kumon and Tarou, had inspired their girlfriends to loathe the Amazon even more intensely than they already did. Aided by their mutual animosity towards Shampoo, Shenhua and Mina had been quickly bonding in their nascent friendship. Unfortunately, as popular and capable as the Chinese girl was, they knew they would have to bide their time and wait for the proper moment to exact an appropriately brutal and bloody revenge.

For the past couple of days, Mina had been spending some of her free time observing the couple eating their breakfasts together before each of them went their separate ways for training. Joining them on most days was Running Deer, still a bit glum about the Kumon boy being with Shenhua. This actually amused Mina greatly as she despised the Apache girl due to her close association with Shampoo and her insufferable attitude. She had been overheard the other day talking with the Amazon, saying that Ranma seemed a good match for her friend.

When Running Deer hadn't been with them one morning, the new couple spent their entire meal talking to each other animatedly in Mandarin. Ranma was apparently quite fluent in the language. Their conversation had looked friendly, both of them smiling and laughing occasionally.

Only a few days ago, the two of them had been brutalizing each other on the floor of the Battledome, each of them grimly trying to put the other one down in a fight to the finish that Ranma had arguably won. They still had another duel ahead of them in several days to prove which of them was truly the stronger, a final battle from which only one of them could be left standing when it was over. But each morning since their first fight they had been acting like good friends, not two people out to annihilate each other in their next fight. What was going on?

Seeing the two of them acting so genial together and enjoying each other's company made Mina's guts churn. It filled her with scorn towards the pair. Also, it puzzled her to see how much the Joketsuzoku girl enjoyed Ranma's company, given how violently their relationship had begun.

Shampoo actually looked to be developing a friendship with him instead of psyching herself up to destroy the pigtailed boy the next time they faced each other in the Battledome. Even more amazing, given how cool the Amazon had been towards all other males expressing an interest in dating her, one of the members of Mina's clique had seen the duo duck into an alcove together the other day, only to emerge minutes later holding hands and with their clothing looking suspiciously rumpled. Such a thing would not have been notable for any other female fighter, but Shampoo? She was famed for being practically frigid towards boys showing her any romantic interest.

Could it be that her barbaric nemesis was actually falling in love with Ranma? Had he thawed the ice princess with his prowess at martial arts? Like most residents of the Battledome, Mina was well aware of the bizarre laws of Shampoo's village, a place where the women were raised to marry the man who defeated them in battle. Her Amazon code was a very large part of the Chinese girl's appeal to her fans, anxiously waiting to see if any man would ever finally best her in battle.

Was that what was causing Shampoo to act this way? Did she care about him only because he had beaten her in a fight? Was it just because of that inane law she followed?

While heading out to a date with one of her wealthy clients the other night, before Ranma's arrival at the Battledome, she had unexpectedly encountered Shampoo in the hallway near the elevator. The Chinese girl had scornfully taunted her about men paying her for sex when she saw how the Korean girl was dressed, like Mina Li was just some common prostitute to be pitied by the likes of a frigid ice princess like Shampoo. Mina recalled with pleasure how she had swiftly riposted that cheap shot right back into the Chinese girl's smug face, along with a few other telling remarks.

It had been quite enjoyable for the Korean girl to point out to her nemesis that the man her idiotic Joketsuzoku laws required her to marry would likely be a stranger, some grunting brute of a male who only needed to be physically strong enough to defeat her. Possibly he would be someone she had only just met when they began fighting each other. That line of reasoning had left the other girl fuming, unable to refute it.

Mina remembered with pleasure how her taunts had struck home and drew blood. She had taken great delight in enlightening Shampoo how she knew far more about the client she was going to see that night than the Amazon would know about her future husband on her wedding night when he had her on her back. But with Ranma Saotome, that past gibe had been rendered moot, which only served to further infuriate Mina at the Amazon's seemingly charmed existence.

Of all people, the Emperor himself had intervened, demanding to see the two of them battle it out to the bitter end in a rematch without any kind of interference from others. Because of this, their relationship currently existed in a state of limbo. Instead of Ranma being able to drag the Amazon off to the nearest bed to satisfy his libidinous rights as her husband per Shampoo's silly Joketsuzoku laws, the two of them had been spending their free time apparently getting to know each other.

The sight of the pair together made the Korean girl seethe inside with burning desires to end Shampoo's life, even worse than she had ever wanted to kill her before. These feelings had eaten at her for the past couple of days, filling her guts with bile and venom. She had taken some of this out on her last opponent, dislocating his shoulder and shattering his knee, but it had not been nearly enough to soothe her fury. Someday she would show the whole world that the strongest woman in the Arena was Mina Li, not some backwoods barbarian bitch who obeyed a bizarre moral code.

Mina yearned for that day to arrive soon, and she had played out many variations of the scene in her mind during idle moments. Ranma's skill at fighting had forever shattered Shampoo's illusion of indomitability, revealing that the Amazon was not truly undefeatable. And if she could be beaten once, she could be beaten again. Mina was confident her next match with Shampoo would not be a repeat of the humiliating beating she had suffered when they had first faced each other. She had trained intensely and pushed herself relentlessly to improve her abilities since then, preparing for her chance to avenge herself.

She was certain it would feel utterly glorious when she finally broke Shampoo, and she planned to take her nemesis apart a piece at a time, beating her down slowly, savoring each bone-breaking strike she would drive into the other girl's body. Only when Shampoo was reduced to sobbing, bloody wreckage on the floor of the Battledome, perhaps trying to feebly crawl away from her, would she then scornfully finish her off. Then everyone who witnessed their battle would have to acknowledge that Mina Li was the best and always had been.

When compared to such a moment of glory, who needed love? It was an illness of the mind, a madness that sapped a person's strength and left them weak. Well, Mina Li was not weak. She had learned a long time ago that love was a cruel delusion, and what she had been forced to do in her life to survive had burned out her capacity for even feeling it, leaving only the charred cinder she had in that place inside her soul.

Unlike other girls her age, the search for romance had no place within Mina Li. She had no need of such frivolous things. A hunger for glory and a thirst for victory drove her instead.

The foundations of those drives had been laid down when she left behind the wretched squalor of her birthplace to travel to Paek-Tu Mountain at a very young age, having heard rumors that a great martial arts master dwelt there. She had gone to that fabled mountain, an orphaned child alone in the world and desperate to find someone strong to teach her, wanting to never have to depend on anyone else ever again to protect her. Along the way, she had survived several trials and dealt with grim experiences that no girl of just barely eleven years of age should ever have to face.

Six arduous years later, a far stronger Mina Li had emerged from those mountains, her body and soul forged into unyielding steel by the hellish training she had endured there. It had all been worth it. Her abilities at combat had been honed to a razor's edge, and she was left with an aching inside her, to use them against someone when it was finally over.

As fighting was the only significant skill she possessed, her course had quickly become clear. To quell her need for violence and in order to earn money to eat, she had entered the so-called dog pits, the lowest rung of the Arena's ladder. She fought for coins in those early matches. None of her fights ever lasted very long, and no opponent ever proved worthy of very much effort. Even so, it had been enormously satisfying to stand over their bleeding bodies and soak up the crowd's praise for her victories.

Over time, her journey up the Arena's ranks progressed as she cut a swath through her opposition, leaving behind their broken forms in her wake. She discovered very early on in her career that she enjoyed hurting those she fought, even inflicting crippling injuries at times, finding that doing so made her feel strong. So those she battled would quite frequently lose one or more teeth, have their bones broken, or have their internal organs ruptured. Most commonly, her opponents would spill a significant quantity of their blood during a fight with her. Those who really annoyed her would suffer all of these things and more before she finally knocked them out, briefly ending their suffering.

She gradually earned a reputation as a brutal combatant, and that won her the attentions of stronger opponents seeking to improve their own standings by defeating her. Welcoming their challenges, she honed her combat skills even further, at the cost of only two losses on her record. Fortunately, neither of those opponents inflicted any lasting injuries on her body beyond a few scars that eventually faded.

The same could not be said of her soul. One of those foes, a hulking thug a couple of years older than she had been at the time, found her at her campsite while she was still recovering from their match and too weak to fend him off. Their struggle had been brief.

When he was finally done with using her, he had been distracted by something as he was getting up off of her, perhaps thinking her too traumatized to resist him anymore. That had been his mistake. She had managed to catch him by surprise in that moment, her solid kick slamming up into his undefended groin and stunning him, followed up when she laid him out with a bone-breaking strike to the side of his skull. Seeing her attacker crumpled there in an unconscious heap, helpless, the knowledge of what he had just done to her still fresh in her mind, a searing rage had filled her.

She had taken a long time in killing him, breaking his bones and pulverizing his internal organs with skilled blows, savoring every moment of the experience. As her surprise attack had fractured his skull, he was left unable to resist her. She had been grateful when he proved to be so durable and didn't die quickly on her, since she had a lot of fury to expend by then.

After he was finally dead, she had dragged his corpse off and disposed of it in the sea, tossing him off a cliff near her camp. As the sharks had eaten his remains, she had quietly sat there and watched, nursing her injuries and brooding. While observing the carnage and suffering the lingering pains from her ordeal at his hands, an epiphany had come over her.

Following that experience, her taste for bloodshed intensified. She began killing her foes whenever the mood struck her, not merely crippling them, and the crowds adored her even more. To give her fans an even more memorable show, she started experimenting with creative ways to end an opponent's life, striving for more memorable fatalities. "The Goodnight Kiss" eventually became her signature finishing maneuver, the finale of which involved snapping an opponent's neck while holding them pillowed against her breasts, and the crowds venerated her for its sensuous lethality.

Already distrustful of others when she began her career, she had lacked a coach or manager to teach her how to win the crowd's favor. Mina had been forced to learn the value of showmanship on her own, using her burgeoning beauty as another weapon in her arsenal by watching and learning from other female fighters instead. She had begun dressing in a sexier manner as she could afford new clothes, gradually replacing the more mannish garb she had worn at the beginning of her fighting career.

When she finally reached Hong Kong's venue, she had become a lethal and polished contender, her fighting outfits displaying her impressive feminine assets to their best effect. And ever since winning her first match in a dog pit, she had grown addicted to the sound of the crowds shouting her name with loud reverence. By the time she arrived in Hong Kong, she was already skilled at reading the audience and knowing how to give them a thrilling show, viciously putting down her opponent only when she could sense they were ready for the finale.

Long before her debut in Hong Kong, she also learned that being with a man did not have to be an act of violence and degradation for her, that it could be quite a pleasurable experience. After one of her matches in the decadent city of Roanapur, a middle-aged Japanese man in the audience bought her dinner, a new dress and then took her out for a night on the town. Afterwards, he offered her money for her company for the night. That 'one night' ended up lasting for an entire week, and, while he had been far from being the best lover she would ever be with, he was capable enough to show her how enjoyable physical intimacy with a man could be.

As her reputation in the Arena continued flourishing, she started to supplement her income from matches by renting herself out to a select clientele of patrons, men and women, enjoying exclusive parties and nights on the town with them. Alongside her fighting skills, her sexual prowess became just another commodity she sold. A night of ardor with Mina Li was something she was able to barter for more and more money as her standing in the Arena's world increased.

Right after her debut in the Battledome was when she and Tarou became an item, recognizing in each other a complement to themselves. Together they had enjoyed the fruits of being hot commodities in the Battledome for several enjoyable weeks. It had been a glorious time, and she had spent every second she could relishing her hard-earned fame.

Her life had seemed so perfect then. After she established herself here by defeating the previous top-ranked female fighter in their age group, permanently ending that other girl's career in a spectacle of brutal carnage, she had joyously steeped herself in the crowd's effusive worship they had paid her that night. Each time she fought after that, her fandom grew ever larger.

The only difficulty in her life then had been Tarou, who she began arguing with over her refusal to stop selling herself to rich patrons. To this day, it still remained a bone of contention between them. While being with him enhanced her reputation, she was not about to let any man tell her what to do.

Despite that irritant, it had seemed like nothing could ever end her days of glory.

Then _she_ had arrived. That damned Amazon. A girl so lusciously built that men adored her on sight, and a fighter so indomitably skilled that no one had ever defeated her, although not for a lack of opponents with the ability and willingness to attempt it. Shampoo had gone up against a fair number of challenging foes in her rise to fame. Some of them had even come close to besting her, but none had ever succeeded in the end. She had never lost a single fight to anyone, male or female, giving her a reputation as a flawless contender.

When Shampoo had arrived at the Battledome for her debut match, Mina had been openly contemptuous of the younger girl. But their fight had quickly proven that the Amazon was every bit as powerful as her reputation had said. The great Mina Li had been left face-down in record time, a bitter loss that earned Shampoo the Korean girl's eternal wrath. Mina's ego was only slightly salved by the fact that no opponent since then, male or female, had been able to take down the Amazon.

Before Ranma arrived, there was even talk of matching Shampoo against Tarou before the Emperor's Tournament began. It was a match the Chinese boy had been annoyingly enthusiastic to have from Mina's perspective. Such a conflict would have been a grand spectacle, the Battledome's strongest young male fighter against its strongest young female. Fans of both warriors had said it would be a clash of titans that would go down in history as one of the Arena's greatest match-ups.

No one Shampoo had faced had been capable enough to take her down, not until Ranma Saotome had entered the Battledome. The sports writers had dubbed him "The Dragon's Apprentice" in their stories, having learned Ranma was the disciple of the legendary Jun Fan Lee, holder of numerous Arena records. Some fans had even begun clamoring for the pigtailed boy to return to the Battledome after this week, wanting to see him fight against other youths as a regular combatant.

Tarou was increasingly bitter over being replaced as front page news by Ranma, and Mina could sympathize with his ire. But the Chinese boy wasn't the only one who loathed the Arena's newest young star. From what Shenhua had revealed to her at lunch yesterday, Ryu Kumon, the Taiwanese girl's new boyfriend, would also be happy to see Ranma Saotome expire suddenly. And there were also Shampoo's other would-be suitors in the Battledome to consider, young men who would doubtlessly be eager to assist Tarou in dealing with the Saotome boy.

As Ana and Uni were lying injured in the infirmary, the pair recovering from some sort of mishap in the Arena Director's office a few days ago, that left only the regular guards to watch out for Ranma's well-being. An unfortunate incident might soon occur, if the pigtailed boy wasn't careful. So far he had been very lucky, somehow managing to evade Tarou and his pack of cronies, but such good fortune couldn't last forever.

They would catch him alone eventually, and then Tarou would put the pigtailed boy in his proper place, as he had previously done with Ryu. But it was beginning to look more likely that he might do something a bit more permanent to Ranma. Either way, the pigtailed boy was heading for a clash with the Chinese youth. After all, only one of them could be known as the Arena's strongest young fighter.

Shaking her head as she dismissed such musings, Mina strode to the bathroom and flipped the light on. As the fluorescent bulb flickered into life, she grabbed a half-empty bottle of pills from her medicine cabinet and shook one out into her hand. She needed a full night's rest to maintain her physique in top form. If she ever let herself falter, another girl might try to take her place, like Shenhua. She definitely had the talent and the will to do so, should she be given an opening to unseat her. Letting Shampoo get the best of her had been bad enough, forcing her to stand in the Amazon's shadow ever since. She would not be reduced in status even further by anyone else.

Adding to her vexation about other things, a mysterious redheaded girl had recently started popping up here and there in the Battledome complex. While she carried herself like a capable fighter, she wasn't a new arrival on the rosters, and nobody knew who she was. The redhead had slammed her in the face with a door the other night (a fatal enough mistake on its own), but, even worse, Tarou had apparently seen the girl walking around and gotten a really good look at her.

He was later overheard talking with some of his cohorts, apparently intent on making a new conquest of the mystery girl and comparing her figure favorably to Mina's. That moved the redhead into a category reserved for the Korean girl's special attention, and she knew she would have to do something appropriately violent to her new rival for Tarou's attentions. It would doubtless be a good stress reliever.

If she had not already been heading out for an evening with one of her clients in an expensive dress, Mina would have already dealt with the little vixen when they had encountered each other in the elevator the other night, messing the redhead's face and body up so badly that Tarou would never want to come near her. The other girl had gotten extremely lucky. The next time would be a much different story.

Swallowing the bitter pill in her hand with a quick gulp of water, Mina gazed into the mirror defiantly. The drug would knock her out and keep her asleep for the rest of the night, no matter how horrible her dreams became. Tomorrow was another day, bringing her one step closer to the day when she finally destroyed Shampoo. And if she caught that little redheaded bitch alone again somewhere, she'd get hers, and no man would ever find her desirable again.

Snapping the light back off, Mina returned to her bed, hoping for better dreams this time, or at least a dreamless slumber.

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A warm cup of tea sat in Hinako Ninomiya's hands as she pondered the recording she had been reviewing again, having lost track of the number of times she had done so. It had been made for her courtesy of her bedroom's hidden cameras and microphones recently. She had installed the automated equipment a few years ago for blackmail purposes, and she still used it on occasion while in the company of paramours that she had enamored and then entertained there. Such recordings had proven to be very useful, greatly aiding her rapid rise within the Security Directorate.

On one segment there could be heard a brief, muffled conversation followed up by the unmistakable sounds of a fight breaking out, a brutal-sounding struggle that went on for several minutes. A period of silence had then followed, and then more muted conversation could be heard. She had run the recording through analysis software to try and clean it up. While her voice could be heard in spots, the other speaker had been far too faint and garbled on the recording for success. She regretted not installing more cameras and microphones into the rest of her apartment.

Her inability to reconstruct the garbled recording of the second speaker into something more intelligible was annoying. However, her main concern was the time-stamp when it had been made. She had no memories of ever receiving a visitor in her apartment when it had occurred, and the security tapes for the building had two static-filled gaps that roughly corresponded to the times when her mystery visitor had arrived and departed. A forensic examination of her quarters had also turned up nothing. These were all signs of someone very skilled in espionage tradecraft having visited her and then eliminating all traces of their presence afterwards.

Her being in a brawl with someone explained the aches and pains she had felt after awakening on her couch the other day. At the time, she had not been able to rationalize them, wondering if she had just slept wrong. Her recent encounters with Tofu had been both torrid and quite exhausting, so a nap had not struck her as unusual. It was fortunate that she healed quickly, her injuries fading within just a few hours of her waking up.

What had happened to her during that missing period of time? Who had she spoken to? If she had been in a fight, who had she fought?

The mystery was at least distracting her from thoughts of Soun Tendo's upcoming ascension to the leadership of the Security Directorate. But could the two events somehow be related? While Soun was too clever by far to do anything that might directly implicate himself, could her nemesis have sent someone to interrogate her and then erased her memory of it? After all, he had once been one of the most effective agents the Directorate had ever fielded, and he had undoubtedly retained that competency and cleverness since then. Planning such an operation would not be difficult for him.

Hinako's gaze hardened when she suddenly realized something. There were two other possibilities: Kasumi and Nabiki Tendo. The first option she dismissed immediately as the eldest Tendo girl quite clearly lacked the needed ruthlessness that made for a successful field operative. From what she had seen of Kasumi, the girl exuded niceness like an aura. It was impossible to conceive of her ever doing something like this.

No, the answer was Nabiki. The girl had earned top marks in all of her tradecraft classes at the Imperial Academy, and it was possible she was a capable enough fighter to subdue her under the right circumstances. After all, the girl's knowledge of martial arts had recently been revealed to be far greater than anyone had ever previously suspected, even prodigious, undoubtedly a legacy of her mother's she had wisely kept hidden from her peers until now.

The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. And if she had been interrogated by Nabiki, the irritating child perhaps even using chemical assistance to loosen her tongue, it was quite possible that her relationship with Tofu had been uncovered by the girl. That would be very problematic should she tell anyone, like her sister. Hinako knew she would have to begin a heightened surveillance on the Tendo girl immediately and find out more about her activities and what she might know.

With any luck, Nabiki was embroiled in something going on in her life she would not want revealed to others. Having a little leverage on the Tendo girl could even open up unseen doors of possibility. Perhaps it might also give her something she could use against Soun Tendo.

There was also Ranma to consider. Despite the pleasurable distractions that Tofu had been providing her, she had not given up on her designs upon the pigtailed boy, merely put them on hold. And putting Nabiki under her thumb might also allow her another means of access to the brilliant young scholar, dealing with two problems at once. That was a pleasant thought.

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The Shogun shimmered into being, looming over the sleeping figure of Setsuna Meioh in her bed. Drawings lay scattered around the room at his feet. Idly, he nudged some of them with his foot. They displayed several people standing on a road, facing away from the viewer.

"How far you have fallen, Sailor Pluto," he murmured, studying the pictures briefly before turning again to face her. "You were once in control of the Gate of Time, the Mistress of Eternity. Now you're nothing but a broken doll."

The girl in bed stirred from her troubled sleep and turned her head to stare dully, gazing right at him. That startled the Shogun in the midst of his gloating. No one should be able to sense him, especially not this beaten girl.

He frowned thoughtfully. Perhaps Setsuna still remained a threat after all, even as damaged as she was. Long ago, when she was merely a young child, he had infused her with a minute scrap of his power, the perfect vessel for his needs. Her mind eventually shattered from the strain of mixing their incompatible energies, and her resulting madness had been blamed on other causes. She had then been consigned here, those who cared about her hoping for a cure that never came.

It was a strategy he had perfected on a past iteration of history and used to great success ever since. The resulting temporal dissonance caused by the mixture of his powers with her nascent ones gradually built up as she matured, blocking her own abilities from ever emerging. Eventually, the discordance grew strong enough to veil the sight of those with precognitive abilities, preventing them from seeing the future and possibly interfering with his plans.

Possibly she thought him a dream. As his body had no requirement for slumber, he did not really comprehend the need mortals had for it. Perhaps after his ascension he would finally understand such things.

Seeing Sailor Pluto as she was now, her state reduced to that of a mere mortal girl, powerless before him, he felt a stirring of satisfaction at the sight. Along with eliminating other threats to his plans, he had destroyed this girl's life as well, removing her ability to challenge him. Now she was just a mute madwoman, a shell of a girl scrawling meaningless pictures in an asylum.

The Shogun took a moment to savor this particular victory. While many of the Sailor Senshi team still lived in this timeline, their beloved Moon Princess and her bothersome Earth Prince consort were not so fortunate. So, lacking the presence of Sailor Moon to awaken them and bring them together, they remained scattered, powerless and of no threat to him. The fiery-tempered princess of Mars remained a mere shrine maiden, Mercury's princess was a mild-mannered scholar and the princess of Jupiter was a delinquent schoolgirl. None of them were of any consequence to him now. Those powered by the outer planets had been neutralized as well, living out their lives as ordinary girls, mere shells of what they might have been.

Among them all, only Sailor Venus had somehow managed to obtain her planet's power, a glitch in his plans caused by the talking beast Artemis somehow managing to escape from his minions and gifting the girl with the ability to change into her empowered form. Even so, she was very little threat to him on her own. Minako Aino appeared to be quite content with destroying demons or the occasional malevolent entity that crossed her path and was well-regarded as the superhero 'Sailor V' by many of her peers within the Mobius Institute.

The princess of Venus was enjoying her present life as a pop sensation superhero very much, and the adulation of her fellow cadets at the Mobius Institute had long since gone to her head, especially all the attention she received from male fans. The Shogun doubted anything would ever be able to pull her from the comfortable shell of her own popularity and get her to care about anyone other than herself. She would never be any sort of a threat to him in this timeline.

As Setsuna stared dully at him, the Shogun calmly reached out his hand. It was time to reclaim the scrap of his power tethered to this broken doll's soul. He would need the fullness of his might as he prepared to enact the next stage of his plans.

Fortunately, the temporal dissonance she had been generating would continue on after he consumed her soul, her embryonic powers reacting discordantly with his own. It would cause him some recurring pain, but that was a small price to pay for apotheosis. He would have preferred to put this errand off longer, but he knew from past experience on prior iterations of history that he needed some time to reintegrate his powers and prepare himself for his upcoming tasks.

Grasping her face in an obscene parody of gentleness, a glimmering of energy enveloped his fingers. Carefully, he began drawing out her soul. He knew doing it would kill her, as it had on numerous past iterations of history, but she was half-dead already, her mind destroyed by the revision he had made to her life when she was still a young child and unable to defend herself. Only her body retained its vitality, but that was ebbing fast.

Alarms began blaring when the girl's heart finally ceased beating, and the Shogun took a moment to gaze contentedly at her fallen body after he released her. Savoring such little victories was what kept him going through the many eons his task had required of him. She appeared to him much like a puppet with severed strings as her mortal remains fell to sprawl across her bed, her lifeless eyes gazing upwards into infinity.

As he pondered her face, he suddenly noticed something that gave him pause. While her eyes were dull and dead now, she wore a strange expression. He looked closer.

Was she smiling?

No, that was impossible.

He had won. He had beaten her like he had all the others who had ever opposed him. Her expression was merely the rictus of death, nothing more. There was no one who could stop him this time.

Shrugging, the Shogun vanished even as doctors and nurses surged into the room to try in vain to resuscitate the dead girl.

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To be continued...

Help me get Quantum Destinies set up on and feel free to add any tropes you've seen in the story.


	34. A Tapestry Of Lies

*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

Soun Tendo sat in the car in front of his house and carefully adjusted his mirrors as the sun rose over the horizon. If it had been any other day, he would have requested one of his usual drivers to attend to such a mundane task, having one of them take him to his destination to avoid arousing suspicions. Secretly, he was very glad to have this chance to indulge himself. Driving was a novel experience for him, something he had never learned how to do in his old life.

Today was a very special one for him. It was finally time for his appointment to visit the Mobius Institute and have his mind scanned for any issues that might impact his loyalty to the Empire and the Emperor. He had been putting off thinking about what could happen to him while he was there, keeping himself busy with other tasks and spending most of his evenings with Genma, carousing and talking over various schemes on getting their children together. He had not admitted his concerns about today to his friend, not wanting to worry him.

The government of the Empire, in order to police those serving within its ranks, utilized the resources of the Mobius Institute to perform telepathic probes of select individuals, those in positions of the highest authority. Not the Emperor, of course, for that would be a sacrilegious act, to subject the Son of Heaven to such a thing as a loyalty test. He was above reproach, of course.

Adjusting his mirrors after taking a quick look behind him, Soun noted absently that the back seats and floor areas were vacant, recalling instances in the past when someone wanting to kill his other self had secreted themselves in such places. Satisfied that he was safely alone in the car, he leaned forward and programmed his destination into the GPS on the dashboard, wanting to avoid morning traffic. When he looked up again, a woman in a blue kimono could be seen seated in the back seat, grimly meeting his gaze in the mirror.

"What the-?"

Tendrils of Bernkastel's power caught her prey in a gentle but solid grip. Reflexively, Soun grasped at the one that had swiftly wrapped itself around his throat, feeling it pressing down inexorably on his carotid artery. He tried to yank it free, but it was stronger than steel. Two sets of instincts immediately began warring within him. One wanted to attack the strange woman with his unarmed fighting skills in an attempt to get her to let him go, and the other wanted to draw the gun in his shoulder holster and empty the magazine into her torso through the seat.

To quiet him even more quickly and avoid attracting unwanted attention due to their struggle, the tip of one tendril suddenly lanced into Soun's skull, and his eyes reflexively rolled back into his head from the surge of agony that resulted. A single droplet of blood leaked from a nostril as he began convulsing. Gradually, he ceased resisting her as she calmly leaned forward and made gentle shushing sounds into his ear, like she was his mother putting him to bed.

When Soun finally stopped struggling and fell unconscious, she kept him propped upright to maintain an appearance of normalcy. The witch knew she needed to work quickly and make the appropriate adjustments before his meeting happened today at the Mobius Institute. After all, it just would not do to have him fail his scan.

Today was far too important a day in the life of Soun Tendo. If he did not become the next leader of the Empire's Ministry of Security, it would derail her plans for this world too far to easily correct for. So such direct action was necessary.

She had to be extremely careful though, and delicate in her alterations to him. Increasing the difficulty of her task, some of the revisions she was now making could not be lasting ones, only remaining long enough to get him past his upcoming scans. While she was altering his memories of some recent events permanently, she needed his personality to revert back to the state he had been in when she had first arrived. Then he could continue with his meddlesome parenting hijinks that she found so very amusing, interfering with Ranma and Nabiki's nascent relationship and plotting with Genma. In order to accomplish this goal, she needed to establish a trigger in his mind that would eventually undo that portion of her detailed work.

From outside the car, brief flashes of light were suddenly seen within it, and several birds took flight, startled from their perches.

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Quantum Destinies

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic

By S. Thesken aka Jurai Knight

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic authors. Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series. All C&C is welcome.

The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:

Earth 0.000, 0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)

What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you understand what is going on):

On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world and has done so for almost a century. Theorizing that one could travel to alternate timelines by possessing counterparts in them, a young scientist named Ranma Saotome, through use of a device of his own invention, accidentally obtained the skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself.

Revelations about Imperial Earth's version of Nodoka Saotome were shown, how the witch Bernkastel took a direct hand in ensuring Ranma's birth there. The Shogun of the Dark began implementing the next stage of his plans and taking some time to revel in the death and destruction he has caused throughout the universe in his current iteration. On the home timeline of the Musk Dynasty, the other Nabiki Tendo schemed, after having enjoyed carnal relations with her male analog. Meanwhile, Kaneda was revealed to be plotting to destroy the Matriarchy, and it was also revealed that the Ranma Saotome of that world was a servant of the Shogun. Then a long look at Mina Li's past occurred, revealing her origins. Finally, Emperor Herb of the Musk Dynasty plotted the downfall of the Solnoids.

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Chapter 34 – A Tapestry Of Lies

Jessup: "You want answers?!"

Kaffee: "I want the truth!"

Jessup: "You can't handle the truth!"

-A Few Good Men

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*** Earth 0.000, 0.000

With a gasp, Rika Furude, age sixteen, came awake with a start and sat up on her futon. She clapped her hand over her mouth, feeling her gorge rising in horror at what she had just dreamt about, witnessing what was happening to that poor man. Several long moments passed before the images blissfully faded.

The witch was back again.

Rika had been about eight years old when the visions suddenly started, when Bernkastel's thoughts and memories began impinging on her mind. At first, they had been indistinct, transitory flashes during her sleep, nightmares that woke her up crying. As time went on the scary visions sometimes began affecting her even while she was awake, making her wonder if she was losing her mind, that 'Bernkastel' was just some figment of her imagination, a psychotic delusion of some kind.

However, she soon learned through certain other means available to her that the witch was someone all too real. That was only a partial relief, knowing she was not actually going insane. It meant the things she saw the witch doing were really happening somewhere, that this 'Bernkastel' person was hurting people, even killing them sometimes.

To this day, the visions were still horrifying, sometimes almost painful, feeling the witch's cynical disdain for others pouring into her young mind and witnessing the casual cruelties the woman would inflict as she made her subtle adjustments to history, attempting to orchestrate her grand scheme to destroy the Shogun of the Dark once and for all. Fortunately for her sanity, over time Rika had managed to become somewhat used to the experiences, but they still took a toll upon her. She had learned over time that drinking wine would help her sleep better, muting the nightmares that their connection afflicted her with. While doing so had given her a startling tolerance for alcohol consumption for someone her age, she knew it wasn't good for a young girl to drink herself into a stupor to get a peaceful night's sleep.

The witch was either unaware of Rika's unintended spying or just didn't care, going about her grim business with an air of supreme arrogance, as if she was the only one who truly mattered in the world. She would up and vanish for days, sometimes even weeks at a time, then return just as suddenly, tampering with various people's lives and sometimes coldly arranging their deaths. The recent scenes in Roanapur had been particularly grim affairs in this regard. Several people who had come into contact with the Chinese woman now named Ginseng, admittedly rogues and base villains themselves, had later died in various violent ways engineered by the witch to bury the woman's past.

Rika was uncertain why she had this link to Bernkastel, but she had developed a few theories over the years. As she grew older, she had even become somewhat able to access the other woman's memories, but this only worked when they were both present at the same moment in time. It was how she had learned what little she knew of the witch's origins in another version of history, a world where the Empire had never risen to be the great power it was here.

Seeing such horrific things done to others over the years had caused Rika to grow up faster than others around her, but she had worked hard to carefully hide this fact from her peers and the adults she dealt with. Knowing she was different would have placed an invisible barrier between her and those around her who noticed her aberrant maturity, so she had made strenuous efforts to conceal it from the awareness of others by adopting cutesy mannerisms that were more appropriate for someone her age. It was only in private that she dropped them, acting more like the adult she was mentally.

Her access to Bernkastel allowed her some limited knowledge of the future, and she had occasionally used this to her own benefit, giving her a reputation in the village as a prophetess and causing many of the villagers to think of her as a reincarnation of their village's god: Oyashiro-sama. Unlike her, the witch lived her life out of synch with time, experiencing the unfolding of this world's history in a nonlinear fashion, able to skip around within its flows and revise past events to suit her needs. Bernkastel would travel to the future to see the result of a change she made and then reappear back in Rika's present to make additional revisions.

Perhaps the most disconcerting aspect of their link was when Rika found herself suddenly knowing a different version of history than what she had known only a moment before, her memories rippling like a still pond after a pebble was dropped into it and then revising themselves. It was an unnerving effect resulting from alterations the witch made to the past. This sometimes confused Rika as to what was real. Fortunately, such changes to her memories had gradually lessened in frequency and severity as she grew older.

These revisions were often not profound, but were frequently quite small and subtle instead. Some might even say artful. A certain person lived instead of died, made a different choice than they otherwise would have done without Bernkastel's interference in their lives, and so forth. When taken all together, these minor changes slowly added up, delicately shifting history into a different configuration, as if the witch was shaping and polishing a gemstone.

Even a remote corner of the Empire like Hinamizawa was not unaffected by Bernkastel's machinations within history. In some dark corner of her blighted soul, the witch appeared to hold a grudging affection towards this place, but Rika wasn't sure why that would be. Knowing what she did of the ordeals the other woman had gone through during her origins in that other version of history, it seemed far more likely she should hate it and wish the village expunged from all worlds.

As an example of the witch's more benevolent acts, several years ago the Empire had once planned to build a dam here, an action that would have resulted in enormous strife and mirrored events that had occurred on other worlds. Apparently not liking that outcome, Bernkastel had then made a few careful alterations to the past which had resulted in the Empire choosing to build a fusion plant instead. There had still been a bit of trouble and even some unsolved deaths and disappearances like had occurred on other worlds, but things were not nearly as bad when compared to the aftermath of the 'Dam Wars' that had happened on other worlds.

While Rika remembered both versions of how things had played out, the one where a dam had been planned to take place had gradually become less real to her over time, fading away to little more than a gauzy, half-remembered dream, one she had to struggle to recall anymore. Since the completion of the fusion plant, Hinamizawa had begun prospering, becoming more prominent in the region as well as providing gainful employment to many people in town and even some from nearby Okinomiya and other places. As a result, while the village's traditionally very insular nature still remained in place, it was gradually becoming less stringent due to the influx of outsiders that had since moved here to be closer to their work once the plant became operational. Over time they had even been accepted as fellow Hinamizawans.

The lone peaceforcer for their village, Keiichi Maebara, was one such addition, having been assigned here several weeks ago as the Empire's representative of law and order in the area. Rika thought he was very dashing in his uniform, and the few unattached young women in town had already begun eyeing him as a prime catch. There was something quite familiar about Keiichi to her, a familiarity formed from glimpses she had gotten of him in Bernkastel's memories. It was a strange form of déjà vu, although that wasn't exactly the right description for it either.

It helped that Keiichi was a well-spoken young man, a factor which had started to earn him favor in his dealings with the town council. He was certainly much better liked than their last peaceforcer had been. That one had been especially annoying to the Sonozakis, suspecting their hand in the series of murders and disappearances that had happened several years ago. Because of the inability of Keiichi's predecessor to get along with them, the town council had strongly resisted getting a replacement for him going on almost four years after his retirement. They had rejected numerous candidates for the position until the prefectural governor had finally had enough of their recalcitrance and just sent their new peaceforcer to them.

Since his arrival, Keiichi had begun making inroads against the village's lingering dislike for his predecessor. It helped him a bit that the village's young schoolteacher, Reina Ryugu, had quickly become his friend. Reina's predecessor had left for Okinomiya to start a family with her husband about a year ago, leaving the former assistant teacher with the job. Reina and Keiichi had been seen eating lunch together a few times for the past several weeks. Scandalous gossip about the young couple's relationship had begun making the rounds to Reina's consternation.

Of course, it helped the case for his acceptance quite a bit more that Mion Sonozaki, the acting head of the family while her grandmother was in the hospital undergoing a lengthy treatment of chemotherapy, seemed quite taken with him. In addition to seeing her at the town council meetings, he had also been out to visit the family's large compound for tea on several occasions. The two had even been seen walking around the village together, talking and joking with each other, accompanied at a respectful distance by Mion's two intimidating bodyguards. As Reina and Mion were good friends with each other, having known each other for many years, the gossipmongers were not sure what to make of the trio, so there was rampant speculation going on, some of it quite salacious as both young women had been previously unattached and Keiichi was a handsome bachelor.

The young peaceforcer's appearance in the village, something that Rika strongly suspected the witch's hand in causing to happen given the odd feelings of déjà vu he gave her, demonstrated an aspect of Rika's connection to Bernkastel that often frustrated her, all the things she didn't know about the witch's doings and her reasons for taking action. She had numerous blind spots, knowing some things that Bernkastel had planned while being maddeningly unable to access the other woman's reasoning enough to understand why they would happen. It was like trying to visualize multiple jigsaw puzzles, each of them with a large number of their pieces missing.

That being said, one thing she did know was that a significant piece of one puzzle was coming to the village soon. In the near future, right before the next Watanagashi (Cotton Drifting) Festival occurred later this month, a young man named Ranma Saotome would be arriving in Hinamizawa for a rest at the house his parents owned in the village. But before that, he had some sort of terrible ordeal lying ahead of him, one that would begin tempering him to become the weapon that Bernkastel sought to create. Unfortunately, Rika was uncertain of the details of what would be happening, so she couldn't even try to warn him. The witch's memories of that future event were frustratingly obscured from her knowledge.

Although she had never been the type to get giddy over a boy like her peers at school, she did feel a stirring of anticipation at the thought of meeting someone who stood out so prominently in Bernkastel's plans for the future. Because of his great importance to the witch, Ranma intrigued Rika on several levels. Truly, he was quite unlike any other boy she had ever known in her life, especially due to the curse he was now dealing with, transforming into a girl whenever struck with cold water.

However, as fascinating as the Saotome boy was, she would have to be very careful and avoid attracting Bernkastel's ire in any interactions she might have with him. Rika would not put it past the witch to erase her from the world should she ever become a threat to Bernkastel's schemes. It would be as if she had never been, and no one would even remember that she had ever existed.

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Soun started, unsure where he was for several moments as he suddenly became aware of his surroundings once again. He quickly realized he must have dozed off briefly for some reason. His momentary faint was most likely due to the lack of sleep he had been suffering because of his recent trip to fetch Ryoga's mother, Shizuko. His tea was still warm when he picked it up, so his lapse was a minor one and of no consequence.

He took a sip, savoring the sweetened beverage, mentally calibrating himself for what was ahead of him. His scan was scheduled for this morning at the Mobius Institute, but he was not concerned. His loyalty to the Empire was absolute, and he could think of nothing he had done in his life that would ever contradict that. Other than his plans for wedding his daughter Nabiki to Ranma, Akane to Ryoga and his own marriage to the Hibiki boy's mother, he had nothing distracting him from doing his duty to the Empire.

His sense of duty and personal code of honor were what defined him, as they had ever since he was a young man. The Institute's probes into the darkest recesses of his mind would show nothing else, of that he felt certain. He was unquestionably loyal to the Empire and his Emperor.

That being said, it was strange to think he would soon be a married man again, and he hoped his three daughters accepted their new stepmother without fuss. While he could not recall exactly when he had decided to expand his original plan from engaging Akane to Ryoga into also asking the boy's mother into becoming his wife, he was certain he had made a good choice in asking the Hibiki woman to marry him. Shizuko was a lovely paragon of Japanese femininity from a good family, attractive for a woman her age and nicely well-built. He would actually consider her to be on a par with Professor Saotome's wife, and he felt she was a woman who could be counted upon to provide the proper ambiance whenever he had to host important guests at his home. As much as he had loved his first wife, Kimiko had just never been comfortable being a hostess and acting properly subservient, and his new position would require him to do more schmoozing with politicians and noblemen.

His getting married again had also brought up another matter for him to consider. It had been a long time since he was last intimately involved with a woman, and he did not want to disappoint his intended bride on their wedding night. There had been no one else for him since Kimiko, so he was concerned about satisfying Shizuko as a point of male pride.

Fortunately, while out drinking with Professor Saotome, he had recently made the acquaintance of an attractive, thirtyish woman who he felt certain would be ideal to help him refresh his abilities at such carnal activities before his marriage to Shizuko occurred. Akemi Roppongi, a lovely bar hostess he had come to know over the past several weeks while out carousing with the professor (and occasionally Lord Kuno), seemed well-suited for his needs. He had done some quiet digging into her background, finding that she was a licensed bar hostess without any past troubles with the law. What had surprised him to discover during his research was that she was a widow, formerly married to a military man like Shizuko had been. However, Akemi's husband had died in combat about ten years ago while fighting against insurgents in China. She had no children or even any close relatives.

As being a licensed bar hostess required having quarterly physical checkups to test for incidents of social diseases, her medical records showed that she was clean of any infections and was quite healthy despite the regular drinking she did as part of her occupation and a smoking habit, not that he was anyone to judge that last part. It also showed that her anti-fertility implant was current. She was apparently somewhat picky when it came to accepting male companionship, flirting and drinking with men while she was working, but her last boyfriend had been over a year ago and she apparently didn't prostitute herself with her clientele.

She lived only a short distance away, at the same boarding house that Lt. Godai had been living at before coming to stay with his family. Despite the heavy damage done to the young lieutenant's room from the Mara entity's fireball, the rest of the place had been deemed livable. The building was currently being renovated with the repair money given the owner by his insurance company, apparently having had the foresight to add a supernatural damage rider on to his policy. Such a rider was cheap, as the odds of anything supernatural happening to a given location in the city was vanishingly small, but most people didn't bother with it.

Soun made a mental note to speak with Lt. Godai sometime about Akemi, to see what he thought of the woman. After all, they had been living together in the same building for a while, so the young lieutenant should have some knowledge of what she was like. He wanted to get a sense of what Akemi was like privately, apart from her work persona.

It was entirely possible that her flirtations with him had merely been part of her professional guise. She might not actually be interested in having any sort of a relationship with him outside of her work, so he would need to subtly feel her out to see if she was indeed attracted to him before he made his intentions towards her known and embarrassed himself. After his scan was completed at the Institute, he intended to drop by Akemi's workplace later for a drink or two and some pleasant conversation with her. That decided, he then turned his attention back to his new fiancée.

Due to Shizuko's difficulties with direction, a common Hibiki trait he had experienced to some consternation while escorting her to his home, he realized he would need to keep Kyoko Otonashi on as housekeeper for a while. He would have to speak with her about this later. As she had recently begun a relationship with a promising young officer, he should ask about their plans for the future. Hopefully, she wasn't intending to get married right away and leave their household.

If Kyoko was planning to leave soon, his developing a relationship with Akemi might come in handy another way, since she was a commoner. If things ended up going well between them, after his marriage to Shizuko he might ask Akemi if she would be willing to join his household instead of hiring a new housekeeper to help Shizuko get around. While it would not be a good idea for a man of his social station to marry a commoner, not to mention Shizuko's ability to forbid it as First Wife, it was not at all uncommon for a man of his financial position to have a concubine in addition to a wife.

With that thought, he set down his tea, started the engine with a low rumble and began his drive to the Institute. His own future awaited him, and he was looking forward to serving the Empire in an even greater capacity than he ever had before. And once he was securely ensconced in his new position, it would then finally be time to settle accounts on a few lingering problems in his life that he had been putting off.

Dealing with the matter of Hinako Ninomiya would be one of the first items he needed to attend to on that agenda. It was obvious to him that the treacherous woman could not be left in her current position at the Directorate, as it would allow her far too many opportunities to cause him trouble, but it would also arouse too much suspicion should she just suddenly expire or disappear. Fortunately, he was aware of a spot opening up soon at the Imperial Academy, a staff position that would allow him to manage the scheming woman by placing her there where she could do him little harm. Nabiki could also be counted upon to be his eyes and ears on campus, keeping him informed about any intrigues Hinako might attempt.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead."

Yui Ikari grumbled ominously and was tempted to slug her roommate, Miyuki Kobayakawa, even as the other woman leaned over her and shook her awake a second time. Giving into that temptation, she missed, like she did every time she tried. That part of the morning ritual complete, Yui struggled up into a sitting position as she emerged from underneath the covers of her futon, yawning as she stretched out her arms. She was clad only in panties and a worn Mobius Institute T-shirt, the chest region straining a bit due to the ample swell of her breasts as she arched her back while stretching.

When she was done with that, her usual death glare at being woken up (as she was not a morning person at all) did not occur today when she realized that Miyuki had apparently gone out and bought fresh pastries for them all. The pleasant smell of the fruit preserves used in making them assailed her nostrils, along with other delicious food aromas. Her stomach rumbled demandingly, anxious to be filled.

The human eating machine (and the third roommate of their shared apartment), Natsumi Tsujimoto, was already busily wolfing down food. She gave a friendly wave to Yui. Then she went back to consuming her morning meal, an astonishing mountain of food compared to what the rest of them usually ate, washing it down with numerous glasses of orange juice.

"You should hurry to the table, Yui-chan," said Miyuki with a bemused look. "Or there might not be anything left." She stood and gave Natsumi a harder gaze. "Manners, Natsumi-chan. I swear you eat like a teenaged boy."

Shrugging, Natsumi slowed but did not stop her astonishing consumption of food. She loved Miyuki's cooking, and her prodigious metabolism kept her from ever gaining any weight, even eating as incredible an amount of food as she was doing. As that same metabolism was the source of her tremendous physical strength, she considered having to regularly eat the quantities of food she needed to in order to sustain her body in good health to be a fair tradeoff. It was wonderful to be back in their familiar apartment, no longer having to live out of tacky motel rooms and eating whatever fast food could be found as she and Miyuki had been tracking down the wayward Ryoga Hibiki.

Thinking about him caused her eye to twitch uncontrollably for a few moments. She quickly covered herself by increasing her rate of consumption of food, quickly emptying her rice bowl. Her roommates did not appear to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Yui headed grumpily to the table, scratching absently under one armpit before she slumped down at her usual place. Miyuki managed to arouse her to a greater level of wakefulness by simply slipping in front of her a plate holding a fresh pastry. A ham and cheese omelet accompanied it, steaming gently. She grunted and nodded once in gratitude before beginning to gnaw the pastry, grunting and nodding again appreciatively when a full glass of orange juice arrived in front of her.

Her rather rotund pet cat, Jingoro, emerged from his little bed in the corner of Yui's room and ambled out to the main area to see if he could scrounge any food, yawning widely during his short trek. A questioning sound rumbled from his throat at the three women when he arrived at the table, wondering if there was anything for him. He was quickly given some scraps of scrambled egg, ham and a little bit of tuna on his own plate near the table by Miyuki, and he meowed once in what seemed appreciation before starting to gobble it all down.

For a while, Yui had been the only one in the apartment, and she had hated being alone with only her cat for company. It was so much better having her friends back. For one thing, getting herself out of bed each morning without Miyuki's sunny greetings and the smell of breakfast had been almost impossible.

Yui listened absently to the two women as she ate as they chattered away about what they had ahead of them for work today, mainly watching over their new charge, Ryoga Hibiki, and making sure he didn't wander out of town again. As her stomach gradually filled with pastry, she became more aware. Yui then drank down a few swallows of her orange juice and started in on her omelet, a savory one made with a mix of cheeses and ham chunks as only Miyuki could do.

Someone had emailed her a rather startling audio file over the weekend, and Yui was still pondering what to do about it. Tracking it back to its source had been a dead end, not surprisingly. The email had been sent from a throwaway address accessed through a datanet account paid for in cash at a sketchy operation across town. Nobody there could even remember anything about the purchaser, not even if it was a man or a woman, and the security camera had been non-operational. The person who sent her the email had covered their tracks well, the mark of a careful sort.

The recording attached to the email was a confession made by her boss, Hinako Ninomiya, openly admitting that she had been the one to sabotage Yui's relationship with Colonel Gendo Rokubungi. Her voice was very recognizable, but the other speaker's speech was warped, sounding artificial. Hinako had apparently done what she did to keep Gendo for herself. The two of them had been carrying on an affair for many months, one that he had wanted to break off to be with Yui instead, and so Hinako had sabotaged his relationship with Yui to prevent this. The audio recording had detailed how it was done and also why.

Hearing that confession had left her confused about what she should feel towards Gendo now, and angry for other reasons. She was still very much annoyed with him over his being involved with other women while dating her, but she also hated the thought that she had been fooled by someone she had come to trust, a trust that was now destroyed. That it was her superior at the Directorate who was one of the other women made it all even more sordid and disgusting in her eyes.

But was she any better? She too was living a lie, aided in her ruse by the Mobius Institute. Making the whole situation even worse was that she had gotten her two best friends tangled up in that web of lies as well.

She should never have eaten that mushroom when it had been offered to her. If she had refused it, she would still be her proper age, a girl of twelve instead of the adult woman who looked to be around twenty or so that faced her in the bathroom mirror each morning now. But no, she had let herself be seduced by the notion that she could skip all the messy teenage years that had been ahead of her, as well as being able to escape from the hellhole of an orphanage she had been condemned to for three years, ever since the deaths of her parents in a car crash, an accident leaving her as the only survivor.

Bernkastel, a mysterious woman in a blue kimono, had given her the mushroom to eat well over a year ago, claiming to be her 'fairy godmother' of all things. After eventually convincing Yui that she was like an enchantress out of a fairy tale by performing a few tricks, Bernkastel had gone on to tell her that consuming the mushroom would magically age Yui to adulthood and change her life. Like a fool, she never considered the downsides until it was too late, suddenly losing her childhood and eight years of her life, even a miserable one spent in an orphanage run by the government. It hadn't taken very long before the situation had gotten even further out of hand.

Upon her immediate transformation after eating the mushroom, Yui had been quite impressed and pleased by her new adult physique, gazing at her figure in the bathroom mirror. Unfortunately, the sudden change had caused her clothing to rip in numerous places, leaving her outfit mostly in tatters. What had been most embarrassing about that was that she had not been wearing a bra at the time, not yet needing one due to her age and her scrawny frame, and her breasts had expanded greatly. Smirking at her plight, the witch had waved her hand, causing tendrils of light to shoot out and remake the shreds of Yui's outfit into something that fit her properly, even adding a bra of the proper size to support the sizable breasts she now had on her chest.

Her two best friends at the orphanage, Miyuki and Natsumi, would not believe her story at first, that the young woman standing before them was actually her. It had taken a fair bit of convincing on her part, telling the duo things that only the real Yui Ikari would know. At the end, she had shown them her two remaining mushrooms. Bernkastel had given them to her in case she wanted to share her new life with anyone. Perhaps the witch had somehow known what would happen next.

Things had quickly snowballed even further out of control when Natsumi had immediately grabbed one mushroom and swallowed it, wanting to see what she would look like as an adult. Miyuki had not wanted to be left out, so pretty soon all three of them had been transformed into young women of the same age. They had then spent some time admiring their new figures, the other two girls becoming a bit envious of Yui's physique, as she turned out to possess the best set of measurements out of the three of them.

The Mobius Institute had found them soon after that, apparently aided by an anonymous tip from someone, a suspiciously convenient tip, but the organization was unable to undo what had been done to the trio by the magic mushrooms after performing some tests. It was finally decided to give them new identities by rewriting their official records with revised birth dates and other data before putting them to work for the Security Directorate where they could be monitored. They each received new memories that enabled them to do their assigned jobs, the skills being implanted telepathically, copied from other Mobius Institute agents.

Assigned to oversee them was Ayaka Kisaragi, the former advisor to the Empire's famed Miko Task Force, a collection of female superpowered youths ranging in age from ten to sixteen. As the redheaded Ghost Sweeper was experienced in dealing with issues involving girls transformed into more mature forms, she had been deemed to be the ideal advisor for the trio. It hadn't taken very long for Ayaka's mentor relationship with them to grow into a friendship, the four women going out together socially as Ayaka helped them become acclimated to adulthood. And despite being well under half of the Ghost Sweeper's chronological age, Yui had gradually developed a close relationship with her, one almost like they were sisters instead of Ayaka being her mentor.

Because of the redhead's inclinations, choosing to show them what adult forms of fun were like by frequenting bars and karaoke places instead of more wholesome pursuits, the quartet had quickly become known as the 'Fearsome Foursome' of the Security Directorate. It was at one such bar that Ayaka had introduced them to, an establishment frequented by younger military types of an 'officer and a gentleman' sort, where Yui had met Gendo Rokubungi. He had possessed a thrilling air of danger about him that had greatly attracted her, an attraction aided by his also being a remarkably intelligent man. Of course, it was his sharp mind and tactical brilliance that had likely been what had gained him his high rank despite his being only in his early twenties.

Through the course of their initial adaptation, Natsumi and Miyuki had embraced their revised lives quite eagerly, the duo diving into their cover identities and enjoying their new vocations as peaceforcers, especially Natsumi. But then she had always been the toughest one among the three of them, frequently getting into scraps with boys when they had been at the orphanage and beating them up. Yui, disliking the idea of doing such rough and tumble police work like her two friends, had instead opted for a bureaucratic position, becoming the personal assistant to Hinako Ninomiya.

Her new boss had been told the truth, that Yui was really only twelve, and apparently she had never let on to anyone in the Directorate that there was anything odd about her new assistant. As far as Yui knew, Hinako had only slipped up once, when Yui had mentioned her breakup with Gendo to the other woman a while ago. Hinako had commented that their breakup was just as well, since he was too old for her. As Yui looked twenty and Gendo was in his early twenties, this could have caused questions to arise. Fortunately, no one else had been around to hear it.

While continuing to eat her breakfast, Yui considered what she was going to do now. She and Gendo had dated for a while before their breakup, and things had gradually gotten pretty serious between them. When Yui had asked about what to expect, Ayaka had advised her that it was common for a couple who had been together in a relationship for a while to start getting more physical with each other. When asked what she had meant by that, Ayaka had explained in almost graphic detail, although she tried to be as delicate as she could while describing the mechanics and the feelings Yui could expect to experience. Even so, by the time the talk was over, her face had been crimson.

Being a preteen girl in an adult body, Yui hadn't felt ready then to do such things despite the urges in favor of performing such activities that her new form often kept giving her. The farthest she had ever let Gendo get with her had been to kiss and cuddle with him a bit, which had then led to necking on a few occasions. While she had really liked how it felt to be fondled by a man while kissing, the notion of going further and doing more had just been too overwhelming for her.

While she had been furious at the time, the revelation of Gendo's cheating on her had actually been a bit of a relief in some ways. She wasn't sure how much longer she could have kept deferring doing more romantically intense things with him. Learning of another woman in his life had allowed her to end their relationship on a moral high ground.

Following Gendo, several other men had asked her out, but she hadn't felt very interested in them and things never progressed beyond a single date. Then she had met Keiichi Morisato, a nice young man who worked as a designer at Mishima. He was very kind, pleasantly shy, and they had gone out for a while without any pressure on his part for things to become intimate between them. In fact, they never even kissed, so things had simply remained peacefully at the friendship stage rather than becoming anything more serious she had to worry about.

While it had felt comfortable and safe dating him, she began suffering increasing guiltiness that her feelings for Keiichi never grew into love. In her heart, he remained just a friend to her, nothing more. He didn't arouse the kind of passion inside her like Gendo had done.

Her building angst over deceiving Keiichi as to her true feelings had finally driven her to confess to him where things truly stood between them while Miyuki and Natsumi had been out tracking down Ryoga Hibiki. She had told him that she only thought of him as a friend and was sorry she couldn't offer him anything more. Fortunately, while clearly a bit saddened by this, he had taken the revelation rather maturely in her view. They had made promises to keep in touch, but Yui didn't think either of them would. She had not spoken to him since their breakup, and he had not tried to call her.

It was just as well, or so she had rationalized after they said their last goodbyes to each other. She had been using him, enjoying having him around as a safe person for her to date without having to deal with fending off a boyfriend's carnal desires. She had probably led him on, and that had not been a very nice thing for her to do. The fact that she had recognized that she was doing something wrong was a hopeful sign that she was growing up inside and emotionally maturing to a similar level as where her body was at physically. She had cried a little bit after getting home that night, but she was all over the breakup by the time her roommates finally returned home.

Because her first two adult relationships had ended in failure, she had decided to remain single for a while. Dealing with men was troublesome and confusing as an adult, so taking a break from romance seemed best until she could figure a few things out. Instead of dating, she would just go out with her friends to blow off steam from work or satisfy her needs for socializing.

Drinking with other women was safer too, since a man might consider taking advantage of her if she was in an intoxicated state around him. She was well aware that her adult body was a tempting target based on the lingering stares she frequently got from men whenever she was out in public. This was especially true whenever she borrowed something sexy from Ayaka's wardrobe and dolled herself up a bit for fun to go out with her friends for a night on the town. Men practically drooled at the sight of her then, not that Ayaka and her other friends didn't get their share of attention too.

Fortunately, she had never let herself get drunk around Gendo, and so her virginity was safely intact. Although she wasn't sure if he would have actually attempted to take advantage of her sexually while she was inebriated, it was possible such a thing could have happened. Hinako's recorded confession, while quite disheartening on several levels, had revealed to her a side of Gendo that showed her he really wasn't the sort of man she wanted to spend her life with, even if being with him had been kind of exciting.

As Ayaka was getting pretty focused on her latest boyfriend, a history teacher over at Furinkan Military Academy who seemed quite nice, she hadn't been around as much to give her any relationship advice lately. Yui was thinking about talking with Kasumi Ono over beers after work instead. Kasumi was a very pleasant young woman who had recently joined their department and been out with her and her friends a few times.

Since Kasumi was recently married, Yui hoped that she would be a good resource to use for advice as to what she should do regarding being in a mature, satisfying relationship with a man. Although outwardly they appeared to be about the same physical age, Yui had come to regard Kasumi as an older sister, likely due to the difference in their actual chronological ages. While she was Kasumi's senior at work, Yui secretly felt that the other woman should have that role. It made for occasional confusion on her part as to how she should act and speak around Kasumi.

Yui knew there had to be a middle ground between feeling safe with a man and also feeling passionate towards him, but she lacked experience at understanding adult relationships and what men wanted from a woman. Hopefully Kasumi could give her some advice that would lead her to finally having a successful relationship with a man. Over the course of her first year as an adult woman, she had dated two men who were practically opposites of each other.

Both relationships had ended in failure, and the first breakup had been quite emotionally painful. While the second had been much less so, she didn't want to hurt anyone else as she had hurt Keiichi. She hoped Kasumi could give her insights as to what she should look for in a relationship with a man to find that point of equilibrium.

As to the matter of the revelation about Hinako's disgusting activities with Gendo, she had already come up with a plan to deal with the whole sordid situation. Since continuing to work with her present boss was not a pleasant option, over the weekend she had investigated what the alternatives available to her were. The very best one appeared to be a teaching position that had recently opened up at the Imperial Academy, so she was going to interview for it with the school's headmaster. Since Ayaka already worked there undercover, Yui felt that her getting a job there too might give them the ability to spend a bit more time together again.

She hoped she made a good impression on Professor Fuyutsuki when she had her interview with him. Getting this job would give a new direction to her life. With any luck, that teaching position would soon be hers.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ryoko grinned as she loitered outside the Battledome, waiting for it to open up to the public for the day. She was trying out a new look for herself: a pair of snug, 'Daisy Duke'-style cutoff denim shorts that she felt would show off her shapely legs and callipygian derriere in an enticing way to a boy, athletic shoes and a tight T-shirt for one of the rock bands she liked listening to. Her teal-colored hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, giving her a sporty look. She hoped Ranma liked what he saw when she finally found him. While she waited, she was slurping a cup of iced lemonade through a straw and being careful to not spill any of it on herself and trigger her Jusenkyo curse once again.

She was really looking forward to surprising Ranma by coming out to see him like this. It would show him how interested she was in him and also that she was willing to break the rules to help out or just give him moral support and skip school. The thought of him feasting his eyes on her taut body in the revealing clothes she was wearing was also a bit exciting to her, something she had never thought about doing for any other guy before. Well, except maybe for Ryoga, she quickly amended. She couldn't imagine a girl like Nabiki Tendo would ever dress this way for a boy, not with her tight-assed reputation, one that had earned her the sobriquet of 'The Iron Bitch' at the Imperial Academy.

While waiting, Ryoko had been amusing herself by beating up any punks who thought she must be trolling for men from the way she was dressed. One gang of local toughs had foolishly tried to molest her as they had crowded around her. She had shown them the error of their ways.

Her bout with them had not lasted very long, and she had left their battered, bleeding and crumpled bodies scattered around in various states of disarray. She had then leisurely finished off the gang's muscular leader before tossing him away. He had flown unceremoniously about forty feet, ending up landing in a fountain that she was keeping a safe distance from. Then, as all that fighting had made her quite thirsty, she had bought some iced lemonade to drink and cool off.

A number of tourists who witnessed her impromptu battle royale had thought it was all a staged performance of some kind, possibly due to her unusual hair color and also since it had taken place outside the Battledome, which was known for putting on such performances. A crowd of them applauded her at the end as her last erstwhile attacker had passed out. She had even posed for pictures with a few couples and families, flashing a victory sign at the camera with her right hand.

While she was here enjoying herself, her duplicate was substituting for her at school, a little trick she sometimes pulled whenever she felt like playing hooky. It irritated the prune-faced old nuns who ran St. Hebereke to no end, since she could satisfy her requisite attendance and yet not be there at the same time. Unfortunately, she was unable to sustain her duplicate over extended periods of time, since her other self vanished if her real body was ever knocked unconscious. That limitation also meant she couldn't substitute her duplicate to go take a little nap after eating lunch.

Unlike her days spent being truant, her occasional training trips were actually excused absences that were approved by both her parents and Balalaika. The scarred-face Russian woman who enforced discipline at St. Hebereke, being a former Arena champion herself, understood the need to take such trips by a martial artist seeking to improve her abilities. So long as her studies did not suffer much from her absences, Ryoko was allowed to take time off here and there during the school year and train. Setting aside the fact that Balalaika was quite capable of putting her down in about a minute or so despite her advancing age, thirtyish, the fearsome Russian woman generally treated her as a pupil she was mentoring instead of the discipline problem Ryoko's prior schools had viewed her as, sometimes even teaching her techniques she had picked up during her Arena career.

The crowd suddenly shifted and someone bumped into Ryoko from behind while she was distracted by her musings, causing her to drop the plastic cup of lemonade she had been drinking from to the pavement. Fortunately, none of the resulting spill touched her body. She whirled on the person who had done it, furious, realizing how close she had come to becoming a cat again.

"What's the big idea?!" She tried to grab the one responsible. The girl easily evaded her attempt, weaving to one side.

Having avoided the clumsy attack, Perfume eyed the trashy-looking bimbo in front of her dismissively, already irritated due to the press of the milling crowds around them and the June morning heat. She really didn't want to deal with some Japanese punk girl on top of that, especially one who clearly possessed so little self-respect, proven by dressing in such a provocative outfit. No proper Joketsuzoku girl their age would ever flaunt her body so, except for Shampoo, but her rival had been freely prostituting herself in the Arena for many months now. This girl did not appear to care that many men in the crowd were hungrily eyeing her, even after demonstrating her skill at combat.

The gates to the Battledome would be opening soon, and she needed to get inside to hunt down her prey. Her companion on her long journey here, Mousse, had managed to get himself lost in the crowd, useless male that he was. She would punish him for that later.

"Beg pardon," said Perfume, bowing her head slightly, playing up her accent and speaking more poorly at Japanese than she was truly able.

Ryoko blinked, surprised to see that the other girl was Chinese. She was wearing a comfortable-looking outfit typical of a Kung Fu fighter over what appeared to be a shapely frame to rival her own. The clothes were all in darker hues of pink than the girl's hair color. There was also the fighting ability that she had just displayed to consider, having evaded the grab so easily.

As a few minutes remained before the gates opened, Ryoko decided to teach the foreign girl a lesson for making her spill her drink. A grin displayed her fangs. She was rewarded with seeing the other girl gaze at her more warily and then settle into a loose stance, making no efforts to reach over her shoulders for the pair of cloth-covered objects riding on her back, which Ryoko suspected were weapons of some kind.

Over in another area, Cologne took her ease in a shady spot, balancing easily on the end of her staff as she smoked her pipe, watching the crowds flowing around her with mild interest. She was patiently waiting for Shampoo to emerge, so that they could head off to begin the girl's training today. Her great-granddaughter was probably eating breakfast with Ranma again, so she would be along soon.

To one side, an enormous electronic billboard was currently advertising Shampoo's upcoming rematch against the Saotome boy, displaying dramatic pictures of them side by side. As she sat waiting, a sudden commotion erupted across the courtyard. The crowd began shifting, opening up a hole around two young women fighting each other, apparently some sort of combat demonstration being put on by the Battledome from the excited comments she heard around her.

From a distance, all she could see was that a girl with teal-colored hair was dueling with a pink-haired one. Having some free time, Cologne pogoed in that direction in order to get a closer look at the action. When she drew near, she blinked in surprise. She recognized both girls, one of them a fellow villager she was quite familiar with. The two seemed to be fairly evenly matched, judging by their exchanges of blows.

Ryoko launched a kick at Perfume, frustrated that all of her attacks so far had been deflected or dodged. It was a bit like fighting against Nabiki, only her current foe was a tad faster than the Tendo girl. Her foot impacted against Perfume's crossed arms, using both of them to block her attack. The blow caused the pink-haired girl to skid back several feet along the ground.

Irritated at having to contend with a better opponent than expected, Perfume wondered if she should draw her swords after all. She had decided against it when the fight broke out, confident she didn't need a weapon against some Japanese bimbo. There was also the fact that it would probably be a pretty bad idea for her to attract attention from the police by spilling blood in public. The girl she was fighting had turned out to have a monstrously powerful physique as well as a decent command of the martial arts, normally the sort of opponent she would enjoy battling against, but they were causing too much of a commotion for her tastes. She needed to end this fast before things got even more out of hand and someone thought to call the authorities.

Perfume launched a rapid series of attacks composed of both kicks and punches, managing to slip several solid blows past Ryoko's guard, a few of them impacting hard into her foe. However, the girl proved to be more resilient and faster than expected, her teal-haired foe responding with a combination that Perfume was just a split-second too slow in deflecting, and Ryoko's uppercut managed to tag her. It was only a glancing blow, but Perfume's head still snapped up from the sheer force behind it, her teeth crunching together, and she saw stars for a few moments. She managed to dodge away from the next few strikes as she shook her head to clear it, knowing she needed to regain the upper hand she had possessed earlier in the fight.

Her adrenaline surge masking the pain of the blows the pink-haired girl had managed to land into her, Ryoko pressed her attack as hard as she could, pushing forward relentlessly. Balalaika had regularly drilled into her that whenever she held the advantage, however slight or brief, that she was to ruthlessly exploit it for all it was worth and not let up. The other girl, slowed by the uppercut she had managed to get in, missed another block. Ryoko's spin kick slammed hard into Perfume's face, the Masaki girl torqueing her hips behind it to maximize the power.

Stunned by the blow, for the next several moments Perfume was like a sandbag as Ryoko unloaded several heavy punches into her, grunts of pain driven past her lips with each brutal strike to her torso. But she refused to fall, not to some outsider girl. She finally staggered back, rebuilding her defenses, panting, waiting for Ryoko's savage fury to expend itself.

She had been saving this special technique for Shampoo but now realized she had no choice except to bring it out if she was going to win. Her grandmother had given her the scroll detailing it, and she was grateful to have this weapon in her arsenal for her eventual revenge against her rival. If she hadn't, this girl she was fighting against might have already dropped her due to the freakish strength powering her blows. Focusing, Perfume suddenly drove her finger into the ground a foot away from where Ryoko stood.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!"

Cologne cursed under her breath when the explosion occurred, sending a torrent of paving stone chunks flying, much of it angled towards Ryoko and the crowd behind the girl. The matriarch managed to get into the path of the flying rubble, blocking and deflecting the more sizable chunks, batting them down with her staff. Only bits of gravel managed to get through, stinging the people standing behind her. Fortunately, no one was harmed by Perfume's ill-considered attack, to Cologne's relief.

Ryoko was not so lucky, caught point-blank at the epicenter of the blast, chunks of granite paving stones slamming into her body and face with tremendous force, far too many of them to dodge. A few sharp ones slashed her flesh, leaving behind shallow wounds. When it was over, she collapsed to her knees, her ears ringing from shock, shaking her head to try and clear it. Droplets of her blood began falling to the ground, speckling it with crimson.

The crowd, thinking it was another combat demonstration that Ryoko was part of, burst into applause once the audience realized none of them had been hurt by the explosion. Claps and cheers for the two girls' efforts were heard. A few wolf whistles sounded as well. Ryoko's tight T-shirt had been ripped, revealing the undersides of her well-rounded breasts.

"That's enough!"

Perfume, about to finish the fight and send Ryoko into unconsciousness, stopped her fist inches away from the other girl's face, freezing at the familiar sound of Cologne's voice. This couldn't be happening! How had the matriarch gotten here from their village so quickly? She would have had to leave immediately after Perfume and Mousse had, and Perfume didn't think her absence could have been deemed to be so important.

Normally, Cologne would not interfere with a duel between relative equals, but harming bystanders would arouse too much attention. That would be bad for all of them. She glared at Perfume, narrowing her gaze menacingly.

Meanwhile, Ryoko staggered back to her feet, dripping blood from several places and nursing several sore ribs. She scowled at Perfume, who glowered back. The two would have come to blows again had Cologne not immediately interposed herself between them.

"What's your name?" Ryoko asked, absently wiping at some blood on her cheek with the back of her hand, leaving a smear behind.

"Peh Fum." The girl's response was curt.

"I'm going to remember you, Perfume." Ryoko continued to glower at the Chinese girl who glared back at her, infuriated at hearing her name be mangled by the outsider.

"We should go," Cologne said, noting a pair of peaceforcers arriving on the scene. "We can continue this conversation another time and place, Ryoko Masaki."

"All right." After glowering one last time at Perfume, Ryoko leaped away. Her planned encounter with Ranma had been ruined, along with one of her favorite T-shirts. If the pink-haired floozy knew what was best for her, they would never cross paths again. She had underestimated the other girl's abilities as a fighter. It would not happen again.

The two Chinese women leaped away together. Reluctantly, Perfume kept up with Cologne as they fled the scene. Her mind was a whirl as they leapt over rooftops and power poles.

After a while, they stopped on the roof of a small office building. Cologne whirled to look at Perfume and said, "Explain yourself, now."

"I was going to see Shampoo," the pink-haired girl averred. "She and I have unfinished business with each other."

"That can wait." Cologne eyed the girl. "Until I say otherwise, you are hereby ordered to stay away from Shampoo."

"But-"

"You heard me. I also don't want you going near the boy Shampoo has gotten tangled up with: Ranma Saotome." Cologne glared at Perfume. "The two of them are far too important for our people's future. Nothing must interfere with their upcoming battle."

"But-"

"Nothing, I said!" Cologne said angrily. "Now, is anyone else from our village with you?"

"Mu Tse accompanied me." Perfume's tone had grown sullen.

"Of course he did," sighed the old woman. "So, he has finally returned from his quest. He has walked the Path of the Outsider, so he is beyond my control now. I have no authority over him anymore." There was a pause. "But you must still obey me."

Perfume cursed her luck. If it had not been for that Japanese bimbo with green hair, she would have escaped Cologne's notice and dealt with Ranma Saotome. Her plans gone up in smoke, she mentally vowed to finish the fight with the other girl the next time she saw her. There would be no mercy when it happened.

At least she could still hunt for her future husband. That at least had not been forbidden. Hopefully, she would have better luck in finding him than she had received in her quest to prevent Shampoo from covering herself in glory. Until she could somehow find a way around Cologne's edict, she would refocus her efforts into finding Ryoga Hibiki and making him hers. Hopefully there would be no complications awaiting her in finishing that task.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Blinking her eyes, Shizuko was uncertain where she was for a moment, finding herself in a strange bedroom, but that was not so odd for one of Hibiki blood. The children had already departed for school, and she had been pleased to observe how well-mannered Ryoga was while he was interacting with the two girls who were going to be his stepsisters. She had been somewhat worried, knowing how shy he had always been with the girls at home.

Although the two children were not yet aware of the arrangement, she was also quite pleased at how well he seemed to be getting along with his new fiancée: Akane Tendo. She was clearly the sort of young lady her darling little boy needed in his life, someone of indomitable will who could stand by his side and guide him into becoming a proper husband and, someday, a parent. With any luck, Ryoga would become the same sort of fine man that his father had been. She had patiently raised her son in expectation of this day eventually coming, when she would hand him over to a girl of good family to become her husband and let her buff out the remaining rough spots in his character that a mother could not.

It was pleasing to learn that Akane was a practicing martial artist of notable skill and strong of body. While she was not as physically powerful as a girl of Hibiki blood her age would be, she still reminded Shizuko much of herself when she had been that young. As it was quite common among Hibiki men to be rather thick-headed and stubborn, they required the occasional solid blow to the head or body to get their attention and make then behave more properly, so they were best matched with a girl able to pound a bit of sense into them whenever needed. She felt confident that Akane would come to learn how to wisely apply her strength to Ryoga, correcting him whenever she deemed it to be proper. That would keep her little boy firmly on the path his mother had set him upon, towards becoming a good man like his father had been.

Once the children had all gotten a chance to get used to each other, she and Soun planned to share with them the wonderful news of Ryoga's engagement to Akane. Shizuko smiled as she pondered her son's possible reactions. After all, he would be engaged to marry his new stepsister, a notion which did have a slightly naughty feel to it. Perhaps living together with the girl would even inspire him to be a bit bolder with Akane than he otherwise might have been. He had always been painfully shy and rather oblivious when it came to girls.

As their home village had been somewhat insular and maidens with Hibiki blood were not as well-liked by boys due to their fearsome strength, Ryoga's female cousins had spent their youth playing with him rather than being around other boys their age. As those youthful days of childhood innocence had gradually given way to the throes of adolescence, the girls had begun awkwardly flirting with him, without much success. Such relationships were not considered uncommon in their village, although Ryoga had apparently been extraordinarily unaware of their interest in him as a potential husband someday.

While others might think it strange to wed a relative, Ryoga's father had been her own second cousin, the two of them put together through an arranged marriage when his engagement to Yumi Kuonji had failed. After a few rough spots during their courtship, they had eventually been quite happy together. Because of her Hibiki blood and the formidable strength it bestowed upon her, after the tragic loss of her husband, she had resigned herself to a very long widowhood, knowing that none of the village men were willing to take her on, and she was not interested in becoming a second wife. The women in their village were quite possessive of their men, especially those of Hibiki blood. Having a stranger from outside so suddenly offer to wed her had been like a gift from the gods.

One thing she would have to be very careful of with Soun would be to restrain her responses whenever they were being intimate together. She never wanted to hurt him while in the throes of passion, which was admittedly a risk for a normal man when being intimate with a woman of Hibiki blood. It would be a challenge for her, since Hibikis were very frequently rather passionate sorts, but she believed she would be able to hold back just enough to avoid harming him.

Fortunately, she was still young enough to have more children, one of the reasons she was so excited at the opportunity to marry again. She knew she would have to ask Soun how he felt about it, but she was sure she could convince him to father a child or two upon her. It would be so nice to hear the pattering of little feet again. Hopefully she could give Ryoga a baby brother.

She began making a mental list of the tasks she had ahead of her in the next few weeks and hoped that the housekeeper, Kyoko, she recalled was the woman's name, would be staying on for a while. As summer break was coming up soon, the girls would have much more free time, so it would be an excellent opportunity to see how capable they were at performing various household chores. The house could use a proper scrubbing from top to bottom.

Since she would be living here now, it would be nice to make some new friends in the area. Soun had mentioned to her that Nabiki was engaged to a young man named Ranma Saotome. Perhaps making the acquaintance of the boy's mother would be a good start to her putting down roots in her new home. Hopefully they could eventually become good friends.

When she had learned that Akane and Nabiki practiced the martial arts, Shizuko had been pleased to also discover that the household maintained a small dojo. It would be wonderful to get some training time in today and work up some sweat while things were quiet, to burn off some of her nervous energy. Towards that end, she began changing clothes, getting out her well-worn gi from her suitcase, looking forward to a rigorous workout.

Off in the corner, cloaked by her witchcrafts, Bernkastel nodded in satisfaction. The changes to Shizuko had proven to be quite modest when compared to most of those that she had previously done to others in this world, simply adding in a few additional memories to the Hibiki woman's rather uncomplicated personality. The signed marriage contract involving Akane and Ryoga that substantiated Shizuko's and Soun's revised memories had been taken from another reality and secreted into her luggage already.

Nobody in its original world would even miss it, for reasons better left unexplained for the faint of heart.

With a wicked grin, the witch vanished.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The ride down in the elevator was quiet, each member of the trio keeping their thoughts to themselves. Shishio Makoto in his guise as Cardinal Synn stood alone in back, and the two young novitiates were arrayed in front of him, standing near the elevator doors. Revy kept fidgeting slightly, hoping she could smoke a cigarette soon to calm her nerves, agitated about meeting Ranma for reasons she preferred to not consider too deeply. Roberta stood solemnly next to her.

"So, what did you think of him, ladies?"

Revy snorted and muttered, "Like it matters what the hell we think." More loudly she said, "I guess he's not so bad. I'll do as I'm told and let him do me." There was a pause. "Sir."

It was inaudible, but the man at the back of the elevator might have sighed. He had hoped for a bit more enthusiasm to seduce Ranma from the girl, but Revy was notorious for being a difficult sort. It didn't help matters that she was crude and ill-tempered due to a rough upbringing with poor role models, but maybe the Saotome boy could help smooth her rough edges. Hopefully Ranma was thoughtful before speaking, or Revy would quickly be at his throat with intent to inflict great bodily harm.

Adjusting her glasses briefly, Roberta struck a more thoughtful pose than her partner. "I thought he was handsome, sir. I'll follow your orders regarding him, but I'd like to spend some time with him and see what he's like before anything intimate happens between us."

Revy muttered a jibe under her breath, something about Roberta looking for a hero to spread her legs for. With difficulty, the other girl managed to restrain herself from attempting to throttle Revy. Both of them were tense for several moments, eyeing each other lethally, and Shishio wondered if a fight was about to break out between them in the enclosed space, idly considering his tactical options if it happened. The two were now working together in an enforced détente, but it was uncertain how long the peace between them would last. Even the threat of Balalaika's wrath only carried so far with these two rather volatile and violent young women.

The elevator stopped, and the trio went silent. When the doors opened, Shenhua was seen standing there, waiting to go up to her room. She eyed the occupants of the elevator, her normal expression of boredom on her face, but it began fading after a couple of moments, her gaze subtly narrowing in a menacing fashion.

Revy felt a sudden wariness strike her a few moments after the doors had opened, similar to the irritating feelings that Roberta and Eda always gave her, and, more recently, Shampoo, although Eda was somehow a friend despite that. She eyed the Taiwanese Arena fighter with a deadly gaze, her hands flexing closed once, her knuckles cracking softly. Despite her inner turmoil, her previously visible agitation seemed to abruptly vanish, and she became ominously still.

At her side, Roberta eyed Shenhua with a calm regard. She could sense Revy's sudden solemnity, a warning sign that her companion was readying herself for a fight. Feelings of irritation and wariness washed over her mind as she studied the stranger in front of her, but she refrained from giving off any hostile vibes like Revy was currently radiating despite her stillness.

Cardinal Synn, standing behind the two novitiates in his charge, had not noticed anything out of the ordinary concerning Shenhua. Behind the dark mask of his cardinal's guise, Shishio Makoto casually studied the girl's appearance, quickly noting her beauty and the attractive length of her legs. He could sense the responses of the two novitiates towards the third girl, both clearly eager for conflict.

"You coming out?" Shenhua inquired calmly, her gaze narrowing a bit more, her nostrils flaring slightly. She and Revy had locked eyes with each other, so it was possible the question was only being addressed at her.

Revy growled briefly in response, but she remained still. She started slightly when Shishio suddenly gripped her shoulder with one hand, although his grasp was light. His touch reassured her as he stepped past the two girls, one of the very few people in her life she actually respected.

"Pardon us, young lady," said Shishio politely in flawless Taiwanese, one of numerous languages he spoke fluently. He recognized the girl from photographs, a new arrival to the Battledome. What was unexpected to him was the tingle of awareness he suddenly felt awake within him when he drew closer to her, a sign that she was like the two girls accompanying him. Behind his mask, he smiled wolfishly.

Many years ago, the Church had taken a quantity of his blood to extract samples of the symbiote organism from it, injecting the reconstituted serum they created into orphans of varying ages that they had selected as candidates for the procedure. The intent was to create their own cadre of augmented humans, and they were relatively successful. Among several other things he had done, it was a part of the price he had willingly paid them for their aid in establishing his 'Cardinal Synn' cover identity. A few of those children given the serum had been misplaced over the years, but it appeared that he had unintentionally located one such foundling.

Shenhua was startled to feel a sudden tingling of arousal as the dark figure in cassock and robes loomed before her, his face hidden by a full facemask. He radiated masculine power, awakening a visceral response within her. Before now, only her boyfriend, Ryu Kumon, had ever given her such profound stirrings. The sensations running through her body distracted her from her previous urges to attack Revy.

"If you have a few moments," Shishio intoned calmly. "I'd like to make you a proposal, young woman."

"Proposal?" Shenhua blushed suddenly, a girlish response that both surprised and deeply irritated her. She considered herself to be far too worldly to do such a thing.

Revy smirked. When the cardinal had rescued her from a life sentence in prison, he had said to her almost exactly the same phrase. She had been incarcerated for killing a peaceforcer, a man who had attempted to rape her while she was in custody on charges of vagrancy and petty theft. Her first experience with the boost had enabled her to twist his head halfway around with her bare hands before he could manage to violate her. Cardinal Synn had not only somehow made all the charges go away, but he had even completely erased her criminal records from the system, giving her a clean slate.

She turned and caught Roberta's eye.

"You think we're getting a new classmate?" Revy's need for a cigarette had been momentarily overcome by the fading surge of adrenaline caused by the possibility of a fight with Shenhua. She studied the Taiwanese girl, wondering how she would get along with the likes of Balalaika.

"It's possible," Roberta mused, taking out one of her balisong knives and flipping it open and closed idly in her right hand, a habit she had that kept her hands limber. She eyed the Taiwanese girl speculatively as the blade clattered lightly in her grip, absently recalling how her own first meeting with Cardinal Synn had gone. "She gives me the same sort of vibes that you and Eda do. She must be like us; one of God's chosen few."

The quartet quickly found a quiet corner, and Shenhua heard out Shishio on the terms of his offer. It did not take long.

"I think I understand," Shenhua said at the end, speaking carefully in Japanese as she focused on the core aspects of the bargain being held out to her. "I join program, go to school like them, fight people you want me to fight, and you give me Church-sponsored citizenship in Empire?"

"Indeed." Shishio was solemn behind his mask. He was pondering the ways that fate worked so neatly sometimes. If Ranma had not fought Shampoo, the boy would likely not have come to his attention. If that had not happened, he would never have met Shenhua this morning.

"I have boyfriend," the Taiwanese girl said thoughtfully. "Japanese boy. Fought Shampoo but lost, so stuck six months here."

"What's his name?"

"Ryu Kumon. You help Ryu, pay his penalty, I join. Maybe he join school too?" Shenhua was hoping that getting Ryu away from Shampoo would help him focus more on her, but the two girls with the dark-robed man were giving her a bad vibe, especially the one named Revy. She suspected that her boyfriend liked the look of Chinese girls more than Japanese ones. This pair might develop an interest in Ryu, so she would have to keep a very close watch on them and forcefully discourage them should it become necessary.

The boy's name was vaguely familiar to Shishio, taking him a few moments to place it. He then suddenly recalled where he had heard it. Ryu Kumon was a promising young street fighter in the Nerima region of Tokyo, a champion at it, him and a girl named Sakura Kasugano.

Shenhua's offer was not unreasonable, if this was the same Ryu.

"I shall consider it."

Shenhua nodded, pleased. She could not wait to tell Ryu about this. After bowing, she departed.

Once she was gone, Shishio stared after her thoughtfully. Events were moving in intriguing ways. He was more pleased than ever now that he had taken an interest in Ranma. The boy was leading him to unexpected treasures. He wondered what else he might eventually discover by his keeping a closer watch on the pigtailed youth.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Slowly returning to consciousness from a very pleasant dream involving Kodachi, several feathers and a few gallons of whipped cream, Mikado at first thought it was her lying cuddled up against him and giving him such warm and enjoyable sensations to greet his emergence from slumber. When he instead saw tousled, pale hair rather than Kodachi's raven locks and realized it was Asuka's athletic pulchritude pressed so warmly against him and not the girl he yearned for, he frowned darkly. He suddenly felt immensely irritated at his body's rather obvious betrayal of his true feelings for his bedmate, expressing its carnal desires for the cruel, villainous girl sleeping next to him.

After glancing at the clock on the wall, he did not stir from his position. Classes would be starting soon, but he had no interest in showing up today. Fortunately, attendance on Mondays was normally a bit lighter, many of his peers recovering from their weekend activities. The teachers knew better than to say anything, not if they wanted to stay employed.

He took solace in the knowledge that his physical response was only due to the feel of Asuka's magnificent physique lying pressed up against him and the enticing scent of her delicate, natural musk tickling his nose. He had absolutely no desires for her beyond her admittedly gorgeous physical charms, none whatsoever. Despite his dismay at discovering himself lying once again in the warm embrace of this treacherous young woman, his memories of their ardent bedroom antics somewhat mollified how he felt about it, as well as the other events of last night.

After suffering through another arduous and painful training session with the enigmatic Nanashi at the Saginomiya family's large estate, diligently continuing to improve his skills to higher levels after his ignoble failure to crush the contemptible Saotome wretch at their last encounter at Ohtori, Asuka's father had surprised him as he was about to depart for dinner with his family. Unexpectedly, Lord Saginomiya had extended an invitation for him to have dinner here instead, the man even generously providing him with a fine suit of clothing and the use of their superb household baths to freshen up before the meal. If the man wasn't such a stupid, whimsical fop prone to outrageous acts at the drop of a hat, the offer would have aroused Mikado's suspicions.

To the Sanzenin boy, Lord Saginomiya exemplified the many annoyingly vacuous dimwits that seemed to infest the various echelons of the Empire's aristocracy. Such weak stock needed to be torn out and replaced with men possessed of far greater vision than merely seeking to gratify their own jaded desires, if the Empire was ever to finally complete its conquest of the Earth and fulfill its grand destiny to unify mankind under the Son of Heaven's rule. Instead of such majestic goals, Lord Saginomiya only seemed interested in enjoying trysts with his gorgeous wife, a sultry woman who seemed just as mindless and inane as he was. This was especially true whenever she laughed, or, perhaps more accurately described, snorted like some lowly commoner wench.

She was actually Lord Saginomiya's second wife, wedded soon after the unfortunate death of Asuka's mother some time ago. As he recalled, the circumstances of the former Lady Saginomiya's end had involved some sort of a riding accident that left her comatose, eventually expiring late one night under suspicious circumstances that were never really investigated. His Lordship then married his new bride a few weeks after he laid his first to rest, evoking a scandal at its rapidity and the woman's questionable origins.

It was Mikado who had consoled Asuka over the tragic loss of her dear mother, in exchange for her virginity. He had thought it an equitable transaction at the time, an event happening about two years ago. Being a much less malicious girl then, because of her great beauty Asuka had been granted the singular honor of being chosen as his very first conquest of a virginal young lady of the peerage. Seducing her had required him bringing to bear all he had learned from his many nights spent practicing such skills by conquering the hearts of the comely young serving girls who labored at his family's household.

Despite his dislike of acknowledging it, being with Asuka that night had been an unforgettable occasion for him, one he was never quite able to equal with any other girl, although not for lack of trying. Since that night, she had gradually grown in her abilities from the demure virgin she once was into becoming a superlative partner at such erotic activities, doubtless due to her trysts with her many would-be suitors, or so he had heard. Strangely, the thought of her being intimate with other young men aroused an unexpected feeling of outrage within him.

It could not possibly be jealousy though. He knew that was an utterly ridiculous notion. The White Lily was simply a convenient, admittedly pleasurable outlet for his recurring needs for a woman. She meant absolutely nothing to him on an emotional level. No girl other than Kodachi Kuno held such value for him. She was the pristine ideal that no other could compare to.

Knowing Asuka as well as he did, he was certain the presence of Lord Saginomiya's second wife vexed her greatly, judging by the many subtle tensions that had kept appearing in the White Lily's otherwise flawless jawline whenever the current Lady Saginomiya addressed her as "Dearest Stepdaughter" or something similar during their meal together. The grinding of her back teeth had been almost audible to him even from across the spacious table; although Asuka's well-practiced poise had concealed all other signs of her acute displeasure. If he didn't loathe her inimical personality so very much, Mikado would have found it quite captivating that she managed to maintain such excellent composure in the face of clearly trying circumstances.

During the intervening years since he had seduced her (starting right after his breakup with her the day after he claimed her maidenhead), she had developed into an amazingly vicious, heartless bitch. However, despite that one glaring flaw in her character that only a few ever had to deal with, in other respects she remained an aristocratic young lady possessed of superlative manners that had made her the envy of other young women of the peerage. Many girls looked up to her as an exemplar of what a lady of the nobility should be like.

If they only knew the truth about what a shrew she truly was, he mused sardonically. Because it was widely known that he and the White Lily utterly despised each other, he had sometimes found it easier seducing girls that Asuka held enmity with. In turn, she would entice young men into her boudoir that he disliked. It was part of the unspoken game they had been playing against each other ever since their breakup.

Just before the first course was served, his parents had then suddenly arrived at the table. Looking back upon that moment in his memories, he realized he should have attempted to abscond then. Unfortunately, by then it was already far too late. The rest of the evening then went pretty much as he had dreaded it would from that point.

Apparently, his many repeated visits to the Saginomiyas had been noted and dutifully reported back to his parents, who had not seen fit to discuss the matter with him and learn why he was spending so much time with Asuka before embarking on their course of action. Since he had long made it a firm point to avoid any kind of prolonged relationships with girls, only spending enough time with them to gain their trust in order to seduce them, his many visits here had sent an unintended message. The additional revelation of his frequent, recurrent trysts with the White Lily, all dutifully reported by the household servants, had inspired both fathers to begin serious negotiations for marrying their two young offspring together. Mikado's sire had been enthusiastic to close the deal, especially upon learning that Asuka was currently the sole heir to the Saginomiya family's fortune, barring her father's second wife someday giving him a boy who would then inherit it all instead.

Oh, both of them had protested, Mikado quite vehemently, and Asuka even let her mask of studied politeness slip a bit during the discussion that ensued. The two of them had presented a surprisingly united front, supporting each other's arguments against the combined will of their obtuse parents, trying to make them see reason as to why such a union could never possibly work. Mikado thought he had been quite eloquent in his protests, each line of reasoning carefully presented in such a way as to avoid insulting Asuka and causing himself other difficulties down the line should he fail to prevail.

She had done the same, arguing her case without demeaning him in the process, which was a bit of a shock to him to experience. He had never known before that she possessed such an astute intellect. It was also a surprise to him that she could be quite well-spoken and articulate when she set her mind to it.

Alas, it had all been to no avail. The papers had already been drawn up and signed, and the meeting between their two families had simply been a formality demanded by legal protocols at that point. Mikado Sanzenin and Asuka Saginomiya were now officially engaged against their will. The pair could do nothing about it at that point except to seethe at the rank injustice of it, grumble under their breaths and find someone to scapegoat for their misfortunes (and physically take out their frustrations upon with extreme prejudice).

With a wink and a nod, his treacherous father had abandoned him there to deal with a seething Asuka while he had absconded home with Mikado's esteemed mother in tow, leaving the young nobleman to suffer through the aftermath of their distressing actions. Before her departure, his mother, benevolent, gentle and kind-hearted paragon of virtuous womanhood that she was in Mikado's view, had then expressed her sincere hopes that the two of them would find common ground and learn to work together, since they were going to be married someday. Then, in order to further improve the odds of his brutal murder at Asuka's hands in the near future, his mother then said she was looking forward to seeing several grandchildren from them after their wedding.

Following that, she had a surprisingly long talk with Asuka in private while the two fathers drank together in celebration. He had been very tempted to join them. A condemned man was entitled to a drink before going to the gallows, wasn't he?

Unfortunately, his father had refused to let him drink, the bastard. He had contented himself with brooding in a corner while waiting for Asuka to reemerge. It was something he was becoming quite good at, what with his curse and the unfortunate way his love life had been going lately. He felt almost Byronic at times.

It had been an astonishingly quiet and sober-faced White Lily that returned to him after that dialogue, leaving him to wonder just what it was his saintly mother could have possibly said to the haughty girl to leave her in such a solemn state. When they were alone once again, Asuka didn't even scream at him as she sometimes felt the need to, let alone cast her usual, hateful aspersions upon his character for their unexpected predicament together. He had actually found her unrelenting calmness in the face of his polite inquiries into her state of mind extremely chilling, knowing she was at her most dangerous whenever she was being congenial.

He knew very well that such a cordial mien was how she hid her true, vicious nature until she had lulled her intended victim into foolish complacency, allowing her to strike without mercy and wound deeply. During the foreseeable future, he realized he would need to remain exceedingly careful around her whenever sharp objects were left within her reach. And no blades of any kind would ever be allowed in the bedchamber.

This exasperating, condescending bitch was to be his bride. Even more horrific, she would be his First Wife, frustrating his intended goal of placing Kodachi Kuno into that prestigious position (as well as the many other sorts of positions he so yearned to put her in). Instead of having a sweet, demure, pliable young woman of the peerage like the beauteous Kuno girl to marry and take his proud family name, his bride was going to be this razor-tongued, spiteful, venomous harpy birthed from the deepest pits of hell, who would likely carve out his guts with a rusty spoon should he ever turn his back on her.

Admittedly, Asuka Saginomiya was trimly athletic, stunningly gorgeous, an unrivaled bedmate and a girl possessed of impeccable manners. But only three things were really required of Sanzenin women: be beautiful, be fertile and, the most important thing, always remain quietly in the background and let the men attend to business. As it was Sanzenin men who did all the scheming and acquiring, the women of the family were expected to know their places within the household and be supportive of their husband's efforts. Unfortunately, Asuka did not fit that mold at all, being aggravatingly independent-minded and outspoken with her thoughts, much like how his annoying youngest sister comported herself around him lately, to his vast displeasure with that particular sibling. At least his other sister acted more appropriately, like a good Sanzenin girl should.

What were his parents thinking? Engaging him to someone so completely unsuitable to ever becoming a proper Sanzenin woman was an unimaginable hardship for him to have to endure. They should have known what he demanded in a bride by now. In order for a girl to become a part of the illustrious Sanzenin family, any prospective bride of his had to be a gorgeous exemplar of womanly pulchritude, an ardor-filled temptress in bed whenever he felt the need, a statuesque trophy that other men would covet and envy him for possessing whenever they beheld her on his arm, and a woman who would someday demonstrate her fertility by providing the family with the children he would father upon her to carry on the proud Sanzenin name. She should not be a twisted, hate-filled, malicious and utterly vindictive witch who would challenge him at each and every turn in life and cause his future daily existence to be an even worse living hell than his Jusenkyo curse had already made of it.

Perhaps this was all his dear father's revenge for his rejecting Azusa Shiratori as a bridal candidate, one of Asuka's coterie of cronies and the latest in the long queue of unsuitable girls he had been forced to reject after squandering some of his precious lifespan with them. While that particular young maiden was gorgeous enough to entice him into enjoying a sensuous liaison with her, she was far too irritatingly vacuous of mind and annoying of personality for him to ever be able to deal with on a long-term basis. She had proven herself well beneath his minimum standards for a wife after only a few minutes of his life were wastefully spent in having to endure her inane presence.

Once their fury over this horrible situation had cooled a bit, he and Asuka had eventually reached their own conclusions as to who to blame for this dreadful calamity. Fortunately for their families, it was not each other.

Mikado laid all the blame for his sorrows at the feet of Ranma Saotome. In his view, the young scholar was personally responsible for this quite unbearable dilemma he now found himself in. Mikado's reasoning was that he had been forced by sheer necessity to find a teacher like Nanashi in order to compete with Ranma's annoyingly powerful combat skills, so his unwanted engagement to such a shrewish bitch as Asuka Saginomiya was clearly all Ranma's fault.

Using a similarly tortured form of logic, Asuka chose to blame Kodachi for her horrid situation, and her hatred for the other girl ascended to a new zenith of animosity. After all, dealing with Kodachi's quite unexpected (and rather frustratingly formidable) skills at combat had been what drove her into accepting tutelage from the enigmatic Nanashi as her master to improve her own self-admittedly quite impressive abilities to even greater heights. However, the entirely unwanted outcome of becoming the fiancée of such a lecherous cad as the infamous Mikado Sanzenin had then directly resulted from that one ill-fated decision. So Asuka's engagement to the lascivious beast named Mikado Sanzenin was clearly all Kodachi's fault.

The two had privately renewed their vows to utterly crush their respective nemeses and make their suffering before their defeats both legendary and enduring. Then they had slept together.

They were blazingly passionate and fervent with each other throughout much of the night, sublimating their seething fury at their awful situation into an incredible ardor for each other. It had made for a spectacular ending to the day, taking the pair many hours before they were finally finished with each other, only stopping when both of them were far too spent to continue on.

Their bodies still damp with sweat from their animal activities, they had then fallen asleep together. Disturbing imagery had populated their slumbers. Each of them had tossed and turned for much of the night.

Mikado's dreams had been a mixture of horror and triumph. In one victorious fantasy, he had broken Ranma's neck after a particularly satisfying, brutal struggle and then just left the other boy's dying carcass in a field for the crows to consume at their leisure. However, other dreams involved him suffering humiliating defeats instead. They had put him through a long string of degrading losses at the Saotome boy's hands, each one worse than the last.

Intermixed with his nightmares about Ranma, he had also experienced a few extremely lurid sexual fantasies, many of them starring the little redheaded she-devil he planned to someday find and punish. His sleeping mind had conjured up numerous awful things he would do to her as part of his revenge. The final dream involving that much loathed girl, the details of which were better left unsaid, had then segued into the one involving Kodachi he had been enjoying immensely just before waking up.

He nudged Asuka to move off his deadened arm, provoking only a sleepy protest at first. A second nudge, less gentle than the first, yielded better results. She blinked and sat up suddenly, gloriously naked, not even bothering to attempt covering herself with the sheet.

The blazing fury of her gaze threatened to render him into so much smoldering ash, but Mikado Sanzenin was not one to be cowed by the fierce glares of enraged teenaged girls, having endured so many of them already in his young life. He gave her a lazy smile instead. A feeling of pins and needles began engulfing his arm as sensation returned to the limb his unwanted fiancée had been sleeping upon.

"Asuka-chan, my sweet," he said, his tones holding its usual low-key sarcasm as he addressed her. "Good morning to you."

"Mikado-kun." Her voice was a seductive purr, but a subtle undertone of malice was present, as it always was whenever she addressed him. "It appears last night's horrifying events were not just a nightmare after all."

She suppressed an involuntary shudder at the horrible visions she had experienced during the night. The most vivid one she could recall involved her wedding Mikado in a grand ceremony, with even the Emperor in attendance, the bride and groom both dressed in pristine white. She remembered feeling quite ecstatic in that dream, and that disturbed her to recall now that she was awake, disliking what it might mean about her true feelings towards a certain lewd beast in her bed. Fortunately, dreams were not reality.

Glancing at her clock, Asuka quickly realized she must have been more fatigued from training and her carnal activities last night than usual. She suspected her additional need for rest must be due to her emotional stress at becoming engaged so unexpectedly, and to whom. Classes were becoming dreary affairs as Blackhall's finals approached, so she quickly decided to skip, uninterested in hearing any of her instructors drone today. After all, she did not need to worry about her grades. Besides, as it was Monday, several of her classmates were likely out as well, the poor dears recovering from too much fun over the weekend.

"If you refer to our promised nuptials, my dear fiancée," Mikado said with a dismissive wave, seemingly unaware of her tremor of revulsion at being reminded of their engagement. "That is a concern for another day. Today we shall instead devote ourselves anew to the defeat of our chosen foes, avenging ourselves upon them with all of our righteous fury."

"Agreed." Asuka's gaze regarded him solemnly. "I intend to inflict an agonizing retribution upon Kodachi Kuno for her many heinous misdeeds against me." There was a brief pause. "Being forced to become your fiancée is something I am adding to the top of the list of grave offenses that I shall someday hold her accountable for."

Mikado's gaze narrowed dangerously, and he smiled coldly. "You wound me, my darling Asuka-chan," he said in chilly tones. "However, so long as dear Kodachi-chan is not permanently marred, you are completely free to indulge your innate viciousness upon her. I shall not stop you." He eyed her, his gaze growing more pitiless.

"After seeing her with that melancholic Kaoru whelp with the stopwatch fetish at the dance at Ohtori, not to mention having to endure the company of that pretentious girl I was escorting in order to attend, I find myself growing extremely displeased with Kodachi-chan's continuing deficient choices in men. I desire to see her sorely chastened for all of them. First it was her becoming inexplicably involved with that upstart Saotome, a mere yeoman, little better than some filth-stained peasant, and now she spends time with a weak-chinned fop like Miki Kaoru. Neither of them are worthy of her magnificence."

"Jealousy ill becomes you, Mikado-kun." Asuka laid down on her right side, facing him. Idly, her hand moved to his groin, fondling him there. She found his rage, mixed with the heady, musky scent he always seemed to give off ever so faintly, to be an arousing combination. The giddy sensations his presence never failed to ignite within her only made it more intoxicating. These were things she had never made him aware of, stubbornly refusing to ever admit that she found a loathsome lecher like him to be so damnably attractive to her.

She felt him respond to her efforts immediately and smirked, her tones becoming coquettish. "Kaoru-san is quite a fetching young man, enough to attract any girl's more prurient interests. However, I had heard he was fascinated with the so-called Prince of Ohtori." Leaning her head forward, she began doing more intimate things to him.

He grunted at her comment, allowing her to continue her ministrations upon his flesh, closing his eyes and relishing the blissful sensations she was giving him. "She's a handsome enough girl, I suppose. Too mannish and baseborn for my tastes though. Saotome is welcome to have her. She was certainly all over him at the dance whenever she had the chance, the little pink-haired harlot."

Asuka drew back and gazed upwards at him, leaving one hand resting on his hip. "My sources inform me that the Saotome boy proved himself to be an exceptional dancer." She smiled coyly at his discomfiture, seeing his eyes snap open and glare down at her, meeting her gaze icily. "Your jealousy is showing again, Mikado-kun." She leaned forward and went back to what she had been doing, her hand caressing his outer thigh.

He smiled thinly, unwilling to let her comment pass despite how very delightful her current actions were. "Kodachi Kuno was glorious on the dance floor as well, Asuka-chan. Every male eye was fixated upon her whenever she danced. The flocks of pretentious girls at Ohtori were clearly envious of the natural grace and charm she exuded."

Asuka immediately stopped what she was doing. "I am a far better dancer than that lumbering cow," she huffed. Sitting up, she moved away from him, her gaze chill and filled with its usual haughtiness as she looked him in the eyes, and her tones turned imperious. "Take me dancing, and I'll prove it to you."

He smirked. "Challenge accepted, Asuka-chan. Wear something new. Bold."

"I shall," she sneered. "You won't be able to take your eyes off of me all night, you lecherous, vile beast. Every man who sees us together will covet me and wish I was on their arm. Perhaps I'll be lucky, and one of my many suitors will challenge you to a duel and kill you."

He let her remarks pass without dispute, merely raising one eyebrow. Among all the girls he had ever known in his young life, he had always been a bit intrigued by her supreme confidence in her attractiveness. He was also secretly relieved that she was back to her normal mode of speaking to him, lacing her sentences with their usual barbs and caustic insults. Maybe she wouldn't brutally murder him in his sleep after all.

Maybe.

"We'll make a night of it, you and I," he said with a smirk. "You'll come with me as my date to the Battledome when Ranma Saotome has his little rematch against that Chinese wench. Then we'll go out dancing afterwards."

"A date?" She was initially aghast at the idea, but there existed a part of her that was pleased at the notion of going out with him to be shown off to their peers like the prize she knew she was. Her vanity warred fiercely with her pride, and vanity won in the end. A cunning smile lit her face.

"My family owns a private viewing room at the Battledome that they never use," Mikado stated casually, unwilling to comment on the reason why they did not. "I'd like to be there watching if this little Chinese helot hands Saotome his head during their rematch. I've heard she's killed someone, quite brutally in fact, and there might be an encore involving him, if I'm lucky enough.

The sight of the upstart wretch expiring at this barbarian girl's hands would be a wonderful thing, almost as good as if I was the one doing it. There are several excellent nightclubs in the area that we could then favor with our presence afterwards. After all, we might as well get out ahead of the gossip that our engagement will surely cause among the peerage and make a good showing of it."

He had considered inviting along Tatewaki Kuno and Juri Arisugawa, his best friend's gorgeous new love interest, in order to make a foursome of the evening, but he finally decided against it. Tatewaki was acting unusually besotted of late with the girl, quite understandably so as she was rather magnificent. The two of them had been busy attending a whirlwind of social functions together, and so he had not seen much of Tatewaki lately outside of school.

However, having the latest young lovely who had swept her way so deeply into the Kuno boy's heart around Asuka might drive the White Lily into an attempt at bloodshed, and that would just put a damper on the whole evening, not to mention seriously jeopardizing his close friendship with Tatewaki. He knew Asuka was still quite irritated at the Kuno boy's stated preference for the two Tendo girls over her, and it was certain she was planning something violent on one or both of them soon to assuage her infamous temper.

"Very well," Asuka agreed. Inwardly, she continued to seethe a bit, but she gave no further outward signs of it.

She did have a new dress by Muramaki she had been searching for the perfect venue to wear it to. A night out with Mikado Sanzenin at the Tokyo Battledome for what was being advertised as the biggest event of the fight season before the Emperor's Tournament began just might do. And then there were also the exclusive nightclubs in the area they could patronize afterwards.

Mikado Sanzenin was a lecherous pervert with few peers in that ignoble status, but he was also an exceedingly handsome and charming young man. She would be the object of envy of every aristo girl and commoner wench who saw her on his arm that night. The thought of that mollified her wounded pride over Mikado saying Kodachi was a sublime dancer when it was quite clear to her that was untrue. She could dance circles around the Kuno bitch, if it ever came to a test.

Among her many other concerns, Asuka was still processing the rather startling secret about the Sanzenin family that Mikado's mother had let her in on last night, now that she was contracted to join their ranks. Sanzenin women were famed across the Empire for their great beauty, charm and gentleness of manner, publicly being seen on their husband's arm like a gorgeous trinket, remaining quietly in the background as the men took care of amassing ever more immense levels of wealth for their clan. The women of the other noble families often looked down their noses at those of the Sanzenin clan, calling them stupid peacocks who only cared about their appearance, brainless little dolls wrapped up in beautiful, expensive outfits, courtesans no better than high-class pleasure replicants and other such epithets.

In another world, they would have fit in very well in a town called Stepford.

However, that was all an elaborate illusion, a ruse. Asuka, like other women of the peerage, had bought into a mirage, never suspecting the reality that existed behind the beautiful mask. She had thus been quite astonished to learn the truth when it was presented to her.

When they were alone, Mikado's mother had quite abruptly abandoned her polished pose of pleasant poise, suddenly gazing at her with exactly the same sort of hardened, calculating look that any Sanzenin man possessed. The transformation had been quite astounding to behold and more than a little frightening due to its suddenness. Asuka recalled actually feeling a bit intimidated, not that she would have ever admitted it.

It turned out that the women of the Sanzenin family viewed themselves as the true power of the clan, preferring to work behind the scenes. Its daughters were raised to uphold and sustain this illusion of being nothing more than 'pretty peacocks' in public. In each generation, they were then carefully married off to other influential families to men who thought them merely ornaments to grace an arm without a thought in their gorgeous heads. And so the tendrils of Sanzenin influence had slowly spread for generations.

Mikado's younger sister, Hiroki, a girl of fourteen, was blessed with a full measure of their mother's great beauty. She had long, silken hair and a delicate, refined manner. Their father had recently managed to secure a pledge to wed her into a branch of the Imperial Family. This was understandably deemed to be quite a coup among the aristocracy, and it was a clear sign that the Sanzenins were becoming a power to be reckoned with in the Empire. The wedding would take place after she turned sixteen.

However, some Sanzenin girls did not fit this mold and were allowed to follow other paths. Mikado's youngest sister Minato was one such individual, a pugnacious girl who had just turned ten this month, far too tomboyish and prideful to ever let herself be seen as just some man's beautiful trinket. To their mother's dismay, the girl had even announced her intentions to join the Security Directorate, to labor like some mere commoner.

Promising young women from other noble families who wed Sanzenin sons were quietly approached before the marriage and offered the opportunity to join this secret sorority. This was done by one of the matriarchs of the family, such as Mikado's mother. It wasn't mentioned what happened to those who refused the offer or proved unsuitable at maintaining the facade of a Sanzenin Wife, but Asuka could fill in those blanks for herself, recalling the occasional sudden and mysterious deaths of young brides occurring in the family's past.

That was where the White Lily came in. She had been offered the chance to have real power in her future family, one of the most influential and wealthiest in the Empire. Becoming a Sanzenin would endow her with enormous influence and the opportunity to enjoy luxuries and sybaritic pleasures bought by the family's immense fortune, but her control needed to be wielded deftly and wisely.

She would have to be able to subtly guide her future husband without ever letting him realize he was being controlled. Was Asuka capable of shepherding Mikado with that supreme level of subtlety? Could she sustain such a ruse against him over her entire life without faltering?

Those were the questions she had been pondering when she returned to her new fiancé; only to then have to endure his tiresome inquiries. However, during that discussion, she had suddenly seen Mikado in an entirely new light, noting how reverently he referred to his mother as he asked about their conversation. Loathsome lecher and foul ravisher of virgins that he was, she had never known him to hold any woman in such a high esteem as he did his mother, until now. Mikado's father had treated the woman the same way, like she was his most precious treasure in the world.

For some reason, the thought of Mikado someday putting her up on a pedestal as high and regarding her with the same sort of reverence held a surprisingly powerful appeal. She wasn't sure why it even mattered to her, but she found herself yearning for it, that she would someday be viewed by him as something to be treasured. The trick to getting to that point would be in carefully managing her transformation into a 'proper' Sanzenin woman, to do it subtly over a period of time so as not to arouse Mikado's suspicions.

Successfully doing so would lead him into believing he had 'tamed the shrew' with his manly charms. It would appeal to his vanity and help her sustain the illusion she would be crafting. She would then comport herself in a way that was indistinguishable from any other Sanzenin woman.

She still had much to think about, but she felt a bit less annoyed with the notion of becoming Mikado's bride now. Actually, she found herself looking forward to the notion of mastering him without his ever even realizing it. It promised to be a very pleasant project, shepherding him, proving that she was smarter than he was. Turning him into her unknowing puppet would likely be a life-long task, one that would require her to refine her skills at managing a man, but she felt quite confident she would succeed. She realized she would have to begin her gradual transformation into a Sanzenin woman by relenting a bit on him for his past heinous misdeeds against her, starting with their upcoming date.

A few hours spent viewing the skilled brutality at the Battledome would be an excellent appetizer to whet her passions for the rest of the evening's events. It had been too long since she had last attended the fights. Despite her stated hopes that one of her would-be suitors would challenge Mikado to a duel and kill him, the night at least promised to not be nearly as dreary as so many other dreadful dates she had been on.

The truth of the matter was that she was long past being wearied of fine dining in expensive restaurants and attending high society functions with callow young noblemen. Even more boring was enduring the exchange of insipid small talk with them, knowing their only interest in her was sleeping with her. She longed for more thrilling activities to do on dates to battle the ennui that such intimate socializing often gave her now.

Perhaps it was this great tedium she felt at the notion of bedding yet another love-struck young man of the peerage that had allowed her to grow so comfortable with being regularly intimate with Mikado. While her past lovers had taught her that she had a strong libido requiring regular intimacy to satisfy, not just any partner would do for her. Her emotions needed to be as involved as her body, but few were able to engage her on that level. Mikado, despite how much she hated him now, had been her first lover and their union had been a uniquely rapturous experience, awakening her younger, virgin self to the power of her own sexuality.

The problem for her was that their tryst had somehow spoiled her ability to fully enjoy other lovers, and she had never been able to equal her time spent with the loathsome lothario with anyone else. No matter how many different partners she had tried being with after he had so callously broken up with her once he had gotten what he wanted, they had all left her feeling unfulfilled. Boys, girls, even one of her cousins a few times, none of them could truly satisfy her like Mikado Sanzenin could.

As much as she loathed him for what he had put her through in the past, she could not deny he slaked her libido in ways that other partners just did not. Not even her occasional forays into the more illicit forms of pleasure available to one of her social station had ever made her feel as satiated as Mikado was able to make her, even as otherwise gratifying and enjoyable as those experiences had sometimes been. For the most part, they had just left her feeling ever more world-weary and jaded after it was over.

With Mikado it was not like that at all. She felt alive and vital when she was with him, even invigorated. Perhaps it was because they hated each other so passionately, jousting with each other verbally whenever they came across each other in public and brutalizing each other's bodies during their private sparring matches. Fighting with him was almost as equally thrilling to her as the sex was, as if pain and pleasure were equivalently exciting for her so long as it involved Mikado as her opponent.

Could it be that she held some kind of twisted, romantic fixation on the cad? That inquiry immediately prompted a reflexive denial in her thoughts. But it had oftentimes puzzled her why she felt such powerful pangs of jealousy over his oft-stated desires for Kodachi.

While she was now engaged to marry him, it was not a requirement for two people in an arranged marriage to ever love each other, only to produce children together. She was certain she loathed Mikado to the very core of her being, not loved him. These occasional, strangely tender feelings she had towards him now and then could only be due to her profound physical attraction to him, nothing more.

With that decided, she went back to pondering the events planned for their upcoming date. She had always enjoyed seeing a bit of blood spilled in the Arena, a secret pleasure of hers she occasionally indulged in, convincing one of the besotted playthings she had in her collection of would-be suitors to take her there. Her mother had even directly bequeathed to her a company that was heavily invested in the Arena subculture upon her death, one retaining numerous contracts of fighters in the various venues located throughout the Empire.

While her mother was still alive, the two of them had often gone to the Battledome to watch the matches, so the place held a unique place in Asuka's heart. It had been their special, shared thing to do together, as Lord Saginomiya had no interest in such bloody spectacles. After her mother died, she had continued her visits, finding the sights and sounds of the brutal violence to be found there were quite soothing to her grief.

Perhaps while she was there with Mikado she would take him and pay a call on one of the younger fighters that her company owned that had managed to reach the Battledome's rarefied ranks. It would be diverting to see how Mina Li was doing, and perhaps it would even scandalize her new fiancé when he learned that she knew such a vicious, dangerous girl. It would serve him right, a tiny bit of payback.

Mina Li was a lowly peasant a year older than her, born fatherless in a filthy hovel in some stinking back alley of a miserable Korean slum and orphaned at a young age. She had managed to claw her way up from that wretched state of abject misery through sheer animal cunning and raw determination, arising from the filth and mire of her birthplace to achieve her current vantage as one of the contenders for the coveted prize of citizenship in the Empire. It was actually quite a triumphant story in Asuka's view, showing just how far one girl's grit and sheer determination could carry her in a man's world.

The Korean fighter was an almost preternaturally-skilled combatant, extremely lethal and wily, and one of the very finest martial artists now fighting in the Battledome. The Korean girl was also beautiful, albeit in a hard-edged sort of way, but practically all high-level female Arena fighters were attractive sorts, such as the Joketsuzoku barbarian that currently held the Battledome's spotlight. It helped them win the fickle favor of the jaded crowds.

Even if Mina didn't win the Emperor's Tournament this year but placed well in her final ranking, Asuka planned to offer the deadly Korean girl a high-paying position as her personal companion/bodyguard as a reward for her efforts, replacing the Mitsui girl in her entourage. The thought of Mina Li's curvaceous, athletic form wrapped snugly into an expensive cheongsam-style dress, accompanying her to social functions like her own personal attack dog, was a thrilling notion. It would be so amusing to unleash Mina on someone that displeased her and then watch the resulting carnage.

Even though they came from very different backgrounds and upbringings, there was something in the Korean girl's pugnacious demeanor that seemed to resonate with Asuka's. While she would never possibly consider such a violent, blood-stained street rat like Mina a friend, she was an intriguing sort of individual to spend time with, having a certain refreshing directness in her views on life that strongly appealed to the Saginomiya girl. Over the few months they had known each other, rather than developing a relationship that either one would call friendship, they had instead achieved a sort of respectful rapport in their dealings with each other, perhaps being due to each of them recognizing a kindred spirit in the other. Asuka knew her peers would be utterly scandalized to learn of her dealings with the Korean girl, but it was a relief to be able to interact with someone who was so unencumbered by the expectations of Japan's overly polite society.

Besides, Asuka felt she deserved some amusement before she had to begin her dreary training regimen over the summer months to prepare for this year's upcoming Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics tournaments that were approaching in the autumn, supplementing the intensive training she was now already undergoing with Nanashi. Disappointingly, based on the pitifully weak showings of the current year's crop of contenders that her spies had informed her of, she doubted there was anyone who would be able to truly challenge her this year, especially after Nanashi's improvements to her fighting abilities.

That was a shame. Despite her fearsome reputation in the sport as a vicious contender, it just wasn't very much fun beating up on weaklings who couldn't provide her with at least a little sport before she fed them their teeth and left some crippled for life. Where was the thrill in that?

Was there no one out there that could challenge her? Someone who could provide her with a few minutes of entertainment in a match? There had to be at least one fresh-faced, hope-filled contender seeking to unseat her as reigning champion before she inevitably broke them and claimed yet another trophy over their mangled remains. As this year would be her third straight victory after she won it, she was looking forward to seeing the proud smile her father would give her when she showed him her trophy.

At least that would briefly tear his attention away from that tittering bimbo he had married: Ritsuko Mamiya. Now she was Ritsuko Saginomiya, although she preferred being called by the irritating diminutive of Rina. She was a painted harlot who came from some backwoods region of the Empire. The cunning woman had managed to sleazily wend her way into Lord Saginomiya's heart by using her tawdry charms to ensnare him.

Why were men always so weak when dealing with an attractive woman? Did they all only think with what they had swinging between their legs? It was her hatred of this propensity of the male gender that had caused her to so despise Mikado Sanzenin, the boy who had destroyed the last shreds of her trust in others when she had been at her most vulnerable to his blandishments, taking advantage of her temporary weakness after the death of her mother. He had broken up with her soon after taking her virginity, and that had been the lowest point in her life.

Now she was to be his bride. For that past betrayal of her trust, she planned to exact a slow revenge upon him with a thousand tiny cuts before she began her planned retreat into her 'Sanzenin Wife' persona. She was already feeling oddly mollified in having prevented him from attaining his oft-stated goal of having that harridan Kodachi Kuno as his First Wife. If she had anything to say about it (and she would), he would have no other wives or concubines to ever distract his attention from her. Any foolish girls who did so would earn her wrath, like those two Tendo wenches had already done with regards to the fickle Tatewaki Kuno.

Over time, she would school Mikado into obeying her every whim, and she would study at the feet of older Sanzenin women, learning from them how to accomplish this feat with exquisite subtlety, to become so devious and artful in her control over him that he would never even think to resist her will. That would finalize her revenge upon him, turning him into a mere plaything for her amusement, a puppet serving her desires. And with the Sanzenins' enormous resources at her disposal, she would also finally be able to do something appropriately nasty about her horrible excuse for a stepmother, something bloody, dreadful and fatal.

Asuka seethed at the thought of her 'dear' stepmother, the awful woman living in the Saginomiya's ancestral home who had finagled her way into the family after Asuka's real mother passed away. It enraged the girl to see such a tawdry strumpet clinging like a limpet to her besotted father, a tittering bimbo whose only purpose seemed to be draining the Saginomiyas' coffers, spending their money on hosting lavish parties for the entertainment of jaded nobles that Asuka wouldn't even spit upon. She was nothing like the strong and beautiful woman her mother had been, merely a base pretender to the role of being Lady Saginomiya.

She would never admit it aloud, but Asuka's present situation was one of the many reasons she loathed Kodachi Kuno so much. Her nemesis had been blessed with having a mighty prodigy for a mother in Kenseiko Kuno, a legend in the realm of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics when she had been a mere slip of a girl still bearing her maiden name. But rather than following in the footsteps of such a transcendent goddess of victory, a champion who had left behind records in the sport that still remained standing to this day, Kodachi had cravenly trained in regular gymnastics instead. It was such a horrendous waste of combat talent that it set the Saginomiya girl's teeth on edge every time she mused about it.

Asuka's mother had always stood in the long shadows cast by Kenseiko, losing to her year after year at the championship matches, and those bitter experiences had forged an undying grudge in the woman. After her daughter was born, she had instilled within Asuka the burning desire to strive towards an unyielding standard of supreme excellence, to become the champion she never was. She had even secretly enrolled Asuka in Project Phoenix to give the girl an extra edge she had never enjoyed.

Her daughter would become a winner. Nothing less would be accepted.

The only real regret Asuka's mother had before the accident that ended up claiming her life was that she had never been able to witness her daughter pitted against Kenseiko's in a match. She had long fantasized about the day that her beautiful, perfect child crushed Kenseiko's foul spawn and avenged those miserable losses from her childhood. But such was not to be.

Inexplicably to Asuka's mother, even though Kenseiko had a daughter about Asuka's age, the two had never appeared at any of the rhythmic gymnastics tournaments. When Asuka had won her first championship, it was a hollow victory to her mother, denied the pleasure of being able to rub it into Kenseiko's face. The sheer cowardice Asuka's mother perceived in her old rival due to Kodachi's absence in competition had galled her deeply.

Cheated of her prize, she had taken out her intense frustrations on Asuka, training the girl even harder than before. Taken past the breaking point of flesh and bone more than once, she had spent many nights fighting back her tears and refusing to use any painkillers, determined to show her mother how tough she was. Fortunately, Asuka had always healed quickly without any scars after such incidents, thanks to her symbiote.

Because she idolized her mother so much and wanted her to be proud of her, Asuka had willingly accepted all the abuse and absorbed every bit of the accumulated vitriol the woman held simmering within her. She grew to loathe Kodachi just as much as her mother abhorred Kenseiko and had gleefully bullied the young Kuno girl every chance she got. It gave her great pleasure to do so.

When she wasn't actively making Kodachi's life at Blackhall miserable, she ruled over the student body with an iron fist concealed inside fine silk gloves, and her chosen cohorts assisted her in enforcing her will upon their peers. None dared oppose them, not even members of the faculty. Among that elite clique were the two girls she viewed as her allies and only one of them as something more.

Azusa Shiratori was arguably Asuka's only real friend, being one of the few that she would deem a social equal. She was an adorable girl who cherished all things cute and enjoyed having a cult-like following of worshipful boys who venerated her. Although she was a fellow Eve and a Newtype like Asuka, she had always deferred to the Saginomiya girl's leadership and had never sought to challenge her for dominance of their clique. They actually got along well, going on shopping excursions and taking vacations at exotic locations together, along with the remaining member of their elite clique.

The third part of this all-female triumvirate of terror was Ayako Mitsui, identical in appearance to her cousin Yohko Mano and the young Devil Hunter's sworn enemy. Although born to a much lower station than either Asuka or Azusa, Ayako was a respected part of the Saginomiya household, dealing with the occasional supernatural entity that tried to disrupt the premise's tranquility. Her other duties involved acting as a shrine maiden at the temple located on the household's grounds. She also enjoyed the prestige she had on campus at Blackhall as Asuka's primary enforcer.

At first, it had been amusing for Asuka to torment Kodachi, inflicting petty indignities upon her, occasionally even beating the other girl up whenever she had felt so inclined. Apparently unable to fight back against her overpowering might and skill, Kodachi had been easy prey. But as time went on, tormenting the other girl had become boring, then eventually devolved into a dreary chore.

Why didn't Kodachi ever fight back? This was the daughter of a powerful champion like the great Kenseiko Kuno? Disappointment in Kodachi began fueling Asuka's ever-simmering hatred of the other girl.

When Tatewaki began his laughable attempts at courting her, she had almost ended it right then, crushing his pathetic hopes in a single blow. But she had stayed her hand, finding there was something rather appealing about his earnestness, so she had allowed him to continue his attempts at wooing her. It stroked her ego to have the son of the great Kenseiko Kuno seeking her out to try and win her heart, and she had even entertained fantasies of the mighty offspring she might have with him someday.

It helped that he gave her quite similar feelings to those that Mikado aroused within her, an electrifying tingling she experienced while in his presence. Despite that connection between them, she had remained aloof and cool to him, giving him nothing but very brief fragments of encouragement in his courtship, discovering that granting him even such meager scraps of her attention only seemed to spur him on to ever more intensive efforts to win her favor. It quickly became quite an amusing game to her.

Then, one day not long ago, she had apparently pushed Kodachi too far, and her meek prey had finally shoved back. Oh, it had been glorious to learn she was right about the other girl all along. She was another predator after all, not some mewling sniveler like so many weakling girls of the peerage were when facing physical confrontation. Her games with Kodachi began moving into exciting new territory.

Even though she lost every time they had contested against each other in savage battle, the newfound challenge Kodachi offered invigorated her spirit, purging her of her ennui. She felt an enhanced zest for life and discovered a new purpose: to crush the Kuno girl utterly, to break her, to succeed where her mother had failed versus Kenseiko. At long last she truly understood what had motivated the woman's rage against Kodachi's mother, finding an unexpectedly intense passion within, a driving need to conquer Kodachi Kuno and grind the mangled remains of the other girl beneath her booted heel.

Their battles had continued, but her frustrations mounted. She could never seem to overcome the Kuno girl, and her failures had begun eating at her. The game became a far less amusing experience as time went on. It grew to be galling for her to keep losing in such ignominious fashion to a girl who used to be such a shy, timid little mouse, someone she had frequently pushed around with utter temerity.

When Tatewaki had then announced his loss of interest in her, the rage within her bosom swelled. She had barely managed to hold it contained behind her well-mannered façade, her voice expressing her withering contempt. How _dare_ he abandon his quest for her to pursue some lowborn wench named Akane Tendo instead? And then she had learned that there was also another, Akane's older sister Nabiki.

Who the hell were these upstarts to ever be compared to the beauteous White Lily? Men vied for her attentions, and she doled them out at her pleasure. No man cast her aside, not since Mikado's ill treatment of her. She had learned from that mistake. None of her other suitors would dare repeat his treatment of her, and she would exact a bloody revenge on these vile Tendo wenches for making her endure this awful indignity.

As Nabiki was the elder sister, she would, of course, be given the honor of being the first to fall to the White Lily's righteous fury. Asuka planned to make it a bloody and ugly beating before she finally relented. The younger Tendo could then be tormented by the dread of knowing what was coming for her next, seeing the grim example of her comatose sister hooked up to wires and tubes in a hospital bed. Then, after stewing in stark terror for a sufficient length of time, the younger Tendo would then receive the same. Asuka felt that would be a proper punishment for stealing Tatewaki Kuno's interest away from her.

When Kodachi had left Blackhall, at first she had been angered, but when she learned of Kodachi's fiancé, she then became intrigued. The idea of her nemesis rutting around with some mere yeoman's son, a youth barely one step removed from being a filthy commoner, unexpectedly fascinated her. What was he like? Just what could the Kuno girl see in such a lowborn?

However, seeing Ranma Saotome had been an epiphany to her. He was not some weak-chinned popinjay like so depressingly many young men of the peerage unfortunately were, but a real man. His body clearly possessed the greater physical vitality inherent to the less refined lower classes. Doubtless his virility was an equally mighty thing, one she had sometimes found herself yearning to experience in her quieter, more brooding moments.

Unlike so many boys of the peerage, except for a rare few like Mikado and Tatewaki, Ranma Saotome quite obviously possessed great physical prowess. She had heard several thrilling accounts of how he had defeated those who challenged him, including the aforementioned Sanzenin and Kuno youths. His skills at combat were quite intriguing, even alluring.

Taking him away from that harridan Kodachi would prove that she was the better woman between them. After all, how could the Saotome boy ever resist her? She was the White Lily, the reigning queen of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics world. Doubtless, the pigtailed scholar would be quite impressed upon their first meeting when she announced to him who she was.

Perhaps he would even be able to break the curse that Mikado had unwittingly cast upon her. That alone would be worth her taking Ranma for herself, but there was so much more that intrigued her about him. She looked forward to seducing him, confident that he would be unable to resist her elegant beauty and refined poise.

She looked at him, and her face took on a sultry cast. Lying back down on one side, she rested her head on her hand, gazing up at him. Her foot caressed his leg softly.

"I don't feel like attending classes today, Mikado-kun. Be a dear and entertain me."

Mikado smirked and moved in beside her. So long as he had to put up with her as his fiancée, he figured he might as well enjoy the perks of the situation. He placed his hand on her hip and pulled her even closer to him. Leaning his face in, he saw her eyes close in anticipation of a kiss.

"As you wish, Asuka-chan."

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Sweat streaming down his body, Tarou took a break from driving his fists into the punching bag he had been abusing since dawn. Sand leaked from several small holes in its sides, piling up beneath it. He began removing his hand wrappings as he suddenly turned and walked away from it. Seconds after he did so, it finally gave up the ghost and dumped its remaining contents on to the floor of the workout area.

People quickly got out of his way as he stalked over to get some water. They could sense his simmering rage and no one wanted to become a target for it. Even his most dedicated cronies wisely kept their distance from him.

He could not seem to get thoughts of Ranma Saotome out of his head this morning. It utterly infuriated him that the Japanese boy had drawn so much attention to himself so quickly, as if he was anything special. Even Tarou's most recent victory in the Battledome and a night spent enjoying Mina Li's delectable charms had not proven able to soothe his angst for long. He had left his girlfriend sound asleep in her bed this morning to do some training. She was obviously still exhausted from his efforts last night.

Tarou paused, thinking of the vicious Korean beauty with extreme fondness. An erotic fantasy briefly passed across his mind, recalling their night spent together in amorous frenzy, and how good she could make him feel. Despite the frequency and loudness of their arguments over her extracurricular activities with her clientele, he knew theirs was a special relationship, that she loved him.

Then again, how could she not? Setting aside his preeminent fighting abilities, his prowess in the bedroom was unmatched, and he was certain his talents at such activities was what kept bringing Mina back to his side every time, after she had cooled off from her anger over their latest spat. Fortunately for her, that unyielding independence she had was extremely attractive to him, or he would have replaced her with another girl by now. Only Shampoo could compare when it came to sheer willfulness, part of why he desired the Chinese warrior.

As he stood there and sipped from the bottle of water he held, the Arena Director's personal assistant, Mai Shiranui, strolled by overhead carrying a small sheaf of paperwork of some kind. She was visible to him through the thick glass that allowed special visitors to the Battledome to observe the fighters training without disturbing them. As usual, she was dressed in one of her professional outfits that never quite succeeded in hiding the lush body he knew she had to have: a tailored jacket and knee-length skirt in blue over a white blouse with black, matching heels and flesh-colored stockings, her hair pulled back into a tight bun. A pair of wire-rimmed glasses completed her ensemble.

Tarou frequently wondered why Mai bothered with the dowdy 'librarian look' she always sported, although he found it to be quite a turn-on. Of course, she could wear a potato sack over her body and still be gorgeous, but she never actively flaunted her femininity and always acted a bit shy and even rather prim around the men here in the Battledome. Perhaps it was the thought of getting past those walls she had and discovering the real woman behind them that intrigued him so much about her.

As he watched, she paused briefly and began shuffling through the sheaf of papers in her hands, rearranging them into a different order. He continued sipping his water and admiring what he could see of her figure, contenting himself with his view of her shapely legs and firm derriere encased in her skirt, fantasizing about those legs someday being wrapped around his waist. It was only a matter of time until he would finally break her resistance to having a date with him. He was certain of it.

She suddenly noticed him watching her and hurried on, adjusting her glasses prudishly, a frown appearing on her lips. A grin split his face when she stumbled briefly in her rush to escape his view, one of her heels apparently catching briefly on the carpeting. She managed to avoid dropping her paperwork and passed quickly out of sight once she had regained her balance.

He adored girls with a certain amount of heft to their chest, and Mai gave all the indications of being well-gifted in that area, despite her heroic attempts to conceal all that the gods had blessed her with. Mina was another such girl, but then so was Shampoo. And there was also the newest mystery of the Arena, the gorgeous little redhead who had begun appearing and vanishing around the Battledome complex recently like some kind of phantom. While she was a bit short for his tastes, she had displayed a magnificent physique, and she hadn't been wearing a bra the one time he had seen her clearly, giving him quite an eyeful of her bounteous bosom. Her unabashed beauty had inflamed his desires, and he looked forward to learning her name and bedding her someday soon, not necessarily in that order.

After all, how could she resist him? He was confident that all women wanted the delights he could offer them in coitus, even if they didn't know it yet. His manhood (that he had named "Tarou's Root") had already satisfied many a woman in his young life, and he was sure it was also what kept Mina returning to his side.

Tossing the empty water bottle into the bin with a clatter, he went back to his training. Thoughts of Mai and the mysterious redhead kept him distracted for a brief time from his broodings about Ranma. With any luck, he would be able to catch the new girl alone and introduce himself soon. Who knew what might happen then?

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Pausing in her brief flight, Mai Shiranui stood alone in the empty hallway she found herself in and struggled to regain her composure, setting down her stack of paperwork on a nearby bench. She shuddered momentarily with revulsion, feeling violated by the animalistic lust for her that had been so evident in Tarou's gaze as he leered at her a few moments ago, the hungry way he always looked at her whenever she was around him. She hated it when men regarded her like that, as if she wasn't really a person. It was why she dressed as plainly as she could for her job, to deflect male attention away from her generous feminine assets and try to get them to treat her as something other than a fleshly object they could use to satisfy their lust.

Her boss, the Arena Director, was nearly as bad as Tarou. Fortunately, he maintained a more genteel pose because of his position. Anna and Uni, the two statuesque liliths who served as his enforcers, were frequently dressed in immodest versions of Arena security uniforms that displayed their deep cleavage to whoever cared to look at them and did little to hide their well-proportioned figures. Yet despite their more blatant presence around him, Mai had still occasionally caught the Director eyeing her speculatively more than once. If her job did not pay as well as it did, she would have sought out other employment elsewhere, but her family needed the money she brought in to help pay for her grandfather's medical bills.

It had been this way for her ever since she entered puberty, when her body began developing so prominently. Boys had begun gawking at her physique like idiots, and girls had been jealous of her endowments. She was sure her remaining years of school would have been more of the same, likely even worse, so one year over break she had transferred to a new school and then deflected unwanted attention there by dressing as dowdily as she could, hunching her shoulders forward a bit and even putting on a pair of non-prescription glasses. Her disguise had worked, allowing her a measure of peace, so she had maintained it in public ever since.

She smoothed a few stray locks of hair back into place and straightened her skirt and jacket with a few brief tugs, restoring her appearance back to its proper look. Her breathing calmed as she took a few moments to collect herself with the aid of some mental disciplines taught to her by her grandfather. The flickers of fire that had flared up deep within her gaze began fading. She idly tamped out a bit of smoldering that had spontaneously started up on one corner of her sheaf of reports.

If Tarou wasn't careful, the egotistical lecher would finally cross a line and make her forget that she was a lady, and then she would do something extremely unpleasant to him. The thought of that erased the frown on her face, leaving a wolfish smile in its place. Despite how good it would likely feel to beat the Chinese boy senseless or grab his face between her palms and boil his leering eyes within their sockets, she knew she had to remain careful and keep her pyrokinetic abilities under tight wraps, or she might receive a less than friendly visit from agents of the Mobius Institute.

As a daughter of the Shiranui Ninja Clan, once powerful but fallen on hard times, she had been taught all of the necessary skills to be a top-notch kunoichi. While she trained diligently every night, it was mainly to keep ready in case she had to deal with a would-be mugger or rapist. Due to her shyness with men, she actually had little practical experience at seduction and even less at physical intimacy, mostly the theoretical knowledge of how such things worked gained from studying old scrolls.

Her control over her pyrokinetic abilities, described as a gift from the gods by her aged grandfather, had been refined by her martial disciplines. If needed, she could use them to enhance her unarmed combat techniques, sheathing her fists and feet in searing flame. She could also launch blasts of fire from her hands or even send waves of flame coruscating outwards from her body in all directions.

"You shouldn't let that boy get to you," said a calm voice behind her.

Whirling in surprise, Mai was startled by the sudden presence of the man behind her. He was a foreigner, judging by the darkness of his skin and his accent, although his Japanese was excellent. A pair of mirrored sunglasses hid his eyes from view, an odd affectation for indoors. He was wearing a standard visitor's pass, so she assumed he was part of some tour group.

"I'm all right," she said, uncertain what else to say. She picked up her papers hastily and bowed briefly. Her departure was interrupted when he spoke again.

"Not all men are like him. In fact, you've recently met a boy that was quite different from the others you've known, haven't you?"

"How did you know that?" Mai asked, whirling to face him again. She clutched her reports tightly in front of her chest. Her cheeks flushed a bit with embarrassment.

"Let's just say I'm something of a fortune teller."

The Seer regarded the young woman in front of him casually, although at nineteen she was barely out of girlhood, viewing the many possibilities that branched out ahead of her with his Sight. It would only take the proper nudge from him to send her off on the correct course for his needs. He walked over and took a seat on the bench where her paperwork had sat, patting the area next to him before regarding the far wall with his blind eyes.

"Sit, child."

Mai hesitantly did as she was bid. She took a seat a short distance from him, her knees pressed primly together in a demure pose. Her hands were folded and rested in her lap on top of her reports. As she waited, she began to fidget a bit, her knees bouncing a little.

The Seer briefly pondered what he would say to her. He knew he was in dangerous territory once again, acting covertly against both the Shogun and the witch, but what he had witnessed through his Sight had left him no choice. The warring pair was too blinded by their struggles against each other to consider the bigger picture resulting from their actions, and their exploits had disrupted the natural flows of history across a multitude of worlds, twisting them into aberrant configurations and spawning innumerable, dead-end variants.

Pathways he had hoped would remain open for this world kept closing off one by one through their actions, choking off promising avenues to the future from happening. A yawning abyss of oblivion awaited this world if things went badly, the possibility hovering like a gruesome wraith in his Sight. Matters needed to be steered delicately to avoid it, the burden falling upon him as the Seer.

The Shogun had been laboring at his schemes for millennia, but he was more easily predictable in his actions, eliminating individuals that had frustrated him in prior iterations of history before they could oppose him and altering select events, causing them to transpire in ways that he felt would better serve his needs. Similarly, as she had previously done upon other worlds, the witch's strategy in this one was to create new actors or reweave history in ways that would frustrate her ancient enemy's schemes. She had grown quite subtle at such things over the centuries as her pool of available pawns had changed.

Countless individuals had suffered and died between them, and even entire worlds had been ravaged in their struggles. While the Shogun was the far greater threat, intent on burning down everything in order to recreate all of reality to satisfy his megalomania, the witch had sewn her own share of misery and death across a myriad of worlds, sometimes just for her mere amusement. Both of them were far too dangerous to be allowed to continue their activities.

What most people did not know was that time was made up of fragments, like a gemstone that was shattered into an ever-expanding kaleidoscope of possibilities, the result creating a vast multiverse composed of myriad timeline tangents that replicated and mutated with every passing moment. History played out within each of its multitudinous facets in an infinite variety of ways, a grand tapestry weaving fate and free will together in countless forms. However, the Shogun's manipulations and the witch's opposition to him threatened to destroy this supple structure.

With each universe they fought in, the damage grew worse. The barriers holding realities apart had been gradually becoming more brittle and sclerotic from their presence. This had eased travel between the myriad worlds, as tiny cracks had opened within the framework of reality, but such travels compounded the problem. If matters continued on their present course, eventually there would be a critical failure in some facet of reality and then the multiverse would begin collapsing inwards upon itself like a falling house of cards.

If that should happen, different universes would begin commingling with each other at first. People and places would vanish from one world only to reappear in another, the different realities rewriting their own histories to try and compensate for the changes. But eventually such stresses would become far too great for the multiverse to absorb. Time itself would be rent asunder, and then oblivion would be unleashed to feast upon reality's rotting corpse. When the horror was finally over, it would be as if existence had never been, leaving behind an unending darkness and an ever-present silence. It would be an infinite void of nothingness that would never be refilled.

They had to be stopped.

Fortunately for the Seer's scheme, the Shogun still believed he was playing alone, merely pitting his unyielding will against what he saw as an obstinate and defiant universe, his gaze fixated upon achieving his desired apotheosis. Meanwhile, the witch was focused on the Shogun, thwarting him at every turn, acting quietly in the background through her pool of pawns. Unknown to either of them, the unwilling third player in their game was him, forced to work covertly against them both, although the witch believed him to be her nominal ally, and he had helped her on occasion to earn her goodwill.

"Ranma Saotome made quite a splash when he arrived at the Battledome, didn't he?"

"Yes." Mai kept her gaze demurely averted. Why was this stranger talking about the Saotome boy with her? Was he a reporter? Her heart seemed to thud quite loudly within her chest at the thought of Ranma, and she hastened to redirect her mind away from thinking about his face and his pleasing build.

"I suspect he could use a friend in this place. He's not like the other young men in here."

Mai blushed again. The stranger's words echoed her own unspoken views of the pigtailed boy. Spending time with Ranma the other day, giving him a tour of the Battledome, had been almost like a date, and he had never once looked at her like men typically did. Instead, there had been something in his eyes she had never seen before whenever he had gazed at her. It had left her feeling confused inside.

While she could tell he was aware of her femininity, occasionally noting him glancing at her body appreciatively, his attention had always remained firmly upon her face whenever they had spoken to each other, and he had never leered at her at any time. She had been so impressed by his gentlemanliness that she had given him her card after the tour was over. It had been an act of uncharacteristic boldness on her part, especially since she had impulsively gone even farther and scribbled her private cellphone number on the back of it. She felt embarrassed thinking about it, but she also wondered if he would ever call her. Maybe he didn't like girls who acted so forward with him.

Unsure what to say to the stranger's comment, Mai nodded. A lump of nervousness was forming in her throat. She struggled to not think about Ranma, a part of her mind rationalizing that she was older than he was, so she was being silly. She was nineteen, and he was sixteen. What boy his age would ever be romantically interested in an older woman like her?

The Seer smiled. Planting a seed was all that was needed. She just needed one more nudge for it to take root.

"I wonder what kind of girl he might like. What do you think?"

Mai shot to her feet, her cheeks flaming with mortification at where her thoughts suddenly swerved at that simple question. Images from the scrolls she had studied, ways to seduce and share pleasure with a man, swiftly rose unbidden within her mind. She whirled to the Seer and snapped a quick bow.

"I have to go now!"

The Seer nodded sagely as she turned and fled from him, smiling slightly until she was around the corner. Then his expression became more solemn. He leaned back on the bench and relaxed, removing his sunglasses and massaging the bridge of his nose.

Like with the pink-haired Joketsuzoku girl, he had just set into motion a sequence of events that would begin gradually altering the future into a direction of his choosing, inducing subtle changes. Mai's future actions could be masked as the product of her free will, so he should not receive another visit from Bernkastel over this. Fortunately, that was the advantage he held over the other two, a greater flexibility. It was about the only one he had against a pair of time travellers.

The reason why the Shogun was more easily predictable was because he could only jump back once, and then he would plot his course through history based on his knowledge of prior versions of it, guided in his actions by what he knew of how things had played out before. Through replaying history as many times as he had, he had painstakingly learned what threads he needed to pull and reweave during his plodding through the centuries again and again. To a large extent, the present shape of the world was the result of eons of experimentation the Shogun had done in countless previous iterations of history.

In contrast, Bernkastel was far more of a dilettante when it came to history, slipping in and out of its flows according to her whims. While she was unbound by time in most ways, she still possessed limits to her abilities. Her observations and manipulations of events eventually 'hardened' them against her ability to affect them further, creating what were essentially fixed points in time, somehow due to her powers interacting with the Shogun's presence in a world. During the interval that existed between his arrival in that desert long ago and the time when his attempted apotheosis could occur in the coming months, events would slowly develop an increasing inertia to the witch changing them, resisting her revisions more and more.

Part of the reason for this was that Bernkastel's abilities appeared to be somehow linked to those of the Shogun. In all of the Seer's viewings of the future, his Sight had never once shown her visiting a point past any of the Shogun's apotheosis attempts, even on timelines where he had long since been destroyed. While she could merrily hop around as she liked within a span of time lasting several millennia, she seemed bound in every world by the maximum duration of the Shogun's existence within time.

In addition, as the moment of his apotheosis approached, the more difficult it became for the witch to change things, especially if she attempted to revise what she had previously altered. Eventually she would reach a point when she could make no further adjustments to a world. At that point she could only observe, waiting for an opportunity to destroy the Shogun.

As Seer, he had no such limitations, perhaps because, from his perspective of events, things had not yet happened. He was merely looking forward at possibilities gamboling about like shadow puppets on a distant wall. His observations of future events did not irrevocably lock them into place, or else the role of Seer would be pointless, rendering his role into something like that of the woman Cassandra from Greek mythology, unable to affect what was to come, only to helplessly observe it.

He replaced his sunglasses and stood up. While there was always more for him to do, he could take a break for a brief time, maybe have some breakfast at the charming bistro he had passed on his journey to the Battledome. He strolled down the hallway, whistling a jaunty tune from a popular movie that had not yet been made in this world, feeling suddenly thirsty for some iced lemonade.

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To be continued...

A special thank you note: I don't think I would have restarted my writing of Quantum Destinies if it wasn't for the Higurashi/When They Cry anime series. After watching it all the way through fifty episodes and the OVAs, it left me inspired with new ideas and ways to tie the story together that was better than what I had planned originally.

Help me get Quantum Destinies set up on tvtropes and feel free to add any tropes you've seen in the story.


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